Spike Milligan....what's your favourite moment?
Discussion
vx220 said:
"Spring is sprung
The grass is ris
I wonder where the birdies is?"
My grandad taught me that, and now I use it to annoy the kids at school!
Spring is sprungThe grass is ris
I wonder where the birdies is?"
My grandad taught me that, and now I use it to annoy the kids at school!
De grass is ris
I wonder where dem birdies is?
Dem little birds is on de wing
Ain't dat absurd,
De little wing is on de bird!
was the version I learnt but didn't know it was Milligans.
When I knock up a 'what's in the cupboatd curry' it always gets called a dalek curry now.
His moving narration on the LP I bought for my daughter some years ago: 'The Snow Goose' by Paul Gallico.
Oh and his assertion that you can stuff a cat from whiskers to a
hole with cat food and they'll still kill birds. But also that a cat always raises its tail when you stroke it so you hand doesn't slip off the end! Love/hate...
I think he said that one of life's first betrayals is when a baby in a pram reaches for the beauty of a rose and grasps a thorn...
Oh and his assertion that you can stuff a cat from whiskers to a
hole with cat food and they'll still kill birds. But also that a cat always raises its tail when you stroke it so you hand doesn't slip off the end! Love/hate...I think he said that one of life's first betrayals is when a baby in a pram reaches for the beauty of a rose and grasps a thorn...
Maveric Prowles
Had rumbling bowels
That thundered in the night.
It shook the bedrooms all around
And gave the folks a fright.
The doctor called;
He was appalled
When through his stethoscope
He heard the sound of a baying hound,
And the acrid smell of smoke.
Was there a cure?
'The higher the fewer'
The learned doctor said,
Then turned poor Maveric inside out
And stood him on his head.
'Just as I though
You've been and caught
An Asiatic flu -
You musn't go near dogs I fear
Unless they come near you.'
Poor Maveric cried.
He went cross-eyed,
His legs went green and blue.
The doctor hit him with a club
And charged him one and two.
And so my friend
This is the end,
A warning to the few:
Stay clear of doctors to the end
Or they'll get rid of you.
Had rumbling bowels
That thundered in the night.
It shook the bedrooms all around
And gave the folks a fright.
The doctor called;
He was appalled
When through his stethoscope
He heard the sound of a baying hound,
And the acrid smell of smoke.
Was there a cure?
'The higher the fewer'
The learned doctor said,
Then turned poor Maveric inside out
And stood him on his head.
'Just as I though
You've been and caught
An Asiatic flu -
You musn't go near dogs I fear
Unless they come near you.'
Poor Maveric cried.
He went cross-eyed,
His legs went green and blue.
The doctor hit him with a club
And charged him one and two.
And so my friend
This is the end,
A warning to the few:
Stay clear of doctors to the end
Or they'll get rid of you.
I'm a huge fan and indeed of comedy of his era. Ie Hancock too.
I have a box set of seven of his war books
Just about the most amazing and funny thing ever.
Also puts life in perspective. Eg when people spend hours crying about parent parking spaces. Cyclists. Parking tickets.
He had 6 yrs, like millions of others not knowing if this was yr last day.
An absolute genius.
I have a box set of seven of his war books
Just about the most amazing and funny thing ever.
Also puts life in perspective. Eg when people spend hours crying about parent parking spaces. Cyclists. Parking tickets.
He had 6 yrs, like millions of others not knowing if this was yr last day.
An absolute genius.
He was a friend of my late Dad and I remember my old man telling me this story.
They were walking past an undertakers when Spike bolted off inside. My Dad followed to find Spike climbing up onto the polished wood counter before lying back, and placing his hands across his chest in the manner of a laid out corpse.
Spike then shouted "Shop!"
I think the pair of them then ran off.
They were walking past an undertakers when Spike bolted off inside. My Dad followed to find Spike climbing up onto the polished wood counter before lying back, and placing his hands across his chest in the manner of a laid out corpse.
Spike then shouted "Shop!"
I think the pair of them then ran off.
Love a lot of his work - read his war diaries, used to watch his Q series as a youngster, and am working my way through recordings of The Goon Show.
Remember when he was on Room 101, and they showed a picture of a large house. He said it was a bloody horrible place and should be demolished.
"Whose house is it ?" asked the presenter
"Mine" replied Spike
And of course the classic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tjHlFPTwVk
Remember when he was on Room 101, and they showed a picture of a large house. He said it was a bloody horrible place and should be demolished.
"Whose house is it ?" asked the presenter
"Mine" replied Spike
And of course the classic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tjHlFPTwVk
jmorgan said:
His war time books. They got you on a couple of levels. Sort of when I first thought what I was doing at that age and how my life was different. Moment wise, hard to say. Some were odd some were serial and some genius.
The part where he describes the German shell hitting his gun position, and the aftermath, always makes me very emotional. The book goes from humour to pathos in a few words.The way I see it,that wartime split-second was the instigator of much of British post-war humour. The shellshock and subsequent depression gave us a comedic genius, and arguably the basis for all that was to follow, like Monty Python and its predecessors on the radio, like "I'm sorry I'll read that again".
nicanary said:
jmorgan said:
His war time books. They got you on a couple of levels. Sort of when I first thought what I was doing at that age and how my life was different. Moment wise, hard to say. Some were odd some were serial and some genius.
The part where he describes the German shell hitting his gun position, and the aftermath, always makes me very emotional. The book goes from humour to pathos in a few words.The way I see it,that wartime split-second was the instigator of much of British post-war humour. The shellshock and subsequent depression gave us a comedic genius, and arguably the basis for all that was to follow, like Monty Python and its predecessors on the radio, like "I'm sorry I'll read that again".
Some Goons brilliance
Sellers - "Nurse, put the leeches back in their cages"
Milligan - "Alright doctor. Come along you naughty leeches"
Sellers ( to audience ) - "Actually they aren't leeches, they're tigers, but if I told her the truth she'd want more money"
Introducing a character as an "international expert in knotted string"
"Doctor, the waiting room is full !"
"Who is in there ?"
"Harry Secombe"
Sellers - "Nurse, put the leeches back in their cages"
Milligan - "Alright doctor. Come along you naughty leeches"
Sellers ( to audience ) - "Actually they aren't leeches, they're tigers, but if I told her the truth she'd want more money"
Introducing a character as an "international expert in knotted string"
"Doctor, the waiting room is full !"
"Who is in there ?"
"Harry Secombe"
Its mainly the way he found humour in life, despite his depression. You see old interviews and a memory of something comes to him and he has a little giggle to himself.
The war books especially, the absurdity of the situations that they found themselves in just generated the humour. So many snippets from the books that could be posted.
I think he was one of that generation that has almost left us now that were genuinely funny. Nowadays its all about trying too hard and making obvious jokes, its not a replacement for wit.
I recently went to see the I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue tour - Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden and Barry Cryer. There is a round where they sing a song, cut the music and then fade it back in a verse later to see how well they kept time. Cryer is stood in front of a few thousand people belting out Viva Las Vegas. The guy is 80! He's probably one of the few left from Spike's era.
The war books especially, the absurdity of the situations that they found themselves in just generated the humour. So many snippets from the books that could be posted.
I think he was one of that generation that has almost left us now that were genuinely funny. Nowadays its all about trying too hard and making obvious jokes, its not a replacement for wit.
I recently went to see the I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue tour - Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden and Barry Cryer. There is a round where they sing a song, cut the music and then fade it back in a verse later to see how well they kept time. Cryer is stood in front of a few thousand people belting out Viva Las Vegas. The guy is 80! He's probably one of the few left from Spike's era.
I remember laughing my head off with SM in a film, but it was more than 30 years ago and I don't know the film, (I'm hoping someone will tell me).
Basically SM is in the army and serving an officer who's lying in bed a cup of tea and then salutes him to leave while the officer is still lying in bed. The officer shouts, NO, NO you don't salute the man, you salute the uniform!, so SM apologises and as he leaves the room he salutes the officers uniform which is hanging in the wardrobe. ....maybe its just me that finds that funny.
Basically SM is in the army and serving an officer who's lying in bed a cup of tea and then salutes him to leave while the officer is still lying in bed. The officer shouts, NO, NO you don't salute the man, you salute the uniform!, so SM apologises and as he leaves the room he salutes the officers uniform which is hanging in the wardrobe.
....maybe its just me that finds that funny. Pakistani Daleks - hilarious, and you don't even see Spike.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0n88tZQc4Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0n88tZQc4Q
Salterns said:
I remember laughing my head off with SM in a film, but it was more than 30 years ago and I don't know the film, (I'm hoping someone will tell me).
Basically SM is in the army and serving an officer who's lying in bed a cup of tea and then salutes him to leave while the officer is still lying in bed. The officer shouts, NO, NO you don't salute the man, you salute the uniform!, so SM apologises and as he leaves the room he salutes the officers uniform which is hanging in the wardrobe. ....maybe its just me that finds that funny.
I'm sure that's recounted in the book, so it's probably this? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068171/Basically SM is in the army and serving an officer who's lying in bed a cup of tea and then salutes him to leave while the officer is still lying in bed. The officer shouts, NO, NO you don't salute the man, you salute the uniform!, so SM apologises and as he leaves the room he salutes the officers uniform which is hanging in the wardrobe.
....maybe its just me that finds that funny. Gassing Station | The Lounge | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff