Hill Benny - Benny Hill, merry master of mirth: the complete companion

BENNY HILL

Merry Master of Mirth

THE COMPLETE COMPANION

Robert Ross

DEDICATION

To that great character actor, Norman Mitchell, a vital part of the indispensable band of players who made postwar British film and television such a rich treasure trove of delights. A wonderful friend, encouraging voice and cheerful spirit, you wont find your name anywhere beyond this page, but this book is for you, Norman.

First published in the United Kingdom as an eBook in 2014 by
Batsford
1 Gower Street
London WC1E 6HD
An imprint of Pavilion Books Company Ltd
www.batsford.com
Robert Ross 1999

First published 1999

The moral rights of the author have been asserted.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

eBook ISBN 9781849942584

FOREWORD

He touched the funny bone of the whole world!

Henry McGee

One thing that should be mentioned about his career is its sheer longevity it was quite amazing. He was an extremely generous, kind man. Anything he set his mind to, he could do. His work had to be just right but he was always modest. He was a kind, lovely man whom I miss greatly a great liver who lived his own way.

Peter Charlesworth

That small group of people who worked with him, we would have done anything for him, because we really did love him. He was totally unpretentious, kind and all the things that werent like the man the press made him out to be. A great man, a wonderful man, and an enormous talent. I know Ill go to my grave knowing my shows will be screened all over again when theyre all watching it on kids television in 2090.

Dennis Kirkland

Benny was great fun to work with.

June Whitfield

I think he had this deep concern that some people hated his comedy because it was branded sexist. Benny continually said, My comedy is not like that I never chase the girls, the girls chase me! He was marvellous.

Phil Collins

Benny was imbued with the knowledge and understanding of comedy tradition. He knew instinctively as a professional, and learning from others, what was right for his work. People to this day, say, Oh, Benny Hill was so politically incorrect. Well, maybe some of it isnt acceptable by todays standards, but if you say, Was Benny Hill a funny man?, the answer is Yes, he was. Thats all you need to know. He was of the music hall and the saucy postcard. He wasnt consciously trying to offend, he was simply of his time, and that humour doesnt date, however much our moral consciousness may change. He made millions laugh end of story.

Nicholas Parsons

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I owe tremendous thanks to Bennys major BBC collaborator, Dave Freeman, and major Thames Television collaborator, Dennis Kirkland, for giving so much of their time and support to this project, also to Ian Carmichael, Peter Charlesworth, Phil Collins, Pamela Cundell, Nicholas Parsons, Graham Stark, Frank Thornton, Stanley Unwin, June Whitfield, Alec Brgonzi and Norman Rossington for their incisive, affectionate memories. Thanks also to Henry McGee, Gary Morecombe for his enthused encouragement, Barry Took for being such a legend and still having time for a newcomer like me...

Thanks again to Mr Richard Reynolds, my main man at B.T. Batsford, for continuing to pay me for something I would probably (I said probably) do for nothing, his assistant Andrie Morris, Max Tyler of the British Music Hall Society for pointing me in the right direction, those gloriously helpful folk at the British Film Institute Library, and latterly those other helpful folk at the Newspaper Library in Colindale, Alan Coles for a wonderfully dodgy copy of a wonderfully dodgy movie, that cool dude Rick Blackman for a cool dude-like programme for Fine Fettle, the late George W. Brown and my selfless friend Maxine Ventham of The Goon Show Preservation Society for invaluable information regarding Third Division Some Vulgar Fractions, David Graham of Comic Heritage for valued support, me darlin Annalie Howlett for those glorious university days (remember when a session in The Vultures Perch seemed much more attractive than an evening of Benny Hill at the National Film Theatre?), Mum, Dad and Fiona for everything, and a fond farewell salute to Mr Cool himself, Frank Sinatra, who, apart from touching the human soul with everything from One For My Baby to Thats Life, was a dedicated Benny Hill fan. Sock it to em ....

Stills are copyright to the production comapanies as credited in the accompanying text. The author would like to thank the British Film Institute, The BBC, Pearson and Canal+ for their help with illustrations.

INTRODUCTION

In relations between the sexes, the male is always disappointed. Benny Hill

A s Jimi Hendrix some time before 1970, a big-wig at RCA in 1977 and some bloke at Parlophone in 1980 all reputedly said: to die young is the best career move you can make. Benny Hill, for many years British televisions most successful comedian, died in 1992 at the age of 68. His youth and golden years gone, Hill was trapped in a twilight zone, rejected by the new blood of programme planning, held up as the epitome in tired, old-fashioned and offensive comedy by the new breed of comedian, and fast disappearing from the collective consciousness of the new generation of home viewers. While Tony Hancock, Eric Morecambe and Peter Sellers saw their legends soar and Frankie Howerd was riding the crest of a wave with renewed student stardom, Benny Hill had become the forgotten giant of British comedy.

In over a hundred countries across the world, the story could not have been more different. From Angola to Belgium, his shows were screened constantly. In France, his genius for mime was considered to be on a par with Chaplin and Keaton, in Russia his television shows were one of the few Western images to break through the Iron Curtain, and most importantly of all, in America he was by far the most popular comic import with his classic ITV Thames Television shows re-edited for repeated prime-time screenings. However, despite a strong, loyal following in Britain, the work of Benny Hill is still in limbo, stereotyped and castigated as embodying all thats bad about British comedy.

But there was far more to his work than a never-ending line of suspender-clad dolly birds. This book will attempt to redress the balance by simply detailing the varied and endearing work of one of Britains best-loved clowns. Unlike biographies written by those family and friends close to Hill, this book is not a life story, nor is it a hagiography of the man indeed, its impossible to deny that in later years, with his freedom restricted by the moral minority, Hills comedy became jaded and uninspiring. But writing all his own material, performing it with pride and embracing a trusted, tested troupe of colleagues, Hill was the all-conquering Citizen Kane of his own Xanadu before Thames Television finally pulled the plug.

His much-celebrated work for Thames between 1969 and 1989 typifies his enormous contribution to popular culture, and programmes from his 1970s golden age capture him at his assured peak. However, it must not be forgotten that Hill was the first comedian to attain stardom through the medium of television with his hugely popular BBC series from 1955 programmes that, due to both the BBCs distaste for all-out smut and the more restrained social climate of the time, allowed Hill to cleverly inject innuendo into his comedy. His radio assignments of the 1950s reveal a fine patter comedian in the mould of Max Miller, excellent character work opposite Archie Andrews, and latterly, the starring vehicle