Born in Belfast, the eighth of twelve children born to George and Agnes ( Finlay) Wright, Jackie first worked as a car body assembler, even working in the United States for
Cadillac. In the early 1930s, when the
Great Depression took hold, Wright returned to Belfast and then began working in the field of entertainment, first as a musician and then as a supporting comedian. He did not enter television until the 1960s, when Hill discovered him and persuaded him to join his troupe. At the time, Hill was ending his stint with the BBC, and starting a 20-year relationship with
Thames Television. Hill usually referred to him as "Little Jackie" or "our little
Donny Osmond" on the programme. In many of the show's trademark
accelerated-motion scenes, Hill would often pat Wright's bald head rapidly, the motion being accompanied by dubbed-in smacking sounds. Wright also appeared on the short-lived 1973 programme
Whoops Baghdad starring
Frankie Howerd, and had a small role in the musical comedy film
Three for All in 1975. He gained a cult following when edited versions of
The Benny Hill Show were first broadcast in syndication in the United States during the late 1970s. ==Death==