Bob Monkhouse 1928 to 2003 Part 1 The Life of an English Comedy writer, Comedian and Actor.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) February 2, 2011 -- Bob Monkhouse 1928 to 2003 Part 1 The Life of an English Comedy writer, Comedian and Actor.
During my early years in England during the 1960's and 1970's one of the funniest and best entertainers was Bob Monkhouse who I watched on The Golden Shot - a hilarious games show. He was a successful Comedy writer, Comedian and actor and was also well known on British television as a Presenter and Game Show Host. Bob Monkhouse was famous for his one liner jokes. As he died in 2003 I thought I would write about his entertaining history.

Bob Monkhouse was born at 1st June 1928 at 168 Bromley Road, Beckenham, Kent the son of Wilfred Adrian Monkhouse, (1894-1957), and Dorothy Muriel Monkhouse née Hansard, (1895-1971). Monkhouse had an elder brother, John, born 1922. Monkhouse's father was a prosperous Methodist businessman who owned Monk and Glass, which made custard powder.
While a schoolboy at Dulwich College, from which he was later expelled, Monkhouse wrote for the comics The Beano and The Dandy and subsequently drew for Hotdpur, Wizard and Adventure comics. Among other writing, he wrote more than 100 Harlem Hotspots erotic novelettes.
Monkhouse completed his National Service with the Royal Air force (RAF) in 1948. He won a contract with the BBC after his unwitting group captain signed a letter Monkhouse had written telling the BBC he was a war hero and that it should give him an audition.
Writing and Acting success

Bob Monkhouse's adult career began as a scriptwriter for radio comedy in partnership with Denis Goodwin, a fellow Old Alleynian with whom he also compèred Smash Hits on Radio Luxembourg. Alongside performing as a double act, Monkhouse and Goodwin wrote for comedians such as Arthur Askey, Jimmy Edwards, Ted Ray and Max Miller.[3][6] In addition, Monkhouse was a gag-writer for American comedians including Bob Hope when they wanted jokes for British tours.

In 1956, Monkhouse was the host of Do You Trust Your Wife?, the British version of an American gameshow. He went on to host more than 30 different quiz shows on British television.[3] His public profile growing, Monkhouse also began appearing in comedy films, including the first of the Carry On film series, Carry On Sergeant in 1958. He appeared in films and television programmes throughout his career, making guest appearances particularly in later years. Other presenting jobs in the 1960s included hosting Candid Camera and compèring Sunday Night at the London Palladium. Around 1969 he was a partner, with Henry Howard, in the London Agency Mitchell Monkhouse. In 1979 he starred in a sketch comedy television series called Bonkers! with the Hudson Brothers.
In the early 1970s he appeared on BBC Radio in Mostly Monkhouse with Josephine Tewson and David Jason.
Stand Up Comedy

Monkhouse was a respected stand up comedian. Known for his talent at ad-lib, he became a sought-after speaker for dinners and similar events. In 1976 he was the speaker at the Mars, Incorporated sales conference at the Excelsior Hotel on Bath Road opposite Heathrow Airport. He had been in a television advert for Polaroid cameras, and he told the joke, 'I am the only man ever allowed to say on television "you take it out and hold it in your hand, and in only 20 seconds it develops - or a minute if you want it in colour."'
Game Shows

Bob Monkhouse was well known for hosting television quiz shows. One of his biggest successes was The Golden Shot during the late 1960s. This was broadcast live for 52 weeks a year and drew in up to 17 million viewers.[6] The dozens of other shows Monkhouse presented included Celebrity Squares, Bob's Full House and Family Fortunes. Audiences regularly topped 15 million.[2] In the late 1980s he hosted two series of the revival of the talent show Opportunity Knocks which aired as Bob Says Opportunity Knocks. He then moved to ITV to front two more gameshows, Bob's Your Uncle and the $64,000 Dollar Question, neither of which were popular successes.
In 1996, Monkhouse presented the National Lottery show on Saturday evenings on BBC One. The opening to each show would see him deliver several minutes of topical jokes, and on one occasion where his Autocue failed, he improvised a new and still topical routine. This talent was used in Bob Monkhouse On The Spot, a return to pure television comedy, in which audience members suggested topics and Monkhouse came up with a routine. Monkhouse returned to quizzes in 1998 when he took over hosting duties on Wipeout from Paul Daniels.

Please visit my Funny Animal Art Prints Collection @ http://www.fabprints.com
My other website is called Directory of British Icons: http://fabprints.webs.com
The Chinese call Britain 'The Island of Hero's' which I think sums up what we British are all about. We British are inquisitive and competitive and are always looking over the horizon to the next adventure and discovery.
Copyright © 2010 – 2011 Paul Hussey. All Rights Reserved.

Actor     art gallery     bob monkhouse     British TV Show     comedian     comic actor     posters     the golden shot