I think that to add a character or bit of business that is "stolen" or taken up by other punchmen and then added to the continuous tradition would be a great achievement.Can anyone think of a punchman of this generation who has achieved this?
I did introduce several puppets to my Punch show which were copied by one or two other performers but have yet to see them survive in the show for more than 20 years..... even in our family show script they survive as anacronisms...... the archetypes live on quite happily ....while topical novelties soon fade away.