Barry Took (June 19, 1928 – March 31, 2002) was an English comedian, writer and television presenter. He is best remembered in the UK for his weekly role as presenter of Points of View, a BBC TV programme in which viewers' letters criticising or praising the BBC were broadcast. He also presented the BBC Radio 4 programme The News Quiz for over a decade until 1995. June 19 is the 170th day of the year (171st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 195 days remaining. ... Year 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar). ... March 31 is the 90th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (91st in leap years), with 275 days remaining. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the King (Queen) England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II  -  Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification  -  by Athelstan 967  Area... A comedian, or comic, is an entertainer who amuses an audience by making them laugh. ... The term writer can apply to anyone who creates a written work, but the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ... Points of View is a long-running television show shown in the United Kingdom on BBC One, featuring the letters of viewers offering praise, criticism and purportedly witty observations on the television of recent weeks. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually known as the BBC (and also informally known as the Beeb or Auntie) is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion... BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station which broadcasts a wide variety of chiefly spoken-word programmes including news, drama, comedy, science and history. ... The News Quiz is a topical comedy quiz broadcast on British radio BBC Radio 4. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Took was born in London and brought up there during the war, running away from the home in Wisbech to which he had been evacuated. It was during his period of National Service that he began performing seriously, and it was also then that he met his first wife, Dorothy, known as Dot, with whom he had three children: Barry, Susan and David. He later worked as a stand-up comedian, eventually becoming a West End revue performer. This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... OS Grid Reference: TF460098 Lat/Lon: 52°39′N 0°09′W Population: 20,200 (2001 Census) Dwellings: 9,145 (2001 Census) Formal status: Town Administration County: Cambridgeshire Region: East Anglia Nation: England Post Office and Telephone Post town: Wisbech Postcode: PE13, PE14 Dialling Code: 01945 Wisbech (IPA /wɪzb... // West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre in London, or sometimes more specifically for shows staged in the large theatres of Londons Theatreland . Along with New Yorks Broadway Theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of theatre in the... A revue is a type of theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches that satirize contemporary figures, news, or literature. ...

In terms of comedy writing, he was the writing partner of Marty Feldman and wrote for several seminal radio and television shows in the 1950s and 1960s, including Round the Horne and The Army Game spin-off Bootsie and Snudge. He co-wrote Beyond Our Ken for two seasons (1958-1959) with Eric Merriman for BBC Radio before leaving after a disagreement with his fellow writer. Marty Feldman in his television comedy series Marty (DVD) Martin Alan Marty Feldman (July 8, 1934 – December 2, 1982) was an English writer, comedian and film and television actor, famous for his bulging eyes, which were the result of a thyroid condition. ... // Recovering from World War I and its aftermath, the economic miracle emerged in West Germany and Italy. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... Round the Horne was one of the most influential BBC Radio comedy programmes, comparable to The Goon Show in its influence on other comedy programmes. ... The Army Game was a British television series about life in National Service broadcast between 1957 and 1961 by Granada Television . ... Bootsie and Snudge was a series written by Barry Took and Marty Feldman, also known for the BBC radio series Round the Horne. ... Beyond Our Ken (1958-1963) was a radio programme, the predecessor to Round the Horne (1964-1969). ...

In the late Sixties, Took became Comedy advvisor to the BBC and was responsible for bringing together the performers who formed Monty Python's Flying Circus before moving to the USA to work briefly on Rowan and Martin's Laugh In. He returned in early 1970 to take up the position of Head of Light Entertainment at London Weekend TV. Later on,he was involved in setting up the The Goodies and in 1975,he created and wrote the innovative literacy programme On the Move which starred Bob Hoskins and Donald Gee. There was an image of Took flashed momentarily on the screen during the BBC's introduction to its hit TV series Life on Mars. This article discusses the series itself. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... The Goodies was a surreal British television comedy series of the 1970s and early 1980s combining sketches and situation comedy and starring Graeme Garden, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Bill Oddie. ... On the Move is the 8th episode in season 3 in the Barney and Friends television show which airs on PBS. The episode features Bob West as the voice of Barney, West was featured on the show from 1992 - 2001. ... Robert William Bob Hoskins Jr. ... Life on Mars is an International Emmy-winning British television drama series, which was first shown on BBC One in January and February 2006. ...

Autobiography

• A Point of View (1990)

MCMXC redirects here; for the Enigma album, see MCMXC a. ...

External links

• Barry Took - Comedy Zone
• Kenneth Williams/Round The Horne
• BBC News article reporting his death