Just a minute

[Jittlebags]

What filth is on Just a Minute these days. The vilest innuendo about bodily functions; it would have been inconceivable thrirty years ago. Disgusting.

Oh, I don't know. Kenneth Williams would probably be going on about the Criminal Practices that takes most of his and his friend Julian's time.

[Ignatius_S]

Tommy Handley and Robb Wilton were both on the radio in the 1920s and 1930s. Al Read was 1950s. I agree that Read's material doesn't sound so much of its period now - something to do with being about the way real people talk to each other that isn't so influenced by pre-war music hall patter, as you said.

Connected to Handley, Deryck Guyler on ITMA is regarded as the first time someone spoke with a Liverpudlian accent was heard on the BBC.

re: Read - absolutely; he was a very skilful observer of people. Also, he developed his craft working as a salesman and after-dinner speaker, situations you can imagine that type of humour works brilliant, rather than the traditional sort of patter as you say.

[Ignatius_S]

There's a late, great guy called Al Read who shouldn't be missed when he's repeated on 4extra.  He was pioneering in developing characters rather than trotting out music hall 'I say, I say, I say' type gags.  He's masterful at the loudmouth know-it-all, the world weary husband and the wife who always knows best. If I remember correctly, he was the first Northerner on the radio.

He was also an influence on Bob Newhart.

[Ignatius_S]

I was pleasantly surprised by Take It From Here, a wildly popular comedy programme from the fifties. Especially The Glums, which was a serial within the programme, I found highly amusing. June Whitfield was in that, alongside Dick Bentley. Alma Cogan just did some singing in an American accent, which was rather boring.

On the other hand, Ray's a Laugh, to my mind, is very bland; its erstwhile popularity is difficult to fathom now.

Take It From Here started a little earlier - 1948, I think. Coogan and Whitfield joined in the 1950s, replacing Joy Nichols - the latter sang and did comedy on the show, but when she left, they found it difficult to get someone who could do both, hence the double-casting (although Coogan did act a little in the show. I've seen it suggested that The Glums is was a prototype sitcom, but Life With the Lyons was a bona fide sitcom starting in 1950.

With Ray's a Laugh, a lot of the material is very dated now, but some bits, particularly with Peter Sellers, stand up - and a lot is to do with Ray's timing and ad-libbing (both of which he was particularly noted foe). The show was off the back of Ray's live success and also, bolstered by other radio work so feel it's a little challenging to looking at Ray's appeal on the basis of one series - that said, it's a show that I found benefits from listening to quite a few, rather than dipping into. Although it hasn't aged well (the domestic scenes are tiresome), can see why it was so popular and it makes far better use of Ray than The Betty Witherspoon Show, which he did with Kenneth Williams.

[Johnny Foreigner]

Challenge, Anneka?

Sheer genius.

[idunnosomename]

ha. i heard the intro and was surprised she was on it. but turned it off without clocking that.

god how old do you need to be to get that though? it's like making a reference to 1975 TV in 2000.

[gilbertharding]

There was a great episode of Hancock's Half Hour broadcast yesterday on 4Extra - Sid James tried to assist Tony to evade income tax, yadda yadda... but there was someone in the audience with a laugh so preposterous that they had to break the fourth wall and refer to it.

4 Extra are also repeating On The Hour currently, so some of them will still be on the Sounds app in case anyone needs to hear them again. And The Harpoon (which I love whenever I hear it) likewise.

[Ignatius_S]

There was a great episode of Hancock's Half Hour broadcast yesterday on 4Extra - Sid James tried to assist Tony to evade income tax, yadda yadda... but there was someone in the audience with a laugh so preposterous that they had to break the fourth wall and refer to it.

I've read in the past that it was Lou Williams, Ken's mother, who was laughing. There's a few episodes where Hancock comments of the audience's reactions, none of which was strictly necessary but I found enjoyable although there are one to two times that it feels to me that he's trying to get a laugh because a line didn't get the expected laughing reaction.

Slight tangent, but Barry Took said that there were often slightly eccentric characters that were regular audience members - he mentioned one retired military type, who never laughed but when (frequently) amused, would bang his walking stick on the floor to show his appreciation.

[gilbertharding]

I've read in the past that it was Lou Williams, Ken's mother, who was laughing.

That figures - except I imagine her laughs would be reserved for Kenneth's bits - and she's laughing (well - it's more of a hoot-shriek) at everything, and sometimes on her own.

[Ignatius_S]

That figures - except I imagine her laughs would be reserved for Kenneth's bits - and she's laughing (well - it's more of a hoot-shriek) at everything, and sometimes on her own.

I think it might have been Christopher Stevens' biography that mentioned it - but can't recall for sure - and think there was a mention that Lou was an enthusiastic laugher generally, but even more so when it was her son speaking.  She certainly had a reputation for laughing loudly, which - returning to the the thread nicely - Clement Freud commented about and not too positively, about her being in JAM's audience so much and Derek Nimmo claims that bits of shows had to be edited out because of how loud her laughter was.

Didn't spot in your previous post that you mentioned about The Harpoon - a really excellent show.

[Tony Tony Tony]

I attended a few TV and radio recordings pre pandemic. As the tickets are free they do attract a certain type of character that turns up regularly. I recall being at one where the warm up man was having some banter with a few of the regulars who were very much on the 'special' side. They lapped it up.