He arrived in 1957 to the smoke and chimneys of Dudley in the West Midlands. ibid.
Laurel & Hardy: Stan Laurel in the early 60s [with puppet] … He lives with his wife Aida in Santa Monica, California. Laurel is retired after leaving show business. For 30 years he and his best pal Oliver Hardy were a team. The world famous comedian has no star complex. Laurel & Hardy: Their Lives & Magic, Sky Arts 2020
‘We sure used to have a lot of fun, didn’t we?’ ibid. Laurel to Hardy
106 comedies together: Laurel & Hardy are the best known and post popular comedy duo in the world. ibid.
‘At last you are using my brain.’ ibid. Hardy to Laurel
Whatever Stan does and whatever happens to Ollie, he bears it with a stoic demeanour. ibid.
They dine together, play golf together and even go fishing. ibid.
New York harbor: on 16th 1932 Laurel and Oliver leave here for England on a luxury liner. ibid.
They perfect their unmistakable style of comedy: one of their basic principles of comedy: tit for tat. ibid.
A lot of back taxes to pay: Stan is seen more frequently at his favourite bar after work. ibid.
Stan ends up getting married seven times to four women. ibid.
Laurel & Hardy go on a major twelve-week tour to major US cities. ibid.
Twentieth Century Fox – Stan and Ollie are finally able to make movies again. ibid.
Stan and Ollie are unemployed … Theatre instead of movies … They leave New York for England in 1947. ibid.
‘You know John I don’t think he ever slept.’ Too Young to Die s1e3: John Belushi, friend
‘He always played at the top of his skill, at the top of his ingenuity, at the top of his personality.’ ibid.
He made just seven films but they immortalised him. ibid.
Belushi was arrogant and quick-tempered, funny and dramatic, insecure and beset by doubt. ibid.
An early death that was inevitable? John Belushi died in 1982 of a mixture of cocaine and heroin. ibid.
‘Absolutely brilliant parody of Joe Cocker.’ ibid. friend
Saturday Night Live: In four seasons of the show John played well over fifty characters and improvisations. ibid.
Animal House became the most successful comedy of all time. ibid.
For Saturday Night Live he [Belushi] had devised the Blues Brothers – their records sold millions: The Blues Brothers: a musical with crazy car chases. The film cost $27 million … A triumphant return for John. But shooting was overshadowed by Belushi’s alcohol and drug excesses. ibid.
For over 50 years he was a constant presence on Britain’s television screens. A reassuring host, the perfect master of ceremonies, the man whose face was so familiar he felt like the nation’s uncle. But he was also one of our finest stand-up comedians, a performer whose love of words and the crafting of a gag made him the most accomplished comic of his generation. Bob Monkhouse, Master of Laughter, Channel 5 2020
His was a stellar career that including writing comedy for some of the biggest stars in the world, appearing in movies, starring in radio shows, hosting game shows, but more than anything he was a world-class stand-up comedian. ibid.
Jokes were what Bob Monkhouse lived for. He would spend his days writing jokes, his evenings telling jokes … He once worked out he’d written and told well over a million jokes in his career. ibid.
Before long, they [with Denis Goodwin] were performing together too. In the early ’50s Bob and Denis were in such demand to appear in the top radio shows of the time that they set up their own business: the Monkhouse & Goodwin Agency … In 1962 their partnership ended. ibid.
In 1967 he was invited to become host of the biggest entertainment show of the times: The London Palladium Show … That same year Bob learned that ATV had acquired the rights to a hot new game show which had been a huge hit in Germany. The name of the show: The Golden Shot. ibid.
To entice Bob back to ATV the company had agreed that after 12 months he could host a new game show that his management had spotted in America: that show was Celebrity Squares. ibid.
The London Palladium 1964: Jimmy Tarbuck was a 24 year old kid … he got to tell gags, he got to sing … and got to laugh a lot … a lad from Liverpool. Jimmy Tarbuck: The Laughs Are on Me, Channel 5 2021
‘His energy before he got to the microphone was massive, that walk on, that shaking …’ ibid. Les Dennis
‘If they don’t like you, they can’t laugh at you.’ ibid. Jimmy Tarbuck
Some day people soon are going to rise up and kill bankers. Poor bankers, they’re not feeling the love these days. Bill Maher: But I’m Not Wrong, Sky Comedy 2010
Don’t you just miss the days when America was just morally bankrupt? ibid.
Ever since they started giving all the money to the top 1%, the roads, the bridges, the infrastructure, the electrical, healthcare, it all went to shit. ibid.
I don’t wish America was stupid. But it is stupid. But those are two thoughts. ibid.
It’s all sentimental … and Tinkerbell’s life goes out and she dies. The love of our troops: the ultimate in fake patriotism. The troops? Are you kidding? We pay them like shit, we fuck them and trick them on deployments, we nickel and dime them on medical care when they get home, not to mention the stupid wars that we send them to. ibid.
They don’t have an army. They have exploding underwear. ibid.
… When their imaginary friend comes back for the rapture: Oh I was in the bathroom and the rapture came … Here’s a frightening statistic: one out of four Americans believe that Jesus will return to Earth in their lifetime. See that’s religion. Ego masquerading as humility. Jesus is coming back: of course he’s going to want to meet me. ‘Hi, Jesus, Bob Flemstein, big fan, I know you’re crazy business with the rapture and everything but can you just sign.’ ibid.
But he has kids? What is this – Bonanza? He has a son? God had a son. And he said to him, Jesus, I’m sending you down to Earth on a suicide mission. But don’t worry, they can’t kill you, because you’re really me. ibid.
Did you see that HBO Special on Ted Haggard? … He said he was impacted by homosexuality. ibid.
I have been saying for a long time that President Bush must set a timetable for removing his head from his arse. Bill Maher: The Decider, Sky Comedy 2007
The conservatives are all macho bluster, all pro gun and pro death. And pro torture. You know, real men that go off in the woods and blast each other in the face from time to time. ibid.
The whole war has been run on slogans … And they all have to be under ten words. ibid.
The United States’ government is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Pharmaceutical industry. ibid.
I’m sorry religion is so retarded but it is. ibid.
Everyone’s mock outrage at him kind of made him bigger and more successful. The Outcast Comic: Andrew Lawrence, Sky Arts 2020
He’d fall where the edge is and fall off it. ibid.
Comedians ripped into him and mocked him. ibid.
He won the approval of Nigel Farage. ibid.
He’s gone into this real rant mode. ibid. Reginald Hunter
Was it the way he walked? His expression? His moustache? His hat or his cane? Chaplin: Charlie the tramp. Exactly a century after his first appearance in front of the camera, the tramp remains the icon of motion pictures, its most famous silhouette, its greatest star. Chaplin: The Birth of the Tramp, Sky Arts 2022
The Twentieth Century was only a few hours old when young Chaplin who had already left school was dividing his time between music hall tours and small ill-paid jobs. ibid.
‘I thought I would dress in baggy pants, big shoes, cane and a derby hat. I wanted everything in contradiction … By the time I walked on the stage, the Tramp was fully born.’ ibid.