Benny Hill Show Discussion

[Greenman]

I seem to recall there was a film possibly another period costume thing OR it might have been a naughtier Benny Hill thing where she is seen topless on landing-I cannot remember much about it but there might have been a ghost involved-or maybe I imagined things (If you get Benny Hill Down Under there was a definite nude scene-not Louise however-described by me elsewhere on this thread)

[Lurkio]

Originally Posted by Greenman

I seem to recall there was a film possibly another period costume thing OR it might have been a naughtier Benny Hill thing where she is seen topless on landing-I cannot remember much about it but there might have been a ghost involved-or maybe I imagined things (If you get Benny Hill Down Under there was a definite nude scene-not Louise however-described by me elsewhere on this thread)

Louise English appeared in 'Wicked Lady', where she did run out into a hallway topless, and I cant work out how to attach an image ..

[lovegod]

Benny Hill has got fans around the world, he
represents the bawdy British humour, the brash,
saucy seaside- postcard humour.
The politically correct Ben Elten virtually ended his
career and he was sacked from Thames TV
Benny is a legend, loved by millions
Ben Elton is about a funny as a wet weekend in Morecombe.

[Greenman]

Originally Posted by lovegod

Benny Hill has got fans around the world, he
represents the bawdy British humour, the brash,
saucy seaside- postcard humour.
The politically correct Ben Elten virtually ended his
career and he was sacked from Thames TV
Benny is a legend, loved by millions
Ben Elton is about a funny as a wet weekend in Morecombe.

Ben Elton was not the main reason-the main reason was the climate changed here and politically correct people forced him to change but he couldn't cope with so many changes - couple that with the tabloids changing their tune and a few sketches that some didn't find amusing and that was enough to convince Thames to sack him-it was the wrong thing to do, as his producer revealed in a revealing documentary once. He was a goldmine for Thames both here and more importantly worldwide and they stabbed him in the back.

He was a genius, a man born of a time when comedy was a lot different to what it has become and the PC brigade ruined it for us all. His kind will never be seen again and the way they sacked was nothing short of cowardly. I just wonder whether he would have moved the US(oddly enough the originator of PC) and been happier there.

In defence of Ben Elton-yes he parodied Hill and didn't like his stuff but then a lot of people didn't like Elton and his rants-he was good in his time but then just looked like a parody himself-and is now Establishment-as are a lot of so-called "right-on" comedians back then like Adrian Edmondson, Rik Mayal etc. In the end they all do. Benny Hill was different, he spoke several languages, loved puns and double entendres and gave us gorgeous girls in stockings and suspenders most nights-(same with Kenny Everett-both Geniuses!

[prodech]

Many thanks for the Louise English clip, I knew my wine sozzled memory wasnt that bad! Amazing how many of these memories are being revisited here! Great work. Benny Hill Down Under would be the next one. It was shown in Oz about 6 weeks ago...someone must have it!

Cheers

:-)

[fyos]

Originally Posted by Greenman

Ben Elton was not the main reason-the main reason was the climate changed here and politically correct people forced him to change but he couldn't cope with so many changes - couple that with the tabloids changing their tune and a few sketches that some didn't find amusing and that was enough to convince Thames to sack him-it was the wrong thing to do, as his producer revealed in a revealing documentary once. He was a goldmine for Thames both here and more importantly worldwide and they stabbed him in the back.

He was a genius, a man born of a time when comedy was a lot different to what it has become and the PC brigade ruined it for us all. His kind will never be seen again and the way they sacked was nothing short of cowardly. I just wonder whether he would have moved the US(oddly enough the originator of PC) and been happier there.

In defence of Ben Elton-yes he parodied Hill and didn't like his stuff but then a lot of people didn't like Elton and his rants-he was good in his time but then just looked like a parody himself-and is now Establishment-as are a lot of so-called "right-on" comedians back then like Adrian Edmondson, Rik Mayal etc. In the end they all do. Benny Hill was different, he spoke several languages, loved puns and double entendres and gave us gorgeous girls in stockings and suspenders most nights-(same with Kenny Everett-both Geniuses!

Absolutely agree, and in the case of Kenny Everitt, he was 20 years ahead of his time at what mainstream could really understand. Look back today, and very piening materal/visual concept - just 20 years ahead of its time /FYOS

[SPTO]

I have to say something about this thread. I dunno if i'll post much on these forums but anyways....

Benny Hill was a certified comedic genius. I remember watching his show as preteen on the Buffalo FOX affiliate and while I was too young to fully appreciate the humor I did enjoy the Hills Angels and such even if it may have been slightly watered down. I saw a Biography on his life and he was a fascinating man. The whole thing with him being pushed out by Thames Television was disgraceful but alas the political climate was changing.

Hill was a product of a time when comedy was looser. Sure it was risque but it was done so in a cheeky and delightful manner that's not even close to being as crude as some comedians are today. I really love the humor of some of those old British comedy shows especially Are You Being Served? which has to be one of the funniest programs i've ever seen.

It's a damn shame we'll never see another Benny Hill or even a return to the more loose and carefree type of comedy like what AYBS? and other British shows brought us.

[lovegod]

BUT at least weve got a massive catalogue of Benny's work
on TV from the 1950s ... from black and white to full living colour.
He just lived for TV and seemed to spend his spare time dreaming up comedy sketches.
He also gave opportunity for Louise English and a host of dancers
to get TV work.. Corrine Russel etc
He was also talented at writing comedy songs too
He was just an all round, comic genious !

[lovegod]

Maybe Canon and Ball are the last of a dying breed of
comedians like Morcombe and Wise, that the public really
go for and take them to their heart.

The Alternative Comedians, like the Monty Pythons are basically
university guys, intellectuals who just comment about society
or do endless spoofs of TV shows and formats.
Political correctness was coming in during the 70s
and womens lib which threatened comics like Benny Hill
and Les Dawson. with their sexist material and mother in law jokes.

Dave Allen used to be funny but in the 70s his humour
moved away from sex and religion and became social comment
dialogues about supermarkets and airports ( yawn )

The guys like Eric Morecombe ... Les Dawson and
Tommy Cooper are gone mourned by a public who loved them
and we r'e left with the politically correct
intellectuals like Stephen Fry and Ben Elton and the
politically correct BBC

[Greenman]

Monty Python started at a time where it was not unusual for a group of Cambridge Footlights friends to put on sketches and write songs(Jonathan Miller, Peter Cook & Dudley Moore for three also considered alternative), then luckily for them being were brought to the BBC by Bill Cotton-their humour bemused him and he was worried about their style but okay look at what they did-dressed up as women and had some girls wearing not a lot or even a pair of boobs on show for seconds-I don't think it corrupted the youth of the day-why do you think it was so popular in America-yup because their tv didn't show breasts-and that included the madcap cartoon styles of Terry Gilliam.

PC started where else? in America and crossed over here around the mid 80's but Benny Hill was unaffected until the 90's when he was stabbed in the back by Thames-however he didn't notice the climate was changing-even as you say Ben Elton began to question the logic of an old man chasing pretty scantily-clad girls about. I don't think you can lump him in with Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise OR Tommy Cooper because they were entertainers in their own right whereas Benny always surrounded himself with his sort of repetory company of various 'stooges' like Jack(ie) Wright, Bob Todd, Henry McGee, Anna Dawson etc and of course later the Hills Angels. M&W's only gimmick was either a harmonica player coming on at the end and being cut off as he was about to play OR Janet Evans proclaiming it was her show and hoped we'd all enjoyed it, whereupon she would sit on a throne whilst puffing on a cigar lit by Eric.

PC killed off the old vaudevilian/music hall based comedians like them, who had learned their craft treading the boards of theatres and doing countless summer seasons. What really killed off that sort of comedian was the likes of do-gooding busybodies like Mary Whitehouse and her crusades and campaigns-now taken up by another pain in the arse John Beyer (National Viewers and Listeners Association) and people back then who would be wearing horn-rimmed glasses and calling foul of the BBC. Mind you it didn't stop the Sex Pistols disgracing themselves on national tv by swearing on the now infamous Bill Grundy show-but it showed some were not going to kowtow to that interfering busybody Whitehouse. What might not be known is The Goodies fell foul of her but they did it deliberately to annoy her

Today Benny is missed by many of us and not just because he used to bring gorgeous women into our bedrooms. Stephen Fry has turned it on its head because now he makes so many gay jokes and innuendos it is tiresome-come back Benny and the girls all is forgiven.