“They all laughed when I said I wanted to be a comedian. Well, they’re not laughing now.”
Bob Monkhouse
Introduction
Bob Monkhouse was the king of game shows. The Golden Shot, Celebrity Squares, Family Fortunes, Bob’s Full House, The $64,000 Question and Wipeout are the highlights of his television portfolio. His famed joke books run to volumes. He was a comedic raconteur who wrote for and worked for all the greats on the radio in his writing partnership with Denis Goodwin, including Arthur Askey, Jimmy Edwards, Ted Ray and Max Miller. A gag writer for Bob Hope and the star of the first Carry On film, Carry On Sergeant, in 1958. He later regretted not continuing in the film series, opting for Dentist in the Chair and Dentist on the Job in 1958 and 1960. He also hosted Candid Camera and Sunday Night at the London Palladium. A stand-up comedian and chat show host as well.
Hidden Secrets
When Bob died in 2003 after a brave battle against prostate cancer, the nation mourned a true British great. Spending his latter years living between his house, Claridges in Egginton, Bedfordshire and warmer climbs in Barbados, Monkhouse never lost his sharp wit, sparkle in his eyes and that distinctive grin. Yet his death revealed a treasure trove of archive material in his Bedfordshire home. Bob was a hoarder of the best kind, meticulously recording thousands of hours of television material on early recording devices and VHS. His library, a dominant part of his house, included 50,000 VHS tapes and 400 film prints. He also had thousands of radio recordings, records, whisky glasses and matchboxes. He kept everything that charted his career—a slick operator who took immense pride in his work and others in his industry.
Tragedy
In 1975, Bob’s writing partner, Denis Goodwin committed suicide in the throes of depression. His eldest son, Gary was born with cerebral palsy and died in 1992 after suffocating from choking on his own vomit in 1992. He was only 40. His second son, Simon died from a heroin overdose in 2001 in a hostel for backpackers in Thailand. He was only 46.
Doubt
The ghost of failure always dogged Bob. Although respected, he feared failure, and he once confided in the comedy writer Barry Cryer that he thought of himself as the “Marmite man… you either like me or can’t stand me”. A complicated man who hid behind the laughs. He was wounded by being sacked from The Golden Shot and rapidly replaced by Norman Vaughan and then Charlie Williams. Monkhouse turned a cheaply made ATV game show into a cult classic. It is full of humour and contestant bonding and a health and safety hazard of a crossbow attached to a camera, where Derek Chason, the cameraman, would fire at an apple. A contraption dubbed Bernie the Bolt. The latter shows had the contestants controlling and firing the crossbow! One priest on the show even prayed that the bolt wouldn’t injure him. In the end, it ended up bouncing off the target and landing by his feet.
Bob never gave up on studying the science of comedy. His joke books are fascinating adult comics littered with beautifully drawn cartoon sketches and free-flowing gags. Monkhouse was meticulous and would change a joke several times until it was perfect. He would even go to a comedy club in disguise so he could savour the comedy in anonymity. He would approach the comic the next time he saw them and praise their routine. His joke books were famously stolen. Work that contained 25 years of material. The theft was cultural vandalism of the highest degree and was eventually returned after a £10,000 reward was offered. The joke books amount to a staggering 17 volumes and one that this former RAF recruit shared with other comedians. This knowledgeable individual had funny bones and will always be dearly missed.
