Funny But Dead

John Marley and Mark Wells

Celebrating the legends of laughter, a look back at the lives and laughs of some of our finest comedic talent of yesteryear, analysing just what made them so funny and memorable.

  1. Funny But Dead 12 - Frank Carson and Betty White

    FEB 22

    Funny But Dead 12 - Frank Carson and Betty White

    Frank Carson was one of Britain’s most distinctive comedians – a performer with a seemingly inexhaustible supply of jokes delivered at breakneck speed in his trademark Northern Irish accent. Carson’s catchphrase, “It’s the way I tell ‘em!”, accurately summed up his unique appeal to millions who came to love his quick fire, traditional style which he first brought to national prominence on the television series The Comedians in the 1970’s. After that he was a near-permanent presence on television, never failing to win audiences over with his relentless routines that depended heavily on the quantity of gags as much as the quality. Betty White was one of America’s favourite television comedy actresses whose career straddled seven decades, peaking with her acclaimed sitcom performances as Rose Nylund in The Golden Girls during the 1980’s and Sue Ann Nivens in The Mary Tyler Moore Show in the 1970’s. An apparently sweet, sunny disposition was the disarming cover for White’s slightly subversive sense of humour which she deployed to brilliant effect in countless guest spots across the years. The sheer length of her television career earned Betty White a place in The Guinness Book of Records, a sure indication of the scale of the success enjoyed by this much-loved American national treasure. John Marley and Mark Wells discuss their memories of working with Frank Carson and look back at his career, and asses the work of the legendary Betty White.

    29 min
  2. Funny But Dead 14 - Spike Milligan and Garry Shandling

    FEB 22

    Funny But Dead 14 - Spike Milligan and Garry Shandling

    Spike Milligan was a force of nature in British comedy in the second half of the twentieth century – a comedian, writer, poet, musician and actor whose influence is still felt today. As one of the writers and stars of BBC Radio’s legendary The Goon Show in the 1950’s he was instrumental in creating a new kind of nonsensical comedy embracing both surrealism and silliness. His work with fellow Goons Peter Sellers, Harry Secombe and Michael Bentine, along with his later solo television shows, are cited as key influences on the Monty Python team. Milligan was a mercurial character who gloried in outlandish, unpredictable humour loved by his army of devoted fans – which famously included King Charles III. Garry Shandling was a comedian, writer and comic actor whose work dazzled both audiences and the American comedy community in the Eighties, Nineties and into the new century. After a stunning television debut with a stand up performance on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson in 1981 his finest work came a decade later as the creator and star of The Larry Sanders Show, a no-holds-barred takedown of the production process on a nightly talk show. Shandling was a complex man who never seemed truly at ease in the limelight, but the sheer quality of his work broke new ground for what would be possible in comedy for uninhibited cable networks and streamers in the years ahead. John Marley and Mark Wells discuss their professional encounter with Spike Milligan and assess his contribution to British comedy and look back at the career and best work of Garry Shandling.

    38 min
  3. 01/29/2023

    Funny But Dead 11 - Bruce Forsyth and Dean Martin

    Bruce Forsyth had a show on in primetime on British television every single year for an astonishing fifty nine years, the only entertainer to have achieved such remarkable longevity on the small screen. Without question one of the biggest stars in British show business of all time, Forsyth was the consummate all-round performer - a man who could sing, dance, play instruments, and tell jokes...and all to the very highest standard. The host of television shows like Bruce Forsyth's Generation Game, Play Your Cards Right and Sunday Night at the London Palladium, he showed himself to be particularly skilled at making regular people funny without impacting their dignity, and he had a first rate comic instinct. His talent was rewarded with massive TV ratings and huge popularity right up until his retirement in his eighties. The king of catchphrases, perhaps his best known one sums up his own career perfectly: Didn't he do well?! Dean Martin was a towering presence in American entertainment, both literally and figuratively. A member of Frank Sinatra's celebrated Rat Pack, he was the louche, easy going crooner who seemed to be the very personification of the word 'cool'. As a comedic performer he enjoyed colossal success, firstly as one half of the comedy partnership he formed with Jerry Lewis which filled theatres and then movie houses to capacity, and then later as the star of NBC's weekly ratings hit The Dean Martin Show which he appeared to sail through on a wave of bourbon and good cheer. Martin didn't have to try too hard to be funny. Generations of fans loved his apparent disregard for everything that was expected of him, and he appeared to revel in having the best time of anyone in the room. Mark Wells and John Marley share their memories and knowledge of Bruce Forsyth and Dean Martin, and discuss some of their funniest work.

    40 min
  4. 01/18/2023

    Funny But Dead 10 - Bob Monkhouse and Robin Williams

    Bob Monkhouse was a giant of British comedy, a performer whose career as Britain's leading game show host perhaps masked what an outstanding stand up comedian he was. A 'human Google' with an unrivalled and encyclopaedic knowledge of comedy, Monkhouse's tentative teenage steps into show business saw him writing jokes for the legendary Max Miller. Before long Monkhouse had formed a writing partnership with Denis Goodwin and together they became the most prolific writers in British radio comedy of the times. A career in front of the microphone and camera beckoned, and Bob Monkhouse never looked back. He became one of the biggest stars in Britain, and in the final decade of his life was regarded as the elder statesman of British comedy, revered and respected by younger comedians. Robin Williams' comic genius was first widely seen in a 1978 guest spot on America's top rating sitcom Happy Days, and its spin off built around his talents Mork and Mindy. He was without question the most exciting comedy talent of his generation, his dazzling comic brain in seemingly endless overdrive as he riffed in freeform during extraordinary stand up routines and not-to-be-missed appearances on talk shows in both America and Britain. Movie superstardom was inevitable, with Good Morning Vietnam, Dead Poets' Society and Good Will Hunting and many other films establishing Williams as a major box office draw, but it is for his peerless comedic skills that he is discussed here, as Mark Wells and John Marley dive into - and enjoy - the comedy of Bob Monkhouse and Robin Williams.

    36 min

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Celebrating the legends of laughter, a look back at the lives and laughs of some of our finest comedic talent of yesteryear, analysing just what made them so funny and memorable.