How Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher destroyed the world's best comedian: Benny Hill's Sad End

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

His show was popular in 140 countries, Michael Jackson considered Benny the best comedian in the world, and the genre of sketch (short TV anecdotes) is recognized as his personal invention. However, in the early 90s, the legendary show was closed and it turned out that the world-famous artist had no reason to live anymore. He did not have children, and when asked why he did not marry, he always answered cynically:. The body of the popular comedian was found in his apartment a few days after his death.

Alfred Hawthorne Hill was born in January 1924 in Hampshire. His father was a hero of the First World War, and when he returned home, he got a small pharmacy and got married. In addition to tablets, powders and tinctures, some rubber products were sold in the family shop, because of which young Alfred was constantly teased at school. This probably forever saved the future comedian from excessive puritanism and at the same time taught a simple truth: laughter is the best way out of many situations. To save his reputation, the pharmacist's son learned to laugh it off, and over time he got better at it.

In high school, the boy showed the gift of a parodist, he began to play in a drama club, and after school he was taken to a local theater troupe. Even during the war, at the front, the young actor played in performances, and after demobilization he was already determined to build a career and moved to London. It was then that he came up with a new name "Benny" - in honor of the famous American entertainer Jack Benny.

True, the beginning comedian in the capital first had to twist: he worked as a telephone operator, a traveling salesman, a driver, delivered milk in the morning, and played in the crowd in the evenings. In 1949, he came up with the idea for a show called Hello Everyone, and managed to get the BBC producers interested. A little later, in January 1955, the first episode of The Benny Hill Show went on the air. This program was destined to go on the air for 35 years.

Short TV jokes blew up English show business. True, not all the jokes of the famous master could claim subtlety and sophistication, but this was successfully compensated for by half-naked beauties. The prim British were horrified by the fall in morals, but they watched the show, so its ratings were constantly growing. The program was awarded awards, the artist was hunted by producers from the United States, over time he became one of the most recognizable Englishmen in the world.

It is interesting that, having amassed a multimillion-dollar fortune, Benny Hill learned how to use money. He lived alone, laughed it off when asked about his family and his orientation. All the years of wild popularity, the actor rented a not very luxurious apartment and was rather tight-fisted in everyday life. It is possible that this was the real reason for his loneliness.

Benny Hill was famous for the fact that he himself composed jokes (or successfully adapted strangers) and could squeeze humor out of literally any everyday situation. He often ridiculed police officers or officials, but over the years, the themes of his parodies became more and more political. In a series of puppet shows "Westminster Amusers", the comedian very badly went through the big English politicians, allowing himself to joke even about Margaret Thatcher. Now no one doubts that it was the parody of the "iron lady" that became the fatal mistake of the famous humorist. She ordered to impose strict censorship against Benny Hill, and 150 hours of already filmed material was banned from the show. In May 1991, the legendary show aired for the last time.

The famous comedian, finding himself without his favorite job, instantly fell into a severe depression. He sat all day in an armchair in front of the TV, indefatigably absorbing food and alcohol. Health problems were not long in coming. Even Michael Jackson did not save the situation. The singer flew in from America specifically to tell Hill that he considers him the number 1 comedian in the world, but this did not affect the patient's condition. Two months later, Benny Hill was found dead in the same chair with food and bottles scattered around.

A little later, England altogether disowned its recent favorite. A few years later, the British were shown the very forbidden materials that had closed the show, and the audience was horrified. Tony Blair spoke extremely sharply about the work of Benny Hill, calling it "an ugly phenomenon." This man, according to the British Prime Minister, has insulted his nation and will be consigned to oblivion. So, after the comedian's death, the British admitted that for 35 years they had been laughing "at the wrong jokes." Even Soviet censorship pales in comparison with this example.

In our country, the genre with a sketch became popular just at the time when Benny Hill was already forgotten. In 1996, the TV magazine "Kalambur" went on the air for the first time. What happened to the fate of the actors from the popular television show of the 1990s.