Paul, you must rank as one of the most committed moustache-wearers in Britain. When was the last time you were clean-shaven? DoubleRDiner
I’m an ambassador for Marie Curie and shaved it off live on X over lockdown. I’ve had the moustache since I was 23. It’s not itchy. I have to trim it, else it comes down over the lip and gets thick and bushy. I’ve tried going full walrus, but it doesn’t look good.
Were the physical comedy greats from the silent era such as Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd and Max Linder an inspiration for you and your brother [Barry] getting started in slapstick? Tombo
Yes. Slapstick is something we’ve always found funny. Laurel and Hardy were our favourites. You can’t go wrong with visual comedy. There can’t be many people that don’t laugh at somebody falling down. We were brought up in showbusiness. My dad [Gene Patton, who worked with Peter Sellers] was a comedian and very visual. Our mum was a dancer. Our two older brothers were in the business. We’d been brought up in and out of the theatre all our lives and found it natural to be on stage.
