The night of several thousand stars.. - 100 years of the Royal Variety Performance

2012 marks a significant anniversary for entertainment in Britain, as it is one hundred years since the first Royal Command Performance. But the Royal Family had been closed associated to the performing arts, his highness King Edward the Seventh had a love of those who performed in the theatre counting actress Lillie Langtry as one of his closest confidants. Though before that performers could be called to the royal residences could have been 'commanded' to perform for the Royal Family, amongst the performers called to do so was music hall comedian and actor Dan Leno. Leno famous for his appearances in music halls up and down the land and for his role at London's Drury Lane in its pantomimes between 1888 and 1904 was said to be one of the Royal Family's favourite performers.

Where as ballet and opera had royal patronage, where each had gala performances for them both, music hall and variety seemed out on a limb also as not quite a worthy thing for the Royal Family to lend their name to publicly at all. The likes of music hall giant Marie Lloyd, hugely popularly with the general public was not seen to be of the right taste for the royals with some people in higher society deeming her act as too vulgar to be performed in front of royalty. As when the first-ever Royal Command Performance was announced to take place in 1912, King George V and Queen Mary, Ms Lloyd was not invited to appear on the bill though it may have been her support for the 1907 strike that may have been the reason for her omission. Though Marie Lloyd did strike back robustly by saying 'All of my performances are by command of the British Public..'

The first-ever Royal Command Performance was held at the Cambridge Theatre in London in 1912, in aid of the Variety Artistes' Benevolent Fund who were raising money to build an extension to its home for elderly variety artists at Brinsworth House in Twickenham. Nearly all of Variety finest were present at this event, if they were not performing that night, they had a walk on part in the finale subtitled 'Variety's Garden Party'. The likes of comedian Gus Elen, 'blackface' performer G.H. Chirgwin, magician and illusionist David Devant, Australian comedienne Florrie Forde, prevalent musical theatre star Lupino Lane to name but a few. The cream of Variety was on show, make the occasion extra special for the royal guests, but over the years the Royal Variety Performance has always had the pulled of the best of entertainment and variety. The second show in 1919 featured comedian Harry Tate, who stole the show that year with his act. This versatile comedian offered up a feast of sketch comedy, but although Tate was clean shaven he was remembered for a moustache worn during his sketches, greeting great play from having it wiggle around from it being clipped to his nose, using it as a tool to get even more comedy into the act.

But it took until 1921 for the Royal Variety Performance to become an annual event, in that year King George V became patron of the Variety Artistes' Benevolent Fund with himself or a representative would attend a performance once a year to show the support the organisation was doing for Brinsworth House. Though five years later the first-ever Royal Variety Performance was broadcast by the BBC, but they broadcast the show with a broadcaster providing commentary on the performance much like a sports event would today, to fill in the silences of whilst the acts were going through the performance on the stage. By 1930, a simple broadcast of the show was occurring on BBC radio. Though the 1930's were to bring other events and the 1938 held at the London Coliseum was to be the last owing to the outbreak of World War Two.

Post war, the Royal Variety started to grow from strength to strength. The area of variety theatre was going strong at that point and stars like comedians Will Hay, Sid Field and Tommy Trinder were on the bill plus the likes Wilson, Kepple and Betty, Beryl Kaye, Jerry Desmonde, The Nine Avalons proving that variety was still very much alive and growing all the time, the strength of the variety agents and theatre owners meant year on year, each performance was the best that the industry could offer by the 1950's with the advent of commercial television that the face of variety was going to change all together. Those stars were available on television each and every night, whilst also appearing in variety theatres up and down the country. But with the advent of commercial television came the calls to put the Royal Variety Performance on television with the vast majority of the owners of the new ITV franchises being from variety backgrounds used this angle to be able to schedule their programmes and the biggest was 'Sunday Night at the London Palladium'. The power was with the Grade family, Lew and Leslie as well as their brother Bernard Delfont, but the ultimate power laid with the Royal Family. But even as that was going on 1955 had two Royal Variety Performances, but no-one was to know what was to happen in the next year,

so maybe it was fate that the 1956 performance was cancelled. At that time the Suez Crisis was taking place, with that year's Royal Variety about to take place, the bill was arranged with the Crazy Gang having prepared their own version of A Midsummer Night's Dream in their own imitable style plus Laurence Oliver, Vivien Leigh and John Mills due to make appearances, though Liberace was said to have broken down in tear at the news the Queen was not to be attending the show that night because of the current crisis. The show was cancelled at four hours notice before curtain-up.

Though within five years, the show was to have one of its most proudest moments. The sixties were bring many changes. In variety itself, the onset of pop music meant that more and more younger were interested in this new branch of entertainment though when bands performed at that time in concert, they was usually an accompanying variety comedian as a compare. But television had gripped the nation as the medium everyone wanted so it was only right that the Royal Variety Performance was broadcast on television, first of all by ATV. They got round the problem of doing a Sunday Night at the London Palladium show by cancelling that Sunday's edition and moving it to the Monday night, effectively meaning that although it was ATV London filming the show, with it being broadcast on a Monday, ATV in the Midlands held responsibility for the show's broadcast though still by their playout in Foley Street, London. The 1960 bill contained The Crazy Gang, making fun appearing as 'bridesmaids' at a recent wedding, although with a nod and wink the public knew they were meant to be bridesmaids from the recently marriage of Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong-Jones. The world of pop was accounted for by Adam Faith and Cliff Richard making appearances, the Times newspaper said about Richard that he radiated 'chubby good humour throughout his most sultry songs'. Lonnie Donegan who had just come off the number spot in the charts appeared with his fellow musicians dressed as dustmen naturally to perform 'My Old Man's a Dustman'. Sammy Davis Junior became the first-ever show stealer of the television age with his performance holding everyone in awe, the first of many from over the Atlantic to do so. He came, he saw, he conquered the audience in the auditorium and at home.

In 1963 came the new age of pop with The Beatles opening the show, but the actual rocket to the show came when John Lennon on the performance of their last song Twist and Shout of their set saying “For our last number, I'd like to ask for your help... If the people in the cheaper seats clap your hands and rest of you rattle your jewellery...” It was the impact that was needed but it was also the acceptance that the establishment had recognised pop music was here to stay. The moment has go down into legend now, but the recognition of this made for a key moment in the Royal Variety Performance's history. With The Beatles setting the way, on the back of them came Jimmy Tarbuck and Cilla Black, two performers also from Liverpool who were to become two of Light Entertainment's biggest names in the 60's, 70's and 80's as well. Tarbuck's cheeky patois, opened the show up to a wave of Northern comedic talents such as Les Dawson, Freddie Starr, Victoria Wood and latterly Peter Kay to find new and wider audiences for their material.

Though a spot on the Royal Variety can be memorable for many other reasons too with Catherine Tate pushing her material as far as it could go in performing her 'Lauren, the Teenager act' to the Royal Box, Shirley Bassey almost missing her cue whilst changing outfits at the end of the 1999 Royal Variety Performance. It was the recently passed Larry Hagman which gave the show in 1980 a moment to remember or forget, whichever way you want to look at it. In his set, he was meant to sing about his J.R. character but he dried on stage forgetting the lyrics to the song, but when looked all was lost his mother and star of South Pacific on the Broadway stage, Mary Martin was standing on the side of the stage waiting to come on realised this, she took it on herself to come on and save him from any further embarrassment. The reaction of her coming on was amazing and they carried on with the set in hand, performing together a song about him being her son and her being his mum. Afterwards when they had come off stage, one of the production staff on the show from the BBC said that they could edit out all what had happened Hagman turned around and simply said “Don't you dare! The old girl got me out of a lot of trouble there, leave it in!”

But what of the planned moments? For television and radio host Greg Scott his own memories are of Michael Barrymore's performance with The King's Own regiment performing to 'Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?' with Barrymore singing and the soldiers doing manoeuvres to the rhythm of the song. When The Queen was talking to Nigel Lythgoe in the line-up at the end of the performance she said “Was that truly the British Army?” to which Lythgoe replied “Yes ma'am, it was” before her majesty replied back “I should get your choreographer to do the changing of the guard...” To which Lythgoe replied “Yes ma'am, I think it would be a great idea..” Plus also he recalls the unique entrance that Brian Conley made to the 1999 Royal Variety Show when he is introduced to the auditorium and the people watching on at home, as he come on looking at the Royal Box he does a prat fall off the stage before climbing back up and regaining his composure ready to introduce the show properly.

My own personal memory has to be at the 1991 Royal Variety Performance, having seen most Royal Variety shows since the age of about five years old, the one performance of Madam Butterfly stands out for myself. These shows generally having a cultural act in them means most people usually bear through them, but one moment will stay with me forever. Anne Howard singing and from there comes an amazing sequence of the unexpected, when Eric Idle removes his mask and says 'Stop!' as the cue for best five minutes of television and variety I have ever seen. Performing 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life', the song is brilliant in itself but the layer upon layer for the act just builds to a crescendo when Anne Howard sings the last line in an operatic style is a totally unique show stopping moment.

What about the show in the 21^st century, it has seen a renaissance with the introduction of Britain's Got Talent allowing the winner a spot on the Royal Variety bill itself, the voting and cost of voting goes to the Entertainers Artistes' Benevolent Fund which still has its main base at Brinsworth House in Twickenham. Over the years it has supported some of our finest entertainers in their older age such as Dame Thora Hird, Alan 'Fluff' Freeman and even stars who had medical problems like Richard O'Sullivan. The work that the EABF is vital to looking after people in the entertainment industry more then ever, though it might be the star names who get the attention, it still can be those who can fall on hard time no matter how big they are or were, they get the support they need from the EABF. Entertainment has moved on, stars have moved on but the work of the EABF goes on. Some on my happiest memories are of when I went to the open days at Brinsworth House as child seeing stars lending their support to this cause. For as much how ever they raise the money, the Royal Variety and the EABF are forever linked. Some of the stars shine longer then others, but when it comes to this event, the appetite is still there with over 8.5 million viewers watching the latest Royal Variety performance either on television, catch up television or in other ways. The stars may change, but the format's the same. Through black and white and colour television up to to high definition and beyond.

The sheer facts of the effort which goes into these shows are phenomenal, from people like Bobby Warns who has worked on over thirty Royal Variety shows, Yvonne Littlewood producer for the BBC on many of these great occasions, the Grades Lord Lew, Leslie, Bernard Delfont and later Michael who have influenced the running and the televising of the show, Jack Parnell, Ronnie Hazelhurst, Alyn Ainsworth to name three of the many musical directors who have done that job. The many hosts of the show some legends in show business like Sir Bruce Forsyth, Jimmy Tarbuck, Des O'Connor to newer names such as Peter Kay and most recently David Walliams. For all the performers on the stage, all the backstage staff make the show what it is and what a show it has been for over one hundred years, with ITV taking an exclusive contract for producing the show now, it will be seen how the show develops over the next couple of years. No matter what, it will still be one of most important dates in the show business calender to come as new stars will be made and old favourites will return. Its light has yet to be lowered on this great show.

If you would like to know more about the work the Entertainers Artistes' Benevolent Fund does, please visit their website at eabf.org.uk  where you find an outline of their work today, plus also a great archive of bills from previous Royal Variety shows which this post would not have been possible without and also to Louis Barfe and his book 'Turned Out Nice Again' provided me also with information about the early years of the Royal Variety performance plus also Jamie Graham of the website Transdiffusion transdiffusion.org.uk for reminding me to put the EABF's  website into this post and Television and Radio presenter Greg Scott for his own personal memories of the Royal show itself.

"Here's one I made earlier..." Margaret Parnell and the story of her makes on Blue Peter

When you talk about Christmas, many things come to mind such as mince pies, home-made decorations and mince pies. But one woman link these all together and I have been interested in her story for a very long time. As a viewer of Blue Peter for many years, I had heard the name Margaret Parnell nearly ever time when a 'make' was made. I knew she lived only couple of miles from me in Hampshire, to have such a person so influential in one show was exciting to me.

But in a way, we have all been one of Margaret Parnell's children with her ideas copied and made by millions of children over the years, I wanted to find out more about this woman and how she got to supply ideas to the world's oldest Children's programme. The story starts in 1963, with Blue Peter having been on the air for five years by that stage. The programme was already doing 'makes', but Parnell decided to send in some ideas that the programme might like to use. Being a mother of two young children, being creative was always a good skill to have. In her own words “I had this idea for dolls' hats, made of crepe paper. I got them together with all the stages and sent them to Valerie Singleton. And much to my surprise, she wrote back and said they liked them and were going to use them, and had I got any more ideas.”

In reply personally to Parnell, Valerie Singleton wrote “We all feel you contributed so splendidly to the programme. Have you ever been taught art?” Parnell's answer was no, she had no formal art training but as she explained in Dear Blue Peter, a book about the letters received by the programme over the years “During the war, when you couldn't but them, I used to make toys for my little sister. That started it off really.”

From that one letter to Valerie Singleton, the production team were so impressed that they wanted to see if Parnell had any more ideas which could be used, though the key thing that her ideas used easily available materials to children on pocket money and also by using disregarded packaging such as old packaging and plastic bottles, inadvertently a new form of recycling was found before the term had been invented.

Over the years, Parnell supplied 700 original makes for the programme over nearly a forty year period. The encouragement of the presenters wanted children to ask their parents or guardians for old packaging so they could make the latest Parnell creation. It is a testament to her ideas that the memories of them being made are so vivid to viewers that they can remember them years on from when they were shown on the programme as viewer Ray Bennett remembers “The task was to turn a part of a stiff type of cardboard box, which in this case was a washing powder container, into a book-stand. In effect, we were to cut the bottom of the box off to about distance of 1½ inches high and deep but retain the ends – so an extruded "L" shape with the ends still filled in. As I recall, the demonstration went on to offer different ways of decorating the stand and, of course, any robust box would suffice. It was the only thing I ever made as a direct result of a BP insert, but as this shows, some 33 or so years later, I've not forgotten what or how.”

Though these makes always seem to have longevity and places in the hearts of their maker as Steve Williams of TV Cream remembers “My Blue Peter make story is about the Santa's Sleigh which appears in Blue Peter Book 19. It involves rolling up pieces of paper (the Radio Times, they suggest) and then covering them with papier mache to make a reindeer, then cutting up a cereal box for the sleigh. We faithfully made this in the mid-eighties and it was put under the tree every Christmas until at least the late nineties.“

The most popular was a model of Tracy Island, with the reshowing of Thunderbirds on BBC2 in the early 90's. The model play set was the thing to have for children wanting to recreate the adventures of the Tracy Brothers. So Margaret Parnell designed the same thing, but using boxes, plastic pots and packaging which could easily be found around the house, thus reducing the cost for parents of buying the model new and allowing children to create their own version, knowing that it was hand made. Such was the response, that the BBC post room got flooded by viewers asking for fact sheets of how to make it. With the make being one of the most popular in the programme's history, such so when the film version came out in the year 2000, the idea was reused where as in the 1990's Anthea Turner did the make, this time Konnie Huq made the model on the screen.

One of the problems with the BBC not allowed to have commercial endorsement was that when ever a piece of packaging was shown that the brand name was obscured by pen, but the show had interesting ways of getting around brand names too, biros became ball-point pens, plasticine became modelling clay and most famous of all Fablon, regularly used to cover household items in became the now infamous 'Sticky-back Plastic'.

The cooking items were the most popular with children, mostly done by the male presenters. But Biddy Baxter had her own ideas why the male presenters should do those items “It was marvelously encouraging for boys to see one of our boys doing the cooking. After all, some of the best chefs in the world are men.” But John Noakes used the spot to turn it into a comedy routine by call his co-presenters 'Poison Tasters' in reference to his bad cooking, rather then putting boys off this seemed to encourage them even more to step into the kitchen. How much this influenced the likes of Jamie Oliver and Heston Blumental, to take up cookery, who knows.

But what about the woman herself? Former presenter Sarah Greene remembered her “She was a sweet encouraging and very clever lady. Incredible imagination & affinity with viewers...” That was the measure of the woman, inventive and amazing though as former Blue Peter Editor Richard Marson recalls on the occasion of The Queen visting the Blue Peter studio “ I remember MP as very down to earth, unassuming and obviously incredibly creative. When the Queen visited the studio, she showed HMQ her loo roll version of the nativity scene. The Queen was more interested in the dogs and I teased MP that it was only because she had a Faberge version of the nativity at home! A genuinely lovely woman and so talented.”

Though her legacy has to be the Advent Crown, simply some wire coathangers, flameproof

tinsel and candles. But its iconic status, made sure that whenever it appeared on the programme's titles they knew there was only one more programme before Christmas. Many presenters had the pleasure of lighting the crown over the years, each and everyone having a part of the programme's history. But it was the genius of Margaret Parnell who made it so, she left the programme in 2001 after 38 years of supplying ideas. Even though the programme's moving from BBC1 at the end of the year, Parnell's ideas are still being used today.

“Here's one I made earlier..” became a an iconic catchphrase loved and spoofed by some of the top comedy shows of their age, but if it was for Margaret Parnell we wouldn't know Christmas was on its way...

Proof Read all about it – When the local press goes wrong... My tale of when the local press goes wrong

n the past couple of months apart this blog I have also been writing for my local daily newspaper, the Portsmouth News in their weekend television pull-out, sharing a TV Nostalgia column with a another writer looking at programmes past. Now I have been enjoying doing this and do it just for the love of writing, maybe naïve you might say to do something like that. But something occurred within the past week which has maybe made me think again about this.

Last Saturday, an article was posted of my work on the subject of Van Der Valk. Now for the past couple of weeks they have been using another writer Nick Collins who also works for the paper and printed his articles in the slot for the past few Saturdays. So I was relieved to finally see my work in the paper. But was shocked to read that Mr Collins had been created with my work, my intellectual copyright given to him over what I had written. So naturally, you can understand I was not happy with this. That is why I have taken to my blog to explain what has gone on.

On Monday, I contacted the editor about this matter to complain in a polite way that I should be owed an apology for this. With getting this reply, he said that the byline of the column was not changed as it was a template and “that an apology would be issued underneath this week's column in the pull-out this Saturday.” and that it doesn't make it less disappointing and he copied his features editor into the email so he could see the reply. OK, I thought. But I didn't think this go far enough at all, I suggested that an apology could go in the weekend pull out but also an apology maybe in the editor’s column in the main paper as well.

Then on Tuesday, I received an email from the man temporally in charge of the TV pages as his colleague is on leave. He said “It was my fault. I can only apologise. No excuses. I am standing in for the person who normally does the page and the page itself was templated with Nick's byline and I didn't change it.” he continued “I'm doing this week's TV pages too and running your column on This Is Your Life. I'm putting a correction on the bottom about the error last week and of course, changing the byline.”

Again I emailed the editor about this asking once again for an apology in the weekend pull out, but also in the main paper as well. This being a satisfactory conclusion as far as I was concerned to this matter. This is still an ongoing situation, I am still awaiting their reply to this... If I need to I will come back to the subject to update you what is happening, but it maybe a case of the little guy against the might of the local press. But no matter what, I shall not give up until I get the right conclusion.

In this of all week with the Leveson report coming out and with such serious issues with the press, it begs question about thing being checked before they go to print. This itself went to print in the paper itself, but in such serious times things like that can spiral out of control leading to confusion totally. I am not saying that the press should be heavy regulated or left free, that is your mind to make up. But if the smallest thing can be allowed to get through the net without checking, then something could snowball into a situation. We rely on the press to bring us the stories especially which are local to us which may not get a look in to the national press, it may seem to others that it is just full of council meetings and non-news. They do serve a purpose, with them informing communities of what is going on. Their focus is on maximising their local coverage, by organising campaigns. Though where does crusading stop and influence starts?

In some ways these campaigns are good, allow the people to have their say but when the paper wants to put an agenda on a people it can seem difficult for some people. Local papers have been a start for some of our best journalists, but like anything there's the good and the bad. The good writers rise and the bad ones fall, the careful line which is tread by them is something which the national press has fallen off by a few bad apples. Though, do we know the local press is still balanced on that line or are they are close to falling off themselves.

Leveson may have an effect on the national press, but with anything, the repercussions will surely felt in the local press too. From what has happened, we have seen the News of the World closed down because of what has happened and generally local newspapers are struggling to keep afloat as the smaller ones either go weekly or drop by the wayside. Its interesting to see what direction it all goes in, but once thing will be sure that the local press maybe never be the same again.

I have put this out there to highlight my case of what has happened, it is up to you to decide what you think about The Leveson Report's finding. This maybe a tiny part of what happens when you are a writer, but certainly I think it is a key part.

David Croft – The Man who made Britain laugh...

At one put and another, it is fair to say that most people have come across a certain type of person in their lives, whether that be during their own leisure time, the workplace or just generally. Whoever they are, the first thought anyone has is “Aren't they a right little...” usually accompanied with a sitcom character. Its the power and effect of one man who reigned supreme over the world of situation comedy for so long, that no matter most people in Britain no matter how old they are have seen one of his pieces of work, that man being David Croft.

Born David John Andrew Sharland in Sandbanks, Dorset on the 7^th of September, 1922. He was born into a family steeped in show business, his mother Anne Croft was an established stage actress and his father Reginald Sharland, already famous for having a career as one of Hollywood's early radio actors. But his Croft's actual career started when seven appearing in a cinema commercial of the late 1920's. Though by the end of the next decade, the aspiring young actor appeared in an uncredited role in the 1939 film version of Goodbye, Mr Chips as Perkins.

His own school days were spent at St John's Wood Preparatory School and later at Rugby School in Warwickshire, but come 1942 and with the second World War happening, he enlisted in the Royal Artillery, serving in the North African campaign and also in India and Singapore. It was during his time in North Africa that Croft contracted rheumatic fever and was sent home to convalesce back in Britain. Afterwards he undertook officer training at Sandhurst Military Academy, before being posted to India just as the war in Europe was just ending itself. Assigned to the Essex Regiment, he rose the rank eventually becoming a Major during his time in the Army.

When his military service ended, Croft went back to his first love of entertainment becoming first an actor and singer, thought this was to lead to his career in writing as well. His start came though himself meeting, Freddie Carpenter who at that time produced many pantomimes for Howard and Wyndham across Britain at that time. From this, it resulted with Croft writing scripts for their pantos. But in his friendship with lifelong friend, the composer and conductor Cyril Ornadel, he met theatre producer Fiona Bentley who had just purchased the right to some of Beatrix Potter's stories and was looking to adapt and musicalise them. The task was given to himself to write the scripts and lyrics for a series of these stories to be released on records to be narrated by the Hollywood actress Vivien Leigh and starring with Croft, actors and actresses of the calibre of Graham Stark and Cicely Courtneidge.

Afterwards his career took a move into television when he joined the fledgling Tyne Tees Television to direct shows for them including early madman Ned's Shed and Mary Goes to Market, but his heart lie in entertainment and he was charged with producing the variety show The One O’clock Show, inviting the best of local talent to appear to perform their act in front of the cameras and also inviting the best of the entertainment industry to come up to to Newcastle to appear as well. But it was during his time at Tyne Tees where he produced his first ever sitcom Under New Management, it was the story about a derelict pub in the North of England. This being the earliest recorded example of Croft producing a sitcom for television. Come the mid-sixties, he moved to the BBC and using his experience of producing Under New Management, shows like Beggar My Neighbour, Further Up Pompeii plus Hugh and I were given to him to produce. But this put him into the BBC Light Entertainment department with Bill Cotton Jnr, who he was to have a fruitful working relationship for most of his writing and producing career.

At that time whilst producing Hugh and I, he met Jimmy Perry. Perry himself was tired of having just small parts in sitcoms, so he decided to write a pilot for a series initially called The Fighting Tigers about the British Home Guard. When Croft saw the script, he consulted with his agent wife Ann and said to her “I've got a script from Jimmy Perry here and I think its got something about it..” and she agreed as well. From that Croft said he liked it to Perry and that they should write it together, thus Dad's Army was born. First broadcast in 1968, the initial title sequence was to have film footage of the war over Bud Flannigan's tune of 'Who do you think you're kidding Mr Hitler?'. But when Bill Cotton Jnr. saw it, he thought it was a bit too much and so the footage was dropped for the now familiar map and arrows title sequence. The craft that both of them put into the series, made the show much bigger then the war itself. The antics of the Warmington-On-Sea Home Guard kept viewers amused and made bigger stars out of Arthur Lowe as Captain Mainwaring, John Le Measuieras Sergeant Wilson , Clive Dunn, Arnold Ridley, John Laurie, James Beck, Ian Lavender. All of them not top line stars until Dad's Army changed their lives forever.

But it was a mark of Croft that he used jobbing actors in other parts in other of his shows and then when it came around casting for his next project, they would get a leading role for example Wendy Richard appeared in Dad's Army, which lead her to getting the part of Ms Brahms in Are You Being Served and one customer making a brief and fleeting appearance during the episode The Apartment in the 1979 series of the show was later to become Spike Hollins in Hi-de-Hi, Jeffrey Holland of course. But his memory of actors and actresses in other shows was legendary and allowing them to come into the spotlight to play major parts. As Jeffrey Holland and Paul Shane said in a BBC 2011 tribute to the man “He ruled with a rod of iron, but with a smile on his face..” “Like a smiling viper..”

Whist Croft was still producing Dad's Army, he joined forced with Jeremy Lloyd, another actor was jobbing and looking for something different. So himself and Croft wrote a one off sitcom for the Comedy Playhouse season called Are You Being Served, with the show itself being shelved until tragedy intervened. With the Munich Olympics cancelled postponed because of the Israeli hostage crisis, the BBC had time to fill and the decision was taken to play Are You Being Served to both fill time where the Olympics would have been and also as a moral booster after such tragic events. With a captive audience, the filler programme garnered viewers who enjoyed the light relief of Grace Bros. over the heavy new coming out of Munich.

Time again Croft had the magic touch over sitcoms, co-creating It Ain't Half Hot Mum, Hi-de-Hi, You Rang M'Lord, 'Allo 'Allo and Oh, Doctor Beeching. But his knowledge of comedy was second to none as every time he picked the right person for the role in sitcoms, he managed to bring Gordon Kaye and Vicki Michelle from Come Back Mrs Noah starring Molly Sugden and Ian Lavender into 'Allo 'Allo. The second of the wartime sitcoms, but this time from the other side of the channel seeing what life was life was like in occupied France at that time. Just like Dad's Army it proved that there was no difference between either of the channel and the antics were just as silly, but the writing was still magnificent as Melvyn Hayes recalled “He'd laugh on all the run throughs, right upto the day of transmission..” Proving the jokes were good but when it came to make them right, Croft was always serious about that.

The way that David Croft rode the nostalgic angle is an interesting one, at the end of the 1970's there was a big 1950's revival and by the time the early 80's had come around Perry and Croft had the right sitcom written and made look at life in a 1950's holiday camp.

In Hi-de-Hi, Perry's experiences as a redcoat at Butlin's provided material for the show, but like all the rest of the sitcoms co-written and produced by Croft, there was always a piece of one of the writers experiences in there such as the experience of working in a department store or the experiences of the British Army abroad. With a common theme of class structure, not always would the top man be a person who was privileged, Mainwaring being the Captain and Wilson being the Sergeant, reversing roles allowing the class structure to be played out, not in a socio-political way but with the day to day working of people from different classes and seeing how they would interact with each other. But this was pretty much like Croft himself, a shy man who would observe other people and how they went about their business, mentally noting down anything which could used in the writing.

Even in 2007, Croft had created a pilot for Wendy Richard and Les Dennis called Here Comes The Queen. Proving that Croft still had an eye for a good sitcom even in his later years, but he was a man always looking to revisit ideas or make new ones. His style of scripting was unique, writing head to head with his co-creators to allow them to bounce ideas off each other, but also recording the scripts onto dictaphones to allow him to here the right intonations of the words being put to paper. Very much in the style of a self rehearsal, this method came from his time as an actor rehearsing with other actors their lines. For all his work came the honours which were richly deserved such as winning the Writer's Guild award for Best Comedy Script three years running between 1969 and 1971 for Dad's Army, earning a lifetime achievement award at the 2003 British Comedy Awards with young bit part actor who had appeared in some of his shows turned host of the awards Jonathan Ross was there to see him pick up the award.

The legacy of David Croft lives on through the repeats of his shows, the DVD's and also other projects as well. Everyone can at least claim they have seen a bit of his work if they liked it or not, but truly David Croft will be remembered in Television. Light Entertainment and Comedy circles as the man who made Britain laugh...

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Chuck Barris - Truth, Stranger than Fiction and Fiction, Stranger than Truth

The name Chuck Barris may not mean much to people in Britain and who he actually is, but for nearly a decade in American television, he was the man who could do no wrong at all. Presenter, creator, executive, songwriter, these are some of things that Barris has been throughout his career. He has also claimed to be a hitman for the CIA as well, his story maybe seemingly as varied as one person can have, though is it true?

His self-described “unauthorised autobiography” 'Confessions of a Dangerous Mind' charted his career inside and outside the media and beyond that, first published in 1984 first put out the claim that he had worked for the CIA as a hitman during the Cold War. Though the CIA refuted claims that Barris had ever worked for them, but this adds to the myth of a man whose life seems to perpetrate its own story. His book was turned into a film in 2002 with George Clooney directing and Sam Rockwell playing the part of Barris. Though he did realise a sequel in 2004 called 'Bad Grass Never Dies', charting more of his 'true' life both with the CIA and also within the entertainment industry. But away from that he wrote a memoir of his only child, his daughter Della in 2010 and her personal struggle with drug addiction.

Though the people who know or have known Barris describe him as a shy man, with a darker side to him, but the criticism of his shows by the press, critics and the moral majority may have added to this, in his own words “I wanted to get out of the kitchen because of the heat when all this criticism happened, but in truth I should have stayed.” It seemed that he wanted to push the boundaries of what television could do and to almost play on what was happening in society as such for entertainment. Maybe the finger on the pulse, not so much reality television, but to bring everyday reality to entertaiinment.

Barris himself, born Charles 'Chuck' Hirsch Barris on June the 3^rd 1929 in Philadelphia, USA. Attending Drexel University as a student and becoming a columnist on the university's own newspaper showed an aptitude for working in the media and also being able to spin a good yarn as well. Though his start in television came when he became a page and a staffer later on in his at NBC in New York. He worked his way up until he got a job at ABC as a standards and practices person on American Bandstand, who filmed the show in Philadelphia. His uncle Harry Barris was a singer/songwriter and sometimes actor, so it is quite possible that this may have influenced him to go into the music industry.

With surrounding himself with people already with in the music industry, it was only matter of time that he was to start to produce pop music both on records and more importantly on television. It was through these links that Barris wrote the song 'Palisades Park' for Freddy Cannon even though he could not read music himself. The success of the record shot it upto to number three in the American Billboard charts and becoming Cannon's biggest hit in Cannon's career. Though the royalties for the single were to prove important to Chuck, as they could be spent on a room at the Bel-Air hotel in New York, allowing him to stay there whilst pitching a programme to the ABC network. It seemed almost natural to Barris, that this would be the way to do it, by making money from something else to be able to do another thing which could lead on something or as he tells the tale.

The truth is pretty as unspectacular. Barris had been promoted throughout the network, moving to Los Angeles to the daytime programming, specifically being put in charge of what gameshows ABC would broadcast during the day. But when Chuck suggested to his bosses that most of the pitches for new possible shows were worse then his own ideas, the suggestion came up he changed from being a programme planner to a producer instead. So he did and came up with a new format and pitched to the executives 'The Dating Game' for their daytime schedules, but everything was different about what had gone on with gameshows before. The 'flower-power' set itself and the sexy banter between contestants, set the programme out from anything else on other networks let alone ABC, though it was a sign that Barris had observed what was going on around him with the flower-power revolution and wanting to get that into a show that was like nothing else. Such was the popularity of the show during the daytime that a prime-time version was produced an year on year the programme returned for seventeen years. If it was not for 'The Dating Game' though that Australia would not have made their version of it in 'Perfect Match' which would give LWT the idea to produce a British version taking the best bits from The Dating Game and Perfect Match to form Blind Date.

Riding on this success, Chuck was asked to took an idea of young newly-weds answering for electrical goods they might need for their new martial homes and started producing 'The Newlywed Game'. Though he only cajoled the couples along with their candour and allowed Bob Eubanks to pull as much detail out of the contestants as was possible without crossing the line. The combination worked once again leading to the programme having a nineteen year run on network television.

A Very Christmassy Newlywed Game...

Though Barris also produced several other gameshow formats for ABC based on the interest of the contestants, such as their humour, excitement, anger, embarrassment or vulnerability. Almost capturing the right mood for the show, by pulling out of the contestants what they thought wasn't possible, their inner feelings whilst being swept along by the action. But gameshows may have been what he was most famous for, he also tried producing other formats in light entertainment such as 'Operation Entertainment' which was a modern version of the old USO shows staged at military bases and The Bobby Vinton Show for the Canadian based singer Bobby Vinton, which outside gameshows became his most popular show.

But the one show he will be remember for is 'The Gong Show', a different type of variety/talent show thought its beginnings were a lot different to what the show would eventually become. The format developed by Chuck was a strange one, Barris himself had pitched it to the NBC executives as a parody show, where they saw it as a straight talent show and thought of it as such giving it to John Barbour, an actor/comedian who had previously played a part of a game show host in Sanford and Son. Barbour was given the pilot to present, but he could not get the concept that the show was trying to be a parody of this type of show. So eventually, when the network heads decided they liked the show and the one only one to understand it was Chuck Barris, they gave him the opportunity to present it and over time he developed his style playing on his personality of being almost shy to being on the screen. A couple of attributes to this was wearing oversized hats so that he was a bit hidden by them, the nervous clapping inbetween sentences and also being bumbling and jokey. With the parody angle, this always was meant to be like that, the antithesis of much more smoother and slicker hosts on other shows.

The atmosphere was meant to be eccentric, right down the interaction between himself and the judges, with a irreverent style between them both joking and playing off each other for laughs, introducing characters in to the show to give a more variety feel with them coming on at various times to do their acts such as 'Gene Gene The Dancing Machine' actually an NBC stagehand who would turn up when 'Jumpin at the Woodside' was ever played and start to dance, the unknown comic would tell really bad jokes and sometimes as Barris' expense. Opportunity Knocks, this was not.

His strange, surreal side would often come out wanting to see how far he could push the show before the executives had enough of him and the show as well. On one show in particular show, he got all the acts to sing 'Feelings' not matter if singing was their main talent or not. Another one featured two young women suggestively and slowly sucking ice pops to all intensive purposes looked like they were performing fellatio to them, though Chuck suggested that it was only in the viewers minds that they saw it like that. Though when judge Jaye P. Morgan exposed her breasts on camera just as a performer was doing in her act, NBC fired her from their version of the show but she was kept on the syndicated version though as Chuck though that it wasn't such a major thing really.

Come 1980 with the success of the show, Barris was give the chance to star in a movie version of the show with all the characters interlinked by a storyline which itself was a very common type of movie in the late 1970's and early 80's. But the film itself flopped at the box office, all the popular elements of the show were in there, the audiences didn't get it quite as much as the TV show as the 'zaniness' as Chuck put it wasn't not so much in evidence.

The height of 80's elegance...

Though with new shows being added to the rosta, such as the $1.98 Beauty Show where it was a parody of beauty contests where the judges deliberated over three rounds on personality, abilities and the final round being a swimwear contest with the eventual winner receiving $1.98, rotten vegetables as a bouquet and a cheap plastic crown as well. The whole idea came from Barris noticing that the least attractive contestant always won beauty contests with the whole contest being a 'fake' and already decided before filming, but was covered by the opening announcement to say it was fake and also with a note in the end credits to say the same staving off any controversy right from the start. But the end of the run came to pass with 'Three's A Crowd', a game show which involved husbands, wives and their secretaries to see who knew most about each other, from protests groups from both end of the spectrum declared that the show was promoting adultery, a much bigger blow was to come when the syndicated version of The Newlywed Game lost two of its biggest sponsors in Ford and Proctor and Gamble. Even worse was when the wife of Gene Autry, the owner of the studios and production base felt the content of the production was too much and too racy, so they had misgivings about keeping the show and production at the base. Though the syndication of the programme ended before that threat could ever come to pass.

By 1984, Barris was living in France and had set up his own distribution company though he could come back to produce a new version of The Newlywed Game between 1985 and 1989 for syndication and he sold his shares in Barris Industries to Burt Sugarman in 1987, eventually leading to being sold again in 1989 to Sony Pictures Distribution owning all of Barris' formats. With this new version of both The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game were revived between 1996 and 1999 being syndicated as well, though during the 90's new pilots for new shows were tried out such as Comedy Courthouse and Dollar A Second and revivals of the Gong Show.

So its certain that some of these things happened, others not so. But the mystery of the person still lingers on, perhaps he was ahead of his time with the programmes he created and produced. In a time of reality television with it having gone to a more open and creative angle now, maybe his ideas could fit in or perhaps they were of a world of their own. Though what ever was happening on Planet Barris, the truth maybe stranger then fiction but its fiction is a good as the truth..

"Hello there Mrs S.." - Marshall, Renwick and End of Part One

So when was it that television started to take itself so seriously? I can understand with such difficult and serious subjects to contend with, that the news and current affairs departments have to be on high alert all the time. Though the rest of television has developed almost a hardened shell to itself,  but it wasn't always like this. 

Over the years there's been attempts at spoofing the way television is seen by itself, from Channel Eight trying to looking into the future with 90-year old Nicholas Parsons still presenting Sale of the Century, KYTV covering the satellite revolution and everything that brought to the screens. Plus there have been attempts such as The Kevin Bishop Show, who parodies seem to almost say "Wasn't all old TV bad? A-ha-ha-ha! I can do it because I'm popular..." and also strands of programming with Focus North, getting right down to the ground the view local news has of itself with reports and the presentation style.

Though truly the only show who got the art of spoofing just right was Andrew Marshall and David Renwick's End of Part One, the whole two series just released on two DVD's by Network. This has brought to an end a very long journey for this series to be seen once again outside of just clips or footage on the internet. The style of the two series are very different, but even in the first series broadcast made in 1978 and broadcast in April 1979, the defining features of what the programme would be remember for were there, such as the spoofing sketches and mock continuity announcements. 

"I'm just going down to the Taj Mah.. Oh, its here!"

The world of television was played though the prism of Vera and Norman Straightman who live on Funnyname Street, with all different odd characters invading their lives and also the television they watch themselves. The premise even in the opening titles is to be a parody of Coronation Street, the interlinking stories of both characters, the titles featuring rows and rows of Northern terrace housing and also Corrie-esque theme tune. This itself has a feeling of the influence from Monty Python like their sketches taking place in houses, such with the cast playing supporting parts of people who surround the Straightman's lives i.e. people they meet along the way rather then characterised of anyone in particular. 

The intertwining storylines provided by the day to day lives of the Straightman's allow the sketches to played off such as Norman going for a job as a spider, the Straightman's having a new lodger who's a parody of Superman even speaking in cartoon-esque speech bubbles when first having a conversation with Vera. But with Vera and Norman going to the cinema allows the show to widen itself up with them getting the cheapest seats to see 'Christopher Columbus - A Film by Samuel Goldwyn' and with the tickets being so cheap that they are on the film itself! Allowing them to be surrounded by the action, with the actual cast of the spoof film oblivious they are there and the patrons with the cheapest priced seats having to follow the actors wherever they go to.

"Look! Up in the sky! Is it a bird, is it a plane? No its Cheapo Cartoon Man!"

The spoofs of the programmes are thing which makes the first series stand out, with World of Sport given a good ribbing and also Raleigh Gilbert who read out the racing results on the programme was given special treatment by the writers over his annoying voice when reading the results. Also The Return of The Doughnut, a spoof on the returning Saint series with Ian Ogilvy who has gets plenty of jokes at his expense as well as well a spot on parody of Weekend World although a LWT production, jokes made at its expense such as it having only about two viewers in the slot it was broadcast in at that time. Though all of these programmes were all produced by LWT and they were the biggest targets for the show, but the management didn't have a problem at their best efforts being ribbed on regular occasions by the show's writers.

But the first series was broadcast before the 1979 ITV Strike which started in August of that year, which partly may have been the reason why there wasn't another series broadcast until October 1980 and would have been made earlier that year. Such as the backlog created by the stopping of production, that all new production would have been halted to allow what was still to be done to be cleared first. So any new series or returning series would have have waited at least till Spring 1980 to be filmed, but this had a unique effect on the series. By this time Marshall and Renwick had gone to work on BBC 2's brand new sketch show 'Not the Nine O'Clock News' using this to keep their writing hands in whilst End of Part One was off the air. With them writing for Not the Nine with its more topical humour, meant they could change End of  Part One to more a satirical type of show and also expanding the spoofing to be more elaborate and more cutting against its targets.

Though with the first series being more lighter and being shown mainly in a Sunday Afternoon slot, led the schedulers at LWT and also Michael Grade thinking this was the right slot for the show as it appealed more to older children and they made sure that the schedulers got the message in episode five  where they included a sketch called 'Kiddies Time' with a very twee style and what they thought Children's Television was like similar to Monty Python's 'Storytime' sketch which itself turned that the story being read out by Eric Idle was smutty and couldn't be read out at all. Even putting on the screen in captions what they though of this and alluding to a 'Unexpected Nasty Bit' which is going interrupt the sketch going on, building up to it with a spoof warning and countdown until its stated that they've lost it. Well, until the end of the episode a final quickie sketch to state an vinyl album of the show is out for release now, featuring the nasty bit as its cover... A man being beheaded by an axe, rather violently.. 

End of Part One was seen as a television follow on from Radio 4's 'The Burkiss Way' featuring almost as silly pythonesque humour, which itself had started on Radio 3 as the 'Half-Open University' as a pilot in August 1975 with the 'The Burkiss Way' starting broadcasting in 1976. Not only does the writers link this with End of Part One but also Fred Harris and Denise Coffey who was in the first series only as well as the producer of the first series Simon Brett who produced the first series of End of Part One. The style of the show having its credits in the middle of the show, sketches stopping halfway through and restarting later plus straight spoofs of programmes and continuity as well. All of these devices were used in End of Part One taken from 'The Burkiss Way'. So the links are there between the two shows, with even The Burkiss Way's final series finishing on Radio 4 on the 15th of November, the week before End of Part One finished on ITV on the 23rd of November. 

The cast itself with Harris and Coffey who had been in The Burkiss Way were joined on End of Part One by a pre-Only Fools and Horses Sue Holderness, actor Tony Aitken who had previously been seen in Porridge, David Simeon who had been in Z-Cars, Fawlty Towers and The Liver Birds amongst his credits and finally Dudley Stevens mainly a stage actor and also had done some music hall but previously had been in Crossroads as an upper-class landowner during the mid-seventies. All of them with comedic experience but with the ability to play character roles and this is what makes the series better for it as well. But the targets as such, were the programmes the viewers had seen also with the noticeable things as well that went on during their broadcast such as Nationwide or Mr and Mrs being spoofed as so sweet that its not safe for diabetics and the presenting style of Derek Batey, maybe barbed but always right in how its done and any average viewer could recognise the obvious things though its the hidden things which make the programme even better.

So finally there is a record of this show after many years being recognised with Harris, Coffey, Holderness, Aitken and Simeon still alive, presenting and performing but also as a tribute to Dudley Stevens who died in 1993. Finally at the end of the series Norman and Vera reappear poisioning the characters in the last spoof, hopefully thinking they'll be the stars of the programme now the rest of the cast are dead. Only for the LWT end caption to appear to snub that thought out straight away. 

It may not be in the top level of great shows and Marshall & Renwick may have written shows which have been better recognised both together and alone. If they hadn't have had End of Part One, then there wouldn't be no Whoops Apocalypse or Hot Metal, no family with 2 point Four Children or no Victor Meldrew saying "I don't believe it!" plus the magic and mystery of Jonathan Creek. Whatever they have both done since, they both have to thank Vera and Norman Straightman of Funnyname street hopefully with a bunch of Roses Chocolates... 

  

"And its Bob's Full House tonight as well.." - Why Bob Monkhouse and Bingo on the Beeb is still beloved after all these years...

Over the past couple of weeks, Challenge has started to repeat one of seminal gameshows to be broadcast on television in the United Kingdom, that of course being Bob's Full House. 

Previously the channel has shown all the available editions of Bob Monkhouse's time on Family Fortunes, so it came as no surprise when they said they had purchased Series One of Bob's Full House. Following on from the success of its purchase of the earlier series of Bullseye as well. This takes the modern viewer back to the day when the gameshow were the kings and queens of the screen. So much so, that at one time BAFTA used to present an award to the best gameshow host.

Going back to the early eighties, all sorts of shows were on the air such as Punchlines where contestants had to match the joke read out by Lennie Bennett to the Punchline given by one of the celebrities opposite them, which in turn could be said that the show also took aspects from one of Monkhouse's former shows Celebrity Squares. Also in the London Weekend Television camp came Bruce Forysth in Play Your Cards Right, the idea imported from the United States' Card Sharks. Though Forsyth wanted to swap with Monkhouse, so that he could do Family Fortunes instead. ATV held their ground and Forsyth along with his Dolly Dealers turned the cards for nearly six years on top of the new millennium revival.

Over at the BBC, the big banker gameshow was Blankety Blank with Terry Wogan but soon to be hosted by Les Dawson in 1984, plus with Paul Daniels coming on the scene with Odd One Out as well. The BBC needed something new and different, when Bob Monkhouse left Central and Family Fortunes in 1983, the next port of call was the Beeb. First of all he presented his chatshow interviewing legendary plus up and coming comedians as well on BBC 2. But the gameshow itch was waiting to be scratched by both the management and also Monkhouse as well.

Though the story of how Bob's Full House came to air is not quite as smooth as the show turned  
out to be. When the idea was first presented by its devisers Terry Mardell and David Moore in 1983, it was a different beast originally called 'Top of the Shop'. From where it actually came from through so many different versions before the final version came to screens on the 1st of September 1984, that thirty-seven revisions were made to get it to the right format with one version even suggesting putting bingo cards in the Radio Times to allow the viewers at home to 
play along with the quiz at home. Which would have made it a sort of national lottery before the idea had been even thought about in this country.

The final format settled on was easy to understand, by cutting down the numbers from 90 to 60 meant that the game could be simplified. The space given was taken up with a monologue at the start of the show and the time to allow Monkhouse to talk to the contestants, very much like he had previously done on Family Fortunes. But when it came down to the actual game itself, the simplicity was in the types of questions, part general knowledge but also part fact based as well allowing Bob to do a joke about the question before moving on to the next contestant. 

With the first round for the four corners of the bingo card, it relaxes the contestants into the game by asking them questions individually. Most of these are fun, sometimes silly facts usually of a true or false nature, pretty much almost really easy to get into the game and win the first spot prize. The game itself as a contest starts with the 'Monkhouse Master Card' with each ten numbers referring to a subject with the contestant can choose from on the gameboard. Thus going for a subject which they may know about such as Cooking, for instance with that subject taking in the numbers 11-20 and choosing the number 14 for example. Getting it meant that number was lit on the players bingo card in front of them. Though get the answer wrong and it would be open to all the rest of the contestants to answer, get it right and they could lit a number of a subject they didn't like on the board. Though get it wrong and they would be frozen out of answering the next question if it was their turn or not, more commonly know in the game as being 'Wallied'. Though ever the pro Monkhouse had a catchphrase for the reveal of the subjects "In bingo-lingo its clickety-click... Its time to take your pick of the six!" and also when the subjects were mixed up "Please mix the six, if you'll please..." The style of the catchphrases used by Bob makes the game even more fun then it already is.

The final part of the game where contestants are aiming to light up all the numbers on their bingo card ramps up the excitement as all the contestants try to answer the questions quick fired by Bob to them all the time. Every so often he reminds the audience and the viewers at home of the situation of play with the refrain "Boggenstrovia neeeds seven for a full house, Rob neeeeds four..." etc. Again making the game flow as natural as it can, seemingly making the last part of the main game almost exciting as the actual game of bingo itself whist waiting for the final number to come out of the bag for a big prize. The moment is as thrilling as anything ever experienced on television before, not knowing who will win at all. 

Once the full house is completed then finally its time to play for the big holiday and the chance to win money to go with it in the Gold Card round. The uniqueness of this round is not only the time limit of two minutes to answer the questions, but also the number of questions to do it in, fifteen to be precise. Seeming easy, but sometimes very difficult. The actual skill is in picking the right numbers to be able to form the letters which make up the place name of the holiday the contestant will be sent on if they find all the letters, but the tension is played to it fullest with the contestant not sure where the letters would be and trying to get all the questions right or have enough to be able to find all the letters at the end. Bob does make play of this with the first letter being reveal such as a 'B' making light of it with the joke "An 'B'... I hope it isn't Bognor!" Though this puts the player at their ease, allowing them to smile and have a laugh at this. Once won, the prize is revealed and the contestant congratulated by Bob to wish them a happy holiday and to say goodnight to the viewers and invite them again to join him again to watch the show next time.

It is Bob's enthusiasm for both the game and the participants themselves which makes the show great, he is one big part of it but its the game aspect which is bigger then anyone. The prizes may seem cheap to us now, the style is different to what a newer generation is used to, but this is why Bob's Full House maybe, just maybe be the best gameshow that has been broadcast on British television. Maybe, you have a different opinion on that. But for me the doors are always opened for you and me on Bob's Full House and I for one am glad that they have been reopened for us by Challenge TV....


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