114-482: Anthony John Hancock (12 May 1924 – 25 June 1968) was an English comedian and actor. High-profile during the 1950s and early 1960s, he had a major success with his BBC series Hancock's Half Hour , first broadcast on radio from 1954, then on television from 1956, in which he soon formed a strong professional and personal bond with comic actor Sid James . Although Hancock's decision to cease working with James, when it became known in early 1960, disappointed many at
228-474: A Lanvin model, after a brief courtship. Freddie Ross worked as his publicist from 1954 and became more involved in his life, eventually becoming his mistress. He divorced Cicely in 1965 and married Ross in December of that year. This second marriage was short-lived. During these years Hancock was also involved with Joan Le Mesurier (née Malin), the new wife of actor John Le Mesurier , Hancock's best friend and
342-417: A mock Tudor shopping area with timber detailing and leaded-lights. The entrances to Cheam Park and Nonsuch Park with its historic mansion are approximately two hundred yards from the village centre crossroads. North Cheam is centred 1 mile (1.6 km) north, at the crossroads between Cheam Village and Worcester Park, Epsom and Morden. Victoria Junction is the centre of North Cheam. The area consists of
456-458: A cafe and extensive flower gardens. Nonsuch also extends into Stoneleigh and East Ewell. Cheam Park contains tennis courts, football pitches and a children's playground. A cafe can be found in the middle of the park. Cheam Leisure Centre, on Malden Road, has facilities including a swimming pool (30m x 12m), squash courts and fitness gym. Cheam Rovers F.C. is a local football club. Cheam Cricket Club play at Peaches Close. Cheam Hockey Club
570-429: A clinic to give blood, contains some famous lines, including "I don't mind giving a reasonable amount, but a pint! That's very nearly an armful!"; in " The Radio Ham ", Hancock plays an amateur radio enthusiast who receives a mayday call from a yachtsman in distress, but his incompetence prevents him from taking his position. Both of these programmes were re-recorded a few months later for a commercial 1961 LP, produced in
684-530: A combination of the file names and Wilmut's own, have become the accepted ones ever since, with the approval of Galton and Simpson and the BBC. The regular cast members generally played "themselves", in that the characters were called by the actor's real name (although the English actress Andrée Melly – sister of George – played a French character). However, there were exceptions: These performers are present in
798-558: A contract to make a 13-part series for the Seven Network . However, after arriving in Australia in March 1968, he completed only three programmes before his death and they remained unaired for nearly four years. These shows are the only existing television footage of him in colour, as all his previous shows had been made for black-and-white television. In June 1950 Hancock married Cicely Romanis,
912-526: A down-at-heel comedian living at the dilapidated 23 Railway Cuttings in East Cheam . The series was influential in the development of the situation comedy , with its move away from radio variety towards a focus on character development. The radio version was produced by Dennis Main Wilson for most of its run. After Main Wilson departed for his television career, his role was taken by Tom Ronald. The television series
1026-530: A funny voice. Hancock starred in the film The Rebel (1961), in which he plays the role of an office worker-turned-artist who finds himself successful after a move to Paris , but only as the result of mistaken identity. Although a success in Britain, the film was not well received in the United States: owing to a contemporary American television series of the same name , the film was retitled Call Me Genius and
1140-476: A gabled tile roof. The east window dates from the 15th century and has three lights. In the south wall is the blocked arcade that formerly led into the south chapel. The remnant was declared " redundant " in 2002, and vested in the Churches Conservation Trust. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building , and is under the care of a national charity,
1254-477: A large Sainsbury's supermarket with adjoining Starbucks , a neighbouring park, a number of independent shops and restaurants, a 24-hour McDonald's drive-thru, a post office and a Costa Coffee . There are plans to redevelop the site of a vacant 1960s building at the North Cheam crossroad and expand commercial and residential buildings. St. Anthony's Hospital is a large private hospital in North Cheam. Whitehall
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#17328845255461368-424: A new genre: the sitcom or situation comedy . Instead of the traditional variety mix of sketches, guest stars and musical interludes, the show's humour derived from characters and situations developed in a half-hour storyline. This then relatively novel format, of what was in effect a single sketch each week lasting the entire half-hour (though in the radio version James and the others sometimes played different roles),
1482-520: A new version of "Cinderella Hancock" was recorded in its place. On 11 January 2019, the cast of The Missing Hancocks recorded the episode for the first time at the BBC Radio Theatre. It was broadcast on 1 January 2020. "The New Year Resolutions" was re-recorded on 13 January 2019 for broadcast on 31 December 2020. All episodes exist, though episode 3 only survives as a lower-quality off-air recording. All episodes still exist. Welcome to London
1596-464: A puppy that grows to be as tall as himself. Sid James featured in both the radio and TV versions, while the radio version also included regulars Bill Kerr , Kenneth Williams and, successively, Moira Lister , Andrée Melly and Hattie Jacques . The series rejected the variety format then dominant in British radio comedy and instead used a form drawn more from everyday life: the situation comedy , with
1710-518: A regular supporting character-actor from his television series. Joan was later to describe the relationship in her book Lady Don't Fall Backwards , including the claim that her husband readily forgave the affair; he is quoted as saying that if it had been anyone else he would not have understood it, but with Tony Hancock it made sense. In July 1966 Freddie took an overdose but survived. Arriving in Blackpool to record an edition of his variety series, Hancock
1824-482: A resemblance to the original design of Nonsuch Palace , whose construction was begun by King Henry VIII in the 16th century. Built within the north porch of the mansion is a block from the original Nonsuch Palace that bears an inscription which means "1543 Henry VIII in the 35th year of His reign." St Dunstan's Church is the area's parish church , situated in Cheam Village, next to Lumley Chapel. St Paul's Howell Hill
1938-441: A role in a Disney film – The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin – but was sacked after reportedly having trouble with the mock-Shakespearian dialogue. He collapsed with a liver attack on 1 January 1967 and was told he would die within three months if he continued drinking. In December 1967, while recovering from a broken rib from a drunken fall, he became ill with pneumonia . His final television appearances were in Australia under
2052-520: A sand sculptor. The extent to which the character played by Hancock had merged with his real personality is clear in the film, which owes much to his memories of his childhood in Bournemouth. Hancock moved to ATV in 1962 with different writers, though Oakes, retained as an advisor, disagreed over script ideas and the two men severed their professional (but not personal) relationship. The initial writer of Hancock's ATV series, Godfrey Harrison, had scripted
2166-539: A series of 11 television adverts for the Egg Marketing Board. Hancock starred in the adverts with Patricia Hayes as the character "Mrs Cravatte" in an attempt to revive the Galton and Simpson style of scripts. Slightly earlier, in 1963, he had featured in a spoof Hancock Report – hired by Lord Beeching to promote his plan to reduce railway mileage in advertisements. Hancock reportedly wanted to be paid what Beeching
2280-508: A sketch show made by Associated-Rediffusion for ITV television , which were broadcast either side of his first television series on the BBC. In 1972 a Norwegian TV show called Fleksnes Fataliteter aired for the first time. It was based on scripts from Hancock's Half Hour . The show became trilingual, as it usually starred both Swedish and Norwegian actors, and was broadcast in Sweden and Norway as well as Denmark. In 2016, "The New Neighbour"
2394-598: A song called "Lady Don't Fall Backwards" after the book at the centre of the Hancock's Half Hour episode " The Missing Page ". Hancock is also referenced in the lyrics to the Libertines' 2015 song "You're My Waterloo". Paul Merton , in 1996, appeared in remakes of six of Galton and Simpson's Hancock scripts, which were not critically well received. In 2014, five of the wiped radio instalments of Hancock's Half Hour , chosen by Galton and Simpson, were re-staged for BBC Radio 4 under
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#17328845255462508-784: A telerecording. 13 episodes; episodes 1–4 pre-recorded as telerecordings, 5–13 live, broadcast 26 December 1958 – 27 March 1959 (skipping 27 February). Episodes 1, 3, 4, 11 and 12 exist as telerecordings. Episodes 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 exist as off-air audio recordings of variable quality. Episode 13 remains missing. 10 episodes, pre-recorded on videotape, broadcast 25 September – 27 November 1959. The entire series exists on telerecordings. 10 episodes, pre-recorded on videotape, broadcast 19 February – 6 May 1960. The entire series exists as telerecordings. A trailer made for Australian transmission of this series also exists. 6 episodes, pre-recorded on videotape, broadcast 26 May – 30 June 1961. Shortened to 25 minutes per episode and retitled Hancock . This
2622-514: Is a field hockey club that competes in the London Hockey League . In the comedy show Hancock's Half Hour , Tony Hancock lived in the fictional road Railway Cuttings, in East Cheam. Though not in existence today, East Cheam did exist officially in name and was not fictional. The census of 1841 includes the place-names East Cheam, North Cheam, Garden Green and Cheam Common. Cheam
2736-431: Is a timber framed and weatherboarded house in the centre of Cheam Village. It was originally built in about 1500 as a wattle and daub yeoman farmer's house but has been much extended. The external weatherboard dates from the 18th century. In the garden there is a medieval well which served an earlier building on the site. Now an historic house museum , the building features a period kitchen, and house details from
2850-545: Is a Grade II listed Gothic revival mansion within Nonsuch Park. The Service Wing Museum is open to the public during the summer on Sundays. It is run by the Friends of Nonsuch, which charitable organisation also commissioned the largest model of Nonsuch Palace available. The model was created by designer Ben Taggart and can be seen throughout the year on Sundays. The mansion itself is a popular place for wedding receptions, as it
2964-626: Is a sculpture by Bruce Williams (1996) in his honour in Old Square , Corporation Street , Birmingham, a plaque on the house where he was born in Hall Green , Birmingham, and a plaque on the wall of the hotel in Bournemouth where he spent some of his early life. There is also a plaque, placed by the Dead Comics Society, at 10 Grey Close, Hampstead Garden Suburb , north London, where he lived in 1947 and 1948. In 2014, an English Heritage blue plaque
3078-445: Is available for hire. In medieval times the land upon which Nonsuch Mansion sits was part of the three thousand acre manor of Cuddington . The mansion was originally built in 1731–1743 by Joseph Thompson and later bought by Samuel Farmer in 1799. He employed Jeffry Wyattville to rebuild it in a Tudor Gothic style in 1802–1806. Farmer was succeeded by his grandson in 1838 under whom the gardens became famous. Nonsuch Mansion bears
3192-409: Is divided into North Cheam, Cheam Village and South Cheam. Cheam Village contains the listed buildings Lumley Chapel and the 16th-century Whitehall . It is adjacent to two large parks, Nonsuch Park and Cheam Park. Nonsuch Park contains the listed Nonsuch Mansion . Parts of Cheam Park and Cheam Village are in a conservation area . Cheam is bordered by Worcester Park to the northwest, Morden to
3306-528: Is in the east of the town just off the A217 and is also home to Sutton Schoolswork, the local Christian schools charity working in the borough of Sutton. The parish church of St. Dunstan is Grade II* listed. It was built in Cheam Village in 1864 next to Lumley Chapel on the site of a medieval church. It was built with Kentish ragstone below pitched slate roofs, with dressings to windows and doors in Bath Stone . It
3420-696: Is mentioned in the Charters of Chertsey Abbey in 727, which mentions Cheam being given to the monastery of Chertsey in 675; the name appears as Cegeham . However, the Charters are of dubious origin and are now regarded as obvious fabrications. The name 'Cheam', based on Cegeham , may mean 'village or homestead by the tree-stumps'. Cheam appears in Domesday Book as Ceiham . Held by Archbishop Lanfranc of Canterbury , its Domesday assets were four hides , one church, 17 ploughs , 1 mile (1.6 km) of meadow , and woodland worth 25 hogs . It rendered £14. In
3534-434: Is on Northey Avenue at the far west of the town, although it is actually in the borough of Epsom and Ewell. It is known locally due to its prominent presence on a roundabout and its contemporary design. Towards the eastern end of Northey Avenue is St Andrew's United Reformed Church, a grade II listed building designed by Maxwell Ayrton in 1933. Cheam Baptist Church is located next to St Dunstan's Church. Cheam Methodist Church
Tony Hancock - Misplaced Pages Continue
3648-575: Is self-delusion," they remarked, in a statement issued by the BBC. "They all think they're more intelligent than everyone else, more cultured, that people don't recognise their true greatness – self-delusion in every sense. And there's nothing people like better than failure." Mary Kalemkerian, Head of Programmes for BBC 7, commented: "Classic comedians such as Tony Hancock and the Goons are obviously still firm favourites with BBC radio listeners. Age doesn't seem to matter – if it's funny, it's funny." Dan Peat of
3762-681: Is served by Cheam station on the Sutton and Mole Valley lines between Sutton and Epsom . It is in Travelcard Zone 5 . Services from Cheam to central London include direct trains to Victoria which take about 30 minutes. In 1910, parliamentary approval was given to the Wimbledon and Sutton Railway to construct a station at Cheam Road, Sutton that would have been served by the London Underground 's District Railway . Following negotiations between
3876-403: Is smart and expensive, and by creating 'Railway Cuttings, East Cheam' Galton and Simpson created an address for a snob who wanted to live in a 'posh' area, but could only afford the 'cheap end' (which in reality does not exist). In those days recordings of the radio shows were not commercially available, so the audience had to rely entirely on memory for details of who lived where or who did what in
3990-578: Is the only series Sid James does not appear in. The entire series exists on telerecordings. One script for Hancock's Half Hour / Hancock was not used: "The Diplomat" (but it was instead published in Richard Webbers' book 50 years of Hancock's Half Hour in 2004). Information on series dates taken from the book Tony Hancock: Artiste (1978) by Roger Wilmut, Eyre Methuen ISBN 0-413-38680-5 (subsequent reprints in 1983 and 1986 contain additional details). Information on lost radio episodes taken from
4104-522: The 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted for by industry professionals, Hancock's Half Hour was placed 24th. In 1962, the show became the first imported programme to win a Jacob's Award following its transmission on Telefís Éireann , the Republic of Ireland 's national TV station. In 1956 and 1957 Hancock had starred in two series of
4218-734: The Churches Conservation Trust . 38.2% of homes in Cheam are detached houses, 23% are semi-detached, 20.6% are flats/maisonettes/apartments, and 18.6% are terraced. There are a number of schools in Cheam, including Nonsuch High School , a grammar school for girls and Cheam High School , a large mixed comprehensive school on Chatsworth Road. Primary schools include Cuddington Croft, St Cecilias Catholic Primary School, Cheam Fields Primary, Cheam Common Primary, Cheam Park Farm Nursery and Infants School, Cheam Park Farm Juniors, Nonsuch Primary and St. Dunstans Church of England Primary. Cheam
4332-551: The Georgian , Victorian and Edwardian eras. The museum temporarily closed in 2016 to allow for a £1.6m refurbishment of the building. It reopened in June 2018 with improved facilities. Close to Cheam Library and the much-rebuilt Church, the memorial is to the people of Cheam who were killed during World War I, World War II and the Falklands War . There are a number of inscriptions on
4446-576: The London Borough of Sutton , and contains many notable monuments to local families. Following the construction of the new St Dunstan's church in 1864, the older church on the site was demolished, other than the east end of the chancel, which was retained to contain the monuments and brasses from the old church. This remnant of the former church is now known as the Lumley Chapel. It is constructed in partly roughcast rubble stone and brick, and has
4560-490: The Middle Ages , Cheam had potteries, and recent excavations have been carried out by archaeologists. In 1259, Henry III of England made Cheam a town by charter. In 1538, part of Cheam was handed over to Henry VIII . The same year, Henry began work on Nonsuch Palace , which he decorated elaborately. This was later sold and demolished. In 1801, the time of the first census, Cheam had a population of 616 Cheamonians. Cheam
4674-533: The Northern line to North Cheam, contingent on doubling the tracks between Kennington and Tooting Broadway such that Charing Cross trains would terminate at Tooting Broadway, and with an intermediate station at Morden South . Both proposals would each have cost £1,500,000. The proposed site for North Cheam station would have occupied the site of what was then a Granada cinema on London Road in North Cheam , which
Tony Hancock - Misplaced Pages Continue
4788-573: The Suez Crisis ) in 'The Stolen Petrol' and a strike by members of the trade union ASLEF (Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen) from 28 May to 14 June 1955 which involved a railway strike in 'The Rail Strike'. Among the well-known actors who appeared in the series were Hugh Lloyd , Patricia Hayes , Dick Emery , Warren Mitchell , John Le Mesurier and Richard Wattis . Also appearing were Pat Coombs , Rolf Harris , Burt Kwouk (credited as 'Burd Kwouk'), and Anne Reid . Episodes of
4902-843: The Underground Electric Railways Company of London and the Southern Railway , the line was eventually opened in 1930 by the Southern Railway, though the station was replaced by West Sutton to its north. In 1946, a report on London's railways to the Ministry of War Transport detailed possible new routes and rail lines for the London Underground, including the Victoria line and a route that would serve similar stations to Crossrail . The same report recommended extending
5016-573: The Windmill Theatre , a venue which helped to launch the careers of many comedians at the time. A favourable press review of his work at the Windmill was seen in July 1948. "But mention must made of a new young comedian…who with a piano partner, gives some brilliant thumbnail impressions of a “dud” concert party." He took part in radio shows such as Workers' Playtime and Variety Bandbox . In July 1949, he
5130-480: The 1800s when a fairground accompanied the market. Cheam Village is centred on the crossroads between Sutton, North Cheam, South Cheam and Ewell. It has a conservation area and a number of historic buildings dating back several centuries, including Nonsuch Mansion, the gabled Whitehall and Lumley Chapel, and a Georgian former rectory. The Cheam Village Conservation Area was designated in 1970 – it covers historic parkland, housing of varying styles and age and
5244-558: The BBC re-recorded "The New Neighbour", "The Breakfast Cereal" and "The Newspaper", selected by and recorded in the presence of Galton and Simpson, for the first series of The Missing Hancocks . The episodes were broadcast on Radio 4 in October and November 2014. On 21 July 2015 the BBC re-recorded "The Red Planet" and "How Hancock Won The War" (which, though not missing, is the poorest-quality surviving recording) for broadcast in November as part of
5358-463: The British theatre, in the use of sighs and silent pauses, something Osborne's style had in common with the plays of Harold Pinter , whose work began to emerge towards the end of the series' run. In addition, the measured pacing of the episodes was unusual in an era of fast-talking radio comedians, such as Ted Ray , who typically used a machine-gun style of delivery to fill every single second of airtime. Hancock's character had various addresses, but by
5472-536: The CD box sets (BBC Worldwide, 2000–2003). Four episodes of the TV series were re-recorded before studio audiences, in the style of radio programmes, and released on LP format, two by Pye on the 1961 album Hancock ("The Blood Donor" and "The Radio Ham") and two by Decca on the 1965 album It's Hancock ("The Missing Page" and "The Reunion Party"), which was reissued as The World of Tony Hancock in 1975. The re-recordings entailed
5586-1065: The East Coast chapter of BAFTA, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . Hancock died by suicide by overdose , in Sydney, on 25 June 1968, aged 44. He was found dead in his Bellevue Hill flat with an empty vodka bottle and a scattering of amobarbital tablets. In one of his suicide notes he wrote: "Things just seemed to go too wrong too many times." His ashes were taken to England by satirist Willie Rushton and were buried in St Dunstan's Church in Cranford, London . Asked by Van Morrison about his relationship with Hancock, Spike Milligan commented in 1989: "Very difficult man to get on with. He used to drink excessively. You felt sorry for him. He ended up on his own. I thought, he's got rid of everybody else, he's going to get rid of himself and he did." There
5700-482: The Lumley Chapel, the Old Farmhouse has a crown post roof and large Tudor axial chimney stack in the centre with large fireplaces. The earliest part of the house is 15th century, with several building stages extending the house in the 16th and 17th centuries, creating a Baffle House design popular in the 17th century. Many original features remain including oak doors and hinges, window shutters and fireplaces. Much of
5814-798: The Railway Hotel in Holdenhurst Road. John Hancock also worked as a comedian and entertainer. Hancock's parents later bought the Durlston Court Hotel in Gervis Road and, after his father's death in 1934, Hancock and his brothers lived there with their mother and stepfather Robert Gordon Walker He attended Durlston Court Preparatory School, part of Durlston boarding school near Swanage (the name of which his parents adopted for their hotel) and Bradfield College in Reading, Berkshire , but left school at
SECTION 50
#17328845255465928-493: The TS version of "The New Secretary" was the only version known to exist until an off-air audio recording of the original version was found in 2002. All episodes still exist. The television version began in 1956 under the same name and with the same writers, produced for the BBC by Duncan Wood . The television and radio versions alternated until 1959, when the final radio series and the fifth television series were both broadcast during
6042-804: The Theatre Royal Nottingham playing the part of Jolly Jenkins, the Baron's page. In 1951–1952, for one series beginning on August 3, 1951, Hancock was a cast member of Educating Archie , in which he mainly played the tutor (or foil) to the nominal star, a ventriloquist's dummy. His appearance in this radio show brought him national recognition, and a catchphrase he used frequently in the show, "Flippin' kids!", became popular parlance. The same year, he began to make regular appearances on BBC Television 's light entertainment show Kaleidoscope , and almost starred in his own series to be written by Larry Stephens , Hancock's best man at his first wedding. In 1954, he
6156-592: The Tony Hancock Appreciation Society said of the poll: "It's fantastic news. If he was alive, he would have taken it one of two ways. He would probably have made some kind of dry crack, but in truth he would have been chuffed." The last eight or so years of Hancock's life were the subject of a BBC1 television film, called Hancock (1991), starring Alfred Molina . Another drama, Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa! (BBC Four, 2006), saw Martin Trenaman play
6270-568: The US tradition of sitcoms; he therefore dismisses the notion that Galton and Simpson invented the genre. The comedy gradually shifted to observation, with a less strong emphasis on a narrative. The playlet "Look Back in Hunger" (spoofing John Osborne 's Look Back in Anger ) in the episode "The East Cheam Drama Festival" from the fifth series, showed that writers Galton and Simpson were in touch with developments in
6384-721: The age of fifteen. In 1942, during the Second World War , Hancock joined the RAF Regiment . Following failed auditions for the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA), he joined the Gang Shows, travelling around Europe entertaining troops. After the war, he joined the Ralph Reader Gang Show touring production of "Wings". He later worked in a double act with musician Derek Scott at
6498-421: The autumn season. Only Sid James transferred from the radio series, although Kenneth Williams and Hattie Jacques each made a couple of appearances. The television version drew on a stock company of actors, who played different supporting characters in each episode. Semi-regulars included Liz Fraser , John Le Mesurier , Hugh Lloyd , Arthur Mullard and John Vyvyan. The final television series, broadcast in 1961,
6612-563: The cast: in some episodes it appeared to be a two-bedroom terraced house, with Kerr as Hancock's lodger; but in series four and five it had at least three bedrooms, as Miss Pugh was also resident in some episodes. In others she 'came round' each day, presumably from her own domicile. Railway Cuttings and East Cheam were fictitious, but Cheam is a real town, once in Surrey, today part of the London Borough of Sutton in Greater London. The whole area
6726-443: The demands of live broadcasts a constant worry, with the result that, starting from the autumn 1959 series, all episodes of the series were recorded before transmission. Up until then, every British television comedy show had been performed live, owing to the technical limitations of the time. He was also the first performer to receive a £1,000 fee for his performances in a half-hour show. Hancock became anxious that his work with James
6840-466: The extension to North Cheam did not take place. Cheam and North Cheam are served by bus routes including services 213 (Sutton to Kingston), 151 (Wallington to Worcester Park), 93 (North Cheam to Putney Bridge) and the SL7 service between Heathrow Airport and Croydon. Cheam is mainly built up, but retains Cheam Park and Nonsuch Park. Nonsuch Park is home to a historic building, Nonsuch Mansion which contains
6954-657: The first series of The Missing Hancocks . On 2 December 2016, the BBC re-recorded "A Holiday in France", followed by "The Race Horse" and "The Crown Jewels" with Andy Secombe as his late father Harry. On 13 January 2019, "Prime Minister Hancock" was re-recorded for broadcast on 18 December that year. Also re-recorded was "A Visit To Swansea" which was then missing, as none of the Secombe episodes had been kept; however, on 11 October 2023. radio enthusiast Richard Harrison announced he had found an off-air copy of "A Visit To Swansea", missing only
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#17328845255467068-428: The first two had been abandoned incomplete; the third was written to completion at the writers' insistence, only for Hancock to reject it. It is believed that he had not read any of the screenplays. The result of the break was that he chose to separately develop something previously discussed, and the writers were ultimately commissioned to write a Comedy Playhouse series for the BBC, one of which, "The Offer", emerged as
7182-437: The first two minutes prior to Hancock's entrance. Episodes 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15 and 17 no longer exist. A short extract from episode 12 survives; this plus the only known copies of episodes 8 and 16 are lower-quality off-air recordings. "The Blackboard Jungle" was recovered in 2002 from off-air home recordings made by listener Vic Rogers, along with the original version of "The New Secretary" from series 4. In April 2014
7296-411: The humour coming from the characters and the circumstances in which they find themselves. Owing to a contractual wrangle with producer Jack Hylton , Hancock had an ITV series, The Tony Hancock Show , during this period, which ran in 1956–57. During the run of his BBC radio and television series, Hancock became an enormous star in Britain. Unlike most other comedians at the time, he was able to clear
7410-419: The incidental music) between 1980 and 1984. Much of this material was also available on cassette in later years. The BBC issued CDs of the surviving 74 radio episodes in six box sets, one per series, with the sixth box containing several out-of-series specials. This was followed by the release of one large box set containing all the others in a special presentation case; while it includes no extra material,
7524-423: The larger box alone (without any CDs) still fetches high prices on online marketplaces like eBay , where Hancock memorabilia remains a thriving industry. There have also been numerous VHS releases of the BBC television series. While five separate Region 2 DVDs were previously issued, some of the surviving episodes were unavailable until The Tony Hancock BBC Collection (eight DVDs) appeared in 2007. Episodes of
7638-514: The northeast, Sutton to the east, Epsom , Ewell and Stoneleigh to the west and Banstead and Belmont to the south. The Roman road of Stane Street forms part of the boundary of Cheam. The modern London Road at North Cheam follows the course of the Roman road through the area. It is designated A24 . The village lay within the Anglo-Saxon administrative division of Wallington hundred . Cheam
7752-508: The only Hancock guest appearance by Peter Sellers . In April 2014 the BBC started to re-record the lost episodes under the banner The Missing Hancocks , produced by Neil Pearson and Ed Morrish . The scripts for this five-episode run were selected by Galton and Simpson and recorded in their presence, with Kevin McNally taking the part of Tony Hancock. From the original first series they chose "The Hancock Festival", which aired in November 2014,
7866-502: The original wooden pins from the timber frame. The parts were then moved to the present site one hundred yards down the road and reassembled. The Old Cottage features a local historical plaque, and was used as a bridalwear shop before becoming a woolshop in 2022. A large timber-framed and weatherboarded yeoman farmer's house, forming part of the Cheam Conservation Area with St Dunstan's Church, Whitehall, The Old Rectory and
7980-407: The pilot for Steptoe and Son . That "something previously discussed" became The Punch and Judy Man , for which Hancock hired writer Philip Oakes , who moved in with the comedian to co-write the screenplay. In The Punch and Judy Man (1963), Hancock plays a struggling seaside entertainer who dreams of a better life; Sylvia Syms plays his nagging social climber of a wife, and John Le Mesurier
8094-425: The police, first between June and September 2012, and again from April 2013. This excavation was conducted in order to uncover evidence in the investigation into the unsolved disappearance of Lee Boxell , a fifteen-year-old local schoolboy, in 1988. The church was home to an informal youth club in the 1980s, known as 'The Shed'. Situated next to St Dunstan's Church, Lumley Chapel is the oldest standing building in
8208-530: The questions, but answered them frankly and honestly. Hancock had always been highly self-critical, and it is often argued that this interview heightened this tendency, contributing to his later difficulties. According to Roger, his brother, "It was the biggest mistake he ever made. I think it all started from that really. ... Self-analysis – that was his killer." Cited as evidence is his gradual ostracism of those who contributed to his success, such as Sid James and his scriptwriters, Galton and Simpson. His reasoning
8322-401: The radio series and telerecordings of some episodes from the third and fourth television series were destroyed. No episodes are known to survive from the first series of the TV show. The surviving radio episodes, which often exist only in edited versions that have been cut for overseas sale to commercial radio stations, were released as CD box sets between 2000 and 2003 (see below). In a list of
8436-683: The radio series are often broadcast on the digital radio station BBC Radio 4 Extra . Hancock%27s Half Hour Hancock's Half Hour was a BBC radio comedy , and later television comedy series, broadcast from 1954 to 1961 and written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson . The series starred Tony Hancock , with Sidney James ; the radio version also co-starred, at various times, Moira Lister , Andrée Melly , Hattie Jacques , Bill Kerr and Kenneth Williams . The final television series, renamed simply Hancock , starred Hancock alone. Hancock played an exaggerated and much poorer version of his own character and lifestyle, Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock,
8550-436: The radio series were included in 20 underground radio stations of the BBC's Wartime Broadcasting Service (WTBS), designed to provide information and morale-boosting broadcasts for 100 days after a nuclear attack . Most of the radio episodes were recorded between one day and three weeks in advance of broadcast, except for Series 6 which was mostly recorded during a three-week period in June 1959 in order to avoid clashing with
8664-458: The recording of Series 5 of the television show. Galton and Simpson never gave titles to any of their Hancock scripts, for radio or television; this was usually left to the girl who filed the scripts at their office, who gave them names that were a reminder of what the script was about. So when Roger Wilmut came to write his book Tony Hancock – Artiste (first published 1978) he took the liberty of inventing titles where necessary and these titles,
8778-519: The rewriting of a number of visual gags; for instance, at the end of the TV version of "The Radio Ham", Hancock smashes his radio equipment, whereas in the LP version he holds an on-air auction for it. These recordings have been reissued several times on LP, cassette and CD, and have also appeared on comedy compilation CDs. East Cheam Cheam ( / ˈ tʃ iː m / ) is a suburb of London , England, 10.9 miles (17.5 km) southwest of Charing Cross . It
8892-605: The role of Hancock with Michael Sheen as Williams. Hancock's affair with Joan Le Mesurier was also dramatised in Hancock and Joan on BBC Four and transmitted in 2008 as part of the "Curse of Comedy" season. Hancock was portrayed by Ken Stott and Joan by Maxine Peake . Musician Pete Doherty is a fan of Hancock and named the first album by his band the Libertines Up the Bracket after one of Hancock's catchphrases. He also wrote
9006-418: The same manner as the radio episodes. Returning home with his wife from recording " The Bowmans ", an episode based around a parody of The Archers , Hancock was involved in a car accident and was thrown through the windscreen. He was not badly hurt, but suffered concussion and was unable to learn his lines for "The Blood Donor", the next show due to be recorded. The result was that his performance depended on
9120-453: The second series. "A Visit To Russia" and "The Trial of Father Christmas" were re-recorded in September 2015 for broadcast in December. On 3 September 2017 the BBC re-recorded "The Winter Holiday" for broadcast in the fourth series. Episode 11 of the third series was supposed to be a new episode called "The Counterfeiter", about Bill Kerr being forced to get a job, but the script went unused and
9234-481: The series as indicated below. Episodes 2, 5, 7, 8 and 9 no longer exist. On 30 September 2022 it was announced that Richard Harrison of the Radio Circle had found the original recording of The Marriage Bureau, and Keith Wickham, also of the Radio Circle, had restored the edition. The episode aired on BBC Radio 4 for the first time since 1955 on 18 October 2022. This episode was particularly significant given it featured
9348-444: The series as scheduled. The fourth episode, "A Visit To Swansea", featured Tony being forced to go and thank Harry who'd returned to Wales, and was littered with references to how good Secombe had been. Had Hancock not returned when he did, then Galton and Simpson planned to replace him permanently with Secombe and rename the series Secombe's Half Hour . In April 2014, the BBC re-recorded "The Matador", chosen by Galton and Simpson, for
9462-440: The series, including the first three of Harry Secombe's guest appearances) no longer exist. Shortly before the series was due to be recorded Hancock walked out on a theatre performance suffering from "nervous exhaustion" and flew to Rome. Harry Secombe was brought in at short notice to replace Hancock. Secombe starred in the first three episodes and made a guest appearance in the fourth, by which time Hancock had returned to complete
9576-484: The shabby "23 Railway Cuttings" in East Cheam . Most episodes portrayed his everyday life as a struggling comedian with aspirations toward straight acting. Some episodes, however, changed this to show him as being a successful actor and/or comedian, or occasionally as having a different career completely, such as a struggling (and incompetent) barrister. Radio episodes were prone to more surreal storylines, which would have been impractical on television, such as Hancock buying
9690-475: The show when the television version began. The regular cast was reduced to just the two men, allowing the humour to come from the interaction between them. James's character was the realist of the two, puncturing Hancock's pretensions. His character would often be dishonest and exploit Hancock's apparent gullibility during the radio series, but in the television version there appeared to be a more genuine friendship between them. Hancock's highly-strung personality made
9804-533: The show. Commissioning of series in the UK was then closer to American practice with extensive runs not unknown, but in this case, with only two writers, continuity was yet to develop, and details changed to suit each episode. The domestic situation varied, but Hancock usually portrayed a 'resting' or hopeless down-at-heel actor and/or comedian (though some episodes showed him having runs of success, while some episodes depict him pursuing professional careers as fantasies), James
9918-436: The sixtieth anniversary of its first airing. The project would eventually re-record all the missing episodes. "The Marriage Bureau", which was still missing at the time, was re-recorded in September 2015 and broadcast on 7 December 2015. "The Department Store Santa" was re-recorded on 3 September 2017 and broadcast in December 2018, opening the fourth series of The Missing Hancocks . On 24 September 2017 "Christmas at Aldershot"
10032-479: The streets while families gathered together to listen to the eagerly awaited episodes. His character changed slightly over the series, but even in the earliest episodes the key facets of "the lad himself" were evident. "Sunday Afternoon at Home" and "The Wild Man of the Woods" were top-rating shows and were later released on an LP record . As an actor with considerable experience in films, Sid James became more important to
10146-452: The structure, including one at the 12 O'Clock Face which reads: Our Glorious Dead / Their names shall endure for evermore. It was designated a Grade II listed building by English Heritage in December 2016. The Old Rectory is a large part timber-framed house, built in the Tudor period, but extended and remodelled in the 18th century. It is occasionally open to the public. The Old Cottage
10260-550: The successful George Cole radio series A Life Of Bliss , and also Hancock's first regular television appearances on Fools Rush In (a segment of Kaleidoscope ) more than a decade earlier. Harrison had trouble meeting deadlines, so other writers were commissioned, including Terry Nation . The ATV series was transmitted in early 1963, on the same evenings as the second series of Steptoe and Son , written by Hancock's former writers, Galton and Simpson. Critical comparisons did not favour Hancock's series. Around 1965, Hancock made
10374-399: The third radio series he had arrived at 23 Railway Cuttings, East Cheam. Sometimes this was portrayed as a council house , but occasionally there was a private landlord. In a few early episodes Hancock owned the house, and later this became the norm. The episode "Cinderella Hancock" saw a reverse of the norm with Hancock a lodger in a house owned by Bill Kerr. The house changed to accommodate
10488-548: The timber framing is exposed throughout the house. Recent excavation and ground imaging uncovered a large Tudor kitchen underneath the house with a Tudor hearth and hood visible. Access to the cellar kitchen was by a staircase going north to south, which is now under the floor of the current kitchen. A file of text and images relating to the house is available in the Conservation Archive in Sutton Library. Nonsuch Mansion
10602-644: The time, his last BBC series in 1961 contains some of his best-remembered work (including The Blood Donor and The Radio Ham ). After breaking with his scriptwriters Ray Galton and Alan Simpson later that year, his career declined. Hancock was born in Southam Road, Hall Green , Birmingham , but, from the age of three, he was brought up in Bournemouth (then in Hampshire ), where his father, John Hancock, moved to in an effort to improve his health, and subsequently ran
10716-489: The umbrella title The Missing Hancocks , with Kevin McNally taking the title role. Playwright Roy Smiles' play about Tony Hancock, The Lad Himself , was staged at the Edinburgh Festival in 2013 with Mark Brailsford as Tony Hancock. Episodes and anthologies from the radio series were released on vinyl LP in the 1960s, as well as four re-makes of television scripts; an annual LP was issued of radio episodes (without
10830-531: The use of teleprompters , and he is seen looking away from other actors when delivering lines. From this time onwards, Hancock came to rely on teleprompters instead of learning scripts whenever he had career difficulties. In early 1960, Hancock appeared on the BBC's Face to Face , a half-hour in-depth interview programme conducted by former Labour MP John Freeman . Freeman asked Hancock many soul-searching questions about his life and work. Hancock, who deeply admired his interviewer, often appeared uncomfortable with
10944-514: Was always on the fiddle in some way, Kerr gradually became dim and virtually unemployable (although he had started out as a fast-talking American-style Australian), and Hancock's 'secretary', Miss Pugh, had such a loose job description that in one celebrated episode she had cooked the Sunday lunch. At times the scripts would include topical realities of British life, such as the reintroduction of petrol rationing from November 1956 to March 1957 (following
11058-758: Was broadcast live on 3 August 1958 on the BBC Light Programme from the London Coliseum to commemorate the Cardiff British Empire and Commonwealth Games. It features a nine-minute sketch with Hancock, James and Kerr. A recording of the whole 90-minute programme was discovered in the collection of Bob Monkhouse after his death. The Hancock sketch has been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra. "Bill and Father Christmas" These episodes are remakes for overseas sales, rewritten to remove any topical or UK-specific references. All episodes still exist, for many years
11172-454: Was built in the late 15th or early 16th century. Initially built as a cottage, it became a small brewery in the 18th century. It originally stood in the Broadway (then Malden Road) near the junction with Ewell Road. Under threat of demolition when the road was widened in 1922, it was saved by the local council, working with a local architect and historian. The building was dismantled by removing
11286-451: Was designed by F. H. Pownall in the Gothic revival architectural style, and features polychrome brickwork decoration internally. The lychgate , dated 1891, at the entrance to the churchyard, is listed Grade II. In the churchyard are three tombs which are Grade II listed. The graveyard attached to this church was twice subject to a 6-foot (1.8 m) archaeological excavation by
11400-401: Was given his own eponymous BBC radio show, Hancock's Half Hour . Working with scripts from Ray Galton and Alan Simpson , Hancock's Half Hour lasted for seven years and over a hundred episodes in its radio form, and, from 1956, ran concurrently with an equally successful BBC television series with the same name. The show starred Hancock as "Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock", living in
11514-529: Was met by pressmen asking about his wife's attempted suicide . The final dissolution of the marriage took place a few days before Hancock's own suicide. Cicely developed her own problems with alcohol and died from a fall in 1969, the year after the death of her former husband. Freddie Hancock survived her broken marriage and resumed her career as a prominent publicist and agent in the film and television industry. Based in New York City for many years, she founded
11628-405: Was not well received by American critics. His break with Galton and Simpson took place at a meeting held in October 1961, where he also broke with his long-term agent Beryl Vertue . During the previous six months, the writers had developed – without payment and in consultation with the comedian – three scripts for Hancock's second starring film vehicle. Worried that the projects were wrong for him,
11742-413: Was opened in 1937 and closed in 1969; one half was demolished to make way for a community centre car park, and the other half of which is now a Wetherspoons pub. However, as no detailed planning and application was made for permission to construct the extension — by the report's own admission, "the period required for construction, under the most favourable conditions, would not be less than 30 years" —
11856-540: Was paid annually – £34,000; he was offered half that amount for his services. Hancock continued to make regular appearances on British television until 1967, including a 50-minute show for BBC2 from the Royal Festival Hall, which was poorly received. By then his alcoholism was seriously affecting his performances. Two unsuccessful variety series for ABC Weekend TV , The Blackpool Show (1966) and Hancock's (1967), were his last work for British television. He tried
11970-525: Was placed to commemorate Hancock at 20 Queen's Gate Place in South Kensington, London, where he lived between 1952 and 1958. In a 2002 poll, BBC radio listeners voted Hancock their favourite British comedian. Commenting on this poll, Ray Galton and Alan Simpson observed that modern-day creations such as Alan Partridge and David Brent owed much of their success to mimicking dominant features of Tony Hancock's character. "The thing they've all got in common
12084-624: Was praised for his work in the summer presentation of "Flotsam's Follies" at the Esplanade Concert Hall, Bognor Regis. Christmas 1949 saw him in the part of "Buttons" in the Cinderella pantomime at the Royal Artillery, Woolwich. In June 1950, he opened in the "Ocean Revue" at the Ocean, Clacton Pier which ran for three months. At Christmas 1950, Hancock was in the "Red Riding Hood" pantomime at
12198-427: Was produced by Duncan Wood . The distinctive tuba-based theme tune was composed by Wally Stott . Ten scripts (nine TV, one radio) were written but never recorded for a variety of reasons. The unused radio script for The Counterfeiter was finally recorded in 2019 with Kevin R. McNally as Tony Hancock. The radio series broke with the variety tradition which was then dominant in British radio comedy , highlighting
12312-400: Was re-recorded for broadcast on Christmas Day 2019 along with "The Christmas Eve Party" which was broadcast on 21 December 2021. "The Diamond Ring" was re-recorded on 11 January 2019 and broadcast (in keeping with its Guy Fawkes theme) on 5 November 2019. One no longer extant episode (5) features the only Hancock guest appearance by Spike Milligan . † Episodes 1, 2, 3, 7, 10 and 12 (half
12426-469: Was reflected in the show's title, which aptly described the series as Hancock's "half-hour". Roger Wilmut , in his 1978 book about Tony Hancock as a performer, credits two British radio comedy shows, already running in 1954, with establishing an uninterrupted 30-minute sitcom format: A Life of Bliss , written by Godfrey Harrison and starring George Cole , and Life with the Lyons , a programme heavily based on
12540-492: Was restaged as part of the BBC's Landmark Sitcom Season commemorating the 60th anniversary of the television sitcom. 6 episodes, broadcast live, every 2 weeks, 6 July – 14 September 1956. No recordings exist. 6 episodes, broadcast live, every 2 weeks, 1 April – 10 June 1957. Only "The Alpine Holiday" still exists. 11 regular episodes and one 43 minute Christmas special, broadcast live, 30 September – 23 December 1957. Episodes 5, 9, 10, 11 still exist and Episode 12 exists as
12654-512: Was retitled Hancock , as it was shortened from a half-hour to 25 minutes. For this final series Sid James was no longer in the cast, as Hancock had become frustrated with the format. Some of the most celebrated episodes of the TV series were produced in this final series, including " The Blood Donor ", " The Radio Ham ", "The Bedsitter" and " The Bowmans ". Hancock's character was relocated to a bedsitter in Earl's Court for this series. Some episodes of
12768-419: Was that, to refine his craft, he had to ditch catch-phrases and become realistic. He argued, for example, that whenever an ad-hoc character was needed, such as a policeman, it would be played by someone like Kenneth Williams , who would appear with his well-known oily catchphrase "Good evening". Hancock believed the comedy suffered because people did not believe in the policeman, knowing it was just Williams doing
12882-567: Was the original home of Cheam School which was formed in Whitehall in 1645 and later occupied Tabor Court from 1719 until 1934 when the school moved to Berkshire. Prince Philip attended the school in the years immediately preceding its move. Every year on 15 May the Cheam Charter Fair is held. It is thought to date back to 1259 when Henry III granted Cheam a charter, making it a town. Firm historical records of Cheam Charter Fair date back to
12996-425: Was turning them into a double act, and he told close associates in late 1959, just after the fifth television series had finished being recorded, that he would end his professional association with Sid James after a final series. Hancock left others to tell James. His last BBC series in 1961, retitled simply Hancock , was without James. Two episodes are among his best-remembered: " The Blood Donor ", in which he goes to
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