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Author: Richard Webber
Publisher: Vintage
Published: 2004
Total Pages: 404
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKMany people consider Tony Hancock to be the finest comic actor of them all. November 2004 sees the 50th anniversary of his best-loved work, Hancock's Half-Hour, which began as a radio series, penned by the writers Galton and Simpson.
Author: Darcy Sarto
Publisher:
Published: 2021-06-22
Total Pages: 210
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKWith New York in the clutches of a despicable typist dropper, only Johnny Oxford - the city's most fearless private investigator - can throw a searing, blistering spotlight on Manhattan's blackened streets. In this smashing story of gambling, gunmen and hoodlums, Darcy Sarto will thrill and excite you from start to finish.Inspired by the Hancock's Half Hour episode The Missing Page, this brand new work has been written with kind permission from the show's original writers and the BBC.
Author: Cliff Goodwin
Publisher: Arrow
Published: 2000
Total Pages: 595
ISBN-13: 9780099609414
DOWNLOAD EBOOKTony Hancock reigned for fifteen years as the undisputed king of comedy. In this relatively short timespan he managed to leave an astonishing legacy of hilarious radio and television, including the enduring classic HANCOCK'S HALF HOUR. When he committed suicide at the age of 44, comedy fans the world over mourned his loss. Now, in this definitive new biography, Cliff Goodwin reveals at last the man behind the myth. Using a wealth of previously unpublished new material, he is able to fully explore the tensions between Hancock's status as comic genius and his personal battles with drink and drugs. He also examines in detail for the first time the reason for Hancock's depression and suicide. Hancock inspired such tremendous love and devotion in his public that they felt they were entitled to a part of his private life: Spike Milligan summed up Hancock's response: 'One by one he shut the door on all the people he knew; then he shut the door on himself. ' In this major new biography, Cliff Goodwin opens the door to reveal Tony Hancock the fans never saw.
Author: Richard Webber
Publisher: Random House
Published: 2010-10-07
Total Pages: 306
ISBN-13: 1407089358
DOWNLOAD EBOOKRonnie Barker was one of our most respected and best-loved comedy actors and here, in this fascinating biography, Richard Webber delves deep in to the heart of Barker's life and career, peppering his narrative with original and incisive memories from some of Barker's closest contemporaries, including Ronnie Corbett, Michael Palin and Barry Cryer. Star of the much-adored comedy classics Porridge, The Two Ronnies - one of the most successful and long-running television comedy shows ever on British television - and Open All Hours, Ronnie Barker was universally admired by the public and industry insiders alike. From his early days writing for and performing skits on The Frost Report right up to his retirement in 1988, he lit up television screens across the country with his wonderful gift for comedy and his remarkable skill for character acting. Beyond his performances on the stage and screen, Barker was also an accomplished comedy writer, providing many of the sketches and songs for The Two Ronnies and contributing material to a number of other television and radio shows. And despite his retirement he retained pole position in the public's affection, returning to the screen in 1999 to team up with his erstwhile comedy partner and great friend Ronnie Corbett for a Two Ronnies night on BBC1, followed by a BAFTA tribute in 2004 and a final appearance on television in 2005 on The Two Ronnies Christmas Sketchbook. Effortlessly funny, universally adored and an actor and writer responsible for some of Britain's best-loved and most-respected comedy, Ronnie Barker was a true comedy legend. Here he's brought to the page in winning style as he's remembered by those who best loved and knew him.
Author: Richard J. Webber
Publisher:
Published: 2005
Total Pages: 512
ISBN-13: 9780754094494
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe first biography of one of Britain's best-loved comedy shows Many people consider Tony Hancock to be the finest comic actor of them all. November 2004 sees the 50th anniversary of his best-loved work, Hancock's Half-Hour, which began as a radio series, penned by the writers Galton and Simpson. Two years later, the first of 58 TV instalments had been screened, and Hancock's genius, coupled with Galton and Simpson's brilliant scripts, ensured that the show soon became a yardstick against which all subsequent British sitcoms have since been measured. Amazingly, no book has ever been written about the show. Fully authorised by Galton and Simpson, Fifty Years of Hancock's Half-Hour is a full history of the show, including how the show came about, behind-the-scenes stories from Hancock's fellow artists and members of the crew and production team, and the story of its demise. Incorporating extracts from the shows, the book will also feature photographs and a full listing of the radio and TV episodes.
Author: Christopher Stevens
Publisher: Michael O'Mara Books
Published: 2011-09-30
Total Pages: 413
ISBN-13: 1843177730
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe biography of Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, two of the most influential and celebrated television scriptwriters of our time.
Author: Susannah Corbett
Publisher: The History Press
Published: 2011-11-30
Total Pages: 491
ISBN-13: 0752480472
DOWNLOAD EBOOKHarry H. Corbett rose from the slums of Manchester to become one of the best-known television stars of the 20th century. Having left home as a 17-year-old Royal Marine during the Second World War, he fought in the North Atlantic and the jungles of the Pacific and witnessed first-hand the devastation wrought by the Hiroshima bomb. On his return home he wandered into the local theatre company and landed a starring role – The Front Legs of the Cow. Soon becoming a leading light in Joan Littlewood’s Theatre Workshop and a widely-respected classical stage actor, his life was changed forever by the television comedy Steptoe and Son. Overnight he became a household name as the series drew unparalleled viewing figures of over 28 million, with fans ranging from the working classes to the Royal Family.Naturally shy and a committed socialist, fame and fortune didn’t sit easily on his shoulders, and for the next twenty years, until his untimely death at the age of only 57, he had to learn how to be ‘’Arold’. Written by his daughter, Susannah Corbett, an actor herself, this is the first biography of Harry H. Corbett, the man who was once described as being ‘the English Marlon Brando’.
Author: Robert Ross
Publisher: Aurum Press Limited
Published: 2014-01-13
Total Pages: 300
ISBN-13: 1781313385
DOWNLOAD EBOOKEveryone thinks they know Sid James – the Carry On star and womaniser, who drank himself to death after the end of his affair with Barbara Windsor – but despite hundreds of scandalous newspaper exposé s the real story of this complex actor has never been told. Now, this fascinating biography lays bare the life of British entertainment’ s most lovable rogue. Featuring never-before-published correspondence with Sid’ s friends, family and colleagues, and exclusive tales from his inner circle, Robert Ross shows how a Jewish boy from South Africa grew up to become the archetypal wise-cracking cockney, and explores the many facets of a man who was variously a war hero, serial seducer, inveterate gambler and comic icon.
Author: Christopher Stevens
Publisher: John Murray
Published: 2010-10-14
Total Pages: 558
ISBN-13: 184854460X
DOWNLOAD EBOOKKenneth Williams was the stand-out comic actor of his generation. Beloved as the manic star of Carry On films and as a peerless raconteur on TV chat shows, he was also acclaimed for serious stage roles. Born Brilliant includes previously unseen material from Williams's candid daily journal and also draw on rare in-depth interviews with friends and colleagues. Since the publication of edited extracts from his diaries, much controversy has surrounded Williams's personal and professional lives. This biography traces the complex contradictions that characterised an extraordinary life and presents the first full portrait of a star who was born brilliant.
Author: David Stubbs
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Published: 2023-07-27
Total Pages: 302
ISBN-13: 0571353487
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThey don't make comedy like they used to . . . From the slapstick comedy of Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel, the surrealism of Spike Milligan and Monty Python, and the golden age of political incorrectness helmed by Benny Hill, to the alternative scene that burst forth following the punk movement, the hedonistic joy of Absolutely Fabulous, the lacerating scorn of Jimmy Carr, Ricky Gervais, and Jo Brand and the meteoric rise of socially conscious stand up today: comedy can be many things, and it is a cultural phenomenon has come to define Britain like few others. In Different Times, David Stubbs charts the superstars that were in on the gags, the unsung heroes hiding in the wings and the people who ended up being the butt of the joke. Comedians and their work speak to and of their time, drawing upon and moulding Britons' relationship with their national history, reflecting us as a people, and, simply, providing raucous laughs for millions of people around the world. Different Times is a joyous, witty and insightful paean to British comedy.
