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The Essential Dave Allen
When Dave Allen passed away in March 2005, we lost a true comedy great. Sitting cross-legged on a high stool, whiskey in one hand, cigarette in the other, Dave Allen's exasperated commentaries on the absurdities of modern life struck a chord with millions of fans in Britain, Ireland and Australia for over four decades. He was a compelling storyteller - able to spin shaggy dog stories out of the almost any subject, including the missing tip of his fourth finger of his left hand, for which he provided various unlikely explanations. But his gentle, laconic wit could also give way to ferocious attacks on the media, the state and, most famously, the Catholic Church. He was a unique talent - a com...
Frankie Howerd
"In a glittering 50-year career that stretched from the demise of the music-hall and the rise of radio to the supremacy of television and the emergence of home video, Frankie Howerd established himself as one of Britain's greatest ever comics. But, since his death in 1992, he has often been portrayed as little more than a 'camp' icon who bequeathed us a few quaint catchphrases, some 'saucy TV shows', and a dubious collection of double entendres." "Through close examination of his public career, and original research into the secrets and insecurities of Howerd's precarious private life, Graham McCann - bestselling author of Dad's Army and Morecambe and Wise - celebrates the real Frankie Howerd; a brilliantly original, highly skilful and wonderfully funny stand-up comedian whose talent and impact were as profound as those of Bob Hope, Jack Benny or any of the other internationally recognised greats."--BOOK JACKET.
Bounder!
With his sly little moustache, broad gap-toothed grin, garish waistcoats and ostentatious cigarette holder, Terry-Thomas was known as an absolute bounder, both onscreen and off. Graham McCann’s hugely entertaining biography celebrates the life and career of a very English rascal. Born in 1911 into an ordinary suburban family, Thomas Terry Hoar-Stevens set about transforming himself at a very early age into a dandy and a gadabout. But he did not put the finishing touches to his persona until the mid-1950s with his groundbreaking TV comedy series How Do You View?, a forerunner of The Goon Show and Monty Python. Terry-Thomas went on to carve out a long and lucrative career in America, appeari...
A Very Courageous Decision
A behind-the-scenes history of one of the most successful and admired British sitcoms of the 1980s. In 1977 the BBC commissioned a new satirical sitcom set in Whitehall. Production of its first series was stalled, however, by the death throes of Jim Callaghan’s Labour government and the ‘Winter of Discontent’; Auntie being unwilling to broadcast such an overtly political comedy until after the general election of 1979. That Yes Minister should have been delayed by the very events that helped bring Margaret Thatcher to power is, perhaps, fitting. Over three series from 1980—and two more as Yes, Prime Minister until 1988—the show mercilessly lampooned the vanity, self-interest and in...
Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers was only on our screens for 12 half-hour episodes, but it has stayed in our lives ever since. The Major; 'Don't mention the war!'; 'He's from Barcelona'; Basil the Rat -- everyone has a favourite line, moment or character. In this, the first biography of the show, Graham McCann holds up to the light each of the unpredictable elements - the demented brilliance of John Cleese, his creative partnership with Connie Booth - that added up to an immortal sitcom, beloved all over the world, even in Barcelona.
Only Fools and Horses
In the thirty years since viewers first visited Nelson Mandela House, Only Fools and Horses has won countless awards and is still Britain's most-watched and best-loved sitcom. Del Boy's overwhelming popularity has even inspired the Oxford English Dictionary to include a selection of his most famous words and phrases, such as 'lovely jubbly' and 'twonk'. In this fascinating, entertaining and meticulously researched book, acclaimed biographer Graham McCann goes behind the scenes to tell the inside story of Britain's most enduring comedy. With major contributions from the people who wrote, produced and starred in the programme and with material drawn from the BBC archives, it's time to take one last trip down Hooky Street . . .
Dad’s Army: The Story of a Very British Comedy (Text Only)
The story of the greatest British sit-com and its enduring appeal.
Morecambe and Wise
The dual biography of the great British comedy double-act and the rise and fall of mass audience television by the respected biographer of Cary Grant .
Cary Grant
More than a biography, this is a savvy portrait of how Archie Leach, born to a poor working-class family in Bristol, England became Cary Grant, one of Hollywood's most irresistible and admired celebrities of all time.
Dad's Army
When we laugh at Dad's Army we laugh at ourselves, and more than 30 years after it was first broadcast, millions of us are still laughing - whenever and wherever it is repeated. With contributions from the people who planned, produced and performed the programme, and material drawn from the BBC archives, acclaimed author Graham McCann has written was should prove to be the definitive story of a very British comedy. This is the story of a classic British sit-com and its enduring appeal.
