A Kick up the Archives – NL173 – The Goon Show Preservation Society

Originally published – September 2021

by Mark Cousins

But first some news…
André Maranne died on 12 April 2021 at the age of 94. Rather as Burt Kwouk had made a good career from playing stereotypical orientals, Maranne seemed to appear whenever a British film called for a stereotypical French man. This
culminated when he appeared as Sgt François Chevalier in six Pink Panther films
www.hollywoodreporter.com

The Goons

Secombe & Friends – ARTV 1966 Goon Reunion – Fully restored

Michael Bentine

Scotland Yard Ice Cream

Introduction – The Horse Show. It’s A Square World

Patricia O’Connor talks to Michael Bentine. From her TV series A Head of Our Times (see pic)

Peter Sellers

The Truth about Blake Edwards and Peter Sellers
www.thewrap.com

Sophia Loren & Peter Sellers Interview
g ettyimages.co.uk

Interview with Steve Allen (clip) – 1964

Sellers drumming from the same show

The famous Parkinson interview – 1974

Peter Sellers Interview | Cinema Showcase (1978) Jim Whaley

Peter Sellers Interview 1978 Brian Linehan’s City Lights

Bobbie Wygant Interviews Peter Sellers for “Revenge of the Pink Panther” 1978

KXAS-TV/NBC station in Fort Worth, Texas 1978
digital.library.unt.edu

Peter Sellers- Interview (Being There/Pink Panther) broadcast on April 17th 1980.

Peter Sellers full interview with Gene Shalit on NBC’s Today Show (1980)

The Interviews: Peter Sellers

Peter Sellers Interview – Close Up (part 1 0f 2)

Notes From The War Room:
www.criterion.com

Too pinko for Dan or How Slim Pickens replaced Peter Sellers as Major Kong in Dr Strangelove
flashbak.com

Here’s a nice slide show of more than 40 pictures of Peter Sellers
museviews.org

A Skype interview with Film Director Peter Medak and Lab Mag publisher and BritWeek Chairman Nigel Daly OBE

Revenge Of The Pink Panther trailer

There Used to Be a Me: Peter Sellers: Comic Genius.
This new play stars Alfred Molina and a sample of it can be heard here.
amazon.co.uk
aukstudios.uk
comedy.co.uk
spitefulpuppet.com

An interesting interview with Alfred Molina on the subject

Some occurrences of Inspector Clouseau from Revenge of the Pink Panther

Blake Edwards on Peter Sellers

Call Me Daddy – Original British TV 1967 version of the play that became Hoffman – on Facebook

A while back we featured many of Sellers’ full-length movies. Here’s two that escaped!

The Dock Brief – complete film

The Millionairess – complete film

For those interested in Peter Sellers’ last wife, Lynne Frederick, here’s Lynne The English Rose (2019) a documentary that is naturally somewhat biased in her favour.
Trailer

Documentary

Harry Secombe

Harry Secombe talks to Michael Bentine on Songs Of Praise in 1996

Secombe’s Secret Diet – on Facebook

Did you know that Harry has his own theatre?
harrysyouththeatre.co.uk

Spike Milligan

Spike Milligan and Eric Sykes with Jonathan Ross

Spike reading Badjelly The Witch
www.slaphappylarry.com

A Show Called Fred – 25 minutes of one

Spike biopic – put an hour by, it’s worth it. Lots of folk doing snippets, and lots of Spike clips. 2014. It’s called, Love, Light and Peace.

American comedian Scott White reviews Spike’s appearance on The Muppet Show.

Spike Milligan in Autumn 1972

Furious Spike Milligan says we are living in a dark age. 1970. It’s not a comedy thing.

For those of you who are Goons fans and don’t already know then you should write 18th September 2021 in your diary right now. The Goon Show Preservation Society has organised its annual knees-up, courtesy of Mother Brown. Covid and Boris Johnson notwithstanding, this festival of idiocy will take place at The Heath Robinson Museum at Pinner in North London
www.heathrobinsonmuseum.org
This will be a Covid free event, so please don’t bring any of your own!

Finally, if you’re not already tuned in, why not take a listen to Goonpod? It’s about more than just “The Goon Show”. Subjects covered so far include: The Great Bank Robbery, The Muppet Show, Peter & Sophia (LP, 1960), The Call Of The West, Dr Strangelove, Larry Stephens, Down Among the Z Men, The Man Who Never Was and I Was Monty’s Treble with the promise of lots more to come. It all happens here!

Fool Britannia (LP, 1963) – Goon Pod

"Round the back for the old cherry brandy!"Recorded in New York on 6 August 1963, this satirical comedy album brought together Peter Sellers, Anthony Newley, Joan Collins, Leslie Bricusse, Daniel Massey and Michael Lipton at the height of the Profumo Affair.The midnight session accommodated Newley and Massey, whose Broadway shows had only just finished. The idea had been conceived less than two weeks earlier while Newley and Bricusse were holidaying in Montauk and they were keen to capitalise on Britain's appetite for political satire.The recording became a celebrity gathering, attracting around 100 guests including Vivien Leigh, Sammy Davis Jr., Roddy McDowall and Peter Lawford. By 2am, according to one witness, Sellers and Newley were sharing Scotch from a thermos while cigarette smoke filled the studio. The entire session was completed in just three hours.They rushed to release the album before public interest in the Profumo scandal faded but some record labels – notably Decca – were sniffy about its content, with mockery of the Royal Family a particular point of contention. Sellers responded: "Only a prude could possibly be offended by it."The BBC banned it from radio play, although excerpts had appeared on television. Contemporary reviews ranged from praise to outrage, reflecting the record's deliberately provocative humour. The album remains a fascinating snapshot of Britain's early-1960s satire boom, when comedians and performers increasingly challenged the deference traditionally shown to politicians, celebrities and public institutions.Joining Tyler to talk through the LP is Brett Tremble, who can be found on Bluesky @agnes-guano.bsky.social