From The Morecambe And Wise Show to I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue, comedian and writer Barry Cryer has spent more than 50 years making people laugh – and he has no intention of stopping now. He appears at this year’s Brighton Festival Fringe with musician Ronnie Golden in an evening of one-liners, tall stories and comic songs concerning everything from assisted suicide to John Prescott. The pair’s shows are tonight and tomorrow at 8.30pm at Freerange on The Green at St Peter’s Church, Brighton. Tickets cost £10/£8. Call 01273 709709.

Could you outline your career so far?

Long. [Cryer started out as an actor at London’s Windmill Theatre in the 1950s before turning to writing. His CV includes credits for Dave Allen, Rory Bremner, Tommy Cooper, Frankie Howerd and Bruce Forsyth. He’s one of the longest-serving panellists on BBC radio’s I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue.]

Is there an artist/comic/writer/performer who made you think “I want to do that?”

Max Wall [TV and film entertainer whose diverse career included parts in both Waiting For Godot and Emmerdale and whose comic creation Professor Wallofski was said to have inspired Monty Python’s Ministry of Silly Walks] and Jack Benny [an American performer renowned for getting laughs with expressions and pauses].

Is there a live comedy experience that particularly stays in your memory?

I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue at Hammersmith Apollo – there were over 3,000 people in the audience!

What is your favourite place to watch comedy?

Kings Head, Crouch End.

Do you remember the first record you bought?

Jimmy Durante – I’m The Only Guy Who Found The Last Chord.

Tell us about any guilty pleasures lurking in your CD or film collections – something you know is a bit naff but you can’t help yourself.

The 1956 comedy musical The Girl Can’t Help It – Jayne Mansfield and rock ’n’ rollers!

Do you have a favourite film? And why?

Some Like It Hot [classic comedy starring Marilyn Monroe and Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon as cross-dressing musicians fleeing The Mob]. It’s perfect in every way.

Is there a TV programme you can’t live without?

No.

Favourite album... and why?

Ramsey Lewis’s version of A Hard Day’s Night.

Is there a song or individual piece of music you always come back to?

House Of The Rising Sun by The Animals.

What are you reading at the moment?

[Racing magazine] V12.

Favourite book... and why?

Lost Empires by JB Priestley.

It has everything – it’s an armchair with covers.

Tell us about your show at the Brighton Fringe...

It’s superb, all original songs.

What are you most looking forward to on the Brighton Fringe?

Cockles and ozone.