Sir Harry Donald Secombe was a Welsh actor, comedian, singer and television presenter. Secombe was a member of the British radio comedy programme The Goon Show (1951–1960), playing many characters, most notably Neddie Seagoon. An accomplished tenor, he also appeared in musicals and films – notably as Mr Bumble in Oliver! (1968) – and, in his later years, was a presenter of television shows incorporating hymns and other devotional songs.
Peter Sellers was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series The Goon Show. Sellers featured on a number of hit comic songs, and became known to a worldwide audience through his many film roles, among them Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther series.
Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan was an Irish comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright and actor. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Colonial India, where he spent his childhood before relocating in 1931 to England, where he lived and worked for the majority of his life. Disliking his first name, he began to call himself "Spike" after hearing the band Spike Jones and his City Slickers on Radio Luxembourg.
The Goon Show is a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme. The first series, broadcast from 28 May to 20 September 1951, was titled Crazy People; subsequent series had the title The Goon Show.
The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film is a 1959 British sketch comedy short film directed by Richard Lester and Peter Sellers, in collaboration with Bruce Lacey.
The Telegoons is a comedy puppet show, adapted from the highly successful BBC radio comedy show of the 1950s, The Goon Show produced for BBC television and first shown during 1963 and 1964. Two series of 13 episodes were made. The series was briefly repeated immediately after its original run, and all episodes are known to have survived. Harry Secombe, Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan reprised their original voice roles from the radio series and appeared in promotional photos with some of the puppets from the series. Among the puppeteers were Ann Field, John Dudley, and Violet Phelan. The original radio scripts were adapted by Maurice Wiltshire, who had previously co-written a number of radio episodes with Larry Stephens.
The Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town was a 1971 episode of LWT's Six Dates with Barker that was written by Spike Milligan and later adapted by Ronnie Barker for The Two Ronnies sketch show in 1976. Set in Victorian London, it featured a Jack the Ripper–style madman who stalked the streets and killed or stunned his victims by blowing them a raspberry.
Down Among the Z Men is a 1952 black-and-white British comedy film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring the Goons: Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers, Michael Bentine and Harry Secombe.
The Case of the Mukkinese Battle-Horn is a 30-minute comedy film starring Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan and Dick Emery. The film was made in November 1955, and released in 1956.
Let's Go Crazy is a 1951 British short comedy film directed by Alan Cullimore, written by and starring Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan playing multiple roles.
Tony Young was a British film director and television producer. His films include Penny Points to Paradise (1951), The Eternal Question (1956) and The Runaway (1963).
"The Fear of Wages" is an episode of the British radio comedy The Goon Show, written by Spike Milligan and Larry Stephens. As the 25th episode of the sixth series, it was first broadcast on 6 March 1956 and was among the shows first repeated in the 1970s following the success of The Last Goon Show of All in 1972.
Alan George Clare was a British jazz pianist and composer.
Alfred Edward Marks OBE was a British actor and comedian. In his 60-year career, he played dramatic and comedy roles in numerous television programmes, stage shows and films. His self-titled television sketch show ran from 1956 to 1961.
The Last Goon Show of All is a special edition of the BBC Radio comedy programme The Goon Show commissioned as part of the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the BBC. Simulcast on radio and television on 5 October 1972, the performance reunited Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers and Harry Secombe as well as other contributors to the programme's original run. It was later released as a long-playing record and on compact disc. The video recording of the television broadcast was also released on VHS and later on DVD, although with some omissions. In early October 2007, 35 years after the original broadcast, a full unedited version was broadcast on BBC 7, the digital radio channel dedicated to re-runs of classic shows.
The "Ying Tong Song" is a novelty song written by Spike Milligan and performed by the Goons, usually led by Harry Secombe. It is a nonsense song, consisting of small verses interspersed by a completely nonsensical chorus. The origin of the title is said to have come from Harry Secombe's mispronunciation of the name of Milligan's war-time friend and fellow jazz musician, Harry Edgington. When Secombe repeatedly called him "Edgerton", Milligan replied, "it's Edgington, Edgington" and emphasized the point by saying "Yington, Yingtang".
Adelphi Films Limited was a British film production company. With its sister company Advance, it produced over 30 films in the 1940s and 1950s and distributed many more. Adelphi linked Gainsborough Pictures and the raw “kitchen sink” dramas of the early 1960s.
The British actor and comedian Peter Sellers (1925–1980) performed in many genres of light entertainment, including film, radio and theatre. He appeared in the BBC Radio comedy series The Goon Show, recorded a number of hit comic songs and became known internationally through his many film characterisations, among them Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series. The filmmakers John and Roy Boulting described him as "the greatest comic genius [Britain] has produced since Charles Chaplin".
James Douglas Grafton was a producer, writer and theatrical agent. He served in World War II as an officer in the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment and was awarded the Military Cross for his actions during Operation Market Garden.
