The Forgotten Heroes of Comedy

Last night I was taking photos at an event put on my publishers, Unbound, in London. It was an evening with Terry Jones, member of the legendary Monty Python team and director of three of the only four films considered offensive enough to be banned in Ireland (answer at the foot of the page).

All photos: copyright Stevyn Colgan

However, Terry was there to support a fantastic book project by Robert Ross, a prolific writer about TV and film and a comedy history encyclopaedia on legs. Robert wants to put together a book about the comedians that, for whatever reason, most of us have forgotten. These aren't obscure fringe acts; many were huge in their day but, for some reason, they've faded from public memory. People like Arthur Haynes, once ITV's most popular comedian, now almost completely erased from TV history:



Or Freddie Frinton, seen here in his famous Dinner for One. This is a comedy sketch that the Guinness Book of Records reported as the most frequently repeated TV programme of all time. That's because German TV stations have shown it every Christmas since it was recorded in 1961. It's become as much a traditional part of Christmas TV fare in Germany as Morecambe and Wise and showings of It's a Wonderful Life are here. And yet, who remembers him here in his native Great Britain?



Or how about Harry Worth? Those of you of a certain age will probably remember the opening titles of his TV show - that bit with the window glass. We all had to copy it, much to many shopkeepers' annoyance. I know I did.



Or, let's come more up to date with the amazing Hovis Presley, the performance poet. Remember him? Or what about acrobatic comedy team, The Jovers?





As was discussed last night - with some excellent MCing from the comedian Dan Schreiber - there doesn't seem to be any one single reason why one comedian or comedy team achieves long-lasting fame while others don't. It's not simply about popularity; Hale and Pace were HUGE in their time, as was Jimmy Clitheroe, and Dick Emery ... but when do you ever see their shows repeated? When do you hear their names mentioned on history of comedy type programmes?

What about Mel Blanc? He created over 1000 different voices - including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd -  but who remembers him as a comedian? He was a stalwart of the Jack Benny show:



Robert's book will feature over 100 of these forgotten brilliant people and, not only that, a host of big comedy names like Tim Brooke-Taylor, Roy Hudd, Michael Palin, Ross Noble, Chris Addison, Bernard Cribbins and many more will be championing them in the book. On stage last night we had two of the champions - Terry and Katy Brand - but there were more in the audience including brilliant stand up and Red Dwarfer Hattie Hayridge.

This is a book project that most publishers are wary of. 'Why would we commission a book about people who are forgotten?' they say. It's because they're forgotten that the book needs to be written you oafs! Thankfully, publishers like Unbound are driven by more than just celebrity culture and passing popularity fads. They put the decision over whether a book gets published back into the hands of readers.

You can see Robert's pitch (featuring Terry and the brilliant Barry Cryer) here on the Unbound website. You can also pledge money to help make it a reality and get your name in the book. Pledge a bit more and there are all kinds of treats in store.

Help make this book happen. And help these great but, sadly, forgotten comedians to get the recognition they deserve.

And, while you're at it, why not help to fund Katy Brand's first novel Brenda Monk is Funny too?

Oh, and Terry's banned films? Life of Brian, The Meaning of Life and Personal Services. The one he didn't direct was The Last Temptation of Christ.

Wasabi ... but, thankfully, no waaaaffer thin mint

Another fascinating day today starting at the Science Museum in London where I met up with Marc Abrahams - the brains behind the Ig Nobel Prizes - microbiologist Faraz Mainul Alam and Roger Highfield, author, broadcaster and former editor of New Scientist magazine and now the museum's head of PR.

We were there to meet inventors (and Ig Nobel winners) Makoto Imai and Hideaki Goto who had travelled over from Japan to meet various people and to present an example of their Wasabi Fire Alarm to the museum. Their research into 'what smells will wake you up' led to the discovery that a potent aerosol made from the pungent Japanese horseradish will irritate the mucus membranes to such a degree that you have no choice but to wake up. The practical application of this is a fire alarm for the deaf.

Here we see Hideaki Goto and Makoto Imai with their alarm, and Roger Highfield and the museum's Content Developer Jessica Bradford. It was also great to get a tour of the museum with Roger and see some of the newest acquisitions including one of the capsules used to free the trapped Chilean miners in 2010. Stephenson's Rocket, Model T Fords and moon rock ... what's not to like?

From the museum we went on to a couple of photo ops at a Wasabi chain restaurant and at Knightsbridge Fire Station where Tom Whipple, science writer for The Times, foolishly asked for a demonstration of the wasabi spray's potency ...

Then it was on to the Paramount for lunch and a meeting with one of my all-time heroes, Monty Python's Terry Jones. The restaurant is on the 32nd floor of Centrepoint - that huge tower block at the junction of Oxford Street and Charing Cross Road - and, even in the muggy sunshine, the views were breathtaking. Rather like the wasabi spray in fact.

Myself with Terry and Marc. The wine had just started to flow.

Another good day. And some great content for a new book I'm working on.