BENNY HILL SHOW: complete and unedited! (1 Viewer)

[Mark Oates]

I can tell you that the few friends I hung out with in London earlier this year, most of which despised Benny Hill, were also mostly gay men. In that case, if you're a gay man or perhaps a lesbian woman, I can understand why you wouldn't like Benny Hill. His humor was very more geared towards the heterosexual members of the audience, while he very often poked fun at gay men(or poofs). Likewise his shows were 97% girl watching or girl grabbing or girl fondling, groping, the list goes on. So for most hetero's he was funny as hell, but for gay folks he's not only unfunny, he's offensive, insulting, etc.

Virtually all UK comedy of the 1970s-early 1980s tended to be homophobic, because that was the attitude of the time. Blinkered, yes, bigoted, yes, but done thoughtlessly like the racism of US movies of the 'thirties and 'forties. Benny's humour was heterosexual, but then so was the British establishment of the era. If you don't like his humour, don't buy the discs.

Benny Hill was a comic of his time. That time has passed, and those of us who appreciate these fondly remembered shows can see them again on disc. Those of us on this side of the puddle will have to import from the US because of the UK's f*cked-up paranoiac obsession with political correctness.

 

[William B.]

Oh, that'd be Maggie Stredder. Given the time period in which the sketch in question ("The Great Pretender") took place, it makes sense that she'd forsake her glasses on that occasion. She's still around, singing with a reformed Vernons Girls (which she'd been a member of prior to joining The Ladybirds) whose members include another ex-Ladybird, Penny Lister.

But there are a few unanswered questions I have pertaining to TBHS, for all the knowledge I've accumulated since the late 1980's (I'm starting small and working up):

- Would anyone frequenting this thread have any idea whatever happened to Lesley Goldie, who played his interview foil on the Feb. 24, 1971 show (on which they were arguing about whether or not life was like a double bed; a sketch which wound up on the This Is Benny Hill album), a femme fatale in the original version of the "Undercover Sanitary Inspector" sketch from the same show, and the lady in the burning building whom fireman Benny "saves" in the original rendition of the "Tribute to the Lower Tidmarsh Volunteer Fire Brigade" sketch from Dec. 23, 1970, and other memorable characters in later shows up to 1974? I noticed that the only editions of TBHS she appeared in (starting with an uncredited appearance at the end of the Oct. 28, 1970 show; her presence distracted the firing squad that was on the verge of executing prisoner Benny) were those produced and directed by John Robins; she was conspicuously absent from the shows aired between 1971 and 1973 that were produced by David Bell, then Keith Beckett and finally Peter Frazer-Jones. I also noticed that, per IMDb, her other credits included the role of the "white bride" in the 1973 film version of Love Thy Neighbour (director? Robins), a one-off Frankie Howerd special, The Laughing Stock of Television in 1971 (again, helmed by Robins), and finally appearances on the 1974 series of The Jimmy Tarbuck Show (alas, no producing or directing credits in IMDb for that program[me]). In addition, looking at old editions of The Spotlight casting directory, at the time of the fourth Thames TBHS series (1972-73), she was in a stage production called "Suddenly At Home," playing the role of Maggie, at London's Fortune Theatre (this, from the Spring 1973 edition). Her credits, alas, end in 1974, and her last appearance in The Spotlight was in 1975. If anyone knows, I'd appreciate it.

- Ken (or Kenneth) Sedd, Benny's longtime stunt double and featured regular performer. Am I mistaken, or was he, up to the early 1970's, known as Kedd Senton (as I suspect may be the case)? And if so, did the misspelling of the earlier stage name as "Ted Senton" in the closing credits of the film The Best of Benny Hill lead to such name change? Again, any help on that will be appreciated.

Finally, on Set 4 (or something like that), I can see the following trivia question in my head:

"Which Hill's Angel shared the same name as the following Monty Python cast member?

a) Terry Jones

b) Terry Gilliam

c) Carol Cleveland"

(This, I know; if any of you know, feel free to speak up.)

 

[Gary->dee]

Therefore, if we extrapolate this data we must conclude:
If you don't like Benny Hill you must be gay.

Basically. And not in the slang sense as in "you're so gay" but quite literally a homosexual. Benny's shows featured a lot of beautiful women as the object of desire so just on that merit alone, regardless of the poking fun at gay people, I wouldn't think a lot of homosexuals would be interested in his type of entertainment.

 

[William B.]

Oh, I do; that's Andree Melly, who not only appeared on the March 24, 1971 and Nov. 24, 1971 shows (the latter from which that still was derived), but also Dec. 27, 1973 (she played Bo Peep in the Ironside parody whereby Hill as Raymond Burr's detective used his wheelchair as a battering ram). In every show she appeared in, Ms. Melly also played straight woman in interview sketches to Hill as Mervyn Cruddy (on the Dec. 27, 1973 show the "interview" sketch was called "Departure Lounge," with the introduction announced by Henry McGee). Interestingly, Ms. Melly's birthplace is the same as that of the individual members of The Beatles.
Also, in "The Lovers" portion of that NFT sketch, did anyone notice that that was a virtual video version of Stan Freberg's old "John and Marsha" routine, albeit done Benny-style (with the shot-from-the-neck-down poses)? (And, on the same show, in the S.S. Rumpo sketch, the appropriation of Victor Borge's old routine of playing the Blue Danube upside-down.)
Alas, with the "Home Is the Hero" portion, I've seen many a book which (erroneously) claimed that Hill played both "Massa" Gaylord and Miss Abigail. In fact he only played the former; the latter was Jenny Lee-Wright. (But Bob Todd, as Rufus the black servant, the books got right.)
I'd say a good two to three months from now -- at least. Meanwhile, I understand starting October, BBC America will start airing TBHS (albeit the Thames shows, this in spite of his prior ties to the BBC) . . .

 

[Gary->dee]

Thanks for the info on Andree Melly, William. Quite a unique and attractive face in my book.

Meanwhile, I understand starting October, BBC America will start airing TBHS (albeit the Thames shows, this in spite of his prior ties to the BBC) . . .

Bizarre. The Brits are totally screwed up when it comes to Benny Hill. I'd expect A&E to air his shows since they distribute the DVD set, but I guess that's asking too much.

 

[Roman-K]

Brittish humor and Benny Hill do not mix, he was born in the wrong country. Anyone for a spot of tea?

 

[AndyMcKinney]

Bizarre. The Brits are totally screwed up when it comes to Benny Hill. I'd expect A&E to air his shows since they distribute the DVD set, but I guess that's asking too much.

The reason the Thames shows are on BBC America is that the channel has signed an agreement giving it US broadcast rights to several of Thames TV's old shows (not just BHS).
We must remember that BBC America is technically not the BBC. It is a US cable channel carrying the BBC "brand" and it has to pay for its programmes (i.e. it doesn't get to rebroadcast the BBC's shows for "free" as being a part of their network). They not only buy BBC material, but also series that are/have been broadcast on other British channels (So Graham Norton, for instance, was a Channel 4 show). There is even some speculation that BBC American will have to "compete" for the US broadcast rights to the upcoming new series of Doctor Who, as the Beeb will probably sell to the highest bidder and are probably hoping for a more high-profile channel.
Now, all that said, there are at least a couple of reasons why BBC America (or any other US station) would steer clear of Benny's BBC shows:
1. They're all in black and white. A sad but true fact of TV today is most broadcasters shun B/W product like the plague. The few stations that do air B/W material usually relegate it to the the wee hours of the morning or weekends (or both).
2. The Beeb were successful in destroying most of Benny's BBC work. Only about 16 or so complete BBC episodes still exist in the archives. Benny's half-hour weekly sitcom fared even worse: only two or three out of 19 editions still exist.

 

[William B.]

To be sure, there were compilations (three, I believe) released in the U.S. of what was left of his BBC work. I have one of them -- "The Good, The Bawd and the Benny," which I could gather consisted of material from the May 8, 1965, Nov. 6, 1965, Jan. 8, 1966 and April 20, 1968 shows. Incredibly, there is some duplication of material from Disc 2 of Complete & Unadulterated - Set 1: Fred Scuttle as a cut-rate tycoon. A look at crime (with Mr. Scuttle as a police "defective"). Benny as Hughie Green hosting a talent show (though the specifics differ). And, from the third show, one of the guests was Trisha Noble -- only, on the earlier BBC show, she was known as Patsy Ann Noble (her stage name change took effect in 1967), and her hair was darker (as it would revert to in the mid-1970's during her American sojourn). Incredibly, though, at the end of the video as the credits rolled, her name was spelled as "Pasty Ann Noble."
Furthermore, I saw (quite a few times, actually) at the Museum of TV and Radio in New York, his April 26, 1958 show (which, on a book they'd put out of BBC-TV's works over the decades, they mis-identified as being from Jan. 5, 1957); some of the work he did with then-collaborator and co-star Dave Freeman seemed, in tone and spirit, to pave the way for what Monty Python would later come up with. That show had an early version of "Pepys' Diary" (in musical structure and the voice he used, emulated on the Feb. 24, 1971 show, whereas the musical structure of his rendition from his very last Thames show of May 1, 1989 was more in keeping with that of the recorded version thereof); as well as early versions of Fred Scuttle as a fitness instructor (later repeated on the Feb. 23, 1972 show) and Benny as a Mrs. Biskitt who spoke of her prized horse (later incorporated into the Feb. 18, 1976 "World of Sport" parody). Also, being as 16 of his BBC variety shows exist, that would be half the total output, as apparently he did 32 programs of that nature between 1955 and 1968. His 1957-60 and 1967 ATV sojourns probably fared even worse.
Moreover, in light of the Beeb's discontent over the circumstances of Mr. Hill's 1969 defection to Thames (as mentioned and laid out in Robert Ross' Merry Master of Mirth book), what role did that play, if any, in the bringing together of the talent that would make up the Pythons (being as four of them -- Palin, Jones, Idle and Gilliam -- worked on the second Thames series of Do Not Adjust Your Set that had ended as this shift was happening) -- or was it just one of those coincidences of timing?

 

[Gary->dee]

Incredibly, though, at the end of the video as the credits rolled, her name was spelled as "Pasty Ann Noble."

LOL, "Pasty". Yep most British chicks are pasty. :p) For what it's worth the back of the disc 1 case has the versatile Miss Heath's name spelled as Ira. The shows credits (episode 3) spell it Eira.

 

[Mark Oates]

I think it was in Love Thy Neighbour in which they commonly referred to black people as "nig-nogs", a British play on the word "nigger".

Now there's another show that's universally vilified by the outraged politically correct in the UK, even though the show was pitched to show what a complete tw*t the bigoted white anti-hero was. Like the rantings of Alf Garnett, the PC brigade like to claim the British public were too unsophisticated (read stupid) to figure that out for themselves so the shows were therefore inherently racist.
As for Benny (back on topic), 99% of his so-called sexist gags made him the butt of the gag, IMHO.
I think the problem is that the British (and for that read the people who make the decisions about what us plebs should think) look on good old-fashioned Anglo-Saxon humour as personified by Benny, Carry On, Are You Being Served, Allo Allo etc as being strictly non-U. Unfortunately they haven't invented anything funny to replace it.

 

[Tony J Case]

Michael Grade at the BBC and John Howard Davies at Thames had got all excited over the young upcoming comics from the Edinburgh Fringe and Cambridge Footlights and basically they didn't want their upwardly mobile channels polluted by old farts from the music hall/ clubs circuit.

Damn, Michael Grade killed Doctor Who and got Benny Hill blacklisted in the UK? The man is EVIL, I tells you - pure EVIL!

 

[William B.]

Which is the correct spelling, B.T.W. (And she appeared in Episodes 1, 2 and 4, as well.) Her association with Mr. Hill (as well as dancer Kay Frazer's, who appeared in Episodes 6, 9 and 11 on this set) dated back to the 1964 Rediffusion London version of A Midsummer Night's Dream in which The Lad Himself played Bottom.
But some Thames shows did misspell certain names in their closing credits. The late Jerold Wells (the raspy-voiced bald man who appeared in Episode 10 on this set) has had his name over the years occasionally misspelled as "Jerrold" (as in the same show) and, on one 1982 special, "Gerold." John Trayhorn, a diminutive, dark-haired young actor who appeared on Dec. 22, 1971 (Episode 11), had his surname misspelled "Trayhorne." Monika Ringwald, a German-born actress and model who appeared in some 1975-76 shows, had her first name misspelled "Monica." Jon Jon Keefe, in his 1973-74 appearances, had his double first name misspelled "John John" (as in JFK Jr.); later, in 1983, the spacing between his double first name was taken out so it read as "JonJon." A few of Jenny Lee-Wright's appearances showed the hyphen separating her two surnames inexplicably missing (to the extent that some reference books and guides have had her listed as "Wright, Jenny Lee" instead of "Lee-Wright, Jenny"). Jillianne Foot, who appeared on May 30, 1978 (Episode 32), had her first name misspelled "Jilliane." But the doozy has to be on the Dec. 27, 1972 show (Episode 15) on which actress Cherri Gilham's name was misspelled "Cherry Gillam." To be sure, she'd had her first name spelled as such -- but the "Gillam" part was new, and apparently it may have led to some confusion at the time between her and another actress whose name was spelled similarly to how Ms. Gilham's was misspelled (based on what I could gauge from researching old editions of The Spotlight) -- and it was very likely as a result that beginning with the Feb. 22, 1973 show (Episode 16) and continuing for most of the rest of the decade, her stage name would be modified to Cheryl Gilham. (Whose most famous moment, I.M.H.O., came on the Feb. 7, 1974 show in which she played Mae West to Mr. Hill's W.C. Fields in the My Little Chickadee parody.) Only in recent years (since, say, the late 1980's) has she reclaimed her pre-1973 billing (as in her appearance in the Who Got Benny's Millions? documentary).

 

[William B.]

Moreover, the misspelling of Ms. Heath's first name on the back of the Disc 1 cover was the least of A&E's errors. Here are a few others that I could gauge in this set:

- Episode 1 - "The Ladybirds: Your Secret Love." From what I heard, they actually performed "Goin' Out of My Head" (a hit for Little Anthony & The Imperials in late 1964; ironically, the song to which it was combined by The Lettermen in a famous medley in 1967, "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" which had previously been a hit for Frankie Valli, would be performed by the girls in Episode 2).

- Episode 3 - "Benny's Ballad: Girls of the Sousa Bar." On the This Is Benny Hill album, the song's title was listed as "Suzy."

- Episode 4 - "The Ladybirds: The Girl Is In Love With You." The title should read "This Girl's In Love With You" -- which was a gender-transposed version (as recorded by the likes of Dionne Warwick) of Herb Alpert's 1968 chart-topping "This Guy's In Love With You."

- Episode 5 - "Two's Company: September Song." Actually, the husband-wife duo of Valerie & Gerry Kendall (who comprised Two's Company) had performed "Try To Remember," the most famous number from the long-running off-Broadway musical The Fantasticks.

- Episode 6 - "Trisha Noble: I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane." The song title did not have "I'm" in it. Frankly, I prefer Peter, Paul & Mary's version myself . . .

- Episode 10 - "Benny's Ballad: The Beach at St. Tropez." The aforementioned Hill LP listed the song's title as "The Beach at San Tropez."

- Episode 11 - "The Ladybirds: Say a Little Prayer." The full title was "I Say a Little Prayer."

 

[William B.]

Not actually; if you noticed Nanette's musical number in Episode #8, you'll see they used the same TV cameras -- the huge Link 110 -- as on those shows in color from both before and after that long strike. If those cameras had four tubes, they simply used only the monochrome tube. Remember, by then British TV was producing generally in the PAL 625 standard, as opposed to the 405-lines of Mr. Hill's up-to-1968 BBC material. Moreover, I.I.N.M., Link 110's used Plumbicon tubes, whereas the earlier B&W cameras (Marconi Mark IV? EMI?) used I-O (image orthicon) tubes. Coincidentally, the images on those three B&W Thames shows seem way improved over those of the few remaining BBC shows (and/or portions thereof) I've seen. (And while I'm on the Link 110, by the mid-'80's Mr. Hill's last batch of shows used RCA TK-47 cameras imported from America and configured to 625 PAL as opposed to 525 NTSC, which replaced the Link 110's at that time.)

Also, speaking of strikes . . . may I note that the Sept. 24, 1975 show that's likely to be in Set #3 whenever it comes out, was originally slated to air May 26, 1975, but that week the ITV network was hit with another technicians' strike -- yet unlike the earlier one which merely saw once-and-future color shows made in B&W, the entire network was thrown off the air for the week.

 

[Bhagi Katbamna]

Hey, can anyone with the set tell me if it has any sketches with Benny as Mr. Chow Mein?

 

[William B.]

Oh, this set sure does. In fact, the very first time Britons saw Mr. Chow Mein was on the Oct. 28, 1970 show (Episode #5) in a sketch called "East Meets West," with Nicholas Parsons as the interviewer/straight man; I noticed that Chow Mein (who looked a little different than in subsequent sketches) was a bit more brusque and hostile towards Mr. Parsons in that sketch than in subsequent offerings. The very next Chow Mein routine was March 24, 1971 (Episode #9) in which he was a restauranteur serving "Cookie Boy" (Bob Todd) and, towards the end, a German customer (Mr. Parsons); followed by "At Home With Henry McGee" (on the Nov. 24, 1971 show, Episode #10) which I've never seen before in America, but was the turning point in Mr. McGee's involvement with the show (he would appear more regularly from there on in, having missed the second Thames series altogether after being in the first); it was there that Mr. Chow Mein took on the appearance we all know him for. After that was a sketch with Chow Mein dealing with the customs section at an airport, first aired on Feb. 23, 1972 (Episode #12); that's likely to be in Set 2, but I already remember it from being near the end of The Best of Benny Hill compilation.

But back to the very beginning: I.I.N.M., this was the instance where, as the show was being prepared, then-floor manager (or "programme associate") Dennis Kirkland and production assistant René Bloomstein (the latter of whom was involved with the show up until 1978) got the lines Mr. Chow Mein was to speak on cardboard stiffeners sent by Mr. Hill, and it took a long time for the both of them to find out that the lines were to be spoken by a Chinaman.

 

[Bhagi Katbamna]

There's a classic one with Chow Mein and Bob Todd playing an Indian guy who takes a grievence to the labor board indicating that Mr. Chow Mein has unsafe conditions in his restaurant.

 

[Gary->dee]

I never really liked Chow Mein. He was one of the rare characters out of Benny's broad repertoire that never amused me. Actually I was thinking about it and I probably now only understand a lot of the double-entendre in all these episodes that I never did as a child watching this stuff in the 70's.

 

[William B.]

I seem to recall that sketch from the March 5, 1980 show (Episode #37).

 

[Brian Thibodeau]

I never really liked Chow Mein. He was one of the rare characters out of Benny's broad repertoire that never amused me. Actually I was thinking about it and I probably now only understand a lot of the double-entendre in all these episodes that I never did as a child watching this stuff in the 70's.

I never cared for this character either, even when I was little. In a recent thread in Movies regarding the casting of the upcoming MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA movie, the discussion became centered around perceived Asian "stereotypes" in caucasian-dominated American and British films and television, including the Chow Mein character, and a couple of Asian posters claimed they found the character, as well as the Mickey Rooney character in BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S, to be quite funny, Different strokes for different folks. I can understand the general inexperience of the times leading to this kind of ignorant caricature masquerading as comedy, and I would NOT want to see such scenes cut for political sensitivity, but I still find those sketches uncomforatble to watch. It's the same thinking behind my wishing SONG OF THE SOUTH will one day be released on DVD, albeit in a package that properly puts it into context and doesn't downplay the horrendous ignorance of our previous generations. Tough sledding no matter what you do...