Bernard Manning MBE (13 August 1930 – 18 June 2007) was an English stand-up alleged comedian and nightclub owner. He was, predicably, born and raised in Manchester in northwest England. Manning was one of the last people who thought that his repetitive racist drone and 'salt of the earth' Mancunian whine placed him at the forefront of British humour. He achieved mainstream success in The United States of America surprisingly. Many (mainly Jim Davidson) have described Manning as a British hero, a national treasure and someone England could be proud of - "a man up there with the likes of Winston Churchill".