One never knows with a new play whether it will live up to hopes and expectations, this one did.
Playing someone well known can be difficult - the danger is looking like a shop mannequin rather than a Madame Tussaurd look alike
Iain Barton was great as Tony Hancock - he had the full rang of Hancockian facial expressions, voices and was always in character. Wink Taylor was so like Kenneth Williams it was uncanny.
The play is partly a run through some of the funniest sketches from Hancock's Half Hour - as Kenneth appeared in only 6 TV episodes only one of which survives as a recording, the sketches are bar one from the radio HHH.
Spoiler - skip this paragraph if you don't want to know what episodes - ok your still reading so her they are: The Alpine Holiday, the test pilot sketch, the television set, the conjuror, Hancock in the Police, the wild man of the woods, the Ralph Reader Gang Show.
The sketches are occasionally adapted for the play with a few new jokes and some great ad libs were thrown in in response to the audience. The audience loved it, even though many probably knew the sketches by heart - seeing Wildman of the Woods acted out was just hilarious.
The play also covers the off-mike relationship between Tony and Kenneth - their initial friendship, the discussions about the nature of comedy, the discussions on philosophy and religion and the meaning of life, the falling out over the "Snide" character - Kenneth's best known voice and the one that made him a star. Hancock said Snide wasn't real life - Kenneth is the play points out that it was an exact copy of the voice of someone he met in real life ! At some points Kenneth acts as a narrator for events in Hancocks life, but this comes across as if he was talking on a chat show or to his diary not as exposition. The play recreates the desperate phone calls from Hancock to try and get Kenneth to take part in his disastrous show at the Festival Hall, Wink Taylors performance of the sadness and anger Kenneth must have felt is fantastic. The play lasted just over 30 minutes for the first act and about 40 minutes for the second with an interval in between.
It is very sad to think both of these comedy geniuses committed suicide. As the story goes - the Dr says to the patient go and see Groc the greatest clown ever, he will make you feel better, and the patient bursts into tears and says - but Dr, I am Groc.
The play made me think about Kenneth Williams, who rightly complained in his diaries that he had all the disadvantages of being a star but none of the money. His career is seen as being stuck in a rut with ever worsening Carry Ons, but actually - many of the Carry On's were very good films, at least up to 1970's Carry on Henry. Outside the Carry On's he had a career many people would have relished - from jack-a-nory to chat show host, author and radio star - and these don't seem to be so acknowledged.
While he occasionally yearned to be given more serious parts, on stage at least Kenneth could often not resist doing the funny voices and cheap laughs. It is a great shame the film was never made to go with his amazing performance of a diary of a madman - perhaps he would have got some better offers listen to it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6-xtJX5aJ8
Showing posts with label Tony Hancock. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tony Hancock. Show all posts
Thursday, 18 September 2014
Wednesday, 22 May 2013
Liz Fraser and other characters
Liz Fraser and other Characters - my autobiography
I really liked this book - it is very candid, although not sensationalist.
Liz Frazer had an absolutely prolific career - she did masses of live TV in the 1950's , became a film star in the 1960's and had a varied set of parts in the theatre.
At one time she had cornered the market is portraying a certain type of sexy and comic blonde, so much so that directors would ask for a "Liz Fraser type",
but there was clearly a lot more to her talents than just comedy. As one of her neighbours said to her - "I didn't know you could act"
As in all lives, there is the unexpected - born in 1930, she was evacuated to Kent, next door to Winston Churchill ! who used to sit her on his knee and allow her to collect acorns for his pigs. Then of course people realised evacuating children to the part of England nearest Nazi occupied Europe was not entirely wise - so she was moved to another family in Devon.
Her father died when she was just 11 :-(
Liz has worked with almost anybody who was anyone, a veritable A-Z. I counted 36 famous people just in the b section of the Index - but it is never done in a name dropping way - just little pen portraits of what they were like to work with. Liz's huge affection for Tony Hancock and Sid James is very touching. She doesn't hold back from the less pleasant side of Peter Sellers or a few others, but never in a nasty way.
Ironic is too weak a word, it is truly unfair that someone who was sought by so many men had two unhappy marriages. The first to someone who was a thief and a liar, a fantasist :-( the second was to a TV producer who was also a womaniser and an alcoholic. He dropped dead aged 41.
Who would guess Liz Frazer was a volunteer for the Samaritans charity for years fielding calls form wold be suicides ? Or her battle with breast cancer? Her love of boxing, football, playing bridge and investing in the stock market ? her Conservative politics ? That she wanted to have children but was unable to or that she wrote poems and her own lines for pantomines.
I haven't mentioned the Carry On films, as I hope she will be remembered for much more than that.
I really liked this book - it is very candid, although not sensationalist.
Liz Frazer had an absolutely prolific career - she did masses of live TV in the 1950's , became a film star in the 1960's and had a varied set of parts in the theatre.
At one time she had cornered the market is portraying a certain type of sexy and comic blonde, so much so that directors would ask for a "Liz Fraser type",
but there was clearly a lot more to her talents than just comedy. As one of her neighbours said to her - "I didn't know you could act"
As in all lives, there is the unexpected - born in 1930, she was evacuated to Kent, next door to Winston Churchill ! who used to sit her on his knee and allow her to collect acorns for his pigs. Then of course people realised evacuating children to the part of England nearest Nazi occupied Europe was not entirely wise - so she was moved to another family in Devon.
Her father died when she was just 11 :-(
Liz has worked with almost anybody who was anyone, a veritable A-Z. I counted 36 famous people just in the b section of the Index - but it is never done in a name dropping way - just little pen portraits of what they were like to work with. Liz's huge affection for Tony Hancock and Sid James is very touching. She doesn't hold back from the less pleasant side of Peter Sellers or a few others, but never in a nasty way.
Ironic is too weak a word, it is truly unfair that someone who was sought by so many men had two unhappy marriages. The first to someone who was a thief and a liar, a fantasist :-( the second was to a TV producer who was also a womaniser and an alcoholic. He dropped dead aged 41.
Who would guess Liz Frazer was a volunteer for the Samaritans charity for years fielding calls form wold be suicides ? Or her battle with breast cancer? Her love of boxing, football, playing bridge and investing in the stock market ? her Conservative politics ? That she wanted to have children but was unable to or that she wrote poems and her own lines for pantomines.
I haven't mentioned the Carry On films, as I hope she will be remembered for much more than that.
Wednesday, 11 July 2012
Misconceptions about Tony Hancock
Tony Hancock has been chosen as one of the new Elizabethans - one of the notable figures in the reign of Elizabeth II.
The first misconception is that Hancock got rid of his co-stars from the radio series. Although it is true that Hancock was unhappy about the 'snide' character played by Kenneth Williams, it was Williams himself who left the series a couple of episodes into the 6th radio series. He was unhappy about the number and quality of the lines he was getting - but perhaps it was more Kenneths ego here than Tonys which caused the problem.
Another myth is that only Sid James from the radio series made the move to TV with Hancock - actually both Hattie Jacques and Kenneth Williams appeared in the television version, although as supporting characters rather than as the same character each week . Writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson say it was they who made the decision to cut down the regular supporting cast as Television is a much slower medium than radio. Hancock can hardly be said to have blocked the appearance of Hattie and Kenneth in the TV Series. Hattie in fact appeared with the Hancock film the Punch and Judy Man, which shows they were still friends after the TV series.
True Hancock blocked Sid James being in his films, but James made dozens of films without Hancock, and no one complains about that.
In fact Hancock had often gone out of his way to get parts for his friends as Dick Emery, Graham Stark, Hugh Lloyd, Mario Fabrizi and others attest. Hancock felt most comfortable working with people he knew.
Another myth is that Hancock fired writers Galton and Simpson, in truth they did fall out over a Film script which Hancock rejected without even reading, but, Hancock never intended the split to be final and on several occasions approached Galton and Simpson to ask if they could provide scripts. For example before his series for ATV, but Galton and Simpson were too busy with other projects like Steptoe and Son. They almost worked together again on a musical "Noah" but this never got off the ground - perhaps thankfully in view of Hancock aversion to long stage shows.
Another myth is that Tony died in a hotel room in Australia, this is probably due to the play Hancock's last half hour, in fact he was staying in a basement apartment linked to the house of the director of the TV series he was working on at the time.
Perhaps the strangest myth is that Hancock was never as funny solo as when he was with Sid James - Galton and Simpson rebut this - they say look at the Radio Ham, The Blood Donor, the Lift - the shows indelibly associated with Hancock and for a time British Comedy and the British Way of life - Sid James wasn't in any of them, neither was Kenneth, Hattie or Bill Kerr.
Tony strove to make his comedy 'realistic' that is if a policeman called at the door, he wanted the audience to beleive it was a real policeman, not Kenneth Williams doing a funny voice. I think Tony was right, that is why so much of his comedy stands the test of time, even though the context has dated some of it.
The first misconception is that Hancock got rid of his co-stars from the radio series. Although it is true that Hancock was unhappy about the 'snide' character played by Kenneth Williams, it was Williams himself who left the series a couple of episodes into the 6th radio series. He was unhappy about the number and quality of the lines he was getting - but perhaps it was more Kenneths ego here than Tonys which caused the problem.
Another myth is that only Sid James from the radio series made the move to TV with Hancock - actually both Hattie Jacques and Kenneth Williams appeared in the television version, although as supporting characters rather than as the same character each week . Writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson say it was they who made the decision to cut down the regular supporting cast as Television is a much slower medium than radio. Hancock can hardly be said to have blocked the appearance of Hattie and Kenneth in the TV Series. Hattie in fact appeared with the Hancock film the Punch and Judy Man, which shows they were still friends after the TV series.
True Hancock blocked Sid James being in his films, but James made dozens of films without Hancock, and no one complains about that.
In fact Hancock had often gone out of his way to get parts for his friends as Dick Emery, Graham Stark, Hugh Lloyd, Mario Fabrizi and others attest. Hancock felt most comfortable working with people he knew.
Another myth is that Hancock fired writers Galton and Simpson, in truth they did fall out over a Film script which Hancock rejected without even reading, but, Hancock never intended the split to be final and on several occasions approached Galton and Simpson to ask if they could provide scripts. For example before his series for ATV, but Galton and Simpson were too busy with other projects like Steptoe and Son. They almost worked together again on a musical "Noah" but this never got off the ground - perhaps thankfully in view of Hancock aversion to long stage shows.
Another myth is that Tony died in a hotel room in Australia, this is probably due to the play Hancock's last half hour, in fact he was staying in a basement apartment linked to the house of the director of the TV series he was working on at the time.
Perhaps the strangest myth is that Hancock was never as funny solo as when he was with Sid James - Galton and Simpson rebut this - they say look at the Radio Ham, The Blood Donor, the Lift - the shows indelibly associated with Hancock and for a time British Comedy and the British Way of life - Sid James wasn't in any of them, neither was Kenneth, Hattie or Bill Kerr.
Tony strove to make his comedy 'realistic' that is if a policeman called at the door, he wanted the audience to beleive it was a real policeman, not Kenneth Williams doing a funny voice. I think Tony was right, that is why so much of his comedy stands the test of time, even though the context has dated some of it.
Sunday, 3 July 2011
Library Books July 2011
Sid James Cockney Rebel by Robert Ross iSBN 978 1 906779 35 1
Sid James is usually regarded as one of those strange (is it only British) Phenomena, an actor who played the same character time after time. You knew what to expect with Sid James.
James Robertson Justice, Terry Thomas, Kenneth Williams, Sean Connery - the line between acting and just being the persona they had adopted was far from clear.
Perhaps surprisingly given the number of films he was in, as well as plentiful TV and the unforgettable radio of Hancocks Half Hour - I believe this is only the second biography of Sid. It scores heavily over the previous attempt in that it has a lot more information and reminiscences from friends and colleagues. There is an obvious and undenied element of hero worship on the part of the author - but that works well in capturing the appeal of Sid James. It is interesting to note how much Sid resisted becoming a top of the bill star - and how he was concerned about his image and keen to see it evolve.
Paintings that changed the world by Klaus Reichold and Bernhard Graf ISBN 3-7913-1983-3
The first thing I liked about this book was that the introduction starts by saying "Of course, no painting really changed the world !" But it works very well as an overview of different paintings from cave painting from over 17,000 years ago to Andy Warhol in the 1960's. A page of text and often a few other relevant pictures offer context and explanation for each of the main pictures. I am always surprised about how small many original artworks are, quite often, no more than 60cm by 40cm.
Do you think that's wise - The life of John Le Mesurier by Graham McCann
ISBN 978-1 84513 583 6
A very warm and well written book. John Le Merurier is probably best know for playing Sgt Wilson in Dad's Army, but also memorable for host of films where you remembered he'd been in them, even though he might have been on screen for just a few minutes. As self-described jobbing actor, Le Mesurier was more than capable of taking on more challenging roles, which sometimes came his way. The book is excellent in dealing with his complicated relationships with Hattie Jacques and Tony Hancock. The only error I spotted was the claim Hancock used teleprompters for the HHH episode the lift - when that was recorded before the car accident that that led to Hancock using such machines.
My life in Comedy - Nicholas Parsons ISBN 9781845966218
Nicholas Parsons has already written an autobiography - so this book
Nicholas started as a straight actor but has had a career that has covered:
straight man, game show host, west end stage, cabaret, film and radio.
This book has anecdote's about lots of famous people he has worked with over the years,
rarely gushing and not afraid to be critical of some people !
the chapters on his role as a straight man and as chair of just a minute were interesting
as well as his reflections on comedians. His insight into the early days of TV and post war films
were good too.
The elephant to Hollywood - Michael Caine - the Autobiography ISBN 978-1-444-70003-9
A very chatty style - a rags to riches story and a remarkable 50 year career, he must be doing something right.
Sid James is usually regarded as one of those strange (is it only British) Phenomena, an actor who played the same character time after time. You knew what to expect with Sid James.
James Robertson Justice, Terry Thomas, Kenneth Williams, Sean Connery - the line between acting and just being the persona they had adopted was far from clear.
Perhaps surprisingly given the number of films he was in, as well as plentiful TV and the unforgettable radio of Hancocks Half Hour - I believe this is only the second biography of Sid. It scores heavily over the previous attempt in that it has a lot more information and reminiscences from friends and colleagues. There is an obvious and undenied element of hero worship on the part of the author - but that works well in capturing the appeal of Sid James. It is interesting to note how much Sid resisted becoming a top of the bill star - and how he was concerned about his image and keen to see it evolve.
Paintings that changed the world by Klaus Reichold and Bernhard Graf ISBN 3-7913-1983-3
The first thing I liked about this book was that the introduction starts by saying "Of course, no painting really changed the world !" But it works very well as an overview of different paintings from cave painting from over 17,000 years ago to Andy Warhol in the 1960's. A page of text and often a few other relevant pictures offer context and explanation for each of the main pictures. I am always surprised about how small many original artworks are, quite often, no more than 60cm by 40cm.
Do you think that's wise - The life of John Le Mesurier by Graham McCann
ISBN 978-1 84513 583 6
A very warm and well written book. John Le Merurier is probably best know for playing Sgt Wilson in Dad's Army, but also memorable for host of films where you remembered he'd been in them, even though he might have been on screen for just a few minutes. As self-described jobbing actor, Le Mesurier was more than capable of taking on more challenging roles, which sometimes came his way. The book is excellent in dealing with his complicated relationships with Hattie Jacques and Tony Hancock. The only error I spotted was the claim Hancock used teleprompters for the HHH episode the lift - when that was recorded before the car accident that that led to Hancock using such machines.
My life in Comedy - Nicholas Parsons ISBN 9781845966218
Nicholas Parsons has already written an autobiography - so this book
Nicholas started as a straight actor but has had a career that has covered:
straight man, game show host, west end stage, cabaret, film and radio.
This book has anecdote's about lots of famous people he has worked with over the years,
rarely gushing and not afraid to be critical of some people !
the chapters on his role as a straight man and as chair of just a minute were interesting
as well as his reflections on comedians. His insight into the early days of TV and post war films
were good too.
The elephant to Hollywood - Michael Caine - the Autobiography ISBN 978-1-444-70003-9
A very chatty style - a rags to riches story and a remarkable 50 year career, he must be doing something right.
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