Julian and Sandy

Last updated

1976 LP cover "Julian and Sandy".jpg
1976 LP cover

Julian and Sandy were characters on the BBC radio comedy programme Round the Horne from 1965 to 1968 and were played by Hugh Paddick and Kenneth Williams respectively, with scripts written by Barry Took and Marty Feldman. [1] According to a BBC Radio 4 programme on the characters, they were named after the writers Sandy Wilson and Julian Slade. [2]

Contents

Although no longer referred to as such, the various characters played by Williams and Paddick in a section of Stop Messing About were in all but name Julian and Sandy.

Background

Barry Took describes the original conception of Julian and Sandy as two "old theatrical chaps" who were doing housework in the flat of Kenneth Horne (the "straight man" in the sketches), while waiting for their next acting job. However, the producer of Round the Horne, John Simmonds, did not like them and viewed the characters as "too sad" and suggested making them younger "chorus boy" types. Their first appearance was in episode four of the first series, and – although Marty Feldman apparently "got tired of them" – Julian and Sandy proved to be the most successful part of the show, and appeared in every episode thereafter. [3]

As well as being a successful comedy act, Julian and Sandy were notable for being two stereotypical camp homosexual characters in mainstream entertainment at a time when homosexual acts between men were illegal in the United Kingdom. [lower-alpha 1] The writers and cast thought the characters worked very well as they were not simply there to be the target of a joke: in fact most of the sketches revolved around Kenneth Horne's presumed ignorance being the target of their jokes. Paul Baker writes that these sketches, while mocking an oppressed gay identity, present gay people as cheerful, rather than "indexing unhappy, ashamed identities like those in films such as Victim (1961), A Taste of Honey (1961) and The Boys in the Band (1970), or the openly politicised identity adopted by members of the Gay Liberation Front". [4]

Their use of Polari in sketches introduced the gay cant to a mass audience, and identified them as gay to those in the know. Although this prompted a brief revival, Round the Horne ultimately led to Polari's near-demise as a means of communication between gay men. [5]

Horne would start off usually by mentioning that he had found an advertisement in one of a selection of risqué magazines, which he would insist he bought for innocent reasons. This would lead him, more often than not, to a business in Chelsea starting with the word "Bona" (Polari for "good"). He would enter by saying, "Hello, anybody there?", and Julian (Hugh Paddick) would answer, to a round of applause from the studio audience, "Ooh hello! I'm Julian and this is my friend Sandy!" [6] – only once, on their second appearance, does Sandy start by introducing his friend Julian.

This quote illustrating the use of double entendre is from the sketch "Bona Law" (itself a pun on the name of Bonar Law, a former prime minister of the United Kingdom), featuring Julian and Sandy as lawyers:

HORNE: Will you take my case?
JULIAN: Well, it depends on what it is. We've got a criminal practice that takes up most of our time.
HORNE: Yes, but apart from that, I need legal advice.
SANDY: Ooh, isn't he bold?

Here, the "criminal practice" refers to both the fact that Julian is a "practising homosexual" and also the law practice where he is currently employed. Such innuendo and double entendre was the predominant form of British humour at the time, with the Carry On Films – in which Kenneth Williams featured prominently – being an iconic example of such. [7]

At other times, Horne's character would pretend not to understand the more risqué meanings in Julian and Sandy's dialogue, although it was always hinted that he was secretly in on the joke. A good example was Horne attempting to use Polari himself:

HORNE: Would I have vada'd any of them do you think?
SANDY: Oooh! He’s got all the Polari, ain't he?
JULIAN: Hmmmm, I wonder where he picks it up?

The sketches also often had Horne drawing out more about Julian and Sandy's personal lives than he intended, as the two would misunderstand his meaning. In one sketch, discussing Julian and Sandy's time out travelling the world aboard ship, Sandy reveals Julian was swept overboard in a storm:

HORNE: But did you manage to drag yourself up on deck?
JULIAN: Ooh, no, we dressed quite casual....

A recurring comedic theme of the series was Sandy (Williams) archly disclosing, or drawing out, a hinted-at salacious detail from Julian's (Paddick) past. [8] Apparently Julian had had an "experience up the Acropolis" and a tale about "Bognor" had apparently been divulged by Julian after he had "been at the gin". There would then always be an anguished complaint from Julian of "You traitor - you swore you'd never tell!", before Sandy would prompt him to explain all by imploring him to "Go on - purge yourself!" On a rare occasion Julian turned the tables on Sandy, and after bellowing the "purge yourself!" line, he then ad-libbed "I've been dying to say that for years!"

Ad-libs were a prominent part of the sketch (although on 'That Reminds Me', Barry Took denied this, [9] saying that most of what seemed to be ad lib was scripted), and were one of the reasons for how well the humour worked, as both Paddick and Williams were accomplished and very familiar with Polari in real life conversation. Williams, in particular, would add many lines of his own ("Lau your luppers on the strillers bona" (play the piano) being his most extreme use of obscure Polari).

Another catchphrase often used by both characters was "That's your actual French", although Barry Took acknowledged that Peter Cook had claimed to be the first to use "your actual ...." as a format phrase.

The humour acquired a real edge with jokes that were both risqué and controversial. Lines such as the following were very daring for their period:

SANDY: Don't mention Málaga to Julian, he got very badly stung.
HORNE: Portuguese man o' war?
JULIAN: Well I never saw him in uniform...

In the last episode of Series 4 in 1968 (which turned out to be the last ever episode of the show, due to Horne's sudden death) Julian and Sandy are revealed, very incongruously, to be "married" to a pair of "dolly palones" named Julie and Sandra. Also, Julian's full name is revealed to be Julian Mungo Lestrange.

Other appearances of the characters

On 30 December 1987, a special edition of Wogan called Radio Fun paid tribute to BBC radio comedy. Hugh Paddick and Kenneth Williams appeared as Julian and Sandy, with Terry Wogan doing Kenneth Horne's lines, as Horne had died in 1969.

In the stage show Round the Horne ... Revisited, which ran from 2003 to 2005 and was filmed for BBC Four, Paddick and Williams (and therefore Julian and Sandy) were played by Nigel Harrison and Robin Sebastian.

Recordings

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Homosexual acts were partially decriminalised in England and Wales in 1967.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenneth Williams</span> British actor and comedian (1926–1988)

Kenneth Charles Williams was a British actor and comedian. He was best known for his comedy roles and in later life as a raconteur and diarist. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the 31 Carry On films, and appeared in many British television programmes and radio comedies, including series with Tony Hancock and Kenneth Horne, as well as being a regular panellist on BBC Radio 4's comedy panel show Just a Minute from its second series in 1968 until his death 20 years later.

Polari is a form of slang or cant historically used in Britain by some actors, circus and fairground showmen, professional wrestlers, merchant navy sailors, criminals and sex workers, and particularly among the gay subculture. There is some debate about its origins, but it can be traced to at least the 19th century and possibly as early as the 16th century. Polari has a long-standing connection with Punch and Judy street puppeteers, who traditionally used it to converse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenneth Horne</span> English comedian and businessman

Charles Kenneth Horne, generally known as Kenneth Horne, was an English comedian and businessman. He is perhaps best remembered for his work on three BBC Radio series: Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh (1944–1954), Beyond Our Ken (1958–1964) and Round the Horne (1965–1968).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marty Feldman</span> British actor and comedian (1934–1982)

Martin Alan Feldman was a British actor, comedian and comedy writer. He was known for his prominent, misaligned eyes.

Round the Horne is a BBC Radio comedy programme starring Kenneth Horne, first transmitted in four series of weekly episodes from 1965 until 1968. The show was created by Barry Took and Marty Feldman, who wrote the first three series. The fourth was written by Took, Johnnie Mortimer, Brian Cooke and Donald Webster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betty Marsden</span> British actor and comedian (1919–1998)

Betty Marsden was an English comedy actress. She is particularly remembered as a cast member of the radio series Beyond Our Ken and Round the Horne. Marsden appeared in two Carry On films, Carry On Regardless (1961) and Carry On Camping (1969).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Double entendre</span> Wording that is devised to be understood in two ways

A double entendre is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, one of which is typically obvious, and the other often conveys a message that would be too socially unacceptable, or offensive to state directly.

Beyond Our Ken is a BBC radio comedy programme first broadcast between 1958 and 1964. It starred Kenneth Horne, with Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Betty Marsden, Bill Pertwee, and, as announcer, Douglas Smith. The title is a play on the name Kenneth and the familiar expression "beyond our ken".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hugh Paddick</span> Comedy actor (1915–2000)

Hugh William Paddick was an English actor. He starred in the 1960s BBC radio show Round the Horne, performing in sketches such as "Charles and Fiona" and "Julian and Sandy". He and Kenneth Williams were largely responsible for introducing the underground language Polari to the British public.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Murdoch</span> English actor

Richard Bernard Murdoch was an English actor and entertainer.

Take It from Here is a British radio comedy programme broadcast by the BBC between 1948 and 1960. It was written by Frank Muir and Denis Norden, and starred Jimmy Edwards, Dick Bentley and Joy Nichols. When Nichols moved to New York City in 1953, she was replaced by June Whitfield and Alma Cogan. The show is best remembered for introducing The Glums. Through TIFH Muir and Norden reinvented British post-war radio comedy – amongst other influences, it was one of the first shows with a significant segment consisting of parody of film and book styles, later used extensively in programmes such as Round the Horne and in many television comedy series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenny Everett</span> British radio DJ and entertainer (1944–1995)

Kenny Everett was an English radio DJ and television entertainer. After spells on pirate radio and Radio Luxembourg in the mid-1960s, he was one of the first DJs to join BBC Radio's newly created BBC Radio 1 in 1967. It was here he developed his trademark voices and comical characters which he later adapted for television.

<i>Little Britain</i> (TV series) British character-based sketch comedy

Little Britain is a British sketch comedy series that began as a radio show in 2000 and ran as a television series between 2003 and 2006. It was written and performed by David Walliams and Matt Lucas. Financed by the BBC, the radio series was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4, with the initial two television series premiering on BBC Three and the third and final series on BBC One.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British humour</span>

British humour carries a strong element of satire aimed at the absurdity of everyday life. Common themes include sarcasm, tongue-in-cheek, banter, insults, self-deprecation, taboo subjects, puns, innuendo, wit, and the British class system. These are often accompanied by a deadpan delivery which is present throughout the British sense of humour. It may be used to bury emotions in a way that seems unkind in the eyes of other cultures. Jokes are told about everything and almost no subject is off-limits, though a lack of subtlety when discussing controversial issues is sometimes considered insensitive. Many British comedy series have become successful internationally, serving as a representation of British culture to overseas audiences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julian Slade</span> British musician 1930–2006

Julian Penkivil Slade was an English writer of musical theatre, best known for the show Salad Days, which he wrote in six weeks in 1954, and which became the UK's longest-running show of the 1950s, with over 2,288 performances.

<i>This Morning with Richard Not Judy</i> Comedy television series

This Morning With Richard Not Judy or TMWRNJ is a BBC comedy television programme, written by and starring Lee and Herring. Two series were broadcast in 1998 and 1999 on BBC Two. The name was a satirical reference to ITV's This Morning which was at the time popularly referred to as This Morning with Richard and Judy.

Stanley Livingstone Baxter is a Scottish actor, comedian, impressionist and author. Baxter began his career as a child actor on BBC Scotland and later became known for his British television comedy shows The Stanley Baxter Show, The Stanley Baxter Picture Show, The Stanley Baxter Series and Mr Majeika.

Stop Messing About was a BBC radio series broadcast in 1969 and 1970. Forced by circumstance into being a follow-up to Round the Horne, it retained a number of key talents from the previous show, with Kenneth Williams as the new show's main star.

This is a list of events from British radio in 1965.

References

  1. ↑ "BBC - Comedy - Round The Horne". Bbc.co.uk.
  2. ↑ "Hugh Paddick". The Guardian .
  3. ↑ Baker 2003, p. 86.
  4. ↑ Baker 2003, p. 96.
  5. ↑ Baker 2003, p. 86–88.
  6. ↑ Baker 2003, p. 87.
  7. ↑ Baker 2003, p. 92–95.
  8. ↑ Baker 2003, p. 88.
  9. ↑ "That Reminds Me - BBC Radio 7 broadcast listings". Bbc.co.uk.
  10. ↑ "Vintage Stand-up Comedy". Vs-uc.com.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.