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Friday, February 03, 2006

Two Ton Ted from Teddington is Dead

Comedy actor Henry McGee, the 'straight man' for Benny Hill for many years and a regular in 60s and 70s sitcoms has died.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/news/obituary/0,,1701120,00.html
In the 1980s it became fashionable for 'alternative' comedians to label Hill's humour as 'sexist' and outdated. Much of this was mere snobbery: unlike our daring, new university educated 'alternative' comics, the comedy old guard were almost all working class. Hill's comedy was not sexist- as he pointed out himself- it's the girls who always end up chasing him. But while Hill's career hit the buffers in the new p.c. climate, the 'alternative' comedians who replaced him, formed a new comic 'establishment' of their own (with their own production companies of course)- and became very, very wealthy to boot. The most grotesque example of how yesterday's anti-establishment radicals become lackeys of money power is Ben Elton. Sixteen years ago, Elton co-wrote BlackAdder III, with its powerful anti-war message. Yet in 2003, Elton was expressing his support for that very 'alternative' project: the Iraq war.

1 comment:

Miguel said...
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