Bob monkhouse, who died 10 years, left an undiscovered hoard of comedy. Bob monkhouse archive auction items include frank bellamy tv21. Lynn barber joins bob monkhouse at home in barbados. Book of days paperback 16 nov 1981 by bob monkhouse editor 4. In 2009, bob monkhouses family gave the comedians archive to the company. Bob monkhouse, the comedian who died yesterday aged 75, became synonymous with television game shows, playing the unctuous host to more than 30 different programmes that, like him, seemed to many. Max bygraves called it the sleaziest book of the year but it was certainly a memorable one and well above the normal rut.
It was written by bob, and also illustrated by him, proving that he definitely still had his artistic talent. The secret life of bob monkhouse british comedy guide. He died peacefully in his sleep after losing his twoandahalf year battle against cancer. He also illustrated one of his own books, book of days, published by arrow. He also became a favourite with impressionists, and, as his comedy style fell out of favour in the 1980s, he was mocked for his slickness and accused of. A peek into the personal archive of bob monkhouse by coward, simon, perry, christopher isbn. Bob monkhouses astonishing joke book now open to the public. The comedy uncle a new book reveals the side of bob monkhouse the public rarely saw always ready to help fellow comedians and. Bobs frequent visits to son at county centre worcester news. Bob monkhouse in 1954 the following year monkhouse and dors met again at a sunday evening radio show and they had a brief affair. He began his career as a schoolboy writing jokes for established comedians.
Original comic artwork from the fantastic bob monkhouse archive comes to auction. Robert alan monkhouse obe 1 june 1928 29 december 2003 was an english entertainer. Bob monkhouses astonishing joke book now open to the. This led to writing pulp books for the troops during the second world war he. Bob monkhouse obe 19282003 was one of the uks bestknown comedians, with a long career combining writing, acting, standup and as a tv game show host. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Kaleidoscope the men who found our lost tv archives bbc news. But now, for the first time, bob monkhouses legendary joke books are being. Since bob monkhouse s death in 2003, this remarkable comedy archive has remained hidden, stored in suitcases under the desk of the comedians former writing partner, colin edmonds. He was also an expert on silent cinema and an avid film collector. Comedian bob monkhouse, who died yesterday at the age of 75, was a frequent visitor to worcestershire in the days when his son, gary, lived in the county. Buy book of days 1st paperback printing by monkhouse, bob isbn.
A guide to the secret life of bob monkhouse, the 2011 bbc four tv documentary. One day he wrote to me to say that he had used a few of my gags and. A respected standup comedian, monkhouse was known for his talent at adlibbing. Bob monkhouse went to school with artist and future author dennis gifford. The last stand 2016 recorded in 2003 live on stage, interspersed with interviews with comedians and celebrities that were in the audience that night. Hed say could i have a piece for the wall and they would just send it it was like that in the old days, and in return he would make a few notes. The veteran comedian, whose showbusiness career spanned more than half a century, was. I always felt it was a shame we didnt see more of bob monkhouse as a comics artist, but in 1981 arrow books published the book of days, a whacky day by day guide to historys strangest facts. Bob monkhouse was born on 1 june 1928 at 168 bromley road, beckenham, kent. A vast collection of lost tv and radio footage featuring tommy cooper, frankie howerd and. The monkhouse archive this series was purportedly using the collection of comedy recordings that the elder statesman of comedy had accumulated over the years, but was a standard clip show, where the bbc archives were raided for clips along a theme.
Original comic artwork from the fantastic bob monkhouse. The bob monkhouse archive is stored and managed by kaleidoscope on behalf of the monkhouse family. The kaleidoscope archive contains over 750,000 items, which include the bob monkhouse collection, the archive of illuminations productions, the estate of. A look back at the life and career of comedian bob monkhouse through a collection of previously unseen archive material. The first time that bob monkhouse appeared on television, at the age of 19, he said, no.
Monkhouse hosted a show on bbc radio 2 called the monkhouse archive. Diana lied that her husband was in new york to lower monkhouse. Buy book of days 1st paperback printing by bob monkhouse isbn. Since monkhouses death in 2003, this remarkable comedy archive has. Author of just say a few words, crying with laughter, bob monkhouse at the beeb, the book of days, celebrity quiz book, over the limit, crying with laughter audio boo, funny for money. Bob monkhouse, the comedian and game show host known for his quick oneliners and cheesy smile, has died at his home aged 75.
Other projects include the wayback machine, archive. Find out when the secret life of bob monkhouse is on tv. Veteran british comedian and television host bob monkhouse has died at his bedfordshire home aged 75. Perry recalls the day that monkhouses daughter abigail williams asked. He became much in demand as an afterdinner speaker and wrote a book about the subject, just say a few words lennard publishing, 1988, 1999. Originally given to the bfi, but now stored solely with.
Wilfred monkhouse once took a thrilled and surprised robert for an unprecedented day out. Bob monkhouse s interest in becoming a comedian was nevertheless developing at the same time as he was suffering such misery and neglect. Original comic artwork from the fantastic bob monkhouse archive. Bob monkhouse was loved as one of the best comedians and presenters of his generation but few people know about the huge respect he is also held in by comic collectors. The entire monkhouse film and television archive is now held by. Bob monkhouse, the king of television comedy, died today after a long battle against cancer.
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