Bruce Forsyth had a show on in primetime on British television every single year for an astonishing fifty nine years, the only entertainer to have achieved such remarkable longevity on the small screen. Without question one of the biggest stars in British show business of all time, Forsyth was the consummate all-round performer - a man who could sing, dance, play instruments, and tell jokes...and all to the very highest standard. The host of television shows like Bruce Forsyth's Generation Game, Play Your Cards Right and Sunday Night at the London Palladium, he showed himself to be particularly skilled at making regular people funny without impacting their dignity, and he had a first rate comic instinct. His talent was rewarded with massive TV ratings and huge popularity right up until his retirement in his eighties. The king of catchphrases, perhaps his best known one sums up his own career perfectly: Didn't he do well?!

Dean Martin was a towering presence in American entertainment, both literally and figuratively. A member of Frank Sinatra's celebrated Rat Pack, he was the louche, easy going crooner who seemed to be the very personification of the word 'cool'. As a comedic performer he enjoyed colossal success, firstly as one half of the comedy partnership he formed with Jerry Lewis which filled both theatres and movie houses to capacity, and then later as the star of NBC's weekly ratings hit The Dean Martin Show which he appeared to sail through on a wave of whisky and good cheer. Martin didn't have to try too hard to be funny. Generations of fans loved his apparent disregard for everything that was expected of him, and he appeared to revel in having the best time of anyone in the room.

Mark Wells and John Marley share their memories and knowledge of Bruce Forsyth and Dean Martin, and discuss some of their funniest work.

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Bob Monkhouse was a giant of British comedy, a performer whose career as Britain's leading game show host perhaps masked what an outstanding stand up comedian he was. A 'human Google' with an unrivalled and encyclopaedic knowledge of comedy, Monkhouse's tentative teenage steps into show business saw him writing jokes for the legendary Max Miller. Before long Monkhouse had formed a writing partnership with Denis Goodwin and together they became the most prolific writers in British radio comedy of the times. A career in front of the microphone and camera beckoned, and Bob Monkhouse never looked back. He became one of the biggest stars in Britain, and in the final decade of his life was regarded as the elder statesman of British comedy, revered and respected by younger comedians.

Robin Williams' comic genius was first widely seen in a 1978 guest spot on America's top rating sitcom Happy Days, and its spin off built around his talents Mork and Mindy. He was without question the most exciting comedy talent of his generation, his dazzling comic brain in seemingly endless overdrive as he riffed in freeform during extraordinary stand up routines and not-to-be-missed appearances on talk shows in both America and Britain. Movie superstardom was inevitable, with Good Morning Vietnam, Dead Poets' Society and Good Will Hunting and many other films establishing Williams as a major box office draw, but it is for his peerless comedic skills that he is discussed here, as Mark Wells and John Marley dive into - and enjoy - the comedy of Bob Monkhouse and Robin Williams.

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Kenneth Williams is perhaps best remembered for his work in the legendary Carry On movie series, but this superlative comic actor was also one of Britain's most gifted comedy raconteurs. Film fans will remember Williams' delivery of one of the funniest lines of all time in a British movie, uttered as he played Julius Caesar in Carry On Cleo - "Infamy, infamy! They've all got it infamy!". On television, stage and radio, Williams' memorable performances delighted audiences with their mix of faux outrage, camp, vocal gymnastics and the sheer delight in his own mastery of the English language. Leslie Neilsen was the Canadian-American comic actor who achieved breakout stardom as the lead in the Naked Gun movie series in the 1980s, based on his earlier work in the Police Squad! television comedies and his scene-stealing work in the hilarious Airplane!. A master of deadpan delivery, Neilsen had an unrivalled timing and deployed his method of playing comedy as if it were serious drama with extraordinary comic effect.

Mark Wells and John Marley deep dive into the careers of Williams and Neilsen, and recall enjoying some of their funniest and most memorable comedy.

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Ken Dodd - or 'Doddy', as he was almost universally known - was Britain's greatest stage comedian of the last hundred years. Over a six decade career he invited generations of British audiences into his surreal world of jam butty mines, Diddymen and sausage-knotters...and kept them there, at his theatre performances, for many hours in legendarily long shows. His style and way of working represented a direct link back from the 21st Century to Victorian music hall, and he remains revered by many other comedians to this day. Phil Silvers was a consummate comedy actor whose role playing the celebrated Sergeant Bilko on America's The Phil Silvers Show offered him an international platform on which to show off his astonishing comic skills. Widely regarded as one of America's greatest sitcom stars of all time, Silvers' genial mix of guile, quick wit and a likeable disposition earned him the sobriquet 'The King of Chutzpah'. His performance as Bilko is rightly acclaimed as a gold standard in sitcom, and the show's influence can still be seen in more modern comedies like Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Mark Wells and John Marley discuss the lives and work of these two towering legends of comedy entertainment, and assess what made them so special.

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Kenny Everett was the most creative broadcaster ever on British radio, his shows a thrilling mix of manic comedy and audio experimentation. On television he was equally adventurous where Cuddly Ken's timeless sketch shows gave us outlandish characters like Cupid Stunt, Sid Snot and Angry of Mayfair. It was, of course, all done in the best possible taste. Don Rickles was America's foremost insult comedian, a diminutive stand up whose fearless routines took no prisoners and who ignored any notion of political correctness. The unofficial house comedian to Sinatra's Rat Pack, Rickles remains much admired by today's generation of young comics.

John Marley and Mark Wells discuss the work of these two ground breaking comedy entertainers, and recall some of their funniest work.

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Les Dawson was one of Britain's most popular comedians of the Seventies and Eighties who brought a winning combination of brilliant comic deadpan and linguistic eloquence to his work...as well as being the principal exponent of the celebrated 'mother-in-law' joke. His Cissie and Ada routines with actor Roy Barraclough remain unrivalled classics to this day. Lucille Ball was America's biggest female comedy star of all time - the originator of the TV sitcom as a comic form and a peerless comedic actress. I Love Lucy remains the go-to blueprint for the studio-based situation comedy a full seventy years since it debuted. Ball's charisma and astonishing timing cemented her legacy as one of the all time greats.

Mark Wells and John Marley discuss these two legendary performers, and enjoy remembering the laughs they gave us.

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.