The "Did you know" thread.....

[rustler]

Chapman studied medicine at Cambridge University. Eric Idle was also there too, as was John Cleese.

Studying there at the same time were the trio who later became 'The Goodies', Bill Oddie, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden. Bill Oddie studied English, Tim Brooke-Taylor studied law and Graeme Garden studied medicine.

While there, John Cleese and Tim Brooke-Taylor became close friends, partly due to the fact that they were both studying law, but they were also both in the University's Footlights Club, where eventually the rest of the group would all become members.

The scenes shown below are from the Goodies 'Kung Fu Kapers'. Supposedly, whilst watching this episode, a 50 year old man literally died laughing, and his widow wrote to the Goodies to thank them for making his last moments so pleasant! What a way to go!

Enjoy! But don't die laughing......well, not just yet anyway!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJxGi8bizEg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuP1eycaA6c


BTW. All three of the Goodies are OBE's, but not as the Goodies. Bill Oddie received his for his wildlife work ( he is a well known ornithologist!), whilst Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden received theirs for services to light entertainment.

[Greenman]

On the subject of 'The Goodies' the BBC have never shown a single episode of their series since it finished and never explained why, yet it became popular in Australia and other countries achieving cult status for the lads. However, there was a few years ago a special night dedicated to The Goodies that also featured one of their celebrated Christmas specials. Tim & Graeme became panelists on all sorts of shows for radio and television but their most famous was I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, for Radio 4, which recently celebrated it's 30th Anniversary. They have been ever-present (along with the late Willie Rushton) and Barry Cryer and it's former host for many years, the jazz trumpeter, Humphrey Lyttleton(sp?) Famous for their near-the-knuckle humour and silly games like 'Mornington Crescent' and 'Singing One Song, to the tune of another' it is now presented by Jeremy Hardy. Bill Oddie AFAIK never appeared on it.

Before the Goodies, Tim & Bill were stalwarts of 'I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again', another zany show which also featured John 'Otto' Cleese and was produced by Humphrey Barclay(who would go into television and produced comedy 'Desmonds' on CH4 incidentally) David Hatch who would go on to be controller of Radio 4 and Jo Kendall who had appeared with Tim and Bill in a children's show of the 60s called 'Do Not Adjust Your Set' with other Python stalwarts, Terry Jones & Michael Pailn, who wrote it as well as 'At Last the 1948 Show' - A certain David Jason appeared in DNAYSet btw.

Finallly a reluctant Bill Oddie appeared in one of the last 'This Is Your Life' having apparently made a pact with Graeme and Tim never to accept it. On the day it was shown he actually walked away but was eventually persuaded to come on the show. He married writer Laura Beaumont.

They also had five hit singles the most famous was 'Funky Gibbon' which for a time introduced a new dance craze and they appeared on Top of the Pops!

[richardoe]

On the subject of "this is your life" Danny Blanchflower famously refused to appear, the author and doctor Richard Gordon also refused but was later talked in to appearing. It was sometimes shown live until the boxer Alan Minter was the subject, he swore that much that the decision was made to always record it before broadcast. Some celebrities have actually contacted the makers to say they dont want to be the subject, Im suprised Bill Oddie didnt .

And its Jack Dee that hosts Im sorry I havent a clue.

[Greenman]

Yes but Jeremy Hardy and indeed Stephen Fry have hosted it in the past too.

[richardoe]

Stephen Fry refuses to appear on "have I got news for you". Apparently its down to how Angus Deayton was treated over his how shall I put it, problem!

[Greenman]

I seem to remember reading that, but he was on it before that, because it had David Shayler, the ex MI6 spy on it via television and at one point, having been switched off accidentally on purpose by Deayton, he came back on and switched his own channel to a woman doing something odd with what looked like a fox fur, with the head still attached, very erotically. It was replaced in the repeat by people playing tennis naked-and subsequently the original footage was also removed from the DVD.

[Greenman]

If you know 'I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue' then you might recall the signature tune used, I think it was a trombone or tuba beginning and I often wondered where it came from. Humphrey Lyttleton revealed several years ago it was the music that introduced Gert Frobe as the German flying ace in the film 'Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines' (a film once shown ad nauseum every Christmas on ITV). So now you know.

[richardoe]

And Gert Frobe was Goldfinger, and the man who played his sidekick was an Olympic weightlifter in fact he won silver at the London games.

[rustler]

Some of the replica aircraft made for the film 'Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines' are still flown today!

They are operated by the Shuttleworth Collection, which is maintained at Old Warden Aerodrome, Nr. Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, England.

http://www.shuttleworth.org/shuttlew...tails.asp?ID=4

http://www.shuttleworth.org/shuttlew...tails.asp?ID=3

Some others were original aircraft, some of which are now also owned and operated by the Shuttleworth Collection.

http://www.shuttleworth.org/shuttlew...n/aircraft.asp


Well worth a visit

[rustler]

Originally Posted by richardoe

And Gert Frobe was Goldfinger, and the man who played his sidekick was an Olympic weightlifter in fact he won silver at the London games.

Toshiyuki 'Harold' Sakata was also, perhaps unsurprisingly, a professional wrestler at one point!