84-494: The Goodies were a trio of British comedians: Tim Brooke-Taylor (17 July 1940–12 April 2020), Graeme Garden (b. 18 February 1943) and Bill Oddie (b. 7 July 1941). The trio created, wrote for and performed in their eponymous television comedy show from 1970 until 1982, combining sketches and situation comedy. The three actors met each other while undergraduates at the University of Cambridge , where Brooke-Taylor ( Pembroke )
168-581: A middle class Englishman. In the early 1980s, he branched out into pantomime as the Dame in Dick Whittington . He was also the author (and co-author) of several humorous books, based mainly on his radio and television work, and the sports of golf and cricket . His interest in golf came to the fore when he took part in the Pro-Celebrity Golf television series (opposite Bruce Forsyth ), and appeared in
252-468: A working class district north of the city) was played by Sheila Fay. Future Emmerdale actor Elizabeth Estensen as Carol Boswell replaced Beryl from Series 5 onwards. The title comes from the name given to two sculpted birds perched on top of the Royal Liver Building at Pier Head in the city of Liverpool . Michael Mills , who commissioned the series, came up with the title, although it
336-565: A Clue , on which Garden and Brooke-Taylor are regular panellists. Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie worked on the television comedy Doctor in the House : they co-wrote most of the first series and all of the second. Garden also appeared as a television interviewer in the series, in the episode titled "On the Box". Between 1981 and 1983 Garden and Oddie wrote, but did not perform in, a science fiction sitcom called Astronauts for Central and ITV . The show
420-678: A Daft Noise for Christmas ". "The Funky Gibbon" was their biggest hit, reached number 4 in the UK Singles Chart . The Goodies made an appearance on Top of the Pops with the song. They also performed it during the Amnesty International show A Poke in the Eye (with a Sharp Stick) . "The Funky Gibbon" became a favourite in the United States on Dr. Demento 's radio shows and reached number 79 on
504-505: A Fortnight (with Michael Palin, Terry Jones and Jonathan Lynn ), before Brooke-Taylor, Garden, and Oddie worked on the late-1960s TV show Broaden Your Mind (of which only about ten minutes survives). The original BBC television series ran from November 1970 to February 1980 on BBC 2 , with 67 half-hour episodes and two forty-five-minute Christmas specials. The series was created by Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie, and originally co-written by all three, with Oddie providing
588-499: A Second Helping was released on Region 2 in February 2005. Series 9 (including the Xmas special) was released on Region 2 as The Goodies – The Complete LWT Series on 26 March 2007 and a fourth volume The Goodies ... At Last Back for More, Again was released on region 2 in 2010 as well as a DVD box set containing all four volumes to celebrate 40 years of The Goodies . In 2004, an episode of
672-408: A black-and-white film recording, is presented in colour from a 625-line low-band broadcast standard PAL VT recording, made for training purposes, which has had the low-level colour boosted. (The original Australian DVD release, The Goodies – A Tasty Second Helping (2 disc set), and The Goodies – A Second Helping: 4 tasty serves (1 Disc), featured the b/w telerecording of this episode.) In Canada,
756-594: A box set titled The Goodies: The Complete BBC Collection . This set contains every single episode from 1970-1980 (excepting the lost, original version of "Kitten Kong") and, as a bonus feature, a one-hour edit of the show "An Audience with the Goodies", hosted by Stewart Lee and filmed live at Leicester Square in June 2018. In late September 2022 the TV channel 'That's TV' (numbered 183 on SKY TV listings and 65 on Freeview) started showing
840-404: A boyfriend to marry," Lane explained. Beryl's mother (Sheila Fay) voiced the critical view: "Man is the dog, and woman is the bone. He eats the best of you, and buries the rest of you, and when his dish is empty—he'll dig you up again." This would be the last series with Beryl; as Polly James explained: "The reason I left the programme in the end was that I felt I was in danger of caricaturing what
924-522: A comic and transparent feed-line, as their adventure story reached its climax or cliffhanger ending. Other members of I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again were John Cleese , Bill Oddie , Graeme Garden , David Hatch and Jo Kendall . In the mid-1960s, Brooke-Taylor performed in the television series On the Braden Beat with Canadian Bernard Braden , taking over the slot recently vacated by Peter Cook in his guise as E. L. Wisty . Brooke-Taylor played
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#17328556735131008-474: A commemorative booklet ( The Goodies: The Tasty Box ). This collection contains the same 16 episodes as the original two DVD releases but with additional material such as commentaries on several episodes and the original scripts of some episodes in PDF format. Picture quality has been greatly improved using digital restoration techniques and the episode " Come Dancing ", which was originally thought to only have survived as
1092-666: A cup for his prowess as a bowler in the school cricket team) and Winchester College which he left with seven O-levels and two A-levels in English and history. After teaching for a year at Lockers Park School , a preparatory school in Hemel Hempstead and a term back at Holm Leigh School as a teacher, he studied at Pembroke College, Cambridge . There he read economics and politics before changing to read law and mixed with other budding comedians, including John Cleese , Graham Chapman , Bill Oddie , Graeme Garden and Jonathan Lynn in
1176-496: A dysfunctional family" said Estensen, and they included Carol's brother Lucien, played by native-Liverpudlian Michael Angelis ; her father Mr. Boswell played by Ray Dunbobbin ; and her mother Mrs. Boswell played initially by Eileen Kennally and later Carmel McSharry . Carla Lane's later series Bread revolved around the Boswell family and, in interviews, Lane agreed that the two families were probably related. In 1996, 17 years after
1260-877: A mother-in-law joke in Latin and a suggestion his successor should be a woman; he was succeeded by Katherine Whitehorn who was elected unopposed as the university's first female rector in 1982. Brooke-Taylor is remembered as an effective Rector who visited the town frequently, took the role seriously, wore a Saltire waistcoat while there and is said to have remarked that St Andrews was "the happiest university" he had been to. Brooke-Taylor married Christine Wheadon in 1968 and they had two sons, Benjamin and Edward. He lived in Cookham Dean , Berkshire and
1344-491: A reactionary City gent who believed he was the soul of tolerance. In 1967, Brooke-Taylor became a writer/performer on the television comedy series At Last the 1948 Show , with John Cleese , Graham Chapman and Marty Feldman . The " Four Yorkshiremen " sketch was co-written by the four writers and performers of the series. The sketch appears on the DVD of At Last the 1948 Show . Footage of Brooke-Taylor and Cleese from At Last
1428-485: A set containing the correct transmission order, on 14 January 2010 via Madman Entertainment . In January 2013, it was announced that Acorn Media UK had obtained the rights to release The Liver Birds onto DVD. The Liver Birds Collection One (containing The Complete Second Series, this time, in Transmission Order) was released on 8 April 2013. The Liver Birds: Collection Two (containing The Complete Third Series)
1512-600: A six-part series in early 1982, the series was cancelled. In later interviews the cast suggest the reasons were mainly economic, and that a typical Goodies sketch was more expensive than it appeared. "The Goodies" won the Silver Rose at the Festival Rose d'Or , held in Montreux , Switzerland, in 1972 for a special episode, based on the original 1971 Goodies' " Kitten Kong " episode, titled " Kitten Kong: Montreux '72 Edition ". In
1596-623: A special episode of One Foot in the Grave . In 1998, Brooke-Taylor appeared as a guest in one episode of the political satire game show If I Ruled the World . In 2004, Brooke-Taylor and Garden were co-presenters of Channel 4 's daytime game show, Beat the Nation , in which they indulged in typical game show "banter", but took the quiz itself seriously. He appeared on stage in Australia and England, usually as
1680-820: A tour of New Zealand, then on Broadway in New York City (including an appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show ). They also took part in various TV shows with other people, including Brooke-Taylor in At Last the 1948 Show (with Cleese, Chapman and Marty Feldman ). Brooke-Taylor also took part in Marty (with Marty Feldman , John Junkin and Roland MacLeod ). In 1968 Brooke-Taylor appeared with Cleese, Michael Palin and Graham Chapman in How to Irritate People . Garden and Oddie took part in Twice
1764-615: The Billboard Hot 100 in 1975. The New Goodies LP , which featured most of the hit singles, reached number 25 on the UK Albums Chart in 1975. Three variations of the Goodies Theme were used on the opening titles for the 1970–1982 television series. Apart from the original Goodies Theme, used from 1970 to 1972 and released as a single, two other variations surfaced, one, with a contemporary feel from 1973–1974, sung by Bill and then
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#17328556735131848-640: The Cambridge University Footlights Club (of which Brooke-Taylor became president in 1963). The Footlights Club revue, A Clump of Plinths , was so successful during its Edinburgh Festival Fringe run that the show was renamed as Cambridge Circus and transferred to the West End in London before being taken to both New Zealand and Broadway in the United States in September 1964. Brooke-Taylor
1932-858: The 13-part variety show Engelbert and the Young Generation , a co-production between the BBC and German station ZDF in which The Goodies appeared in short 3-to-4-minute film sequences. The first six of these sequences were culled from the first and second series of The Goodies : "Pets" (from "Kitten Kong"), "Pop Festival" (from "The Music Lovers"), "Keep Fit" (from "Commonwealth Games"), "Post Office" (from "Radio Goodies"), "Sleepwalking" (from "Snooze") and "Factory Farm" (from "Fresh Farm Foods"); and there were seven new film sequences, "Good Deed Day", "The Gym", "The Country Code", "Street Entertainers", "Plum Pudding", "Bodyguards" and "Pan's Grannies" – these also featured intro sequences with host Engelbert Humperdinck visiting
2016-525: The 1948 Show , working together with old Cambridge friends John Cleese and Graham Chapman . With Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie , he starred in The Goodies (1970–1982), picking up international recognition in Australia , Canada and New Zealand . He appeared as an actor in various sitcoms and was a panellist on BBC Radio's I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue for almost 50 years. Timothy Julian Brooke-Taylor
2100-563: The 1948 Show was shown on the documentary special Monty Python: Almost the Truth (Lawyers Cut) . The sketch has since become known for its satirical depiction of Britain's class system and North-South divide . Brooke-Taylor also took part in David Frost 's pilot programme How to Irritate People in 1968, designed to sell what would later be recognised as the Monty Python style of comedy to
2184-417: The 1960s BBC radio comedy show I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again , which also featured John Cleese , David Hatch and Jo Kendall , and lasted until 1973. I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again resulted from the 1963 Cambridge University Footlights Club revue A Clump of Plinths . After having its title changed to Cambridge Circus , the revue went on to play in the West End in London, England, followed by
2268-435: The 1982 LWT series was repeated on pay-TV channel Paramount 2. In December 2010, BBC Two showed selected late-night repeats of the BBC series, which ran nightly from 23 to 30 December. This apparent gesture followed years of campaigning by The Goodies that the shows had not been repeated like other BBC shows such as Dad's Army , Only Fools and Horses and Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em . The episodes shown were: " Bunfight at
2352-621: The Air", the show was a string of comedy sketches (often lifted from I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again ), linked (loosely) by a weekly running theme. The success of Broaden Your Mind led to the commissioning of The Goodies , also with Oddie and Garden. First transmitted on BBC2 in November 1970, The Goodies was a television success, broadcast for over a decade by both the BBC and (in its final year) by ITV contractor London Weekend Television , spawning many spin-off books and successful records. During
2436-519: The American market. Many of the sketches were later revived in the Monty Python TV series, such as the job interview sketch in which Brooke-Taylor played a nervous interviewee tormented by interviewer John Cleese. The programme was also the first collaboration between Cleese and Michael Palin . One of the sketches referred to Cleese's character dating a promiscuous woman named "Christine Wheadon", which
2520-472: The BBC documentary series Comedy Connections was devoted to the Goodies. During Christmas that year, Channel 5 repeated the classic 1973 episode " The Goodies and the Beanstalk ". Christmas 2005 saw a 90-minute Goodies special, a documentary about the series, Return of the Goodies , broadcast on BBC Two . Early in 2006, a single episode (" Winter Olympics ") was broadcast on BBC Two . In February 2007,
2604-418: The BBC episodes, one episode every day, starting with series one episode one on 26th September at 21.40. Series 2 started airing at 21.45 on October 5. Series 3 started airing at 21:40 on October 11. Series 4 started airing at 21:30 on October 17. Series 5 started airing at 21:30 on October 24. Series 6 started airing at 21:30 on November 6. Some episodes are being aired in poor quality and/or black & White as
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2688-548: The BBC's breeding ground for sitcoms at the time. The series charted the ups and downs of two "dolly birds" sharing a flat on Liverpool's Huskisson Street, concentrating on the two young single women's dealings with boyfriends, work, parents and each other. Dressed in the best 1970s fashions, they looked for romance in a loose female equivalent of The Likely Lads . The pilot and Series 1 starred Pauline Collins as Dawn and Polly James as Beryl Hennessey. In Series 2, Nerys Hughes debuted as Sandra Hutchinson, replacing Dawn for
2772-497: The BBC's then Head of Comedy, and asked to write about two women sharing a flat, Mills brought in sitcom expert Sydney Lotterby to work with the writing team. Lotterby had previously worked with Eric Sykes and Sheila Hancock , and on The Likely Lads . For the Liver Birds, Carla Lane wrote most of the episodes, Taylor co-writing only the first two series. The pilot was shown on 14 April 1969 as an episode of Comedy Playhouse ,
2856-463: The Beanstalk' & 'The Race', series 5 episodes 'Scatty Safari' & 'South Africa' were not aired, with no notice or reason given. In Australia, the series has had continued popularity. It was especially popular when it was repeated through the 1970s and 1980s by the ABC . As the show was typically broadcast in the 25-minute 6:00 pm children's timeslot, portions often had to be cut. The 1981-82 LWT series
2940-674: The Christmas 1976 edition of Disney Time from the toy department of Selfridges store in London, broadcast on BBC1 on Boxing Day at 5.50 pm. The Goodies never had a formal contract with the BBC, and when the BBC Light Entertainment budget for 1980 was exhausted by the production of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy TV series, the Goodies signed a contract with London Weekend Television (LWT) for ITV . However, after one half-hour Christmas special (" Snow White 2 ") in 1981, and
3024-541: The Goodies at their office. The shows were dubbed into German and because the Goodies part of the shows was more visual than dialogue -based, it translated very well. Five of these new films were also cut together, with a new story involving The Goodies filling out their "Tax Evasion" form, as a special 25-minute Goodies compilation episode, " A Collection of Goodies ", first broadcast on BBC1 at 8.15 pm on 24 September 1972, and produced by Jim Franklin . "The Country Code" and "Bodyguards" were not used. In New Zealand,
3108-439: The O.K. Tea Rooms " / " Earthanasia " / " The Goodies and the Beanstalk " / " Kitten Kong " / " Lighthouse Keeping Loonies " / " Saturday Night Grease " / " The Baddies " (a.k.a. "Double Trouble") and " The Stone Age ", although " Scoutrageous ", " Kung Fu Kapers " and " Scotland " (a.k.a. "Loch Ness Monster") were originally billed as episodes 1, 2 and 7 of the repeat run. The episodes garnered good ratings given their time slot, and
3192-462: The Pops to perform "Funky Gibbon". Garden joined Brooke-Taylor in the theatre production of The Unvarnished Truth . Other BBC radio programmes in which Brooke-Taylor played a part include the self-styled "antidote to panel games" I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue , which started in 1972; he took part regularly for over 40 years. On 18 February 1981, Brooke-Taylor, was the subject of Thames Television 's This Is Your Life . In 1997, he appeared in
3276-579: The Radio 4 comedy series Tell Me Where It Hurts in 1979. Brooke-Taylor also appeared regularly in advertisements, including the Christmas commercials for the Brentford Nylons chain of fabric stores and in a public information film for the now-defunct E111 form, since replaced by the European Health Insurance Card . In 1971, he played the short, uncredited role of a computer scientist in
3360-455: The UK. In 1986, BBC2 broadcast the episode " Kitten Kong " during a week of programmes screened under the banner "TV-50", when the BBC celebrated 50 years of broadcasting. In the late 1980s the pan-European satellite-channel Super Channel broadcast a couple of episodes, and the short-lived Comedy Channel broadcast some of the later Goodies episodes in the early 1990s. Later UK Gold screened many of
3444-564: The Welsh actress was from Liverpool, asked her to read for a part in The Liver Birds . (Neither actress really had a Liverpool accent: James was from Oswaldtwistle , near Blackburn , and Hughes was from Rhyl .) Impressed with Hughes' reading, he offered her the part of Sandra, and the new series, in colour, began. The first episode of the second series aired on 7 January 1971. The actresses got on well together. "The rapport between Polly and myself
The Goodies - Misplaced Pages Continue
3528-471: The cast). Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden were writers/performers on the television comedy series Broaden Your Mind , with Bill Oddie joining them for the second series. The three writers and performers also collaborated on the 1983 animated children's programme Bananaman , where they played various voice roles. Bill Oddie has occasionally appeared on the BBC Radio 4 panel game I'm Sorry I Haven't
3612-602: The children's TV series Gideon . Brooke-Taylor appeared in Amnesty International shows: in A Poke in the Eye (With a Sharp Stick) he, Oddie and Garden, sang their hit song " Funky Gibbon ", whilst in The Secret Policeman's Other Ball he took part in the sketches "Top of the Form" (with Cleese, Chapman, John Bird , John Fortune , Rowan Atkinson and Griff Rhys Jones ), and "Cha Cha Cha" (with Cleese and Chapman). Brooke-Taylor, Garden and Oddie also appeared on Top of
3696-557: The earlier episodes, often with commercial timing cuts. The same episodes subsequently aired on UK Arena , also cut. When UK Arena became UK Drama, later UKTV Drama, The Goodies was dropped along with its other comedy and documentary shows. The cast finally took matters into their own hands and arranged with Network Video for the release of a digitally-remastered 'best of' selection entitled The Goodies ... At Last on VHS and Region 0 DVD in April 2003. A second volume, The Goodies ... At Last
3780-418: The episodes. The famous " Four Yorkshiremen " sketch was co-written by the four writers/performers of the series – Tim Brooke-Taylor, John Cleese, Graham Chapman and Marty Feldman. Tim Brooke-Taylor was a cast member of the television comedy series Marty with Marty Feldman and John Junkin – a compilation of the two series of Marty has been released on a DVD with the title of It's Marty . Brooke-Taylor
3864-575: The film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory ; his scene was the final one filmed for the movie. After The Goodies on UK television, Brooke-Taylor also worked again with Garden and Oddie on the television animated comedy series Bananaman , in which Brooke-Taylor was the narrator, as well as voicing the characters of King Zorg of the Nurks, Eddie the Gent, Auntie and Appleman. He also lent his voice to
3948-507: The final episode of the classic original series was broadcast, the BBC revived the series, reuniting Beryl and Sandra as they coped with the aftermath of their respective failed marriages. As the BBC's own website admits, some liberties were taken with continuity: Carmel McSharry , who had played Carol's mother in series 8-9 returned transformed into Beryl's mother, and Carol's rabbit-obsessed brother Lucien Boswell, played by Michael Angelis , became Beryl's brother Lucien Hennessey. The revival
4032-648: The first episode of the next series, " The New Office ", Tim Brooke-Taylor can be seen painting the trophy gold. "The Goodies" was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Light Entertainment Programme in 1972, losing to The Benny Hill Show . "The Goodies" won the Silver Rose in 1975 at the Festival Rose d'Or for their episode " The Movies ". "The Goodies" was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Light Entertainment Programme in 1976, losing to The Two Ronnies . Unlike many long-running BBC comedy series, The Goodies has not enjoyed extensive repeats on terrestrial television in
4116-547: The first six episodes were taken from the BBC's own master tapes, rather than the digital remasters, the rights to which are currently owned by Network Video. "The Baddies" and "The Stone Age" have never been digitally remastered. On Sunday 8 June 2014, during a 1970s weekend, BBC Two repeated the Montreux '72 Edition of "Kitten Kong" once again; however, this has been the only episode to be repeated twice, and no full series have been repeated since. In September 2018, Network released
4200-458: The late 1990s and early 2000s, where they were screened in full. ABC2 ran re-runs of the series, beginning in 2010. Three of the Goodies DVDs are available in Australia under different titles to the UK releases: The Goodies: 8 Delicious Episodes , The Goodies: A Tasty Second Helping and The Goodies: The Final Episodes , respectively. The Goodies' DVDs are also available in a boxed set with
4284-399: The music for the show. Later episodes were co-written by Garden and Oddie. It was one of the first shows in the UK to use chroma key and one of the first to use stop-motion techniques in a live action format. Other effects include hand editing for repeated movement, mainly used to make animals "talk" or "sing", and play speed effects as used in the episode " Kitten Kong ". In the series,
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#17328556735134368-453: The performance at Hughes' suggestion, and asked Estensen to audition for the part. 'She was loud, and abrasive, and exactly what I wanted,' said Lotterby. So Beryl, the bouncy blonde, was replaced by feisty, flame-haired Carol. Now into the fifth series, Carla Lane expanded her range from single life to family life and introduced Carol's relatives: the Boswells. "They were a close family—they were
4452-424: The play was directed by Benji Sperring. Only the second series was released on DVD, by Universal Playback in the UK in 2003. It has since gone out of print, with retailers such as Amazon only listing used copies, and was notable for placing the episodes in production order rather than transmission order (resulting in some continuity errors). The Liver Birds: The Complete Second Series was released in Australia, in
4536-690: The premiere episode of the BBC's golf-based game show Full Swing . In 2008, Brooke-Taylor was heard in the Doctor Who audio story The Zygon Who Fell To Earth , made by Big Finish Productions . Paul McGann played the Eighth Doctor and Brooke-Taylor played the part of Mims, a Zygon taking the shape of a human. Brooke-Taylor made his final public appearance when he attended the Bristol slapstick festival in January 2020, 3 months before his death. Brooke-Taylor
4620-559: The rest of the programme's run. The Beryl-and-Sandra pairing is generally regarded as the programme's best period. Beryl was the more 'common' one, while Sandra was soft-spoken and more refined, due to the influence of her snobbish, overbearing mother ( Mollie Sugden ). Carla Lane drew on her own mother for the character – "Mrs Hutchinson, I think she was my mother. I'm sure she was my mother". Beryl's 'common' mother (the Hennesseys live in Bootle ,
4704-597: The run of The Goodies , Brooke-Taylor took part in the BBC radio series Hello Cheeky , a bawdy stand-up comedy show also starring Barry Cryer and John Junkin . The series transferred to television briefly, produced for ITV by the commercial franchise Yorkshire Television . He appeared on television in British sitcoms , including You Must Be the Husband with Diane Keen , His and Hers with Madeline Smith and Me and My Girl with Richard O'Sullivan . He also starred in
4788-497: The series was originally shown in full by the NZBC (later TV One ) during the 1970s and 1980s. Since then, it has been re-run on SKY Network Television 's Comedy Central. In Spain, a couple of episodes of The Goodies were shown as part of a season of television-award-winning programmes (the Goodies were Montreux Festival winners) on TVE 2 entitled Festival TV in 1981. In the US, the series
4872-585: The series was shown in on the CBC national broadcast network during the late 1970s and early 1980s, in the traditional "after school" time slot, later a Friday night 10 pm slot, and occasionally in a midnight slot. Several episodes were also shown on the CTV Television Network . In the mid-1970s it was shown on TVOntario on Saturday evenings, repeated on Thursday evenings, until it was replaced by Doctor Who in 1976. In Germany in 1972, German TV screened
4956-419: The sitcoms You Must Be The Husband (with Diane Keen and Sheila Steafel ), and Me and My Girl (with Richard O'Sullivan and Joan Sanderson ). He also played in a televised pro-celebrity golf match opposite Bruce Forsyth . Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie were writers/performers on the television comedy series Twice a Fortnight (which also included Terry Jones , Michael Palin and Jonathan Lynn in
5040-582: The tapes were sadly wiped for reuse by the BBC in the 1970s. Although there is a message before each episode stating; 'This programme reflects the standards, language and attitudes of its time. Some viewers may find this content offensive', it seems that not all episodes are being aired - noticeably the 'Kitten Kong', 'Special Tax Edition' & 'The Goodies Rule – O.K.?' specials, but also series 2 episodes 'Pollution', 'The Lost Tribe', 'Come Dancing', 'Gender Education, 'Charity Bounce' & 'The Baddies', series 3 episode 'Superstar', series 4 episodes 'The Goodies and
5124-455: The third and final theme for the rest of the series from 1975 onwards, again sung by Bill. This variation lasted for the rest of the TV series and also surfaced on later Goodies LPs and, eventually, singles. Tim Brooke-Taylor was a writer/performer on the television comedy series At Last the 1948 Show (which also included John Cleese , Graham Chapman and Marty Feldman in the cast), in which Eric Idle and Bill Oddie guest-starred in some of
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#17328556735135208-514: The threesome travelled on, and frequently fell off, a three-seater bicycle known to them as a 'trandem'. In September 1978, the trio appeared in character in an episode of the BBC1 television game show Star Turn Challenge , presented by Bernard Cribbins , in which teams of celebrities competed in acting games. Their opponents were three members of the cast of The Liver Birds , Nerys Hughes , Elizabeth Estensen and Michael Angelis . They also presented
5292-456: The two series of Marty has been released on a BBC DVD entitled The Best of Marty Feldman . During this period Brooke-Taylor appeared as two characters in the film One Man Band directed by Orson Welles ; however, the project was never completed and remains unreleased. At around the same time, Brooke-Taylor made two series of Broaden Your Mind with Garden (and Oddie joining for the second series). Describing itself as "An Encyclopedia of
5376-517: The university. All three Goodies became members of the Cambridge University Footlights Club , with Brooke-Taylor becoming president in 1963, and Garden succeeding him as president in 1964. In 1965, Eric Idle succeeded Garden as Footlights Club president. Idle had initially become aware of the Footlights when he auditioned for a " smoker concert " at Pembroke College in front of Brooke-Taylor and Oddie. Brooke-Taylor, Garden and Oddie were cast members of
5460-499: The writing duo of Jack Seddon and David Pursall. This writing arrangement finished at the end of the third series. Carla Lane became sole writer for the fourth series. She felt it was now time for the Liver Birds to start thinking about longer-term relationships with men. John Nettles played Paul, Sandra's (frustrated) boyfriend, and Jonathan Lynn played Robert, Beryl's boyfriend. "I always wanted The Liver Birds not to be too keen about marriage—not to down it—but not to be out to get
5544-403: Was a law student, Garden ( Emmanuel ) was studying medicine and Oddie (Pembroke) was reading English . Their contemporaries included Graham Chapman , John Cleese and Eric Idle , who later became members of Monty Python , and with whom they became close friends. Brooke-Taylor and Cleese studied together and swapped lecture notes, for they were both law students, but at different colleges within
5628-408: Was already a pretty outrageous character." Producer Sydney Lotterby had to find a new leading actress to keep the series going after Polly James' departure. In 1971 he'd replaced Pauline Collins with Nerys Hughes, and Hughes herself spotted her potential new flatmate: 'I went to see a musical in town-- Willy Russell 's, John, Paul, George, Ringo..and Bert , and saw Elizabeth Estensen .' Lotterby saw
5712-423: Was also a cast member of John Cleese's special How to Irritate People . Along with John Junkin and Barry Cryer , Brooke-Taylor was a regular cast member of the long-running Radio 2 comedy sketch show Hello, Cheeky! , which ran from 1973 to 1979. The series also transferred to Yorkshire Television for two series in 1975 and 1976. Tim Brooke-Taylor also appeared on BBC's hospital comedy TLC , as well as
5796-590: Was also active in the Pembroke College drama society, the Pembroke Players . Brooke-Taylor moved swiftly into BBC Radio with the fast-paced comedy show I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again which he performed in and co-wrote. As the screeching eccentric Lady Constance de Coverlet, he could be relied upon to generate the loudest audience response of many programmes in this long-running series merely with her unlikely catchphrase "Did somebody call?" uttered after
5880-466: Was an English actor and comedian. He was best known as a member of The Goodies . He became active in performing in comedy sketches while at the University of Cambridge and became president of the Footlights , touring internationally with its revue in 1964. Becoming more widely known to the public for his work on BBC Radio with I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again , he moved into television with At Last
5964-511: Was born on 17 July 1940 in Buxton , Derbyshire , son of Edward Brooke-Taylor, a solicitor and games teacher and international lacrosse player and Rachel, daughter of Francis Pawson , a parson who played centre forward for the English football team in the 1880s. He was expelled from primary school at the early age of five and a half. Brooke-Taylor was then schooled at Thorn Leigh Pre-Preparatory School, Holm Leigh Preparatory School (where he won
6048-587: Was elected Lord Rector by the students of the University of St Andrews and held office between 1979 and 1982. In this role he represented the students, chaired the University Court and presided over the General Council in the absence of the Chancellor . At his installation he arrived by helicopter, rode a motorbike and was hauled in an open carriage as part of The Drag. His installation speech included
6132-454: Was fairly instant. It was excellent. It happened in a twinkling really." said Hughes later, and James added, "We just fitted together. We learned our lines sipping Pernod milkshakes." Following the second series, Myra Taylor , who missed her family, stopped writing for the show. With 13 episodes commissioned for the third series, Michael Mills felt that the writing duties would be too much for Lane to handle alone, so he handed six episodes to
6216-446: Was initially disliked by Carla Lane. The Scaffold – a pop group whose line-up comprisesd John Gorman , later of Tiswas fame, poet Roger McGough , and Mike McCartney – sang the title song. Both the pilot and all four episodes from series 1 (originally aired in 1969) are missing, presumed wiped in their entirety, however, the opening titles (including some footage from one of the missing episodes) still exist. The first series
6300-573: Was involved in local events. A keen golfer, he was a member of Temple Golf Club. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2011 Birthday Honours for services to light entertainment. Brooke-Taylor died of complications from COVID-19 on 12 April 2020, aged 79, in Cookham, Berkshire. In tribute to Brooke-Taylor, the flag of his alma mater , Pembroke College, Cambridge ,
6384-525: Was lowered to half-mast the following day. As sole author As co-author The Liver Birds The Liver Birds is a British sitcom , set in Liverpool , North West England , which aired on BBC1 from April 1969 to December 1978, and again in 1996. The show was created by Carla Lane and Myra Taylor . The two Liverpudlian housewives had met at a local writers club and decided to pool their talents. Having been invited to London by Michael Mills ,
6468-564: Was not a ratings success and only lasted one series. On 25 December 1972, a Liver Birds short was broadcast as part of Christmas Night with the Stars , a programme shown annually on Christmas night, when leading BBC performers appeared in short versions of their series, typically 5–10 minutes long. In 2018, the series was adapted into a musical production entitled, Liver Birds Flying Home . Lyrics were by Barb Jungr; music by Mike Lindup; book by Barb Jungr, George Seaton & Linda McDermott; and
6552-481: Was played once on the Seven Network in the early 1980s. The ABC screened the BBC episodes again in the early 1990s, but skipped several stories due to either inappropriate material for a children's timeslot, or a lack of colour prints at the time. The BBC episodes were then heavily edited to allow time for commercials when repeated on Network Ten in the 1990s, before moving to the pay television channel UK.TV during
6636-426: Was released in 1973 and reissued as The World of the Goodies in 1974. "The Goodies Theme" was released as a single in 1973. They had a string of successful chart singles penned by Bill Oddie. In 1974–75, they chalked up five hit singles in twelve months: " The Inbetweenies ", " Black Pudding Bertha ", " Nappy Love " and " The Funky Gibbon " (all performed during the episode " The Goodies – Almost Live "), and " Make
6720-434: Was set in a British space station in the near future. Garden was a regular team captain on the political satire game show If I Ruled the World . Brooke-Taylor appeared as a guest in one episode, and during the game "I Couldn't Disagree More" he proposed that it was high time The Goodies episodes were repeated. Garden was obliged by the rules of the game to refute this statement, and replied "I couldn't disagree more...it
6804-529: Was shown widely in syndication during the late 1970s and early 1980s, but has been little seen since. It was shown also on PBS stations, sometimes in tandem with Monty Python's Flying Circus . In their heyday The Goodies also produced successful books: " All Things Bright and Beautiful " was released as a single credited to The Goodies in 1973, although it had been recorded in 1966 when they were part of I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again . The first true Goodies album, The Goodies Sing Songs From The Goodies ,
6888-427: Was stopped after four episodes because Polly James ' hectic schedule—working every evening on Anne of Green Gables in the West End , then rehearsing all day for the TV show—was proving too much. By the time James was available again, Pauline Collins had moved to LWT 's Upstairs, Downstairs . The producer Sydney Lotterby remembered having worked with Nerys Hughes on The Likely Lads and, wrongly believing
6972-487: Was the name of Brooke-Taylor's wife. Also in 1968, Brooke-Taylor made an unexpected and uninvited guest appearance in an episode of Do Not Adjust Your Set , filling in for Michael Palin who was ill that week. The episode he was in still survives and has been included in DVD compilation sets. In 1968–69, Brooke-Taylor was also a cast member and writer on the television comedy series Marty starring Marty Feldman , with John Junkin and Roland MacLeod . A compilation of
7056-496: Was time to repeat them ten, fifteen years ago." This was followed by uproarious applause from the studio audience. In 2004, Garden and Brooke-Taylor were co-presenters of Channel 4 's daytime game show Beat the Nation , in which they indulged in usual game show "banter", but took the quiz itself seriously. Oddie hosts a very successful series of nature programmes for the BBC. Tim Brooke-Taylor Timothy Julian Brooke-Taylor OBE (17 July 1940 – 12 April 2020)
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