Kenneth Horne Archives - Old Time Radio Network by oldtimeradio Much Binding During WW2, there was a radio show for the Services called “Merry Go Round which comprised of three separate series: one for the Army, one for the Navy, and one for the Royal Air Force. These rotated, so that each was heard once every three weeks. The Army show was “Studio Stand Easy”, starring comedian Charlie Chester. He was actually an Army Sergeant when the show was conceived, having been called-up following the outbreak of war. Unbelievably, he was actually ordered by his commanding officer to write a smash-hit radio show! This, he later remarked wryly, was easier said than done. But he was a first rate comedian, who, like Kenneth Horne, continued to be very successful on radio well into the 1960s. The Navy’s contribution to “Merry Go Round”, initially entitled “H.M.S. Waterlogged”, starred light comedian Kenneth Horne, Richard Murdoch, Maureen Riscoe, Sam Costa & Maurice Deham. Eric Barker, supported by Jon Pertwee (who was later to have big successes in the BBC radio comedy “The Navy Lark” and on television as the third Doctor Who).

After the war, “H.M.S. Waterlogged” evolved into “Waterlogged Spa”, with the Naval Base becoming a health spa as the show continued into the post-war period. Many of the characters who Pertwee played in this show would later reappear in “The Navy Lark” in the 1960s! The Air Force show, “Much Binding in the Marsh”, was the most successful of these, to judge by how long it lasted. Richard Murdoch and Arthur Askey on Bandwagon Broadcast by the BBC and Radio Luxembourg from 1944 to 1954, Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh was a radio comedy about a fictional RAF station which starred Richard Murdoch, who had previously appeared alongside Arthur Askey in the pre-war “Band Waggon”, and Kenneth Horne, who is now remembered mainly for his 1960s heyday in the two satirical successes “Beyond Our Ken” and “Round the Horne”. During the run of the show, the RAF station changed from combat operations, to becoming a country and finally a newspaper, The Weekly Bind. The programme’s title is thought to have been inspired by the RAF station at Moreton-in-Marsh.

The word “binding”, was RAF slang for moaning or complaining. One of the most fondly remembered parts of the show was the closing theme tune, which was unique each week as topical lyrics referring to the plot of the episode were written and sung by members of the cast. Other cast members included Sam Costa, Maurice Denham, Maureen Riscoe, Dora Bryan and Nicholas Parsons. Up the Pole from the 1st November 1948 (only known surviving episode) Up The Pole – Nov 1 1948 Musical interludes were provided by Stanley Black and the Dance Orchestra, and songs from Helen Hill. The cast were occasionally joined by special guests; a prominent example of this was the Hollywood star Alan Ladd. Maurice Denham in particular played an important part in the programme, playing a multitude of roles of varying gender and age. These included Mr. Blake the Sexton (the name a homage to the fictional detective Crooner, Sam Costa Sexton Blake), the local Vicar, Mrs Dinsdale, young Percy and others.

The BBC cancelled the show in 1950 and it was transferred to Radio Luxembourg but returned to the BBC in 1951 until its run ended in 1954. In 1970, two of its stars (Murdoch and Costa) appeared on several episodes of Frost on Sunday where they performed more comical lyrics to the theme tune. The show is also sometimes said to have popularised the term “Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells” for newspaper correspondents. Kenneth Horne and Sam Costa subsequently reprised their roles from Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh in an episode of Men from the Ministry first broadcast on 21 April 1968 entitled Four Men in a Wellington. Although not specifically mentioned, the response of the audience and Sam Costa’s catchphrase ‘Good morning Sir, was there something?’ are obvious references to Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh.

HMS Waterlogged from Merry-Go-Round (8th August 1948) “Good morning Sir, was there something?” – Sam Costa, batman “Oh, I say, I am a fool!” “Have you read any good books lately?” “Leave it with me, sir” “Leave it with him, sir” “Would you like to see my puppies?” “Not a word to Bessie” “Did I ever tell you about the time I was in Sidi Barrani?” Live broadcast of Much Binding in the Marsh (Copyright British Pathe) Little of the BBC’s radio output of the 1940s has survived, as most shows were broadcast live and were not recorded. The 78 rpm disk recording technology, which was all that was available prior to the development of tape recording, resulted in sound quality that was significantly worse than a live broadcast, so it was better not to fill the air-time with recordings, and being a non-commercial broadcaster the BBC had no financial incentive to preserve its output. Those factors have made BBC recordings from this period rare.

Luckily a few episodes of of Much Binding in the Marsh exist and can be heard every Saturday on the British Comedy Channel at 23:30 GMT Much Binding in the Marsh - British Comedy Radio British Comedy Radio The Home of British Radio Comedy 24/7 Menu Much Binding in the Marsh Much Binding During WW2, there was a radio show for the Services called “Merry Go Round which comprised of three separate series: one for the Army, one for the Navy, and one for the Royal Air Force. These rotated, so that each was heard once every three weeks. The Army show was “Studio Stand Easy”, starring comedian Charlie Chester. He was actually an Army Sergeant when the show was conceived, having been called-up following the outbreak of war. Unbelievably, he was actually ordered by his commanding officer to write a smash-hit radio show! This, he later remarked wryly, was easier said than done. But he was a first rate comedian, who, like Kenneth Horne, continued to be very successful on radio well into the 1960s. The Navy’s contribution to “Merry Go Round”, initially entitled “H.M.S.

Waterlogged”, starred light comedian Kenneth Horne, Richard Murdoch, Maureen Riscoe, Sam Costa & Maurice Deham. Eric Barker, supported by Jon Pertwee (who was later to have big successes in the BBC radio comedy “The Navy Lark” and on television as the third Doctor Who). After the war, “H.M.S. Waterlogged” evolved into “Waterlogged Spa”, with the Naval Base becoming a health spa as the show continued into the post-war period. Many of the characters who Pertwee played in this show would later reappear in “The Navy Lark” in the 1960s! The Air Force show, “Much Binding in the Marsh”, was the most successful of these, to judge by how long it lasted.

Richard Murdoch and Arthur Askey on Bandwagon Broadcast by the BBC and Radio Luxembourg from 1944 to 1954, Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh was a radio comedy about a fictional RAF station which starred Richard Murdoch, who had previously appeared alongside Arthur Askey in the pre-war “Band Waggon”, and Kenneth Horne, who is now remembered mainly for his 1960s heyday in the two satirical successes “Beyond Our Ken” and “Round the Horne”. During the run of the show, the RAF station changed from combat operations, to becoming a country and finally a newspaper, The Weekly Bind. The programme’s title is thought to have been inspired by the RAF station at Moreton-in-Marsh. The word “binding”, was RAF slang for moaning or complaining. One of the most fondly remembered parts of the show was the closing theme tune, which was unique each week as topical lyrics referring to the plot of the episode were written and sung by members of the cast. Other cast members included Sam Costa, Maurice Denham, Maureen Riscoe, Dora Bryan and Nicholas Parsons.

Up the Pole from the 1st November 1948 (only known surviving episode) Up The Pole – Nov 1 1948 Musical interludes were provided by Stanley Black and the Dance Orchestra, and songs from Helen Hill. The cast were occasionally joined by special guests; a prominent example of this was the Hollywood star Alan Ladd. Maurice Denham in particular played an important part in the programme, playing a multitude of roles of varying gender and age. These included Mr. Blake the Sexton (the name a homage to the fictional detective Crooner, Sam Costa Sexton Blake), the local Vicar, Mrs Dinsdale, young Percy and others. The BBC cancelled the show in 1950 and it was transferred to Radio Luxembourg but returned to the BBC in 1951 until its run ended in 1954. In 1970, two of its stars (Murdoch and Costa) appeared on several episodes of Frost on Sunday where they performed more comical lyrics to the theme tune. The show is also sometimes said to have popularised the term “Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells” for newspaper correspondents.

Kenneth Horne and Sam Costa subsequently reprised their roles from Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh in an episode of Men from the Ministry first broadcast on 21 April 1968 entitled Four Men in a Wellington. Although not specifically mentioned, the response of the audience and Sam Costa’s catchphrase ‘Good morning Sir, was there something?’ are obvious references to Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh. HMS Waterlogged from Merry-Go-Round (8th August 1948) “Good morning Sir, was there something?” – Sam Costa, batman “Oh, I say, I am a fool!” “Have you read any good books lately?” “Leave it with me, sir” “Leave it with him, sir” “Would you like to see my puppies?” “Not a word to Bessie” “Did I ever tell you about the time I was in Sidi Barrani?” Live broadcast of Much Binding in the Marsh (Copyright British Pathe) Little of the BBC’s radio output of the 1940s has survived, as most shows were broadcast live and were not recorded.

The 78 rpm disk recording technology, which was all that was available prior to the development of tape recording, resulted in sound quality that was significantly worse than a live broadcast, so it was better not to fill the air-time with recordings, and being a non-commercial broadcaster the BBC had no financial incentive to preserve its output. Those factors have made BBC recordings from this period rare. Luckily a few episodes of of Much Binding in the Marsh exist and can be heard every Saturday on the British Comedy Channel at 23:30 GMT Please follow and like us: Much Binding in the Marsh Richard Murdoch Archives - Old Time Radio Network by oldtimeradio Much Binding During WW2, there was a radio show for the Services called “Merry Go Round which comprised of three separate series: one for the Army, one for the Navy, and one for the Royal Air Force. These rotated, so that each was heard once every three weeks. The Army show was “Studio Stand Easy”, starring comedian Charlie Chester. He was actually an Army Sergeant when the show was conceived, having been called-up following the outbreak of war. Unbelievably, he was actually ordered by his commanding officer to write a smash-hit radio show!

This, he later remarked wryly, was easier said than done. But he was a first rate comedian, who, like Kenneth Horne, continued to be very successful on radio well into the 1960s. The Navy’s contribution to “Merry Go Round”, initially entitled “H.M.S. Waterlogged”, starred light comedian Kenneth Horne, Richard Murdoch, Maureen Riscoe, Sam Costa & Maurice Deham. Eric Barker, supported by Jon Pertwee (who was later to have big successes in the BBC radio comedy “The Navy Lark” and on television as the third Doctor Who). After the war, “H.M.S. Waterlogged” evolved into “Waterlogged Spa”, with the Naval Base becoming a health spa as the show continued into the post-war period. Many of the characters who Pertwee played in this show would later reappear in “The Navy Lark” in the 1960s! The Air Force show, “Much Binding in the Marsh”, was the most successful of these, to judge by how long it lasted.

Richard Murdoch and Arthur Askey on Bandwagon Broadcast by the BBC and Radio Luxembourg from 1944 to 1954, Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh was a radio comedy about a fictional RAF station which starred Richard Murdoch, who had previously appeared alongside Arthur Askey in the pre-war “Band Waggon”, and Kenneth Horne, who is now remembered mainly for his 1960s heyday in the two satirical successes “Beyond Our Ken” and “Round the Horne”. During the run of the show, the RAF station changed from combat operations, to becoming a country and finally a newspaper, The Weekly Bind. The programme’s title is thought to have been inspired by the RAF station at Moreton-in-Marsh. The word “binding”, was RAF slang for moaning or complaining. One of the most fondly remembered parts of the show was the closing theme tune, which was unique each week as topical lyrics referring to the plot of the episode were written and sung by members of the cast. Other cast members included Sam Costa, Maurice Denham, Maureen Riscoe, Dora Bryan and Nicholas Parsons.

Up the Pole from the 1st November 1948 (only known surviving episode) Up The Pole – Nov 1 1948 Musical interludes were provided by Stanley Black and the Dance Orchestra, and songs from Helen Hill. The cast were occasionally joined by special guests; a prominent example of this was the Hollywood star Alan Ladd. Maurice Denham in particular played an important part in the programme, playing a multitude of roles of varying gender and age. These included Mr. Blake the Sexton (the name a homage to the fictional detective Crooner, Sam Costa Sexton Blake), the local Vicar, Mrs Dinsdale, young Percy and others. The BBC cancelled the show in 1950 and it was transferred to Radio Luxembourg but returned to the BBC in 1951 until its run ended in 1954. In 1970, two of its stars (Murdoch and Costa) appeared on several episodes of Frost on Sunday where they performed more comical lyrics to the theme tune. The show is also sometimes said to have popularised the term “Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells” for newspaper correspondents.

Kenneth Horne and Sam Costa subsequently reprised their roles from Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh in an episode of Men from the Ministry first broadcast on 21 April 1968 entitled Four Men in a Wellington. Although not specifically mentioned, the response of the audience and Sam Costa’s catchphrase ‘Good morning Sir, was there something?’ are obvious references to Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh. HMS Waterlogged from Merry-Go-Round (8th August 1948) “Good morning Sir, was there something?” – Sam Costa, batman “Oh, I say, I am a fool!” “Have you read any good books lately?” “Leave it with me, sir” “Leave it with him, sir” “Would you like to see my puppies?” “Not a word to Bessie” “Did I ever tell you about the time I was in Sidi Barrani?” Live broadcast of Much Binding in the Marsh (Copyright British Pathe) Little of the BBC’s radio output of the 1940s has survived, as most shows were broadcast live and were not recorded.

The 78 rpm disk recording technology, which was all that was available prior to the development of tape recording, resulted in sound quality that was significantly worse than a live broadcast, so it was better not to fill the air-time with recordings, and being a non-commercial broadcaster the BBC had no financial incentive to preserve its output. Those factors have made BBC recordings from this period rare. Luckily a few episodes of of Much Binding in the Marsh exist and can be heard every Saturday on the British Comedy Channel at 23:30 GMT by oldtimeradio Sit back this Easter and have a little rest and a big laugh with our collection of Comedy Classics. Watch them in the comfort of the Pumpkin Palace Cinema, your very own movie theater! I would like to wish all our listeners a happy, peaceful, and fun filled family Easter with plenty of the finer things in life, not excluding marshmallows, chocolate, and jelly beans! Best wishes: John ** Click on a movie poster to watch that particular film! ** Band Wagon The film version of the radio series Bandwaggon released in 1939 by Gainsborough.

The plot involved Arthur Askey and Richard Murdoch running a pirate TV station in a ghostly castle and rounding up a gang of spies. Cast:-Arthur Askey, Richard Murdoch, Jack Hylton and his band, Pat Kirkwood, Moore Marriott, Peter Gawthorne, Wally Patch, Donald Calthrop. You may be interested to know that Richard Murdoch plays ‘2’ in the Men from the Ministry! Africa Screams Though many of the gags go splat (they’re either feebly timed or missing the requisite punch line), the chemistry between the preeminent straight-man Abbott and his tubby, scatter-brained sidekick Costello is as raucously abrasive as ever. Yes, the range of their shtick is admittedly narrow (the Marx Brothers would’ve had these guys for lunch), but after whiling away numberless Saturday afternoons during my formative years with revivals of their movies on television, the very thought of Abbott and Costello fills me with a nostalgic warmth. Ask a Policeman Another comedic masterpiece from Will Hay and his associates Moffatt and Marriott from 1939.

Here we have all three as village policemen trying to save their jobs whilst fighting headless horsemen, smugglers and a disgruntled police commissioner! … definitely not to be missed if you love classic British comedy. I Thank You In desperate need of money to put on a show, the pair dress up as house servants {Murdoch a servant and Askey in drag as a cook} and bluff their way into the home of Lady Randall (Lily Morris), an ex-music hall star known to give financial aid to performers in the arts close to her heart.However, chaos reigns. Cast: by oldtimeradio The Men from the Ministry was a British radio comedy series broadcast by the BBC between 1962 and 1977, starring Wilfrid Hyde-White, Richard Murdoch and, from 1966, when he replaced Hyde-White, Deryck Guyler. Wilfred Hyde White & Richard Murdoch Written and produced by Edward Taylor with contributions from John Graham, and with some early episodes written by Johnnie Mortimer and Brian Cooke, it ran for 14 series, totalling 147 half-hour episodes.

A further 14 episodes were made by the BBC Transcription Service in 1980 but never broadcast in the UK. The series was about lazy, bungling, incompetent civil servants, “Number One” – Roland Hamilton-Jones (Wilfrid Hyde-White) and later Deryck Lennox-Brown (Deryck Guyler), “Number Two” – Richard Lamb (Richard Murdoch), with their dim, typo-prone, teenage secretary, Mildred Murfin (Norma Ronald), all watched-over by the lecherous, pompous, self-seeking Permanent undersecretary Sir Gregory Pitkin (Roy Dotrice and later Ronald Baddiley), all members of the British Civil Service based in Whitehall. Derek Guyler The stories centered on their General Assistance Department which helps other governmental departments. Instead of assistance, the department creates mix-ups, misunderstandings and cock-ups that lead to a telling-off from Sir Gregory, who sees his ‘hard earned’ Civil Service career and pension disappearing. In one 1960s episode, “The Big Rocket”, General Assistance Department is put in charge of publicity for Britain’s almost non-existent space programme.

With “One” out of the office and through a series of blunders by “Two”, a press release reveals the launch of a non-existent British space rocket, carrying Britain’s first female astronaut, Mildred Murfin. This surprises Mildred as she has that morning stormed out announcing she is “going round Ma’s”. The press interprets this as the rocket “going around Mars” and “One” and “Two” are faced with “bringing Mildred down to earth” while keeping their blunders from the public and superiors. Norma Ronald played Mildred Murfin In another episode, “The Whitehall Castaways”, Lennox-Brown, Lamb and Mildred row to an island in a lake in Regent’s Park, General Assistance having been told to ensure the safety of a great bustard, a rare bird that is nesting there. Neglecting to tie the boat up, Lamb allows it to drift and the trio are, as Mildred puts it, “marooned”, none of them able to swim to shore and Lennox-Brown having ordered the park to be closed and not re-opened “until I give the order”.

Spending weeks on the island, Lennox-Brown shows leadership and Lamb shows signs of mental distress, while back at the office Sir Gregory is delighted with their non-attendance and the prospect of being able to fire them, until a note cancelling an order for wooden pixies is found leading him to the conclusion that they may have taken their lives due to the shame of a blunder and his thoughts immediately turn to the effect this will have on his prospects. The trio are released by a boy and the fate of the bird and its eggs is revealed. The characters are portrayed as inept, subject to greed, selfishness and incompetence. However, malice was never a factor and all the humour was light-hearted. There was also a little broad satire in many episodes. Later series tended to recycle older scripts, just people and places being changed.

Cast * “One” (Roland Hamilton-Jones) – Wilfrid Hyde-White (1962-65) * “One” (Deryck Lennox-Brown) – Deryck Guyler (1966-77) * “Two” (Richard Lamb) – Richard Murdoch * “Mildred Murfin” – Norma Ronald * Under-Secretary “Sir Gregory Pitkin”, CBE – Roy Dotrice (1962-65), Ronald Baddiley (1966-77) Other occasionally recurring characters include “Lord Stilton”, Sir Gregory’s equally pompous boss, “Mr. ‘Whizzer’ Wilkins”, Lennox-Brown and Lamb’s aged and absent-minded colleague, and “Mr. Stack” – “Mr. Stack of ‘Records'” – in charge of the Ministry’s Records department and prone to taking naps in one of his filing cabinets. In the 1970 episode, Bye-bye Mildred, Sir Gregory does not appear and we hear instead “Sir Hector Gunn”. Also appearing in some episodes are Mr.

“Creepy” Crawley, a rather ingratiating member of the Department, and Miss Lusty, an elderly lady in the Pensions Department who lives up to her name. One of Sir Gregory’s later paramours was ‘Daphne Bentwater’ from the typing pool. Other named but non-appearing characters include ‘Mrs Bratby’, Lamb’s landlady. Actors who appeared in episodes of the series include Clive Dunn, Pat Coombs, Warren Mitchell, Bill Pertwee, Joan Sanderson and Nicolette McKenzie. Catch the Men from the Ministry on the Comedy Channel from the ROK Classic Radio OTR Network! RADIO: MUCH-BINDING-IN-THE-MARSH | Laughterlog.com The price of vegetables is quite appalling, At Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh, It goes up every day instead of falling. We think that our greengrocer must be absolutely green, He never has potatoes, Brussels sprouts are seldom seen, But he can’t be overcharging ‘cos he never has a bean. At Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh.

Years later Dickie was visiting 20th Century Fox studios in Hollywood, and walking on a set, heard a familiar tune being whistled. It was the Much-Binding song, and the phan­tom whistler none other than Richard Burton! After the war Merry-Go-Round, like so many men and women in the forces, was demobbed and the three different contributions became shows in their own right. Much-Binding returned in 1947, with the aerodrome converted into a country club, membership one! It was in this series the very talented voice man Maurice Denham was first heard (on and off initially due to his film commitments). Maurice, another ITMA graduate, could produce a cornucopia of accents — hu­man and animal. The former covered everything from a refined gentleman to a cockney charwoman. The latter included, as described in the script, ‘the noise of an infuriated yak’. Maurice’s most famous character was the likeable silly-ass Dudley Davenport.

Dudley sported a distinctive laugh, written in the script as “keogh, keogh, keogh!”, and a couple of popu­lar catchphrases: the apologetic “Oh, I say — I am a fool!” and his cheery greeting “Jolly D to see you!” Maurice also supplied voices for Ivy Clingbine (“Oh! What ‘ave I sayed!”), Mr. Blake the sexton (geddit?) and Fred (pronounced ‘Fraid’) Larkin, the man with the ‘comical anecdotties’. Other character parts were supplied by the ladies of the cast, most notably Barbara Valerie, Maureen Riscoe and Diana Morrison (the stern ‘Miss Hotchkiss’ in ITMA). Two which escaped them were those of Costa and Horne’s ‘better halves’, Emily (always in trouble with her ‘twinges’) and Bessie (“Not a word to Bessie about this, Murdoch!”). Despite being regularly mentioned in every episode, they never actually made an appearance before the microphone. Work for each week’s show began on the pre­vious Sunday, when Ken made the trip to Dickie’s house for a scriptwriting session.

After tossing ideas back and forth, they finally produced thirty pages of handwritten script in a school exercise book. This was delivered to Leslie Bridgmont’s secretary who typed the foolscap copy, translat­ing abbreviations along the way. These covered catchphrases — Murdoch’s greeting “Ah, good morning, sir. It is good to see you” became “AGMSHGTSY” in Horne-Murdoch shorthand – and common little exchanges between charac­ters. Sam Costa’s grumbles and tangled clichés (termed ‘Costaisms’) were left blank for him to provide on the day of recording. Also omitted to be supplied later, was Dickie’s opening spot, in which he described noteworthy events in the village that week. Rather than being a collection of jokes, the programme made use of regular little ‘stunt’ dialogues to emphasise the players’ characteristics. For instance, Horne was typically slow on the uptake whenever Murdoch let loose a whimsicality. When he did react, it would invariably be in response to an earlier joke, a few pages back in the script.

Another gimmick was to delay character entrances so their catchphrases took on a different context: MURDOCH: Well, we’ll get Costa in and ask him, Sir. (Calling) Costa! By the way, Sir, have you seen anything of Edward Wilkinson lately? HORNE: Well, I should imagine he’s gone abroad because about a week ago I was in a travel agency (Door opens) and he came in and said — COSTA: Good morning, Sir. Was there something? Edward Wilkinson was in fact an old Air Force buddy of Horne’s, whose name was thrown into the scripts as an in-joke. Later, whenever the fellow was introduced to someone, the reaction was usually “Oh, are you Edward Wilkinson from Much-Binding?” — despite the fact the poor man had no connection with the show whatsoever! Dickie’s little quips which failed to register with his sen­ior officer were frequently an excuse for old chestnuts or groan-inducing puns.

In one episode Horne explains that sea-food is available at a London restaurant: “It means you can get a crustacean.” Murdoch: “Really Sir, Charing Crustacean or Kings Crustacean?” Sometimes a surrealistic quality crept in to the humour, as with this wireless police message: “There was a nasty incident at the corner of Balls Pond Road today when a speaker ran over the events of the past year.” Meanwhile, one day in 1948 Dickie received a phone call supposedly from a lady-in-waiting at Buckingham Palace. Knowing Kenneth’s penchant for practical jokes over the phone, he was initially rather sceptical. But the call turned out to be a genuine request for a royal visit to the Paris Studio where the show was recorded. So that Tuesday twelve seats were reserved for a party which included the Queen, Princess Margaret and — their first appearance since the birth of their new son — Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh. Dickie’s cry of “Good old Charlieee!” at the end of the song seemed particularly apt. More often the celebrities were on the other side of the microphone.

In the tenth show of the third series, which fea­tured broadcaster Richard Dimbleby in ‘Up Your Alley’ (a parody of his show, Down Your Way), there was a guest ap­pearance by American tough guy Alan Ladd. He was given lines riddled with all the favourite Much-Binding catchphrases. At rehearsals he started to paraphrase these into something more natural to his delivery style, and was most surprised when Leslie Bridgmont insisted he mustn’t change a word! Another historic event was the first television edition, broadcast live from Lime Grove in 1947. The viewers were eager for more, but Kenneth found it hard to tear himself away from business meetings to attend rehearsals, so only a few episodes were made. Towards the end of the fourth series, Richard Murdoch was in hospital with mumps, and Kenneth Horne was left to carry on alone. However Dickie was back for the final show, in which they hosted a farewell party and reprised their ver­sion of the Quartet from Rigo1etto, a hit with listeners back in 1948.

In hindsight, the finality seems ill-timed since it was only a couple of months before Horne and Murdoch were back in the saddle, increasing their bank balances with a £50,000 series for Radio Luxembourg. This series, representing the most lucrative contract to date in British radio, was sponsored by Mars Bars. The novelty of commercial breaks comes an unexpected surprise to Ken in the first instalment; Dudley Davenport thinks them the best part of the show. In another episode, a great myth is debunked. The cast are stranded in the African desert after a plane crash, with Ken admitting unfamiliarity with their whereabouts. Much to his embarrassment, it turns out that they have arrived at the scene of the A.O.C.’s great wartime adventures, lovingly re­counted with the preface “Did I ever tell you about the time I was in Sidi Barrani?” The Luxembourg season achieved international sales but was not considered a success (“Even my mother said it was rotten” Dickie later recalled). It also created ill-will back at the BBC, who regarded their desertion to the ‘other side’ as an act of disloyalty.

Clearly the wounds were soon healed, as the team were back with the Beeb the following year for a series entitled Over To You. Then on Kenneth’s birthday, Feb­ruary 27th, in Coronation year, Horne and Murdoch took part in a radio command performance in the presence of Her Maj­esty and the Duke of Edinburgh. They included a special verse of the famous song which outlined their plan to view the coro­nation in the disguise of a pantomime horse costume: “We’ll be shouting ‘Good old Charlie!’ from inside a Windsor grey.” Later that year work began on their last series, simply renamed Much-Binding. The action takes place in the office of a local newspaper, which has been left to Murdoch by his uncle. The paper is renamed ‘The Weekly Bind’, but the first edition goes to print as ‘Tho Wookly Bind’, as Mr. Bobble the compositor (Maurice Denham) has run short of letter ‘e’s. Sam Costa is hired as a radio critic, and he also contributes poems under the pseudonym Prudence Gush; Dudley Davenport’s twin brother Maurice is responsible for a weekly comic strip.

Ear-basher Dora Bryan becomes fashion editor Gladys Plum, requiring instructions in the techniques of photography: “Do you know what a negative is, Miss Plum?” — “No” — “That’s right”. And so the curtain fell on the weekly goings-on at the village of Much-Binding-In-The-Marsh. Both Richard Mur­doch and Kenneth Home went on to again star in other successful radio shows, but working independently with dif­ferent teams. Then in 1970, after Ken’s death, came a revival of sorts — Dickie and Sam Costa appeared in a regular five minute slot in Frost on Sunday, giving a topical news-oriented rendition of the Much-Binding theme song (several of these are included on the show’s DVD release). After Dickie’s passing in 1990, BBC Radio 4 played a short run of the programmes, and soon after-wards a double cassette was released, containing four classic episodes. Allowing new fans to enjoy a comedy show which can list amongst its devotees such diverse names as King George VI, Lord Reith and John Major. EPISODE GUIDE General Forces Network, Fridays.

Much-Binding-In-The-Marsh broadcasts: Every six weeks from 31 March 1944 to 28 September 1945; thereafter every three weeks to 1 February 1946 (20 x 60mins) Starring Richard Murdoch, Kenneth Horne, Sam Costa (from 27 October 1944) The following episodes are known to survive: 19.1.45 Doing the accounts/The Brains Trust 13.4.45 Home learns of war/Aircraftsmen Work Wonders 19.10.45 TS2 (30 min edit) rehearsing for concert Much-Binding-In-The-Marsh Series #1: Light Programme, Thursdays, 2 January to 18 September 1947 (38 x 30 min) Starring Richard Murdoch, Kenneth Horne, Sam Costa, Marilyn Williams, Maurice Denham (regularly from 3 July), Dick Griffin, Vivienne Chatterton The following episodes are known to survive: 1/1 TS1 (part 2 only) Auction Sale 1/2 TS2 (part 2 only) Mr.

Prosntz, the Czech 1/15 TS8 (part 1 only) Billiards / Balance Sheet 1/19 TS7 (part 1 only) Conference / Important Phone Calls 1/20 TS11 Club meeting/Have You Seen Any Good Films Lately? 1/21 TS12 Song writing competition/The Plug-It-In wireless 1/22 TS13 (parts 1 and 3 only) Charles Farnesbarnes, songwriter 1/25 Buying a car / Grocery Rations / Riding Buttercup to Mrs. Plackett’s Series #2: Light Programme, Wednesdays.

26 November 1947 to 16 June 1948 (30 x 30 mins) Starring Richard Murdoch, Kenneth Horne, Sam Costa, Janet Davis, Maurice Denham, Barbara Valerie, Gwen Catley The following episodes are known to survive: 2/2 TS2/1 Reopening the club / concert 2/3 TS2/2 (part 2 only) 2/7 TS2/3 (parts 1 and 3) Fancy Dress Dance / In Town Tonight 2/8 TS2/4 Sam Costa on Trial / Singing Lesson / Question Time Time 2/9 TS2/5 (parts 1 and 3) New Brochure / 50 Guinea Suit / Uncle Tom 2/10 TS2/6 (parts 1 and 3) Taking Photograph / Have a Bash 2/11 TS2/7 (parts 1 and 2) Mayor’s Dinner / Trip to London 2/12 TS2/8 (parts 1 and 2) Military Club / The Florabelle 2/13 TS2/9 Train Trip from London / Reprimanding Fifi / Singing Lesson 2/1

4 TS2/10 Lady Davenport’s car/Driving lesson 2/15 TS2/11 Buttercup, the horse/Mr.

Blake’s farm/Farm animals 2/16 TS2/12 Invitation to Lady Davenport’s Reception / Piano Recital 2/18 TS2/13 (parts 1 and 3) Hunt Supper / Edith Blake’s Wedding Series #3: Light Programme, Tuesdays, 21 September 1948 to 12 July 1949 (43 x 30 mins) Special: Sunday 25 December 1949 (30 mins) Starring Richard Murdoch, Kenneth Horne, Sam Costa, Maurice Denham, Maureen Riscoe, Helen Hill The following episodes are known to survive: 3/1 Holidays/Sing-Song 3/10 Richard Bumblepuppy’s ‘Up Your Alley’. 3/15 (Royal Visit) Costa & Dudley run store/Sing-Song 3/20 Bindbourne Festival preparations/Rehearsal 3/21 Horne’s trousers/Mr.

Blake’s mystery bus trip 3/28 TS3/26 (part 3 only) 3/29 TS3/27 (part 3 only) 3/30 TS3/28 (part 2 only) 3/32 TS3/29 (part 2 only) 3/38 Holiday at the seaside (20 min only) 3/43 Breaking-up party Series #4: Light Programme, Wednesdays, 15 March to 13 September 1950 (not broadcast or a repeat substituted on one of these dates) (26 x 30 mins) Starring Richard Murdoch, Kenneth Horne, Sam Costa, Maurice Denham, Diana Morrison, Barbara Leigh The following episodes are known to survive: 4/7 Murdoch arrives at London office/Secretary interviews 4/8 Flowers/Horne’s glasses/Double Bass/Baby sitting 4/9 Horne’s home perm/Saxophone/PAYE income tax forms 4/10 Dictating machine/Lost silkworm/Elocution lessons 4/15 In the Waggoner’s Arms/On the Cartwrights’ farm 4/20 Hor

ne’s electric shaver/Running Hamphridge’s store 4/25 Preparations for party/Ninth Programme broadcast 4/26 Farewell party Luxembourg Series Radio Luxembourg, Sundays, 29 October 1950 to 17 June 1951 (34 x 30 mins) Starring Richard Murdoch, Kenneth Horne, Maurice Denham, Sam Costa, Diana Morrison, Patricia Hughes (replaced by Barbara Leigh from 4 Mar 1951) The following episodes are known to survive: 1 ‘Stopatwinge’ on Costa’s mo/Introduction to sponsor 2 Taking a photo/Tour around rival studio 3 Horne’s cold/Bindbourne Festival preparations 4 At the motor show/Mrs.

Hartley-Manners’ play 5 Casting for play/Dinner at ‘Samley’s’/White Sago 6 Riding Buttercup to station/Train journey to London 7 At Horne’s club/Luigi’s restaurant/At the circus 8 Paying off taxi/Chess game/Satellite town plan protest 10 Taking command of an aircraft carrier 11 Starting the Binding Airline / Recovering the Cabbage White 12 Flying a passenger to Paris / In court 14 Minding a poodle / French trim 15 By camel to Cairo zoo / Forced landing in desert 16 Modern business methods / Festival of Britain sites 17 Horne’s medical examination 18 Loose door handle/Visit from Americans 20 Horne’s visit to cinema/Horne’s Memoirs of the Desert 25 Turning club into roadhouse/Miss Flybelow 26 The American couple & the haunted house 27 (first ½ only) Buying & driving a bus 28 (first ½ only) Detective agency/Murder at Spagthorpe 29 (second ½ only) Lady Fanshaw opens the sale 30 (second ½ only) Ken inherits a

 manor house Over To You Light Programme, Sundays, later Home Service, Mondays, 30 September 1951 to 23 March 1952 (not 10 Feb 1952) and 31 March to 14 April 1952 (28 x 30 mins) Starring Richard Murdoch, Kenneth Horne, Sam Costa, Maurice Denham, Diana Morrison one (undated) recording exists, towards the end of the run Much-Binding Home Service, Fridays, later Tuesdays, 31 July to 25 September 1953 and 29 September 1953 to 23 March 1954 (35 x 30 mins) Starring Richard Murdoch, Kenneth Horne, Sam Costa, Maurice Denham (replaced by Nicholas Parsons from 5 Jan 1954), Dora Bryan The following episodes are known to survive: 1 Murdoch is left a paper/Staff recruitment/Radio criticism 2 Toast/First copy is printed/Next week’s issue 5 Darkroom/Fashion designer/Crumpet-holer 6 How to run up a fancy dress/Scottish sheepdog trials 

19 Costa & circulation manager/Christmas novelty factory ?

School for salesmen/Holiday on the continent/Air show DISCOGRAPHY Jubilee Festival Album Davjon LP DJ RAFA 1 (1968) Richard & Ken appear on one track, singing the Much-Binding song live from the Victoria Palace, 31 March 1968 BBC 1922-1972 – 50 Years Of Broadcasting BBC 2LP SOA & B (1972) Contains short extracts from Merry-Go-Round (19 Jan 1945) and Ack-Ack, Beer-Beer 50 Years Of Radio Comedy BBC REC 138M (LP) (1972) Contains an extract from Much-Binding-In-The-Marsh (17 May 1950) Much Binding In The Marsh BBC double-cassette ZBBC 1197 (1991) Contains four complete broadcasts Kenneth Horne : definition of Kenneth Horne and synonyms of Kenneth Horne (English) 9 External links Early life Charles Kenneth Horne [3] was the seventh and youngest child of Charles Silvester Horne and his wife, the Hon. Katherine neé Cozens-Hardy.

[4] Silvester Horne was a Congregationalist minister, Liberal MP for Ipswich , and powerful orator. His maternal grandfather was Herbert Cozens-Hardy , the Liberal MP for North Norfolk who became both the Master of the Rolls and Baron Cozens-Hardy on 1 July 1914. Horne was educated at a preparatory school in Shrewsbury , followed by St George's School, Harpenden and the London School of Economics . His tutors at the LSE included Hugh Dalton and Stephen Leacock . Horne was dissatisfied there, and through the generosity of an uncle, Austin Pilkington of the Pilkington glassmaking family of St Helens , he was enabled to go instead to Magdalene College, Cambridge . He represented the university at tennis, partnering Bunny Austin , but was academically undistinguished and so neglectful of his studies that he was sent down in 1927. [5] Austin Pilkington was aggrieved at Horne's failure to make the most of the opportunity he had provided, and he decided against offering him a post in the family firm.

However, through his contacts within the industry, he secured for the young Horne an interview with the Triplex Safety Glass Company at King's Norton , a district of Birmingham . [6] Horne's sporting record commended him to the manager of the Triplex factory, and he was taken on as a management trainee on a very modest salary. [7] In 1930, despite his unimpressive finances, he married Lady Mary Pelham-Clinton-Hope, daughter of the 8th Duke of Newcastle . The marriage was happy at first, but they were sexually incompatible. His wife left him and returned to her family home. The marriage was annulled in 1933 on the grounds of non-consummation, although the two remained on friendly terms thereafter. [8] When Horne's first marriage was dissolved, he was sought out by a former girlfriend, Joan Burgess, daughter of a neighbour at King's Norton. Unlike his first wife, she had much in common with him, including a liking for squash, tennis and golf and for dancing. A month before her 21st birthday they were married, in September 1936.

Royal Air Force Shortly before the Second World War, Horne enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve on a part-time training scheme. He was commissioned as an acting Pilot Officer , and on the outbreak of war he served in the RAF full time. [9] In between carrying out his RAF duties, Horne formed a concert party from his friends and colleagues. [10] On the strength of this he was invited by the BBC to take part in a programme for the armed forces, Ack-Ack, Beer-Beer (the title taken from the then-current phonetic alphabet ), which he compered. It eventually ran to 324 episodes. [3] Within a year, Horne was promoted to Squadron Leader , and in 1943 he was posted to the Air Ministry in London with the rank of Wing Commander . In his spare time he made more BBC broadcasts, during the course of which he met Flight Lieutenant Richard Murdoch . They quickly formed a friendship, and Horne arranged for Murdoch to be promoted and posted to his department at the Ministry.

[11] Murdoch, a professional actor and entertainer for 12 years before the war, recognised Horne's talent as a performer, and used his contacts to secure him more broadcasting work. The principal result of this was their joint invention of Much-Binding-In-The-Marsh, a fictitious Royal Air Force station . The BBC producer Leslie Bridgemont was responsible for a show called Merry-go-Round, which featured, in weekly rotation, shows based on the Army, Navy and RAF. In 1944 he gave Horne and Murdoch a trial, and Much-Binding, with Horne as "an officer so dim that even the other officers noticed" and Murdoch as his harassed second-in-command, became a popular hit. [12] In 1944, Horne met and fell in love with Marjorie Thomas, a war widow with a young daughter. Joan agreed to his request for a divorce; she soon remarried very happily. [13] Horne and Marjorie were married in November 1945. Postwar In 1945 Much Binding was well enough established to be given its own weekly slot for a 39-week run.

With the coming of peace, the supposed RAF station became a civil airport, and the show continued much as before, written by and starring Horne and Murdoch, with Sam Costa and Maurice Denham . [12] By now, Horne had been demobilised from the RAF and returned to civilian life as Sales Director of Triplex. His business career was demanding, and his radio commitments had to be fitted in around it. [14] After nine years in his senior position at Triplex, he moved in 1954 to be Managing Director of the British Industries Fair, a government-backed organisation promoting British goods worldwide. In the same year, Much Binding came to the end of its run. [15] In 1956, the government withdrew its funding and the BIF closed. Horne received several attractive invitations, and chose the post of Chairman and Managing Director of Chad Valley toy manufacturers. He was a success in the post, but in 1958 he suffered a debilitating stroke. His doctors warned him that when he had recovered he would never be fit enough to combine a full-time business post with his broadcasting work. He decided to give up the former in favour of the latter.

[16] After easing himself back into broadcasting as chairman of the radio panel game Twenty Questions , he began the second of his three major BBC radio series, Beyond Our Ken . This show was written by Eric Merriman and, for the first two series, Barry Took ; Horne's supporting players were Kenneth Williams , Hugh Paddick , Betty Marsden and Ron Moody (soon succeeded by Bill Pertwee ). [17] Around the imperturbable establishment figure of Horne the other performers played a gallery of grotesque characters, including the exaggeratedly upper class Rodney and Charles, the genteel pensioners Ambrose and Felicity, the cook Fanny Haddock, and the gardener Arthur Fallowfield. [18] When Beyond Our Ken came to an end in 1964, the BBC commissioned a replacement series, Round the Horne , on similar lines, from Barry Took and Marty Feldman . Horne remained the genial and unflappable focal figure, and the writers invented a new lot of eccentric characters to revolve round him. They included J.

Peasemold Gruntfuttock, the walking slum; the Noël Coward parodies Charles and Fiona; the incompetent villain Dr Chu En Ginsberg; the dreadful folk singer Rambling Syd Rumpo and the outrageously camp Julian and Sandy . [19] Towards the end of his life, Horne starred in the ABC television series Horne A'Plenty. With Barry Took as script editor (and later producer), this was an attempt to translate the spirit of Round the Horne to TV, though with different actors supporting Horne: Graham Stark , for example, substituted for Kenneth Williams and Sheila Steafel for Betty Marsden. The first six-part series ran from 22 June to 27 July 1968, the second (by which time ABC had become Thames Television) from 27 November to 1 January 1969. No recordings survive of either series other than a videotape of the Christmas edition in rehearsal.

His other TV appearances included Down You Go, What's My Line?, Camera One, Ken's Column, Trader Horne (a weekly advertising magazine for the Tyne Tees region), Let's Imagine, Call My Bluff (as team captain), and various specials with Richard Murdoch such as Free and Easy (1953) and Show for the Telly (1956). [20] In addition, he hosted a 1965 game show called Treasure Hunt for Westward Television . [21] He was the subject of This is Your Life on 19 February 1962. His radio appearances were legion, including hosting Housewives' Choice and acting as chairman of Twenty Questions and Top of the Form. [20] He was twice a castaway on Desert Island Discs – first in April 1954 in tandem with Richard Murdoch and then on his own in January 1961. He was also popular on Woman's Hour and wrote a monthly article for She magazine for over a decade, starting in January 1957.

Because of his heart condition, Horne had been prescribed blood-thinning pills, but had stopped taking the anti-coagulants on the misguided advice of a faith healer. He died of a heart attack on Friday 14 February 1969, while hosting the annual Guild of Television Producers' and Directors' Awards at the Dorchester Hotel in London. [20] Presenting the awards was Earl Mountbatten of Burma ; an award had just gone to Barry Took and Marty Feldman (writers of Round the Horne) for their TV series Marty, and Horne had just urged viewers to tune into the fifth series of Round the Horne (due to start on 16 March) when he fell from the podium. The televised version of the event omitted the incident, bridging the gap with announcer Michael Aspel saying, "Mr Horne was taken ill at this point and has since died." He was cremated at the Golders Green Crematorium .

Tributes After his death, Horne was eulogised in The Times as "a master of the scandalous double-meaning delivered with shining innocence," while The Sunday Mirror called him "one of the few personalities who bridged the generation gap" and "perhaps the last of the truly great radio comics." In The Sunday Times for 16 February 1969, Paul Jennings wrote of him: "If I ever knew a gentleman, it was Kenneth Horne. He moved, after all, in a world with a plentiful supply of synthetic personalities, but you never saw that glazed showbiz look in his eye. He gave you his whole attention, his whole courtesy. And what a courtesy it was! He would go literally miles out of his way to do anyone a kindness. I knew him in the context of panel games, to which his marvellous unforced humour, spontaneous but beautifully timed, always added sparkle." In the December 1970 issue of The Listener, Barry Took recalled Round the Horne and said of its star: "He was an unselfish performer, but it was still always his show. You just knew it. A Martian would have known it. His warmth tempered the sharpness of the writing ...

To say that everyone loved him sounds like every obituary ever written – nonetheless it's true ... Horne was one of the few great men I have met, and his generosity of spirit and gesture have, in my experience, never been surpassed. I mourn him still." Legacy By 24 February 1969 it had been decided that Round the Horne could not continue without its star. As a result, the scripts for Series Five (which Horne had jokingly suggested should be subtitled 'The First All-Nude Radio Show') were hastily adapted into a new series for Kenneth Williams called Stop Messing About, which was widely judged a failure and discontinued in 1970. Horne has since been made the subject of two biographies, Norman Hackforth's Solo for Horne in 1976 and, 30 years later, Barry Johnston 's more detailed Round Mr Horne. Editions of Beyond Our Ken and Round the Horne are regularly broadcast on the digital radio service BBC 4 Extra . In October 2003 a successful stage show called Round the Horne ...

Revisited opened in London, compiled by Series Four co-writer Brian Cooke from original scripts, and ran until April 2005 – also siring three nationwide tours and a BBC television film. Horne was played in the West End and in the film by Jonathan Rigby , who in 2008-9 reprised the role in a new show, devised this time by Barry Took's ex-wife Lyn, called Round the Horne – Unseen and Uncut. In the touring version of Round the Horne ... Revisited (2004-5), Horne was played by Stephen Critchlow , who also played him in the BBC television drama Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa! On 27 February 2007 (Horne's centenary), BBC Radio 4 broadcast a half-hour documentary tribute entitled Sound the Horne. The following year, on 18 September, another Radio 4 documentary was broadcast; called Thoroughly Modest Mollie, this one focused on Horne's frequent ghost-writer, Mollie Millest, and featured Jonathan Rigby as Horne.

Then, in 2009, an unproduced pilot script written by Horne and Millest in 1966 was revived by the same Radio 4 team. Called Twice Ken is Plenty and intended as a two-man showcase for Horne and Kenneth Williams, the 21st century version was performed by Jonathan Rigby and Robin Sebastian . The show was recorded at the Radio Theatre, Broadcasting House on 10 June 2009 and first broadcast on 1 September.

(There was also a playwright named Kenneth Horne, 1900–1975, author of such comedies as Love in a Mist, And This Was Odd, Wolf's Clothing and A Public Mischief.) Radio Kenneth Horne (Comedian) - Pics, Videos, Dating, & News Kenneth Horne Male Born Feb 27, 1907 Kenneth Horne is not to be confused with the playwright Kenneth Horne Kenneth Horne Born Charles Kenneth HorneTemplate:Safesubst:27 February 1907(1907-02-27)Template:Safesubst:St Pancras, LondonDisappeared Template:Safesubst: Template:Safesubst:Died 14 February 1969(1969-02-14) (aged 61)Template:Safesubst:Dorchester Hotel, LondonTemplate:Safesubst:Cause of death Heart attackResting place Template:Safesubst:Template:Safesubst:Nationality BritishOccupation Comedian and businessman Kenneth Horne (27 February 1907 â 14 February 1969) was an English comedian

 and businessman.

… Read More related links Learn about the memorable moments in the evolution of Kenneth Horne. CHILDHOOD 1907 Birth Kenneth Horne was born Charles Kenneth Horne on 27 February 1907 at Ampthill Square, London. … Read More He was the seventh and youngest child of Silvester Horne and his wife, Katherine Maria neÃ© Cozens-Hardy. Katherine's father was Herbert Cozens-Hardy, the Liberal MP for North Norfolk who became the Master of the Rolls in 1907 and Baron Cozens-Hardy on 1 July 1914. Silvester, a powerful orator, was a leading light in the Congregationalist movement, as minister at the Whitefield's Tabernacle, Tottenham Court Road from 1903 and, from 1910, chairman of the Congregational Union of England and Wales. Read Less 1910 3 Years Old Between 1910â14 he was the Liberal MP for Ipswich. … Read More By 1913 Silvester was suffering from continual poor health.

Read Less 1914 7 Years Old He resigned his position at the tabernacle on medical advice in January 1914, and intended to resign his parliamentary seat. … Read More On a speaking tour of the US and Canada he lectured at Yale University, and then took the ferry to Toronto; as it entered the harbour, he collapsed and died, aged 49; Horne was aged seven at the time. From September that year Horne attended St George's School, Harpenden as a boarderâthe seventh of the Horne children to attend the school. Read Less TEENAGE Show Less Although he was not strong academically, he developed into a good sportsman, representing the school in rugby and cricket, and during the summer holidays took part in the Public Schoolboys Lawn Tennis Championship at Queen's Club; in his final appearance in 1925 he was knocked out by the future Wimbledon finalist Bunny Austin. Horne enrolled at the London School of Economics in October 1925, where his tutors included Hugh Dalton and Stephen Leacock; he was dissatisfied with his time at the university and called Leacock "one of the most boring lecturers I ever came across".

… Read More During the general strike in 1926 volunteers were asked to enlist at the Organisation for the Maintenance of Supplies to take over the essential services; Horne joined and spent two days driving a London bus before the strike was called off. Read Less 1926 19 Years Old Through the influence and generosity of an uncle, Austin Pilkington of the Pilkington glassmaking family of St Helens, he was able to enrol at Magdalene College, Cambridge in October 1926. … Read More He committed himself to the sporting side of life and represented the college at rugby, and in the relay team alongside the future Olympic gold medallist Lord Burghley. He also played tennis for the university, partnering Bunny Austin. Read Less TWENTIES 1927 20 Years Old Distracted by his athletic exploits, he neglected his studies and was sent down in December 1927. … Read More Austin Pilkington was aggrieved at Horne's failure to make the most of the opportunity he had provided, and decided against offering the young man a post in the family firm.

Despite the disappointment, through his contacts within the industry, he secured for the young Horne an interview with the Triplex Safety Glass Company at King's Norton, a district of Birmingham. Horne's sporting record commended him to the manager of the Triplex factory, and he was taken on as a management trainee on a modest salary. Read Less 1930 23 Years Old In September 1930, despite his unimpressive finances, he married Lady Mary Pelham-Clinton-Hope, daughter of the 8th Duke of Newcastle. The marriage was happy at first, but had broken down by 1932. 1932 25 Years Old Mary applied for an annulment in November 1932; she declared the reason was "the incapacity of the respondent Kenneth Horne to consummate the marriage", which was dissolved in 1933, although the two remained on friendly terms thereafter. … Read More When Horne's first marriage was dissolved, he was sought out by a former girlfriend, Joan Burgess, daughter of a neighbour at King's Norton.

Unlike his first wife, she had much in common with him, including a liking for squash, tennis, golf and dancing. Read Less 1936 29 Years Old A month before her 21st birthday they were married, in September 1936. THIRTIES 1937 30 Years Old Joan became pregnant soon after the wedding, and in July 1937 a baby boy was delivered; he was stillborn. 1938 31 Years Old In 1938 Horne enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve on a part-time training scheme. … Read More He was commissioned as an acting pilot officer in No. 911 (County of Warwick) Squadron, a barrage balloon unit in Sutton Coldfield, and was called up into the RAF full-time on the outbreak of war. In the initial months of the conflictâthe Phoney WarâHorne's duties were undemanding, and he formed a concert party from his friends and colleagues. Read Less 1940 33 Years Old In November 1940 he was promoted to flight lieutenant, and to squadron leader a year later.

Show Less Bridgemont included a Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh section in Merry-go-Round on 31 March 1944; Horne played "an officer so dim that even the other officers noticed", with Murdoch as his harassed second-in-command and Sam Costa as an "amiable chump who always got things wrong". During 1944 Horne met and fell in love with Marjorie Thomas, a war widow with a young daughter. 1945 38 Years Old He was divorced in early 1945, and he and Thomas were married in November that year, three months after he had been demobilised. … Read More On his return to civilian life, Horne resumed working at Triplex, and was promoted to the position of sales director. Despite his subsequent joint career in broadcasting and business, his commercial activities always took precedence. He declared that his work on radio was only a hobby, and that he would give it up before his business career.

He combined his two roles by working full-time, and writing scripts with Murdoch at weekends.<br /><br /> Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh had gained sufficient popularity over its run of 20 Merry-go-Round episodes to be given its own 39-week series beginning in January 1947. With the coming of peace, the supposed RAF station became a civil airport, and the show continued much as before, written by and starring Horne and Murdoch, with Sam Costa. Maurice Denhamâdescribed by Murdoch as a vocal chameleonâjoined the cast and played over 60 roles. The programme became popular, with audiences of 20 million, and ran for four series until September 1950. Read Less FORTIES 1948 41 Years Old In March 1948 Horne appeared with Murdoch in six episodes of the BBC Television comedy series Kaleidoscope. … Read More In June that year he and Murdoch again appeared on television in a one-off sitcom, At Home, which they wrote. The following year Horne began his connection with Twenty Questions, an association that lasted, on-and-off, for 20 years.

By the fourth series of Much-Binding in 1950, the listener figures had declined to a level that concerned the BBC and they decided against a fifth series. Read Less 1950 43 Years Old Rather than wait to see what other offers of work would come in from the Corporation, Horne and Murdoch signed the comedy to a 35-programme series on Radio Luxembourg between October 1950 and June 1951. … Read More The programme was poorly received on the commercial channel: Murdoch observed that "it wasn't really a great successâeven my mother said it was rotten, and she was my greatest fan". After one series, the show returned to the BBC in 1951â52, although renamed as Over to You. Read Less 1952 45 Years Old Murdoch and Horne again appeared together, in April 1952, on Desert Island Discs.

1954 47 Years Old In 1954, after nine years in his senior position at Triplex, and 27 years at the company, Horne accepted the position of managing director of the British Industries Fair, a government-backed organisation promoting British goods worldwide; he took up his position in July 1955. … Read More Much of the work involved liaising with foreign buyers and delegations, and he accompanied the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh on visits to the annual fair. In 1956 the government withdrew its funding and the BIF closed. Horne received several attractive job offers, and chose the post of chairman and managing director of the toy manufacturers Chad Valley, where he was a success. In September that year he and Murdoch appeared in a one-off television programme Show for the Telly. Read Less FIFTIES Show Less In January 1957 Horne appeared as the compere on the popular Saturday evening comedy and music radio show Variety Playhouse, initially for a run of four months, but soon extended until the end of June. … Read More He also began to write a weekly column for the women's magazine She, and to appear in an increasing number of other programmes.

After his work on Variety Playhouse had finished, he and the programme's writers, Eric Merriman and Barry Took, prepared a script for a pilot episode of a new show, Beyond Our Ken. Read Less The show, in which Horne was joined by Kenneth Williams, Ron Moody, Hugh Paddick and Betty Marsden, was broadcast in October 1957. … Read More The pilot episode of Beyond Our Ken was well received by the BBC, and they commissioned a series to start in April 1958. On 27 February that yearâhis 51st birthdayâHorne suffered a debilitating stroke and was totally paralysed down his left-hand side and lost the power of speech. He underwent a course of intensive physiotherapy and was able to return home after two weeks. His voice returned when, during heavy massage on his left thigh, a sharp pain led to him shouting "You bugger!" at the physiotherapist. His doctor told him that the stroke was caused by the stress of combining a full-time business post with his broadcasting work. He also told Horne that when he had recovered he would never be fit enough to continue as before.

Horne considered that it was not the physical problem of combining his two careers, but the mental strain of problems in his business life; accordingly he decided to give up commerce and concentrate on a career in entertainment. Because of the stroke, plans for Beyond Our Ken were suspended. Read Less 1958 - 1963 4 More Events 1958 51 Years Old In April 1958 Horne eased himself back into broadcasting as chairman of Twenty Questions. … Read More This evidence of his recovery was sufficient for the BBC to begin recording Beyond Our Ken in June, in preparation for the broadcast of the first series between July and November. Beyond Our Ken was written around the imperturbable establishment figure of Horne, while the other performers played a "spectrum of characters never before heard on the radio", including the exaggeratedly upper class Rodney and Charles, the genteel pensioners Ambrose and Felicity, the cook Fanny Haddockâa parody of popular TV cook Fanny Cradockâand the gardener Arthur Fallowfield.

The first episode was not well received by a sample audience, but the BBC decided to back Horne and his team, and the initial six-week contract was extended to 21 weeks. Before the series came to an end a second had been commissioned to run the following year. After the first series Moody was succeeded by Bill Pertwee; Took left after the second series, leaving Merriman to write the remaining programmes on his own. Read Less 1961 54 Years Old … The second series of Beyond Our Ken followed in 1959; a third in 1960. Horne also continued his work in television, hosting his own series, Trader Horne, and appearing on a number of other programmes. Read Less In April 1961 he made his second appearance on Desert Island Discs, this time unaccompanied by Murdoch. … Read More In October that yearâthree weeks after the fifth series of Beyond Our Ken began recordingâHorne appeared as the anchorman on a new BBC television series, Let's Imagine, a discussion programme which ran for 20 editions over 18 months.

Read Less 1962 55 Years Old He was the subject of This Is Your Life in February 1962, hosted by Eamonn Andrews, in which guests included friends and colleagues from his connections in business and entertainment. 1963 56 Years Old In June 1963 he began Ken's Column, a series of 15-minute one-man programmes for Anglia Television. … Read More The seventh series of Beyond Our Ken finished in February 1964, with an average audience of ten million listeners per programme. In September that year Horne returned from holiday and was scheduled to appear in a number of programmes; Eric Merriman objected to Horne's activities, saying that Horne had been made into a star by the writer, and that "no other comedy series should be allowed to use him". When the BBC refused to withdraw Horne from the second programme, Down with Women, Merriman resigned from writing Beyond Our Ken and the show came to an end. After some pressure from Horne to keep the remainder of the team together, the BBC commissioned a replacement series, Round the Horne, on similar lines.

They turned to one of the original writers of Beyond Our Ken, Barry Took and his new writing partner, Marty Feldman. Horne remained the genial and unflappable focal figure, and the writers invented several new and eccentric characters to revolve round him. They included J. Peasemold Gruntfuttock, the walking slum; the NoÃ«l Coward parodies Charles and Fiona; the incompetent villain Dr. Chou En Ginsberg; the folk singer Rambling Syd Rumpo and the "outrageously camp" Julian and Sandy. The resulting programme was described by radio historians Andy Foster and Steve Furst as "one of the seminal comedies to come out of the BBC", while The Spectator described it as "one of the great radio successes". Read Less 1965 58 Years Old The first series of Round the Horne, consisting of 16 episodes, ran from March to June 1965.

… Read More Horne's role was to provide "the perfect foil to the inspired lunacy happening all around him": Read Less 1966 59 Years Old On 7 October 1966, at the age of 59, Horne suffered a major heart attack. … Read More He was much weakened, and was unfit to work for three months. As a result, he did not appear in the Round the Horne Christmas special. Read Less LATE ADULTHOOD 1967 60 Years Old He returned to work in January 1967 to record the third series. 1968 61 Years Old Round the Horne ran to four series, broadcast in successive years, and finished in June 1968. … Read More Three weeks after the fourth series finished, the first episode of Horne A'Plenty was broadcast on ITV. In a sketch show format, and with Barry Took as script editor (and later producer), this was an attempt to translate the spirit of Round the Horne to television, although with different actors supporting Horne: Graham Stark, for example, substituted for Kenneth Williams and Sheila Steafel for Betty Marsden.

The first six-part series ran from 22 June to 27 July 1968, the second (by which time ABC had become Thames Television) from 27 November to 1 January 1969. Read Less

Question: Which fictional RAF Station gave its name to a post war radio comedy starring Richard Murdoch and Kenneth Horne?
Answer: MUCH BINDING IN THE MARSH