recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Phone in With Ludovic Kennedy

## Bio

**Phone In With Ludovic Kennedy** is a British news program that covers and analyzes major political events in the news. Hosted by Ludovic Kennedy (Henry McGee), the series features questions phoned in from the audience as well as appearances from local politicians, such as Humphrey Bumphrey (Benny Hill), the British Minister Of Food.

Interviewed by Kennedy, Bumphrey looks confused and bewildered as if he doesn't know where he is. He begins by talking about the recent Food Convention before talking about the Queen and later forgetting his name, recalling it by singing "Happy Birthday" to himself to stir up the memory. From there, he further mumbles and rambles while looking around and describing natives from Africa, going on to describe housewives as spoiled, high prices of groceries and several unrelated references. His response to the call-in viewer is just as confused as his incoherent speech. In closing, his assistants (Kay Frazer and Barbara Wise) arrive in French maid outfits come out. Bumphrey then mentions it's birthday, and he's only twenty-seven.

## Trivia

* Henry McGee plays Sir Ludovic Henry Coverley Kennedy FRSL; he was a real Scottish journalist, broadcaster, humanist and author best known for re-examining cases such as the Lindbergh kidnapping and the murder convictions of Timothy Evans and Derek Bentley. He passed away in 2009.
* There was no Minister of Food in England after 1958, the position getting merged with the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food held by Joseph Godber from 1972 to 1974.
* Bob Todd voices Lester Wester from Westchester, the call-in viewer, formerly referenced as Hector Chester from Westminster.

## Gallery

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Portrait of a Bridegroom

## Production

**Episode:** 1

**Date:** December 23, 1962

**Time:** 25:00

**Musical Director:** Ron Grainer

**Vocals:** None

**Choreography:** None

**Producer:** Duncan Wood

**Director:** Tony Abbott

**Writer:** Benny Hill and Dave Freeman

## Episode

Members of a wedding party give different opinions and descriptions of a bridegroom. The mother of the bride describes him as a con-artist, his ex-girlfriend describes him as a sophisticated antique dealer and his mother describes him as a playful school boy.

## Cast

* Benny Hill
* June Whitfield
* Patricia Hayes
* Priscilla Morgan
* Diana King
* Annabelle Lee
* Sheena Marshe
* Ronnie Brody
* Michael Stainton
* Philip Carr
* Alec Bregonzi
* Johnny Vyvyan

## Sequence

* **Last Episode:** December 16, 1961
* **Next Episode:** A Pair Of Socks
The Secret of Life

## Production

**Episode:** 10

**Date:** March 2, 1972

**Producer:** Peter Whitmore

**Director:**

**Writer:** Dave Allen, Austin Steele and Peter Vincent

## Cast

* Dave Allen
* Ronnie Brody
* Jacqueline Clarke
* Michael Sharvell-Martin
* Peter Hawkins
* Simon Barnes

## Quotes

* **Dave Allen** - "It's getting very hard to drink."
(one voice) What is this thing they call a breathalyzer?"
(second voice) It's a bag that can tell how much you drank."
(first voice) I married one of those bloody things!"

* **Dave Allen** - "I got picked up - stopped, and I don't know about you but I refused to suffer the ignominy of standing in the middle of the night in the rain blowing into a bag. I wouldn't do it. I couldn't find my mouth." (about breathalyzers)

* **Dave Allen** (*as a priest*) - "I don't know how it is!" (*while mocking a parishioner*)

* **Dave Allen** - "Why do I look for humor in religion? In Ireland, we have a very old saying in which we say you will often gather the most corn from the field with the largest crop."

* **Dave Allen** - "I often think about what does God look like, and there's only one man who has ever seen God, and I said to him what does God look like. He said, she's black!"

* **Dave Allen** - "Here's something I often think about, I think about does God believe in God? I mean, I believe in God, but who does he believe in? And if he doesn't believe in anyone then he's an atheist, and if he's an atheist, he'll never get to heaven. Because Old Nick believes in God, and look what happened to him!"

* **Dave Allen** - "In telling gags about religion, I often wonder if God has a sense of humor. I hope he does - I'm in trouble if he hasn't. He'd be very hard to tell a gag to wouldn't he? You'd start it and he'd tell you the end."

* **Dave Allen** - "It is said that one drink is enough, two is too many and three is not nearly enough!"

* **Dave Allen** - "I just had a phone call from Rome. I'm outed again." (*poking fun at himself over the nature of a previous religious sketch*)

* **Dave Allen** - "They ask do you get in trouble for telling religious gags? Do I get into trouble for telling religious gags?" (*chuckling*) "Of course, I do!!"

* **Dave Allen** - "I do believe there is a heaven for atheists, but nobody's there."

## Trivia

* Geoffrey DeWitt is the name Dave signs off with in the TV Reporter sketch.
* The name of Dave's fictitious medical doctor in the opening medical sketch seems to be Doctor Gregory Palmer.
* For one of the religious sketches, Dave pays homage to "Doctor Who." Doctor Who was a very popular science fiction series in England with its own following across the world.

## Sequence

* **Last Episode:** Hidden Signals
* **Next Episode:** Dave on Cinema 2
Pierre de Terre

## Bio

**Pierre de Terre** is a French film-maker and avantgarde director interviewed by Henry McGee whose eulogistic description of his film arrives with some stark reality. Among the discoveries in the interview is that the switch to black and white was made possible by running out of color film, that the French lines in the film have been horribly mistranslated and that the shakey camera angles was because that the camera tripod had been broken. de Terre also reveals that his actress was just the girlfriend of the producer, and her lisp was unavoidable. The most surprising is that the dog in the film was completely unplanned; it also had urinated on the camera and rusted it out.

## Gallery

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The Great White Hunter

## Bio

The **Great White Hunter** is an unnamed (likely British) gentleman who travels to Africa on a trip in order to see the wildlife. Not much more about him is known.

Moving through the jungle and blowing a pipe, he comes across a native (Duggie Small) also playing a pipe, but it actually turns out to be a blow pipe that fires poison darts. Shot and tranquilized, he is left alone as the native goes to get help to drag him into camp, but as he's left alone, a huge spider comes after him, and he must squeeze it to death in his hand.

Briefly left alone, the hunter also meets a sexy native girl (Lorraine Doyle), who removes the dart and sucks out the poison. He briefly loses her in the thick brush, only to encounter a gorilla (Jon Jon Keefe), but when she returns with a jungle leaf stuck in her leg, the hunter offers to remove it for her. However, when he asks if she wants any poison sucked out, she's not interested.

Back in camp, she sensuously invites him to her tent, but when the sound of the tribe alerts her, she hides him in a big metal pot. This is apparently what she has wanted all along as she calls her family home for dinner. Inside the pot, the hunter gets pelted by vegetables and oils, but when they head off to let him cook, he sticks his head out to blow out the fire and escape. As he flees, vegetables tumble out of his clothes and wardrobe, but in the jungle, he encounters an python and a tiger. Climbing a tree to escape it, he swings on a vine and crashes into a tree.

Trying to escape, he also encounters a crocodile at the lake, an elephant that sprays him and a charging elephant. After knocking down a hollow tree with a man and his wife (Johnny Hutch and possibly Anna Dawson) living in it, he flees to hide from them in another tree. Trying to swing to safety again, he gets hurled through the air only to come down inside the native's pot once again. Sticking his head out to see if its clear, he sees the sexy native girl licking her lips and rubbing her abdomen.

## Trivia

* The Great White Hunter was played by Benny Hill.
* Bob Todd plays the Chief. Henry McGee plays another tribe member, among them are Albert Moses, but the other tribe members can't be identified.
* For the tiger, a fake tiger head was attached to a tiger-striped rug and used as a puppet. The other animals are puppets or stock footage.
* Although much of the sketch was taped on a soundstage at Teddington Studio, a few area shots were filmed near Thorpe Park.
* When Benny hits the tree, and his face is supposed to look flattened, it's kind of obvious he's pressing his face into a sheet of glass.
* A giant rag doll is used to show Benny flying through the air.

## Gallery

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Poetry Corner

## Bio

**Poetry Corner** is a British TV program promoting high class entertainment to the general public with cuts to other programming.

The program starts with a very drunken announcer (Bob Todd) arguing with himself as he cuts to an episode of "Confrontation" where Henry McGee, Trudy Van Doorn and Bob Todd as themselves interview Merwyn Cruddy, an investigative reporter about his stories and general observations about public life. However, he turns the interview into being a rumor-mongerer and starts spilling secrets on celebrities and politicians:

* Fred Fosdyke is sponging off his sister and brother-in-law
* A local refuse collector isn't doing his job
* A Lorry driver has been blocking Cruddy's driveway
* Ladies underwear ads in the London Underground
* "Mary Jane" use on the potty
* Degradation and vice at Teddington Studios
* Huey Green never appears on the BBC
* Harry Sinclair never returns to native Scotland
* Reg Varney never speaks of his brother Lando
* Member of Ronnie Aldrich Orchestra changed his sax
* Members of the Black and White Minstrels are illegal immigrants
* The truth about Malcolm Motherwich and Kathy Kirby

The program is continued with a scene from "Mirror Ballet" as a male ballet dancer (Benny Hill) tries to be the reflection of the female ballet artist (Lee Gibson) outside it. It continues with a male poet (Henry McGee) doing a reading about bras. He is followed by another poet (Benny Hill) doing a reading of They Said It Could Not Be Done, which completes the episode.

## Trivia

* For some reason, this routine was broken up and edited rather oddly in the episode. It starts out with Bob Todd as a drunken announcer screaming incoherently then cuts to a spoof of "Confrontation" as if it it was part of the same sketch. This is followed by the ballet dancers before going to Henry and Benny both doing recitations. When it was transferred to DVD, the opening is completely ignored in the menu, separating it into "Confrontation," "Reflection Ballet" and "Poetry Corner."
* Jackie Wright and Jim Tyson appear in the background of the sketch's main body
* Reg Varney is Benny's former comedy writing partner
* Ronnie Aldrich is Benny's music director

## Gallery

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Pippa Reynaud

Not much is known about **Pippa Reynaud**. She appears as a dancer in the cotillion sketch on the March 11, 1970 episode of "The Benny Hill Show" and in an uncredited role on the TV series, "Doomwatch," with other "Benny Hill" alumni, such as Ken Sedd, Cyril Cross, Freddie Wiles and Wally Goodman. She also stars as one of the dancers in the 1971 movie version of the Broadway musical, "Fiddler on the Roof" with Walter Cartier.
Sale of the Half Century

## Production

**Episode:** 28

**Date:** April 21, 1976

**Time:** 50:51

**Musical Director:**

**Vocals:** The Ladybirds

**Choreography:**

**Producer:** Mark Stuart

**Director:** Mark Stuart

**Writer:** Benny Hill

## Episode

* Ballad: So Many Girls
* Humphrey Bumphrey
	+ Moving On
	+ Who's Afraid of Virgin Wool
	+ This is Your Life
	+ Sale of the Half-Century
* Getting To Know You
* Eddie Buchanan - Dancing in the Nude
* Is There Anything In It?
* Quickie: Comanches!
* Biology With Bellamy
* Super Sonic
* Tag: German Department Store

## Highlights

* Moving On
* Getting To Know You
* Biology With Bellamy
* German Department Store

## Cast

* Benny Hill
* Jack Wright
* Bob Todd
* Eddie Buchanan
* Paul Eddington
* Susie Baker
* Bella Emberg
* Ken Sedd
* Libby Roberts
* Teresa Lucas
* Claire Lutter
* Jane Eve

## Quotes

* **David Bellamy** - "The female crocodile in her native environment lays a thousand eggs every year and the male crocodile comes along and eats 999 of those eggs because if he didn't we'd be up to our bloody necks in crocodiles."

* **Elizabeth Taylor** - "I had to take all of my clothes off!"
**Richard Burton** - "Do you mind? I'm eating!"

* **German Professor** - "You must never "assume," because when you "assume," you make an ass out of you and me!"

* **German Professor** - "If you drive in Western London, you must be very careful. If you park your car, they will give you a ticket. They should give you a medal!"

## Trivia

* Actor Paul Eddington fills in for Henry McGee as the announcer and straight man for Benny.
* This sketch-heavy show has only has one Quickie in it. Following Is There Anything In It?, Benny as his Dickie Dido character discovers a girl (Susie Owens) who has been staked and raped by Comanche Indians. In an unusual turn for the history of the series, Benny's character also decides to take a turn.
* This episode is the last appearance of the Love Machine members.
* This episode marks the last appearance of Bob Todd after returning to the series after a three-episode absence. Although he appeared in the last two episodes, he follows his appearance in this episode with an eight-episode absence until February 6, 1980 while under-going therapy for a drinking problem.

## Sequence

* **Last Episode:** Murder on the Oregon Express
* **Next Episode:** The Bionic Baby
TV Looks Back

## Production

**Episode:** 1

**Date:** January 21, 1971

**Producer:** Peter Whitmore

**Director:**

**Writer:** Dave Allen, Austin Steele and Peter Vincent

## Episode

* Dave Allen and Jacqueline Clarke portray Bonnie and Clyde and James the Butler delivers a block of ice to his master.

## Cast

* Dave Allen
* Ronnie Brody
* Jacqueline Clarke
* Ian Burford
* Michael Sharvell-Martin
* Chris Serle

## Quotes

* **Dave Allen** - (*about naming the show*) "If you're not careful, you get a great title but a lousy show."

* **Dave Allen** - "The thing I never figured about graveyards is why do they put great big walls around them? Because the people inside aren't going to come out, and the people outside don't want to go in."

* **Dave Allen** - "It is said that the most cruel and unkind of all god's creatures is man. Who but man would say of man, "Never hit a man when he is down, kick him it's easier.""

## Trivia

* Ronnie Brody plays Napoleon for this episode. Dave Allen would continue the role in other episodes.
* King Arthur would become one of Dave's favorite recurring characters for the series.
* Cast Member Ronnie Brody, playing Roderick in this episode, also had a bit part as an irate husband in the movie "Superman 3." That movie also had a bit part for Bob Todd as a distinguished gentleman in a hat. Todd was a cast member in Dave's "rival" series, "The Benny Hill Show."
* In the Dracula sketch, Dave does a sight gag about Dracula removing his false teeth of fangs and placing them in water by the outside of the casket, but when Chris Serle enters the scene as Frankenstein's monster, Dave is still wearing the Dracula teeth.
* Dracula also became one of Dave's favorite recurring characters in the series.
* Michael Sharvell-Martin playing one of the vampire slayers also recurred intermittently on The Benny Hill Show.

## Sequence

* **Last Episode:**
* **Next Episode:** The Magician
The Hungry Bride

## Bio

The **Hungry Bride** is an unnamed brunette woman who shows up at the beach and unwittingly uses the puppet tent to change into her bikini. This of course distracts the puppeteer (Benny Hill) who pursues her as a girlfriend. Through their courtship, she doesn't drink alcohol or eat more than a leaf of lettuce in order to keep her figure (which is spectacular enough to make ice cream bounce). She also doesn't take sugar in her tea, but the puppeteer is so crazy about her that he proposes marriage to her.

After the ceremony at the church, the happy couple end up at a party at the hotel where the preist (Henry McGee) even congratules the puppetteer on his shapely bride. Meanwhile, the bride indulges in several finger sandwiches served by a waitress (Suzy Mandel) as her now stunned new husband watches. She soon begins devouring everything at the table, seemingly putting on fifty pounds in just under a minute before drinking down several glasses of beer, takes a bite out of a leg of lamb and removing a tier out of the wedding cake to eat a channel through it. The stunned party guests flee as if she's going to explode or devour them too, even taking a shortcut through the room of a young couple (Pete Morgan and Anne Bruzac), ending up at the beach where everything started.

## Trivia

* The Hungry Bride was played by series semi-regular Dilys Watling.
* This sketch was a rare chance to spotlight the talent of the cast members rather than Benny or the long-term regulars like Henry or Jackie.
* Spencer Shires and Claire Lutter play sun-bathers
* In the wedding scene, the priest was played by Henry McGee, first man by Eddie Buchanan and her father by Jackie Wright. Claire Lutter, Anne Bruzac and Rita Webb appeared as part of the wedding party.
* This sketch was called "I Have to Watch My Figure" in the "One Night Video Stand" installment of HBO Video's "Golden Classics" DVD collection.
* According to William Brown at "Benny's Place," this sketch was developed from an idea by cast member Cherri Gilham whose original concept was a bride who became uglier than fatter.

## Gallery

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The South Blank Show (sketch)

## Bio

**The South Blank Show** is a British television arts magazine series presented by Melvyn Dragg (Benny Hill). The show presented both high art and popular culture to a mass audience. After news from the Moscow Film Studios, he presents two clips:

* Mairy O'Hairy (Benny Hill) sings "Derusha" and The Spinning Wheel
* Dave Allen (Benny Hill) tries telling jokes in front of an ethnic audience and gets attacked by even his crew

Dragg next mentions a tribute to motion picture director Arnold P. Fudpucker, who released one of the last Sherlock Holmes films. It starred Nigel Bruce and Basil Rathbone. Previews of movies include:

* "The Deputy" - starring a lawman (Benny Hill) with a dead moonshiner he isn't sure is dead yet
* "The Mayor" - starring W. C. Fields (Benny Hill) as a mayor harangued by the local Ladies League for his drinking

The episode is continued by Jillianne Foot interviewing musician Marvin Lubtisch (Benny Hill), who talks about his career and sings the song, Graffiti. When Lubtisch wraps his song, the show cuts back to Dragg reading a comic book. In closing, he promises a look at music halls in the next show before ending on a thought.

## Trivia

* This sketch is a parody of the ITV series, "The South Bank Show" which ran between 1978 and 2010 with a reprise on Sky Arts on May 27. 2012. It was a replacement for "Aquarius," which Benny had parodied as Uplift with Humphrey Bumphrey on February 24, 1971.
* Melvyn Dragg is a take on former BBC arts broadcaster Melvyn Bragg, the host of "The South Bank Show."
* Mary O'Hairy is an impression of singer Mary O'Hare
* Dave Allen was Benny's friendly rival on BBC2. The script for the impression even appears in the book, "The Essential Dave Allen" by Graham MacCann.
* Dave's crew members are Frank Coda, "Dave Allen at Large" cast member Chris Serle and Des Wilson and Charlie Arkin of The Cotton Mills Boys.
* The cast members in "The Mayor" include Jillianne Foot, Lee Gibson, Eunice Black, Henry McGee, Jackie Wright and Charles Stapley.
* Benny makes a topical reverence to American President Richard M. Nixon.
* According to William Brown at the "Benny's Place" website, the reference to 1925 vintage Napoleon brandy in "The Mayor" was an in-joke reference to the ostensible year of Benny's birth, which would later be determined to be 1924.
* This sketch was included in the HBO Video "Video Revue" VHS Tape with the Marvin Lubtisch interview cut out for time.

## Gallery

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Roger Avon

**Roger Avon** was a British film and television actor whose career spanned over for four decades and over 130 movies and television projects. He was born November 23, 1931 in Jarrow, England. His career covers the British TV shows "Hancock's Half Hour," "Dad's Army," "When the Boat Comes In," "Department S," "Doctor Who," "Randall and Hopkirk," "Our Friends in the North" and "Blackadder the Third." His film credits also include "Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD," "The Likely Lads," "Mutiny on the Buses," "Quatermass and the Pit" and "Curse of the Crimson Altar." Still acting into the late 90s, his last role was in the TV series "Grafters." He passed away at the age of 84 on December 21, 1998.

## Episode(s)

* February 1, 1958
* April 26, 1958
Ron Shand

Born Ronald Ernest McMurtry, **Ron Shand** was Australian actor and comedian who worked extensively in numerously genres of the show business ranging from film, television and theater to circus, cabaret and vaudeville. He was probably best known as Herbert "Herb" Evans in the TV soap opera "Number 96."

Born on February 3, 1906 in Carlton, Australia to entertainer parents, he started his career in the circus with his parents as a clown and later performed as a song and dance man in vaudeville also doing tent shows and performing comedy. He acquired the name "Shand" while living with his grandparents as travelling circus performers in Melbourne. He also appeared in the Tivoli circuit for many years playing in revue and pantomime before joining the J. C. Williamson theatre company for several seasons doing musical comedy. He also appeared in numerous plays with the John Alden Shakespeare company that toured the capital cities of Australia.

He starred in several straight dramatic roles with the company, appearing in "The Man Who Came to Dinner," "Arsenic and Old Lace," "Love Thy Neighbour" and "Bell, Book and Candle." Through the 1960s, Shand he also had appearances in several Australian television drama series, such as "Whiplash," "Consider Your Verdict ," "Homicide," "Contrabandits," "Riptide," "The Long Arm," "The Rovers," "Mrs. Finnegan," "Matlock Police" and "Division 4."
Shand found extraordinary success playing Herbert Evans, the hen-pecked husband on the successful comedy/soap opera "Number 96," through the 70s. After the series ended, he made appearances in "The Young Doctors," "A Country Practice," "Prisoner: Cell Block H" and "G.P." and the miniseries "Poor Man's Orange." He is possibly best known to American audiences for replacing Benny Hill's co-star and sidekick, Jackie Wright in Benny Hill: Down Under, a special Hill created and taped for audiences in 1977. In the episode, he plays the old man in the Benny Kelly sketch doing much of the physical comedy Wright was known for doing.

Shand passed away on August 8, 1993, two years after his last appearance in the TV series "G.P." He was survived by his wife Letty-Croydon and his sister, Iris Shand.
Petticoat And Vine

**Petticoat And Vine** was a folk-rock quartet that was active during the Late 60s and 70s. It was founded by singer Norman Smeddles and Valerie Coughlan and shared a turn-over like most Seventies bands. The original line up included Pat Davies and Les Hampton, later replaced by Joan O’Neil (nee Tuffley) and Colin Maddocks. By time it appeared on the January 27, 1971 episode of "The Benny Hill Show," the group included Norman Smeddles, Lesley Eccles (who had replaces Joan), lead vocalist Valerie Coughlin and Colin "Sid" Maddocks performing "Welcome To The World Of Love And Laughter." They also accompanied Benny Hill on his opening "Flying South" number as well as on "In The Papers" in the "Top of the Tops" sketch. They also appeared on shows hosted by Harry Secombe and Jimmy Tarbuck.

O'Neill still performs today with her own group. Her daughter is Melanie Chisholm of The Spice Girls. Maddocks and his wife, Barbara, are now travel agents.
Reflections

**Reflections** was a English TV pop vocal group that appeared on "The Benny Hill Show" on January 26, 1977. Joined by cast members Eddie Buchanan, Jenny Lee-Wright and Diana Darvey, they backed Benny Hill on the opening ballad, "Bianca Malone." For their performance, they sang the song, "Higher and Higher," originally by American performer Jackie Wilson.

There is no known available bio or history for the four-member group, which consists of two men and two women. It is possible they may have been one of the obscure groups from the British talent show, "Opportunity Knocking," which Benny Hill was known for plucking musical talent, namely Two's Company and The Cotton Mills Boys, but this is unconfirmed.

So far, only three members of this enigmatic group have been identified. Linda Robinson, the petite brunette ingenue was identified by writer Robert Ross in the book, "Benny Hill: Master of Mirth." However, he also refers to the group as being "all female." Robinson also played "Purdie" in the New Avengers parody from the episode and as the girl approached by Benny in the "Candid Camera" sketch in the following episode on Feb. 23, 1977, possibly a holdover from the previous episode.

Another possible member of the group maybe Spencer Shires, who also appeared on the show on the March 23, 1977 episode for the Girls Girls Girls Nightclub sketch and as a member of the The Milk Market Board choir. The other female singer has since been named as Dee Eldridge, but the other male singer, since named Donny Hill for identification purposes, still remains unidentified.

According to the IMDB, the group previously appeared in the British TV-shows "The Mike Yarwood Show," "Cooper," "Larry Grayson" and "The David Nixon Show." Some of their appearances have been confused with the "The Reflections" funk group from Detroit, Michigan.
The Shooting of Willie The Kid

## Production

**Episode:** 12

**Date:** January 4, 1963

**Time:** 25:00

**Musical Director:** Ron Grainer

**Vocals:** None

**Choreography:** None

**Producer:** Duncan Wood

**Director:** Tony Abbott

**Writer:** Benny Hill and Dave Freeman

## Episode

Whittaker T. Wildfoot (Benny Hill), the owner of a Wild West entertainment emporium, comes face-to-face with heartless outlaw Willie The Kid (John Bluthal).

## Cast

* Benny Hill
* John Bluthal
* Michael Brennan
* Ronnie Brody
* Maggie Fitzgibbon
* Joe Gibbons
* Bill Kerr
* Ann Lancaster
* Marjie Lawrence
* Michael Peake
* Ken Roberts
* Graham Stark

## Sequence

* **Last Episode:** The Secret of Planet Seven
* **Next Episode:** The Vanishing Man
Superstitions

## Production

**Episode:** 8

**Date:** February 10, 1972

**Time:** 45 minutes

**Producer:** Peter Whitmore

**Director:**

**Writer:** Chris Boucher

## Episode

Dave plays a clueless police officer, Michael is a repairman and then both of them are cowboys in opening sketches. In the opening, Dave reminds the audience that smoking and drinking is not allowed although he freely does so on stage. He then explains his hidden signals and covert gestures to the producer off-stage. Following sketches involve men in a duel of honor, Rodriguez asks for proof of God, two assassins catch each other in each others cross hairs and another sketch has another duel of honor. Dave then talks about inventions and implants before a series of sketches about inventions.
Dave recalls the importance of a good book to introduce sketches around literary characters such as Long John Silver, Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan, Rapunzel and the Count of Monte Cristo. Another story involves an entertainer behind bars while following sketches involves a judge and his perpetrator, a men's club, a distracted guards and Michael and Ronnie as bungling thieves.
Dave starts a chat about women followed by a man in love with his suddenly female doctor and King Richard back from the Holy Land. A few comments about God are followed by sketches at the expense of the Catholics and the cremation of an actor. Closing the show, Dave ends with the stories of the Sand Man and Scissor Men and a closing sketch with a woman terrified by her husband during Hand and Seek.

## Cast

* Dave Allen
* Michael Sharvell-Martin
* Ronnie Brody
* Jacqueline Clarke
* Peter Hawkins
* Simon Barnes

## Quotes

* **Dave Allen** - "Booze - what it gives to you one week it takes away the next!"

* **Dave Allen** - "There's a very old saying that if a girl steps over a broom, she will be a mother before she is a wife." (*pause*) "All I can say is looking at the state of the world today, there seem to be an awful lot of brooms laying about."

## Trivia

* Dave's "Trip to Transylvania" tale was completely removed from the episode when this episode was edited for American television.

## Sequence

* **Last Episode:** Dave on Cinema
* **Next Episode:** Hidden Signals
Sarah Kemp

**Sarah "Gypsie" Kemp** was an English-Australian actress best known for the character of socialite Charlie Bartlett on the Australian soap opera "Sons and Daughters" which ran from 1982 to 1987.

Born in 1937, she left her husband and three kids in Australia to move to England further her acting career, landing roles in "Z Cars" and several roles in "Doctor Who," including a role as a UNIT radio operator in "Day of the Daleks." She became friends with Jon Pertwee during her time on the season before moving on to star in the October 25, 1972 episode of "The Benny Hill Show." She later told gossip columnist Craig Bennett, a close friend, that she found Benny to be a quiet frugal loner, a character very much unlike his on-screen persona. They stayed friends after the episode. Several years later, Bennett described his friendship with Sara and her time on The Benny Hill Show in his book, "True Confessions of a Shameless Gossip Paperback."

Kemp went on to star in the TV shows "Shoestring" and "Sporting Chance" before returning to Australia in 1980 and landing a role on "Sons and Daughters," credited as Sarah Kemp. The role was one of the longest running characters in the series, but after the series ended, she married the lighting director on the show, moving to live in cottage on the Gold Coast while she worked in an art gallery. Her last credited role as an actress was in the TV movie, "Mercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771" in 1993, but she quit acting after she stopped getting roles, later getting work as an English teacher. She briefly turning her interests to politics in 1999 when she ran for the New South Wales Legislative Council in 1999 on the Unity Party ticket.

A long time smoker, Kemp developed lung cancer. Not trusting doctors, she avoided treatment for several years until the damage became irreversible. She passed away at Bellingen Hospital in New South Wales on January 9, 2015. She was 77. After her death, Bennett met her daughter and was shocked to learn that she had never revealed to him that she had ever been a mother.
San Embargos

## Bio

**San Embargos** is a small Central American country ruled by a totalitarian government under President Fartas (first name unrevealed). The culture is predominantly Spanish and under on-going political strife with Revolutionists trying to retake the government. The country is full of anti-government messages on the buildings with the country's general (Bob Todd) trying to quell the up-risings.

To combat the anti-government vandalism, the general hires two inept painters (Benny Hill and Johnny Hutch) who drag out the time on the job by reading the newspaper and dripping paint on each other (mostly the old man). When the General shows up and sees the lack of progress, he pulls a gun on them and orders them to work, the two painting over the entire billboard (and the old man disappearing into it) on one half bucket of paint. The other bucket has been stolen by the Revolutionist (Henry McGee) who has gone off to paint more propaganda. When one of the painters is caught near it with the errant brush and paint, he's blamed for it by a young major (Jon Jon Keefe ) and his aide (Lorraine Doyle). Pursued by motorcycles, he flees with the major on a motorcycle of which he somehow gains control, dumping the major in the road. Colliding with the Revolutionist on a ladder, the befuddled painter gets stuck on the ladder atop the motorcycle, colliding with a bridge and getting thrown several feet. He finally lands at the outdoor picnic for President Fartas, crashing over the length of the table and landing in a haystack, where he's caught by the major and his assistant.

## Trivia

* Johnny's mustache looks as if it's about to fall off at any time in the sketch.
* The "soaking up the paint" gag is repeated from the Joe Titmarsh sketch on April 16, 1986.
* The motorcycle stunt work was performed by the Royal Artillery Motorcycle Display Team.
* The four-way stop also appears in the Cops and Robbers sketch and the Charlene's Angels sketches.
* The stunt across the table was possibly inspired from Dick Shawn, whose character did the same stunt in the 1963 movie, "It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World."

## Gallery

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The Trouble Maker

## Production

**Episode:** 17

**Date:** September 24, 1963

**Time:** 25:00

**Musical Director:** Ron Grainer

**Vocals:** None

**Choreography:** None

**Producer:** John Street

**Director:** Tony Abbott

**Writer:** Dave Freeman

## Episode

Electrician Jim (David Lodge) and his best friend (Benny Hill) as a trainee play havoc in a series of luxury flats.

## Cast

* Benny Hill
* David Lodge
* Diana King
* Gwendolyn Watts
* Joe Gibbons
* Frank Littlewood
* Diana Hope
* Ronnie Brody
* Edwin Brown
* Michael Beint

## Sequence

* **Last Episode:** Mr. Jolly
* **Next Episode:** The Dresser
Soap Box Jury

## Production

**Episode:** 15

**Date:** March 4, 1961

**Time:** 45 minutes

**Musical Director:** Harry Rabinowitz

**Vocals:**

**Choreography:** Leslie Roberts

**Producer:** John Street

**Director:**

**Writer:** Benny Hill and Dave Freeman

## Cast

* Benny Hill
* Peter Vernon
* Vivienne Martin
* Jo Shelton
* Ronnie Brody
* Tom Clegg

## Sequence

* **Last Episode:** February 4, 1961
* **Next Episode:** November 4, 1961
Samantha Stevens

**Samantha Stevens** is an English actress, dancer, choreographer and founder of the Sam's Set dance troupe. She is known for her work on "The Benny Hill Show," "The Basil Brush Show" and "The Doctors."

Not much is known about Samantha's early life and career. Her first role on television was in 1971 on an episode of "The Doctors." She appeared as waitress ogled by Benny Hill in the Gavin Blod sketch and as a Newer Faces performer on January 8, 1975 and again as a dancer in the Midnight in Soho sketch on March 12, 1975. After departing the show, she founded the Sam's Set dancers with Caroline Sargeant, Erica Lynley and Sharon Fussey for episodes of "The Basil Brush Show." All three members eventually became members of the Hill's Angels on "The Benny Hill Show." Samantha returned to the show as well as a choreographer behind the scenes on December 26, 1978.

Today, Samantha is is co-founder of "The Supercali Cabaret" and currently one-fifth of the vintage girl group "The Buttercups," performing regularly for private and corporate events and parties and playing in pubs and gatherings across London.

## Episode(s)

* Great Mysteries with Orson Buggy
* Gavin Blod: The Man and His Music
* Friday Night Fever (choreographer)
* A Tribute to the Lower Tidmarsh Volunteer Fire Brigade (choreographer)

## Images

* Samantha with Jackie Wright
* Samantha and Benny Hill
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Pretty Greek Girl

## Bio

**Pretty Greek Girl** is a song performed by Benny Hill on February 24, 1971. It was performed on stage in a Greek-style cantina to Yvonne Paul at a table without vocalization from The Ladybirds. When he starts to approach her, Bob Todd and Nicholas Parsons pull him back to dance with him and ruin his romantic interlude.

A partial version of this song was performed by Benny and Eddie Buchanan as Dennis Roussos and Mama Mouskouri on March 24, 1976.

## Lyrics

Oh, listen to the story of a Greek romantic fool,

I fell in love with my teacher when I was at school.

But I knew our love could never be, she could not be mine,

For she was nearly twenty-three, I was thirty-nine.

I went to my first dance, and I met sweet Mylene,

She had the loveliest eyes that I have ever seen.

I said, "Within your lovely eyes, I could live and die."

She said, "The left one ought to suit you then, 'cause it's got a sty."

One day I was as miserable as I have ever been,

I went into a phone box to try to get in touch with Jean.

A policeman came and turned me out, I still can hear him yell,

Then he went back into the phone box, and he turned her out as well.

She's got eyes that glow like cigarettes with ashtrays underneath,

And when she bites her fingernails her mother hides her teeth.

But she wouldn't let me marry Jean, she said it was because

She thought I was effeminate and compared with her I was.

So come, my Pretty Greek girl, come and dance with me,

Shine upon me as the golden sun shines on the sea.

Fill my lonely eager arms with your sweet ecstasy,

Oh come, my pretty Greek girl, come and dance with me.......
Oh, Zandoona

## Bio

**Oh, Zandoona** was the opening number on February 23, 1972. Benny Hill performs the song while playing a guitar on stage with The Ladybirds providing vocal backup from the second-story window of a house.</

## Lyrics

She thinks she is slim like a willow, she's just skinny and bony and tall.

If she hadn't been blessed with two warts on her chest, she'd have no figure at all.

She'd like to please all the men, but she's so terribly thin, there is hardly enough to go 'round.

Once she swallowed a whole-pickled onion, and twenty-four fellas left town.

But oh, Zandoona, I'm longing to make you my own,

And then I will know Zandoona

A happiness I've never known.

Her flashing dark eyes are so jealous, the left one keeps watching the right,

And those teeth that I love are like the stars up above

Because they come out every night.

Oh, my fair girl is one in a million,

Often have you heard that said, but she is not one in a million,

She looks like she's won in a raffle instead.

But oh, Zandoona, I'm longing to make you my own,

And then I'll know Zandoona

A happiness I've never known.

An oilman from Texas once tried to impress this shy and this sensitive waif,

He said, "I've so many gold teeth that I sleep every night with my head in a safe."

He said, "There's 400 quid if you'll come with me, kid, to my flat."

It was most unexpected, but she didn't fret, and she wasn't upset,

She just kept cool and calm and collected.

But oh, Zandoona, I'm longing to make you my own,

And then I'll know Zandoona

A happiness I've never known.

Tongue-tied, I sat with Zandoona while licking its paws was the cat,

I nervously stammered, "Zandoona, I'd like to see you do that."

And suddenly, my Zandoona slapped my face, and she left me because

By the time I had said what I wanted to say,

The cat wasn't licking its paws.

Oh, marry me, Zandoona, and we'll live in old Monterey,

But don't make it too late, 'cause tomorrow at eight,

They're going to take me away.

Olé!
Suzanne Jerome

**Suzanne Jerome** is an English actress possibly best known for the movie, "Octopussy."

Jerome was born on January 21, 1960 in Surrey, England, but not much is known about her life and career. As an actress, her first role was in the 1983 James Bond film, "Octopussy" as the acrobatic smuggler Gwendoline, which was followed by the British TV shows "Mixed Doubles" and "The Comic Strip Presents..." After a bout with depression, she took her life Dec. 4, 1986 in Cornwall, England. According to her obituary, "The Benny Hill Show" was among her credits, but just which episode is unrevealed. She had also performed on the London stage production of "Oh Calcutta!"
Rose of El Paso

## Bio

**The Rose of El Paso** was a song performed by Benny Hill on March 12, 1975. It was performed on a set backed by Lee Gibson and Diana Darvey with Bob Todd, Jackie Wright and Henry McGee in a car on-stage.

The town of El Paso also appears in two more routines. The song, "El Paso" was sung by Eddie Buchanan on December 17, 1975 for a Western-themed sketch and Benny recited The Legend of El Paso on February 18, 1976.

## Lyrics

Oh, I flew into El Paso

One morning about half past ten

Had me a beer and some pork and some beans

And then I blew out again

I saw her as she stood in a doorway

She was of a high class sort

The prefume she wore was Tejuene L'amour

And it cost ten cents a quart

She was the Rose of El Paso

With a ramblig rose in her hair

but as I grew closer I saw with surprise

The red rose was growing there

She told me that she lived with her parents

And her crocodiles Peter and Mike

I said, "Where the heck do your crocodiles sleep?"

And she said anywhere that they like

One day, she came in from the forest

When her face had been scarred by a bear

The surgeon grafted on some of my skin

From a place where I had plenty to spare

Well, she thanked me for saving her beauty

I said that there was no need to speak

I'll see that I'm happily rewarded

Everytime your mother kisses your cheek

I will not marry the Rose of El Paso

For my family motto heaven forbid

It's okay with my maw and my paw

But it would upset my wife and four kids
Paul Eddington

**Paul Eddington** is a British actor best known for his appearances in the popular television sitcoms "The Good Life" and "Yes, Minister."

Born on June 18, 1927 in Paddington, England to a Quaker family, he attended Sibford School in Oxfordshire and married Patricia Scott in 1952. He began his acting career as a teenager with Entertainments National Service Association during the World War II. He worked for a repertory theatre company in Sheffield and made his first TV appearance in 1956 as a regular cast member of "The Adventures of Robin Hood." Initially, he played minor characters, later playing Will Scarlet in the Fifth Season. He also had roles in "The Avengers," "The Prisoner," the final episode of "The Champions" and as a "straight man" in a 1976 episode of "The Benny Hill Show," which he asked to have pulled from syndication because of a pre-conceived sexist nature of the series.

In 1955, Eddington had been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, known as mycosis fungoides. The ailment was to cause his death eventually, but in the intervening four decades, Eddington and his immediate family kept his condition private from the public. It is possibly because of his condition that he shunned public attention for his achievements.

Known as a tall, debonair actor, Eddington gained popularity after appearing as Jerry Leadbetter, a neighbor of the main characters in "The Good Life." His part became so popular it extended into into a recurring part. In the 80s, he also played the title role of Jim Hacker in the comedy series "Yes, Minister" and its follow-up, "Yes, Prime Minister," said to have been former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's favourite TV programme. She awarded him the honor of Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Eddington was shortlisted as many as four times for the BAFTA award for Best Light Entertainment Performance for the series, but he lost out to his co-star Nigel Hawthorne on each occasion.

Eddington was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the New Year Honours, 1987.

In 1987, Eddington appeared as Sir Joseph Porter in "H.M.S. Pinafore" in Australia. His last roles included Richard Cuthbertson in the TV dramatisation of "The Camomile Lawn" in 1992, the voice of Badger in "The Adventures of Mole and Justice Shallow" and "Henry IV," a BBC adaptation of Shakespeare's "Henry IV" in 1995. He was reunited with his Good Life co-star Richard Briers in a run of the play "Home" in 1994.

On October 30, 1995, five days before his death, Eddington made an appearance on the television series, "Face to Face," discussing with Jeremy Isaacs his life, career and battle with lymphoma. He passed from the disease in Southwark, London on November 4, 1995, survived by his wife, Patricia, and their three sons and one daughter. BBC One aired a half-hour tribute to him on 15 July 2001, called Paul Eddington: A Life Well Lived. His autobiography, "So Far, So Good," was published by Hodder & Stoughton in 1995.
The Mike Sammes Singers

**The Mike Sammes Singers** was an English vocal group from the 1960s and 1970s who performed in movie, television and radio performing commercial jingles before becoming recording artists. They were formed by English musician and vocal session arranger
Mike Sammes, who performed backing vocals on pop music recorded in England from 1955 to the 1970s.

Born February 19, 1928 in Reigate, England, Sammes was the son of pioneer photographer and film-maker Rowland Sammes and began his interest in music by learning the cello and playing in the school orchestra at Reigate Grammar School. He worked briefly for the music publisher, Chappell & Co. in London before World War Two, returning to music after the war to formed a male vocal group called the Coronets with musician Bill Shepherd. Together, they did back-up work for the Big Ben Banjo Band and recorded for Columbia Records, releasing some covers of current hits.

After Shepherd withdrew, Sammes persisted and assembled the core group that would form the Mike Sammes Singers in 1957 to perform soundtrack and radio jingles. They also performed the title themes for three TV shows, "Supercar," "Stingray" and "The Secret Service." They also recorded seven albums between 1962 and 1988 and did vocals on numerous albums for Disneyland Records. They eventually departed from their usual commercial style when they provided backing vocals for the Beatles' songs, "I Am the Walrus" and "Good Night" as well as on their last album, "Let It Be." Sammes also provided the distinctive basso backing vocals on Olivia Newton-John's early country crossover hits, including "Banks of the Ohio," "Let Me Be There" and "If You Love Me (Let Me Know)."

The Mike Sammes Singers remained very busy into the 1970s, doing recordings for television and appearing on "The Val Doonican Show" in 1971 and for the Fad-Eyed Fal sketch on the October 25, 1972 episode of "The Benny Hill Show," with singer John O'Neil in the group. However, by the mid-1970s, the demand for backing vocals had faded considerably, due to the introduction of multi-tracking and synthesizers. Their last project was singing the "Summer Wine" song for the series, "The Last of the Summer Wine."

Several months after a fall in his home, Sammes died on May 19, 2001 at the age of 73. After his death, several of his recordings were recovered by Johnny Trunk of Trunk Records to turn into a compilation.
Sharon Fussey

**Sharon Fussey** is an English actress and dancer who appeared on British television and film through the Seventies. She was a member of the Sam's Set troop of dancers created by Samantha Stevens along with Caroline Sargeant, Sandra Hamilton and Erica Lynley. She first appears in roles in "The Firefighters" shown on the CBS Children's Film Festival and "The Stud" eventually appearing in the opening "Coconut Milk" number on the December 26, 1978 episode of "The Benny Hill Show," where she was credited as Sharon Bond. She was joined by her sister, Tina Bond, in the number. She made headlines in the British press when she and the other three members of "Sam's Set" refused to wear the skimpy bikini attire for the "Holiday Time" sketch; cast member Sue Upton instead taking the part. Of the group, Erica Lynley later returned as a recurring cast member.

Sharon later made appearances in the films "The Class of Miss MacMichael" and "The Bitch," as well the TV series, "Hammer House of Horror" and "Brendon Chase." She also appeared in the 1981 short, "Late Flowering Love."
The Orange Blossom Band

**The Orange Blossom Band** is an English bluegrass band that performed through England during much of the 1970s. Over its existence, the band had a high-turnover of members with Ian McCann, Mick French, Mike Hartes and Charlie Gaisford appearing on the February 22, 1973 episode of "The Benny Hill Show." Performing "What Am I Doin' Hangin' 'Round" by Mike Nesmith of "The Monkees," they also accompanied Benny on his opening "Carol" number with The Ladybirds.

The band still performs on tour today, although without Gaisford who died in 1992.