Spike Milligan
Spike Milligan in his younger days
Influences	Groucho Marx Walt Disney Jacques Tati Spike Jones
Influenced	Monty Python

Terence Alan Patrick Seán Milligan KBE (16 April 1918–27 February 2002), known as Spike Milligan, was an Irish comedian, writer, musician, poet and playwright. He played the piano, trumpet, guitar and saxophone and was the creator, the principal writer and a performing member of The Goon Show. Image File history File links Spike_Milligan. ... Groucho redirects here. ... For the company founded by Disney, see The Walt Disney Company. ... Jacques Tati as Monsieur Hulot. ... Spike Jones For the music video and film director, see Spike Jonze. ... Monty Python, or The Pythons,[2][3] is the collective name of the creators of Monty Pythons Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. ... The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... is the 106th day of the year (107th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... is the 58th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... For the documentary about Jerry Seinfeld, see Comedian (film). ... A writer is anyone who creates a written work, although the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ... For the popular-music magazine, see Musician (magazine). ... Sappho and Alcaeus of Mytilene, by Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1881). ... A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or drama. ... A short grand piano, with the lid up. ... Trumpeter redirects here. ... For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... The saxophone (colloquially referred to as sax) is a conical-bored musical instrument usually considered a member of the woodwind family. ... The Goon Show was a popular and influential British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC from 1951 to 1960 on the BBC Home Service. ...

Biography

Early life

Milligan was born in Ahmednagar, India, on 16 April 1918, the son of an Irish-born father, Captain Leo Alphonso Milligan, MSM, RA, who was serving in the British Indian Army. He spent most of his childhood in Rangoon (Yangon), capital of Burma (Myanmar). He was educated at the Convent of Jesus and Mary, Poona, and St Paul's Christian Brothers, de la Salle, Rangoon. For other uses, see Ahmednagar (disambiguation). ... is the 106th day of the year (107th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... A group of native Indian Muslim soldiers posing for volley firing orders. ... Yangon (also known as Rangoon) is the largest city of Burma. ... Anthem Kaba Ma Kyei Capital Naypyidaw Largest city Yangon Official languages Burmese Demonym Burmese Government Military junta  -  Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Than Shwe  -  Prime Minister Soe Win  -  Acting Prime Minister Thein Sein Establishment  -  Bagan 849–1287   -  Taungoo Dynasty 1486–1752   -  Konbaung Dynasty 1752–1885   -  Colonial rule...

Though he lived most of his life in England and served in the British Army, he had difficulties obtaining a British passport so he took Irish citizenship instead.^{[citation needed]} He continued to live and work in the United Kingdom. For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ...

Second World War

During most of the late 1930s and early 1940s Milligan performed as an amateur jazz vocalist and trumpeter before, during and after being called up for military service, but even then he wrote and performed comedy sketches as part of concerts to entertain troops. After his call-up, but before being sent abroad, he and fellow musician Harry Edgington (nicknamed Edge-ying-Tong which gave birth to one of Spike's most memorable musical creations, the Ying Tong Song) would compose surreal stories, filled with puns and skewed logic, as a way of staving off the boredom of life in barracks. Trumpeter redirects here. ...

During World War II he served as a signaller in the 56th Heavy Regiment Royal Artillery, D Battery, as Gunner Milligan, 954024 with the First Army in North Africa and then in Italy. He rose to the rank of Lance-Bombardier and was about to be promoted to Bombardier when he was wounded in action in Italy. Subsequently hospitalised for shell shock, he was demoted by an unsympathetic commanding officer (identified in his war diaries as Major Evan 'Jumbo' Jenkins) back to Gunner. It was Milligan's opinion that Major Jenkins did not like him due to the fact that Milligan constantly kept the morale of his fellow soldiers up, whereas Major Jenkins' approach was to take an attitude towards the troops similar to that of Lord Kitchener. An incident also mentioned was when Major Jenkins had invited Gunners Milligan and Edgington to his bivouac to play some jazz with him, only to discover that the musicianship of the aforementioned gunners was far superior to his own ability to play the military tune 'Whistling Rufus' (albeit rather badly). Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... The Royal Regiment of Artillery, generally known as the Royal Artillery (RA), is, despite its name, a corps of the British Army It is made up of a number of regiments. ... The British First Army was a field army that existed during the First and Second World Wars. ...  Northern Africa (UN subregion)  geographic, including above North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Africa. ... For Bombardier Group, Canada see: Bombardier United Kingdom Bombardier and lance-bombardier are British Army ranks used in the Royal Artillery instead of (respectively) corporal and lance-corporal. ... The military term combat stress reaction (CSR) comprises the range of adverse behaviours in reaction to the stress of combat and combat related activities. ... Lord Kitchener can refer to: Field Marshal Horatio Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, prominent British soldier in Sudan, Boer War, and World War I Any of his heirs who have held the title Earl Kitchener Calypso music singer born Aldwyn Roberts; see: Lord Kitchener (calypsonian) This is a disambiguation page — a...

After his hospitalisation, Milligan drifted through a number of rear-echelon military jobs in Italy, eventually becoming a full-time entertainer. He played the guitar with a jazz/comedy group called The Bill Hall Trio in concert parties for the troops. After being demobilised, Milligan remained in Italy playing with the Trio but returned to England soon after. While he was with the Central Pool of Artists (a group he described as composed "of bomb-happy squaddies") he began to write parodies of their mainstream plays, that displayed many of the key elements of what would become The Goon Show with Peter Sellers, Harry Secombe and Michael Bentine. For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... The Bill Hall Trio was a comedy music act consisting of Bill Hall (violin), Johnny Mulgrove (bass) and Spike Milligan (guitar)[[1]]. They got together during WWII and continued until 1947/8. ... An editor has expressed a concern that the subject of the article does not satisfy the notability guideline or one of the following guidelines for inclusion on Wikipedia: Biographies, Books, Companies, Fiction, Music, Neologisms, Numbers, Web content, or several proposals for new guidelines. ... In contemporary usage, a parody (or lampoon) is a work that imitates another work in order to ridicule, ironically comment on, or poke some affectionate fun at the work itself, the subject of the work, the author or fictional voice of the parody, or another subject. ... The Goon Show was a popular and influential British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC from 1951 to 1960 on the BBC Home Service. ... This article is about the British actor. ... Sir Harry Donald Secombe, CBE (8 September 1921–11 April 2001) was a Welsh entertainer with a noted fine tenor singing voice and a talent for comedy. ... Michael Bentine (January 26, 1922 - November 26, 1996) was a comedian, comic actor, and member of the Goons. ...

Radio

Milligan returned to jazz in the late 1940s and made a precarious living with the Hall trio and other musical comedy acts. He was also trying to break into the world of radio, as either a performer or as a script writer. His first success in radio was as writer for Derek Roy show. Milligan soon became involved with a relatively radical comedy project, The Goon Show. Known during its first season as Crazy People, or in full, "The Junior Crazy Gang featuring those Crazy People, the Goons!", the name was an attempt to make the programme palatable to BBC officials by connecting it with the popular group of comedians known as The Crazy Gang.^{[citation needed]} A script is a story written for a particular medium. ... The Crazy Gang were a group of British entertainers who got together in the early 1930s, they achieved great national popularity and were a favourite of the royal family, especially King George VI. // The members were: Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen, Jimmy Nervo, Teddy Knox, Charlie Naughton and Jimmy Gold and...

Milligan was the primary author of The Goon Show scripts (though many were written jointly with Larry Stephens, Eric Sykes and others) as well as a star performer. Larry Stephens was a BBC scriptwriter, most popularly known for co-writing The Goon Show with Spike Milligan. ... Eric Sykes in the Sykes TV series (DVD) The Plank (DVD cover) Eric Sykes, CBE (born May 4, 1923 in Oldham, Lancashire) is a British comedic writer and actor. ...

Ad-libbing

Milligan also had a number of acting parts in theatre, film and television series; one of his last screen appearances was in the BBC dramatisation of Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast, and he was (almost inevitably) noted as an ad-libber. One of Milligan's most famous ad-lib incidents occurred during a visit to Australia in the late 1960s. He was interviewed live on air and remained in the studio for the news broadcast that followed (read by Rod McNeil), during which Milligan constantly interjected, adding his own name to news items. As a result, he was banned from making any further live appearances on the ABC. The ABC also changed its national policy so that talent had to leave the studio after interviews were complete. A tape of the bulletin survives and has been included in an ABC Radio audio compilation, also on the BBC tribute CD, Vivat Milligna [sic]. For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... Mervyn Laurence Peake (July 9, 1911 – November 17, 1968) was an English modernist writer, artist, poet and illustrator. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... See AdLib for the computer sound card manufacturer. ... The Australian Broadcasting Corporation or ABC is Australias national non-profit public broadcaster. ...

Poetry

Milligan also wrote verse, considered to be within the genre of literary nonsense, for children, the best of which is comparable with that of Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear, and the most famous probably being "On the Ning Nang Nong". This nonsense verse, set to music, became a favourite Australia-wide, performed week after week by the ABC children's programme Playschool. Milligan included it on his album No One's Gonna Change Our World in 1969 to aid the World Wildlife Fund. In December 2007 it was reported that, according to OFSTED, it is amongst the ten most commonly taught poems in primary schools in the UK.^[1] Literary Nonsense refers to literature in which there are either nonsensical words, or the meaning does not make the slightest bit of sense. ... The Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (IPA: ) (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by the pen name Lewis Carroll (), was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican clergyman and photographer. ... Edward Lear, 1812-1888 Eagle Owl, Edward Lear, 1837 Another Edward Lear owl, in his more familiar style Edward Lear (12 May 1812 – 29 January 1888) was an artist, illustrator and writer known for his nonsensical poetry and his limericks, a form which he popularised. ... On the Ning Nang Nong is a poem written by the comedian Spike Milligan. ... Nonsense verse is a form of poetry, normally composed for humorous effect, which is intentionally and overtly paradoxical, silly, witty, whimsical or just plain strange. ... Play School is an Australian educational television show for children produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Animation by Yoram Gross Films Ltd. ... No Ones Gonna Change Our World was a charity album released in the UK on 12 December 1969 for the benefit of the World Wildlife Fund. ... The Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) is a non-ministerial United Kingdom government department, established on 1st September 1992. ...

While depressed, Milligan wrote serious poetry. He also wrote a novel Puckoon, parodying the style of Dylan Thomas, and a very successful series of war memoirs, including Adolf Hitler: My Part in his Downfall (book) (1971), Rommel: Gunner Who? A Confrontation in the Desert (1974) and Mussolini: His Part in my Downfall (1978). Milligan's seven volumes of memoirs cover the years from 1939 to 1950 (essentially his call-up, war service, first breakdown, time spent entertaining in Italy, and return to the UK). On the Threshold of Eternity. ... Puckoon is a comic novel by Spike Milligan, first published in 1963. ... Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 - 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet. ... As a literary genre, a memoir (from the French: mémoire from the Latin memoria, meaning memory), or a reminiscence, forms a subclass of autobiography, although it is an older form of writing. ...

He wrote comedy songs, including "Purple Aeroplane", which was a parody of The Beatles' song "Yellow Submarine". Glimpses of his bouts with depression which led to the nervous breakdowns, can be found in his serious poetry, which is compiled in Open Heart University. The White Album, see The Beatles (album). ... Music sample Yellow Submarine Problems? See media help. ...

Plays

Spike Milligan also wrote the one-act play The Bed-Sitting Room, which premiered at the Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury. It was adapted to a longer play, which made its debut at the Mermaid Theatre, London. The Bed-Sitting Room is a satirical play by Spike Milligan and John Antrobus. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... Canterbury is a cathedral city in east Kent in South East England and is the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Primate of All England, head of the Church of England and of the worldwide Anglican Communion. ...

Cartoons

Milligan contributed occasional cartoons to the satirical magazine Private Eye. Most were visualizations of one-line jokes. For example, a young boy sees the Concorde and asks his father "What's that?". The reply is "That's a flying groundnut scheme, son." March 4, 2005 cover of Private Eye; this is a typical example of the magazines front cover. ... For other uses, see Concorde (disambiguation). ... The Tanganyika Groundnut Scheme was a plan to cultivate tracts of what is now Tanzania with peanuts. ...

Personal life

Australia

After their retirement, Milligan's parents and his younger brother Desmond moved to Australia. His mother lived the rest of her life in the coastal village of Woy Woy on the New South Wales Central Coast, just north of Sydney; as a result, Milligan became a regular visitor to Australia and made a number of radio and TV programmes there, including The Idiot Weekly with Bobby Limb. In July 2007, it was proposed that the suspension bridge on the cyclepath from Woy Woy to Gosford be named after him.^[2][3] Woy Woy is a coastal village 40 km north of Sydney, Australia ((33. ... Ray Barrett, Michael Eisdell, John Bluthal, Bobby Limb, Reg Goldsworthy and Spike Milligan at a recording session of The Idiot Weekly in 1958. ... Bobby Limb (10 November 1924 - 11 September 1999) was an Australian pioneering TV entertainer of the 1960s and 1970s. ...

From the 1960s onwards Milligan was a regular correspondent with Robert Graves. Milligan's letters to Graves usually addressed a question to do with classical studies. The letters form part of Graves' bequest to St. John's College, Oxford. Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was an English poet, scholar, and novelist. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... St Johns College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. ...

Health

He suffered from bipolar disorder for most of his life, having at least ten major mental breakdowns, several lasting over a year. He spoke candidly about his condition and its effect on his life:
For other uses, see Bipolar. ... For the EP by Black Flag, see Nervous Breakdown. ...

I have got so low that I have asked to be hospitalised and for deep narcosis (sleep). I cannot stand being awake. The pain is too much... Something has happened to me, this vital spark has stopped burning - I go to a dinner table now and I don't say a word, just sit there like a dodo. Normally I am the centre of attention, keep the conversation going - so that is depressing in itself. It's like another person taking over, very strange. The most important thing I say is 'good evening' and then I go quiet.^[4]

Prince of Wales

The Prince of Wales was a noted fan, and Milligan caused a stir by calling him a "little grovelling bastard" on live television in 1994.^[5] He later faxed the prince, saying "I suppose a knighthood is out of the question?" In reality he and the Prince were very close friends,^[4] and he was finally made a Knight Commander of the British Empire (KBE) (honorary because of his Irish citizenship) in 2000. He had been made an Honorary Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 1992. “Prince Charles” redirects here. ... The British honours system is a means of rewarding individuals personal bravery, achievement or service to the United Kingdom. ... The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander...

Campaigning

He was a strident campaigner on environmental matters, particularly arguing against unnecessary noise, such as the use of muzak. The historic Blue Marble photograph, which helped bring environmentalism to the public eye. ... Elevator music, also known as lift music (in the UK), piped music or muzak, refers to the gentle, bland instrumental arrangements of popular music designed for play in shopping malls, grocery stores, department stores, telephone systems (while the caller is on hold), cruise ships, airports, doctors and dentists offices, and...

In 1971, Milligan caused controversy by attacking an art exhibition at the Hayward Gallery with a hammer.^[6] The exhibit consisted of catfish, oysters and shrimp that were to be electrocuted as part of the exhibition. Hayward Gallery, London The Hayward Gallery is an art gallery within the South Bank Centre, situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, in central London, England. ...

In 1996, he successfully campaigned for the restoration of London's Elfin Oak. This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... The Elfin Oak is a 900-year-old tree stump in Kensington Gardens in London, carved and painted to look as though elves, gnomes and small animals are living in its bark. ...

He was also a public opponent of domestic violence, dedicating one of his books to Erin Pizzey. Domestic disturbance redirects here. ... Erin Pizzey (born February 19, 1939 in China, daughter of a diplomat) became internationally famous for having started the first Womens Refuge (called womens shelter in the US) in the modern world during the 1971. ...

Family

Milligan had three children with his first wife June Marlow: Laura, Seán and Síle. They were married in 1952 and divorced in 1960 during the Goon Show. He had one daughter with his second wife, Patricia Ridgeway: the actress Jane Milligan (b. 1964). Milligan and Patricia were married in June of 1962 with George Martin as best man. The marriage ended in 1978 with Patricia's death. In 1975 Milligan fathered a son, James, in an affair with Margaret Maughan. Another child, a daughter Romany, is suspected to have been born at the same time by a Canadian journalist named Roberta Watt. His last wife was Shelagh Sinclair, to whom he was married from 1983 to his death on 27 February 2002. Four of his children have recently collaborated with documentary makers on a new multi-platform programme called I Told You I Was Ill: The Life and Legacy of Spike Milligan (2005) and accompanying website.^[7] For other uses, see George Martin (disambiguation). ...

Death

Even late in life, Milligan's black humour had not deserted him. After the death of friend Harry Secombe from cancer, he said, "I'm glad he died before me, because I didn't want him to sing at my funeral." A recording of Secombe singing was played at Milligan's memorial service. He also wrote his own obituary, in which he stated repeatedly that he "wrote the Goon show and died". Black comedy, also known as black humor, is a subgenre of comedy and satire that deals with serious subjects – death, divorce, drug abuse, et cetera in a humorous manner. ... Sir Harry Donald Secombe, CBE (8 September 1921–11 April 2001) was a Welsh entertainer with a noted fine tenor singing voice and a talent for comedy. ...

Milligan died from liver disease, at the age of 83, on 27 February 2002, at his home in Rye, East Sussex. On the day of his funeral, 8 March 2002, his coffin was carried to St Thomas's Church in Winchelsea, Sussex, and reflecting his support for Irish reunification was draped in the tricolour of Ireland.^[8] He had once quipped that he wanted his headstone to bear the words "I told you I was ill." He was buried at St Thomas's Church cemetery in Winchelsea, East Sussex, but the Chichester Diocese refused to allow this epitaph.^[9] A compromise was reached with the Irish translation, "Dúirt mé leat go raibh mé breoite", and additionally in English, "Love, light, peace". The liver is an organ in vertebrates including humans. ... is the 58th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... , Rye is a small hill top town and civil parish in East Sussex, England, on the River Rother, and at the western edge of the Walland Marsh, part of the Romney Marshes. ... For other uses, see Epitaph (disambiguation). ...

Legacy

The Holden Road plaque

The film of Puckoon, starring his daughter, the actress Jane Milligan, was released after his death. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 191 KB)Plaque to Spike Milligan in Woodside Park. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 191 KB)Plaque to Spike Milligan in Woodside Park. ... Puckoon is a comic novel by Spike Milligan, first published in 1963. ...

Milligan lived for several years in Holden Road, Woodside Park and at The Crescent, Barnet, and was a strong supporter of the Finchley Society. His old house in Woodside Park is now demolished, but there is a blue plaque in his memory on the new house on the site. The Finchley Society is trying to get a statue of him erected in Finchley. There is also a campaign to erect a statue in the London Borough of Lewisham where he grew up (see Honor Oak). After coming to the UK from India in the 1930s he lived at 50 Riseldine Road, Brockley and attended Brownhill Boys' school (later to become Catford Boys' School which was demolished in 1994). Lynsey De Paul is a patron of the Spike Milligan Statue Memorial Fund. There is also a plaque and bench located at the Wadestown Library, Wellington New Zealand in an area called Spike Milligan corner. Woodside Park is a place in the London Borough of Barnet, in postal area N12. ... High Barnet or Chipping Barnet is a town in the London Borough of Barnet. ... A blue plaque showing information about The Spanish Barn at Torre Abbey in Torquay. ... , Finchley is a place in the London Borough of Barnet, London, England. ... The London Borough of Lewisham is a London borough in south east London, England and forms part of Inner London. ... Honor Oak is an area of the London Borough of Lewisham. ... Lynsey de Paul (born Lynsey Monckton Rubin, 11 June 1950, London) is an English singer-songwriter. ... For the first Duke of Wellington, see Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. ...

In a BBC poll in August 1999, Spike Milligan was voted the "funniest person of the last 1000 years". Also, in a 2005 poll to find The Comedians' Comedian, he was voted among the top 50 comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders.

Milligan has been portrayed twice in films. In the adaptation of his novel Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall, he was played by Jim Dale, while Milligan himself played his own father. He was also portrayed by Edward Tudor-Pole in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004). A 2008 stage play, 'Surviving Spike', sees Milligan portrayed by the entertainer Michael Barrymore. Jim Dale and Glenn Close in 2006 performing Busker Alley. ... Edward Tudor-Pole (born December 6, 1955 in London) is an English musician, singer (as Eddie Tenpole) and actor. ... The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (DVD) The Life and Death of Peter Sellers was a 2004 film about the life of Peter Sellers, based on Roger Lewiss book of the same name. ... Michael Ciaran Parker (born May 4, 1952 in Bermondsey, London), is an English comedian better known by his stage name Michael Barrymore. ...

On 9 June 2006 it was reported that Professor Richard Wiseman had identified Milligan as the writer of the world's funniest joke as decided by the Laughlab project. Professor Wiseman said the joke contained all three elements of what makes a good gag: anxiety, a feeling of superiority, and an element of surprise.^[10] is the 160th day of the year (161st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Uhm!? ... This article is about research on the relative humour in different jokes and cultures. ...

Members of Monty Python greatly admired him, and gave Milligan a cameo role in their 1979 film, Monty Python's Life of Brian when Milligan happened to be holidaying in Tunisia, near where the Pythons were filming. Monty Python, or The Pythons,[2][3] is the collective name of the creators of Monty Pythons Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. ... Monty Pythons Life of Brian is a 1979 comedy written and performed by the Monty Python comedy team. ...

Radio comedy shows

• The Goon Show (1951–1960)
• The Idiot Weekly (1958–1962)
• The Omar Khayyam Show (1963–1964)
• Milligna (or Your Favourite Spike) (1972) The title is based on Milligan's introduction in The Last Goon Show of All as "Spike Milligna, the well-known typing error".
• The Milligan Papers (1987)

The Goon Show was a popular and influential British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC from 1951 to 1960 on the BBC Home Service. ... Ray Barrett, Michael Eisdell, John Bluthal, Bobby Limb, Reg Goldsworthy and Spike Milligan at a recording session of The Idiot Weekly in 1958. ... Spike Milligan made wrote and performed in three series of the radio comedy program The Idiot Weekly for the Australian Broadcasting Commission in 1958-1962. ... The Last Goon Show of All, broadcast on October 5th, 1972, was a special edition of the famous BBC Radio show, The Goon Show, commissioned as part of the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the BBC. It was simulcast on radio and television, and later released as an audio... The Milligan Papers was a BBC radio comedy show, written by John Antrobus and starring Spike Milligan. ...

Other radio shows

Milligan contributed his recollections of his childhood in India for the acclaimed 1970s BBC audio history series Plain Tales From The Raj. The series was published in book form in 1975 by Andre Deutsch, edited by Charles Allen. Andre Deutsch (1917–2000) was a 20th century British publisher. ... Charles Allen can refer to: Charles Allen (athlete) (b. ...

TV comedy shows

• The Idiot Weekly, Price 2d
• A Show Called Fred
• Son of Fred
• The World of Beachcomber
• The Q series: Q5, Q6, Q7, Kuwait (Q8), Q9, and There's a Lot of It About
• Curry & Chips

The Idiot Weekly, Price 2d was the first serious attemt to translate the humour of the Goon Show to television. ... A Show Called Fred was the successor series to The Idiot Weekly, Price 2d. ... Son of Fred was the successor series to The Idiot Weekly, Price 2d and A Show Called Fred. ... The World of Beachcomber was a surreal television comedy show produced by the BBC. It was inspired by the Beachcomber column in the Daily Express newspaper. ... Milligan in costume for his Q series. ... Curry and Chips was a controversial 1969 British sitcom from London Weekend Television. ...

Other notable TV involvement

• Six-Five Special, first aired on 31 August 1957. Spike Milligan plays an inventor, Mr. Pym, and acts as a butcher in a sketch.
• Tiswas 1981 edition
• Narrator of The Ratties (1987), a children's cartoon series written by Mike Wallis and Laura Milligan, Spike's daughter.
• The Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town ran as a serial in The Two Ronnies in the 1970s.
• Special guest star of the 18 January 1979 edition of The Muppet Show
• Guest star in the 3rd episode of the award-winning BBC Scotland drama series Takin' Over The Asylum (1994)

The Six-Five Special was a television programme launched in February 1957 when both television and rock and roll were in their infancy in Britain. ... Tiswas was an anarchic Saturday morning childrens British TV show which ran from 5 January 1974 to 3 April 1982. ... The Narrator is the entity within a story that tells the story to the reader. ... The Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town was a serial written by Spike Milligan that ran every week on The Two Ronnies sketch show in 1971 on BBC One. ... The Two Ronnies was a British sketch show that aired on BBC One from 1971 to 1987. ... is the 18th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ... The Muppet Show was a television program featuring a cast of Muppets (diverse hand-operated puppets, typically with oversized eyes and large moving mouths) produced by Jim Henson and his team from 1976 to 1981. ... BBC Scotland (BBC Alba in Gaelic) is a constituent part of the British Broadcasting Corporation, the publicly-funded broadcaster of the United Kingdom. ... Takin Over the Asylum was a six part BBC Scotland television drama about a hospital radio station in a Glasgow psychiatric hospital. ...

Theatre

• Treasure Island (1961, 1973–1975)
• The Bed-Sitting Room (1963, 1967) written by Milligan and John Antrobus
• Oblomov Opened at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, in 1964. It was based on the Russian classic by Ivan Goncharov, and gave Milligan the opportunity to play most of the title role in bed. Unsure of his material, on the opening night he improvised a great deal, treating the audience as part of the plot almost, and he continued in this manner for the rest of the run, and on tour as 'Son Of Oblomov'.

For other uses, see Treasure Island (disambiguation). ... The Bed-Sitting Room is a satirical play by Spike Milligan and John Antrobus. ... Oblomov (first published: 1858) is the best known novel by Russian writer Ivan Goncharov. ... Lyric Theatre (sometimes Theater, the American spelling) is a common name for performing-arts houses, including: // Lyric Theatre Brisbane, Queensland Lyric Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales Lyric Theatre in Dublin Lyric Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri. ... Ivan Alexandrovich Goncharov (June 18, 1812 – September 27, 1891; June 6, 1812 – September 15, 1891, O.S.) was a Russian novelist best known as the author of Oblomov (1859). ... Improvisational Theatre (also known as improv or impro) is a form of theatre in which the actors perform spontaneously, without a script. ...

Films

• The Bed-Sitting Room (1969), post-apocalyptic comedy with Peter Cook and Dudley Moore and also Arthur Lowe; written by John Antrobus based on the Milligan/Antrobus play. Milligan had a small role as a postman named "Mate", which was also the name of a Goon Show character.
• The Great McGonagall, untalented Scottish poet (based on William Topaz McGonagall) angles to become laureate, with Peter Sellers as Queen Victoria.
• Down Among the Z Men (1952), played Eccles in a detective/military black and white film with all The Goons including early member Michael Bentine and original announcer Andrew Timothy.
• The Case of the Mukkinese Battle Horn, a Goon-like 2-reel comedy ("Mukkinese" = "mucky knees").
• The Running, Jumping and Standing Still Film, a silent comedy, Richard Lester's debut film.
• Adolf Hitler: My Part in his Downfall, a film adaption of the first volume of his autobiography. Spike played the part of his father. The role of the young Spike Milligan was played by Jim Dale.
• Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1972) as Gryphon.
• The decrepit manager of a seedy London hotel in Bruce Beresford's The Adventures of Barry McKenzie (1972).
• Monsieur Bonacieux, husband of Madame Bonacieux (Raquel Welch) in Richard Lester's The Three Musketeers (1973).
• The prophet abandoned by his flock in Life of Brian.
• The traffic warden who eats the ticket in The Magic Christian.
• The decrepit Geste family retainer Crumpet in The Last Remake of Beau Geste, with Marty Feldman.
• Monsieur Rimbaud in History of the World, Part I.
• Country postman Harold Petts in Postman's Knock (1962).
• A royal herald who accidentally blows a spy's cover in Yellowbeard.
• A policeman who briefly talks to Dr. Watson and Stapleton when they first arrive on the moors in The Hound of the Baskervilles.
• Digby, the Biggest Dog in the World 1973 children's comedy

The Bed-Sitting Room is a satirical play by Spike Milligan and John Antrobus. ... Apocalyptic science fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction that is concerned with the end of the world or civilization, through nuclear war, plague, or some other general disaster. ... For other persons named Peter Cook, see Peter Cook (disambiguation). ... Dudley Stuart John Moore, CBE (April 19, 1935 – March 27, 2002), was an Academy-Award nominated British comedian, actor and musician. ... Arthur Lowe (22 September 1915 — 15 April 1982) was a BAFTA Award winning English actor. ... John Antrobus is a playwright and tv and radio script writer, born in Woolwich in London on 2 July 1933. ... A Melbourne Postie riding a walkthrough A postman (sometimes known as a mailman or letter carrier in North America and a postie in Australia) delivers the post (sometimes known as mail in North America. ... The Goon Show was a hugely popular and extremely influential British radio comedy programme, which was originally produced and broadcast by the BBC from 1951 to 1960 on the BBC Home Service. ... William Topaz McGonagall (1825–September 29, 1902) was a weaver, actor, and poet. ... This article is about the country. ... William Topaz McGonagall (1825 – 29 September 1902) was a Scottish weaver, actor, and poet. ... A Poet Laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and often expected to compose poems for State occasions and other government events. ... Queen Victoria redirects here. ... Down Among the Z Men is a 1952 British comedy film starring Peter Sellers. ... Eccles is the name of a comedy character, created and performed by Spike Milligan, from the 1950s United Kingdom radio comedy series The Goon Show. ... Michael Bentine (January 26, 1922 - November 26, 1996) was a comedian, comic actor, and member of the Goons. ... Andrew Timothy was a BBC Radio announcer who is best known for being the original announcer of the comedy series The Goon Show. ... The Case of the Mukkinese Battle Horn is a short comedy film starring Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan and Dick Emery. ... The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film is a short (14 minute) film directed by Richard Lester and starring Spike Milligan that was released in 1960. ... Silent comedy refers to a style of acting, related to but distinct from mime, invented to bring comedy into the medium of film in the silent film era (1900s–1920s) before a (synchronized) sound track on film was technologically practicable. ... Richard Lester (born January 19, 1932 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a UK based film director famous for his work with The Beatles. ... Jim Dale and Glenn Close in 2006 performing Busker Alley. ... Alices Adventures in Wonderland is a 1972 British musical film based on the Lewis Carroll novel of the same name. ... Bruce Beresford (born 16 August 1940) is an Academy Award-nominated Australian film director, writer, and producer. ... The Adventures of Barry McKenzie is a 1972 Australian film starring Barry Crocker, telling the story of an Australian yobbo on his travels to the United Kingdom. ... Jo Raquel Tejada (born September 5, 1940), best known by her stage name Raquel Welch, is an American actress who reached fame during the 1960s. ... The Three Musketeers is a 1973 film based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas, père. ... For other senses of this word, see Prophet (disambiguation). ... Life of Brian is a film from 1979 by Monty Python which deals with the life of Brian (played by Graham Chapman), a young man born at the nearly the same time as, and in a manger right down the street from Jesus. ... A Traffic Warden is a member of civilian staff employed by a British police force to assist in regulating the flow of traffic. ... The Magic Christian is a 1969 film directed by Joseph McGrath and starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr. ... The Last Remake of Beau Geste is a 1977 comedy film starring, directed and co-written by Marty Feldman. ... Martin Alan Marty Feldman (8 July 1934[1] – 2 December 1982) was an English writer, comedian and BAFTA award winning actor, notable for his bulging eyes, which were the result of a thyroid condition known as Graves Disease. ... History of the World, Part I is a 1981 film written, produced and directed by Mel Brooks. ... A Melbourne Postie riding a walkthrough A postman (sometimes known as a mailman or letter carrier in North America and a postie in Australia) delivers the post (sometimes known as mail in North America. ... Heralds, wearing tabards, in procession to St. ... Yellowbeard poster Yellowbeard is a 1983 comedy film, that was co-written and acted by Monty Python member Graham Chapman and David Sherlock, and directed by Mel Damski. ... The Hound of the Baskervilles was a 1978 comedy film spoofing The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. ... Digby, the Biggest Dog in the World is a 1973 British childrens film starring Jim Dale, and directed by Joseph McGrath. ...

Books

Spike Milligan's headstone in Winchelsea, East Sussex. The epitaph reads "Duirt mé leat go raibh mé breoite", Irish for "I told you I was ill".

• Silly Verse for Kids (1959); the 1968 paperback edition omits one poem and adds some from the next two books
• A Dustbin of Milligan (1961)
• Goblins
• The Little Pot Boiler (1963)
• Puckoon (1963)
• A Book of Bits, or A Bit of a Book (1965)
• A Book of Milliganimals (1968)
• Badjelly the Witch (1973)
• The Looney: An Irish Fantasy (1987)
• The Bedside Milligan
• "The War (and Peace) Memoirs"
  • The seven memoirs were also recorded as talking books with Spike reciting them in his own inimitable style.
  • Adolf Hitler: My Part in his Downfall (1971)
  • Rommel? Gunner Who? A Confrontation in the Desert (1974)
  • Monty: His Part in My Victory (1976)
    • This and the previous two books were released and publicised as the first, second, and third part respectively of a trilogy.
  • Mussolini: His Part in My Downfall (1978)
    • This was announced as the fourth part of his trilogy.
  • Where Have All the Bullets Gone? (1985)
  • Goodbye Soldier (1986)
  • Peace Work (1992)
• Small Dreams of a Scorpion
• Hidden Words: Collected Poems
• Open Heart University
• Startling Verse for All the Family
• Sir Nobonk and the Terrible Dreadful Awful Naughty Nasty Dragon
• A Mad Medley of Milligan
• Transports of Delight
• More Transports of Delight
• Depression and How to Survive It (with Professor Anthony Clare), medical biography.
• It Ends with Magic
• The Murphy
• Milligan's Ark
• The "According to" Books
  • The Bible—the Old Testament According to Spike Milligan
  • Black Beauty According to Spike Milligan
  • D.H.Lawrence's John Thomas and Lady Jane: According to Spike Milligan—Part II of "Lady Chatterley's Lover"
  • Frankenstein According to Spike Milligan
  • The Hound of the Baskervilles According to Spike Milligan
  • Lady Chatterley's Lover According to Spike Milligan
  • Robin Hood According to Spike Milligan
  • Treasure Island According to Spike Milligan
  • Wuthering Heights According to Spike Milligan

Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Winchelsea is a small town in East Sussex, England, between the High Weald and the Romney Marsh. ... East Sussex is a county in South East England. ... For other uses, see Epitaph (disambiguation). ... A goblin is an evil or mischievous creature of folklore, often described as a grotesquely disfigured, elf-like phantom. ... Puckoon is a comic novel by Spike Milligan, first published in 1963. ... Dr Anthony Ward Clare (b. ... Frankenstein According to Spike Milligan was a comic-horror novel released in 1997 by Spike Milligan. ... The Hound of the Baskervilles According to Spike Milligan is a book written by Spike Milligan as part of his According to Spike Milligan series. ... Robin Hood According to Spike Milligan is a parody novel written by Spike Milligan in 1998 as part of his series. ... Treasure Island According to Spike Milligan was a comic novel written by Spike Milligan in 2000 as a spoof of Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. ...

Quotations

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Spike Milligan

• "When I look back, the fondest memory I have is not really of the Goons. It is of a girl called Julia with enormous breasts."
• Of his honorary CBE — "I can't see the sense in it really. It makes me a Commander of the British Empire. They might as well make me a Commander of Milton Keynes — at least that exists."
• On his bouts of clinical depression — "It's the nature of who you are. You will see sunsets in a special way, you will see life in a special way. The Milligans are like Arab racehorses. We'll kick the stable to pieces, but we'll always win the race."
• Of heaven — "I'd like to go there. But if Jeffrey Archer is there, I want to go to Lewisham."

Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Wikiquote is one of a family of wiki-based projects run by the Wikimedia Foundation, running on MediaWiki software. ... Born 22 August 1941, Newport, Isle of Wight. ... The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... , Milton Keynes ( ; IPA ) is a large town in South East England, about 45 miles (75 km) north-west of London. ... Not to be confused with Geoffrey Archer or Baron Archer of Sandwell. ... Lewisham is a district in south-east London, England and the principal settlement of the London Borough of Lewisham. ...

External links

• "Spike Milligan's people": an article in the Times Literary Supplement, February 21, 2007.
• http://www.spikefest.co.uk/ The annual Lewisham 'Spikefest' Comedy Festival
• The Spike Milligan Appreciation Society
• Spike Milligan's TV Q series
• Previously unheard audio of one of Spike Milligan's last one-man shows. Extrageographic Magazine.
• The web site to accompany the new documentary, I Told you I was Ill: The Life and Legacy of Spike Milligan
• Spike Milligan at the Internet Movie Database
• Spike Milligan at Find A Grave
• The Guardian newspaper obituary for Spike Milligan
• Link to BBC poll article
• Comprehensive list of Spike's works (illustrated)
• PDF Document: Kettering Magazine - The fanzine of elderly comedy - 700k file, contains detailed article on Milligan and his role in the film The Great McGonagall
• Puckoon website
• Spike Milligan @ Catharton Authors
• Spike Milligan homecoming Dalek sketch on YouTube

The Times Literary Supplement (or TLS) is a weekly literary review published in London by News International, a subsidiary of News Corporation. ... The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, and video games. ... Find A Grave is an online database of seventeen million cemeteries and burial records. ... William Topaz McGonagall (1825–September 29, 1902) was a weaver, actor, and poet. ...

References