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Forgotten Heroes of Comedy
In this long overdue and affectionate salute, celebrated comedy historian Robert Ross pays tribute to some of the finest, funniest and most fascinating names in comedy from both sides of the Atlantic. Monty Python’s Terry Jones wrote the foreword. With the passionate input of such comics as Tim Brooke-Taylor, Hattie Hayridge, Roy Hudd, Michael Palin, Ross Noble, Chris Addison and Bernard Cribbins, Ross honours these legends of humor who, for a variety of reasons, didn't quite reach the heady heights of stardom or, once they had, couldn't cope with the pressures. Whether it is a favorite from the distant smoke- and ale-stained world of the Music Hall like the great George Robey, or the downbeat poetry of Hovis Presley, who dropped disenchanted bombs on the late 1990s, Forgotten Heroes of Comedy will finally elevate them to the Hall of Fame where they belong. Forgotten, no longer.
632 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2021
About the author
Robert Ross
7 books5 followersRobert Ross is the leading authority on British Comedy. Beginning with The Carry On Companion, in 1996, he has written a library of books including in depth celebrations; The Monty Python Encyclopedia, The Goodies Rule OK, Forgotten Heroes of Comedy, Official BBC tributes to Fawlty Towers, Last of the Summer Wine and Steptoe & Son, and acclaimed biographies dedicated to Marty Feldman and Sid James. Most recently, Robert was the co-author of The Carry On Girls which was named as Book of the Week in the Daily Mail in January 2024. He is a frequent face on television, appearing on such diverse programmes as the BBC News, Blue Peter, Ronnie Corbett: His 30 Funniest Moments, Sir Bruce Forsyth: Mr. Entertainment, Richard & Judy, When Classic Comedy Goes Horribly Wrong, The Barbara Windsor Story, and Norman Wisdom: His Story. Robert is the founder and chair of Write On Comedy.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 19, 2021
This is one of those books where I think it is better to dip in and out rather than reading cover to cover. Because if you do the latter there is a point where you find yourself feeling like you're just reading a list of performances and they all merge into one. The advantage though is that if you're interested in the history of comedy you'll find yourself coming back to it again and again.
A nice touch is that at the end of every entry there's a suggested film or audio to listen to. Sadly some of those are hard to find or expensive. Some of them less so and some have almost nothing extant to listen to. If there's a smart person out there a collection of CDs/Downloads based around this book might well be worth a punt.
My knowledge of entries varied. I'm old enough to still remember seeing some of these people performing - Harry Worth, Alfie Bass, Bill Fraser, Michael Bentine (and many others) - so I had to remind myself that for a lot of people under the age of forty most of the people here are almost totally unknown. I think that is partly because mainstream TV and streaming (with the exception of the magnificent Talking Pictures TV) rarely show old school black and white movies any more. Yet when I was a kid Laurel and Hardy, Harold Lloyd and dozens of other pre-war/post-war acts were still having their films shown. Now you have to look for that stuff. The internet and various film companies mean that you can find a lot of it, but who can afford to find 78s of old comedians?
I have always been fascinated by that generation of comedians that worked from the 20s through to the 60s/70s so I found this a way of being introduced to a number of people I'd only heard of or knew through other people's work.
The other thing this book does is show the long link backwards from modern comedy to variety to music hall. People working with people who worked with people who did an act not dissimilar to an older act backwards and backwards until the very beginning of time. Someone should do a Comedy Family Trees book. An example that springs to mind is that Hardy saw Harry Worth's act in the early 50s and told him just to focus on the comedy and drop the ventriloquism. How's that for connecting comedy history?
It's also interesting how many of the people in this book were the children of performers themselves. It's not everyone but it is a fair old chunk.
Well worth a read if you're interested in comedy. Even more worth a read if you've got the money to chase up all Robert Ross's suggested purchases.
Once again though...let's get a playlist/download/boxed set based on this book. Or even a TV series.
A nice touch is that at the end of every entry there's a suggested film or audio to listen to. Sadly some of those are hard to find or expensive. Some of them less so and some have almost nothing extant to listen to. If there's a smart person out there a collection of CDs/Downloads based around this book might well be worth a punt.
My knowledge of entries varied. I'm old enough to still remember seeing some of these people performing - Harry Worth, Alfie Bass, Bill Fraser, Michael Bentine (and many others) - so I had to remind myself that for a lot of people under the age of forty most of the people here are almost totally unknown. I think that is partly because mainstream TV and streaming (with the exception of the magnificent Talking Pictures TV) rarely show old school black and white movies any more. Yet when I was a kid Laurel and Hardy, Harold Lloyd and dozens of other pre-war/post-war acts were still having their films shown. Now you have to look for that stuff. The internet and various film companies mean that you can find a lot of it, but who can afford to find 78s of old comedians?
I have always been fascinated by that generation of comedians that worked from the 20s through to the 60s/70s so I found this a way of being introduced to a number of people I'd only heard of or knew through other people's work.
The other thing this book does is show the long link backwards from modern comedy to variety to music hall. People working with people who worked with people who did an act not dissimilar to an older act backwards and backwards until the very beginning of time. Someone should do a Comedy Family Trees book. An example that springs to mind is that Hardy saw Harry Worth's act in the early 50s and told him just to focus on the comedy and drop the ventriloquism. How's that for connecting comedy history?
It's also interesting how many of the people in this book were the children of performers themselves. It's not everyone but it is a fair old chunk.
Well worth a read if you're interested in comedy. Even more worth a read if you've got the money to chase up all Robert Ross's suggested purchases.
Once again though...let's get a playlist/download/boxed set based on this book. Or even a TV series.
November 1, 2021
I'm a big comedy lover, so when I read the description for Forgotten Heroes of comedy, it really appealed to me.
At over six hundred pages, Forgotten Heroes of comedy is packed with interesting and well-researched facts on comedians of the past, looking over the highs and lows of their careers.
As a mid-eighties baby, a lot of the names in this book were a bit before my time, but I was surprised to find I actually recognised a few faces even if I didn't know their names before I read this book.
I loved that in the centre were replicas of old pictures and posters which were an absolute delight to look at.
I felt that this is not the kind of book you can just sit down and read from cover to cover. There is such a lot of information you might, like me, get a bit overloaded. It is perfect, however, to dip in and out whenever you fancy.
Forgotten Heroes of Comedy is a fun frolic through the past, which was both entertaining and informative.
At over six hundred pages, Forgotten Heroes of comedy is packed with interesting and well-researched facts on comedians of the past, looking over the highs and lows of their careers.
As a mid-eighties baby, a lot of the names in this book were a bit before my time, but I was surprised to find I actually recognised a few faces even if I didn't know their names before I read this book.
I loved that in the centre were replicas of old pictures and posters which were an absolute delight to look at.
I felt that this is not the kind of book you can just sit down and read from cover to cover. There is such a lot of information you might, like me, get a bit overloaded. It is perfect, however, to dip in and out whenever you fancy.
Forgotten Heroes of Comedy is a fun frolic through the past, which was both entertaining and informative.
January 23, 2022
The perfect book - so many memories
November 22, 2024
awesome
The depth and breadth of the research must have been the work of a lifetime. So many of the stories in this book prompted me to track down the artists on YouTube and have given me endless joy. At the same time there are many sad stories of short lives spent in the flickering glow of a spotlight called ‘fame’. It rarely lasts but it’s good while it does. Everyone should read this book as a lesson in life.
The depth and breadth of the research must have been the work of a lifetime. So many of the stories in this book prompted me to track down the artists on YouTube and have given me endless joy. At the same time there are many sad stories of short lives spent in the flickering glow of a spotlight called ‘fame’. It rarely lasts but it’s good while it does. Everyone should read this book as a lesson in life.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews