The
comedy show that influenced the
pythons and just about every
British comedy group or individual for many many years, The Goons were
Peter Sellers,
Harry Secombe and
Spike Milligan. After being
demobbed from the
army after the end of
World War 2 the
trio of entertainers hooked up and were commissioned to make a
comedy show for
BBC radio.
Over the next quarter of a century they literally rewrote the rules and redefined the meaning of comedy. They were probably the first comics with a mainstream audience who did more than stand up and tell a series of jokes: The Goons used sketch formats and surreal humour to brilliant effect.
Despite the fact that they were recording nearly 50 years ago, much of their comedy is still amazingly funny, a testament to the power of the writing. Peter Sellers (who was once romantically linked to Sophia Loren) is sadly no longer with us, and Secombe is now a born-again Christian presenting religious programmes on TV, but Spike Milligan -- one of Britain's finest ever comics -- is still alive and well and still being subversively comic: upon receiving a "lifetime achievement award" at the BAFTAs a few years ago and being told there was a telegram of congratulations from Prince Charles he memorably said (on national TV) "That obsequious bastard? I wish he'd stop writing to me all the time".