
Spike Milligan
Actor · 1918 – 2002 · Ahmed Nagar, India
Terence Alan Patrick Seán "Spike" Milligan KBE (April 16, 1918 – February 27, 2002) was a comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright, soldier, and actor. His early life was spent in India, where he was born, but the majority of his working life was spent in the United Kingdom. He became an Irish citizen in 1962 after the British government declared him stateless. He was the co-creator, main writer and a principal cast member of The Goon Show, performing a range of roles including the popular Eccles. Milligan wrote and edited many books, including Puckoon and his seven-volume autobiographical account of his time serving during the Second World War, beginning with Adolf Hitler: My part in his downfall. He is also noted as a popular writer of comical verse, much of his poetry was written for children, including Silly Verse for Kids (1959). After success with the ground-breaking British radio programme, The Goon Show, Milligan translated this success to television with Q5, a surreal sketch show which is credited as a major influence on the members of Monty Python's Flying Circus.
Movies24
Movie7.8ComedyBrian Cohen is an average young Jewish man, but through a series of ridiculous events, he gains a reputation as the Messiah. When he's not dodging his followers or being scolded by his shrill mother, the hapless Brian has to contend with the pompous Pontius Pilate and acronym-obsessed members of a separatist movement. Rife with Monty Python's signature absurdity, the tale finds Brian's life paralleling Biblical lore, albeit with many more laughs.
Life of Brian
1979 · 5.1K votes
Movie6.7ActionAdventureIn 17th century France, young D'Artagnan wants to join the King's Musketeers, but instead befriends three legendary musketeers—Athos, Porthos, and Aramis—and together, they become embroiled in the political intrigue surrounding King Louis XIII and his adversaries, particularly the powerful Cardinal Richelieu.
The Three Musketeers
1973 · 379 votes
Movie5.6ComedyAdventureFor years Yellowbeard had looted the Spanish Main, making men eat their lips and swallow their hearts. Caught and convicted for tax evasion, he's sentenced to 20 years in St. Victim's Prison for the Extremely Naughty. In a scheme to confiscate his fabulous treasure, the Royal Navy allows him to escape and follows him, where saucy tarts, lisping demigods and some awful puns and punishments await.
Yellowbeard
1983 · 161 votes
Movie6.7ComedyAn uproarious version of history that proves nothing is sacred – not even the Roman Empire, the French Revolution and the Spanish Inquisition.
History of the World: Part I
1981 · 949 votes
Movie6.3FamilyFantasyAn all-star cast highlights this vibrant musical adaptation of Lewis Carroll's immortal tale. One day, plucky young Alice follows a white rabbit down a hole and discovers a world of bizarre characters.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
1972 · 50 votes
Movie5.0DocumentaryA documentary about the portrayal of Adolf Hitler in popular culture.
Hitler: The Comedy Years
2007 · 1 votes
Movie5.7AdventureActionBrothers Beau, John and Digby Geste join the Foreign Legion, where they fall under the rule of tyrannical Sergeant Markoff. Beau and John are assigned to Fort Zinderneuf, where Markoff tries to break their spirit, aware of a dark family secret concerning a fabulous jewel one of them carries. As tensions rise, Arabs attack the fort and rivalries must be thrown aside in a desperate battle for life.
The Last Remake of Beau Geste
1977 · 51 votes
Movie5.9ComedyScience FictionIn the hazy aftermath of World War III, the fallout from a 'nuclear misunderstanding' is producing strange mutations amongst the survivors, and the noble Lord Fortnum finds himself transforming into a bed sitting room.
The Bed Sitting Room
1969 · 55 votes
Movie5.8ComedySir Guy Grand, the richest man in the world, adopts a homeless man, Youngman. Together, they set out to prove that anyone--and anything--can be bought.
The Magic Christian
1969 · 49 votes
Movie4.8FamilyScience FictionDigby consumes a bowl of Project X, a liquid growth formula. Soon, he becomes a sheepdog of gigantic size!
Digby, the Biggest Dog in the World
1973 · 19 votes
Movie5.0ComedyA septet of satirical vignettes based on the Seven Deadly Sins.
The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins
1971 · 23 votes
Movie4.4ComedyCrimeWhen a nobleman is threatened by a family curse on his newly inherited estate, detective Sherlock Holmes is hired to investigate.
The Hound of the Baskervilles
1978 · 30 votes
Movie5.3ComedyBarry McKenzie sets off for England with his aunt, Edna Everage, to advance his cultural education. Bazza is an innocent abroad, fond of beer, Bondi and beautiful sheilas, but he soon settles into the Australian ghetto in Earls Court, where his old mate Curly has a flat.
The Adventures of Barry McKenzie
1972 · 29 votes
Movie6.7DramaJoe is a young boy who lives with his mother, Joanna, in working-class London. The two reside above the tailor shop of Mr. Kandinsky, who likes to tell Joe stories. When Kandinsky informs Joe that a unicorn can grant wishes, the hopeful lad ends up buying a baby goat with one tiny horn, believing it to be a real unicorn. Undaunted by his rough surroundings, Joe sets about to prove that wishes can come true.
A Kid for Two Farthings
1955 · 30 votes
Movie7.0DocumentaryComedyA tribute to Kenny Everett broadcast after his death from AIDS in 1995. Comprising of many of his classic sketches from his 1980s BBC TV series, this tribute also features recollections from those who knew him.
In the Best Possible Taste: A Tribute to Kenny Everett
1995 · 1 votes
Movie7.0ComedyTV MovieA team of inept undertakers attempt to get a coffin to a funeral on time. An undertaker is in charge of moving a coffin from a home to the church. The home is on the 26th floor of a skyscraper; the stairs are narrow; the lift is small and prone to stop working. Chaos ensues.
Mr. H Is Late
1988 · 6 votes
Movie5.0ComedyAn unscrupulous property developer wants to flatten the street to make way for new buildings. Householder George Roper is happy to take the offered money and run but his wife Mildred and their lodgers join with other residents to take a stand and keep things as they are.
Man About the House
1974 · 21 votes
Movie4.9AdventureComedyA pirate crewman kills his captain after learning where he has hidden his buried treasure. However, as he begins to lose his memory, he relies more and more on the ghost of the man he just murdered to help him find the loot.
Ghost in the Noonday Sun
1973 · 8 votes
Movie5.0ComedyLondon, 1940. Aspiring jazz musician and future comedy legend Terence 'Spike' Milligan reluctantly obeys his call-up and joins the Royal Artillery regiment at Bexhill, where he begins training to take part in the War. But along the way Spike and his friends get involved in many amusing — and some not-so amusing — scrapes.
Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall
1973 · 12 votes
Movie6.0DocumentaryOn John's 31st birthday, Yoko held an art exhibit, "This Is Not Here", at the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, N.Y.. The show was taped and aired on U.S. TV on May 11, 1972 as "John and Yoko in Syracuse, New York.
Yoko Ono: This Is Not Here
1972 · 1 votes
Movie5.9ComedyWhen the details of a secret torpedo are destroyed by an incompetent seaman, the crew of the ship rally round, when the Admiral needs the plans to show to a visiting scientist.
Watch Your Stern
1960 · 12 votes
MovieDocumentaryBanned by the BBC in 1971, director Tony Palmer's profile of the late Peter Sellers was, in the words of the film's subject himself, "the only portrait which really understood me." Sellers was an icon of comedy and a true innovator, but a look inside reveals a tragic figure. How could one of the world's most beloved comic talents have such a morbidly distorted opinion of himself? In this documentary, interviews with such friends, fans, and colleagues as Raquel Welch, Yul Brenner, Spike Milligan, Laurence Harvey, and others reveal the true personality behind the man who was loved by everyone, but still viewed himself as entirely alone.
Movie6.5ComedyThis British men-on-a-mission spoof set during World War II finds intrepid officer Bill Travers leading three colorful compatriots into Nazi-occupied France to destroy an obnoxiously large, loud, and destructive enemy gun. See if this fearless foursome can stomp their Fascist foes and get back to their game of cricket! Spike Milligan, Gregoire Aslan, and Thorley Walters co-star.
Invasion Quartet
1961 · 2 votes
- MovieDocumentary
Narrated by Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise, this documentary is about "Laurel and Hardy", one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema. It features interviews with Jerry Lewis, Dick Van Dyke, Babe London, Marcel Marceau, Lucille Hardy (Ollie's wife), Bob Monkhouse, Hal Roach, Marvin T Hatley, Jack McCabe and many more.
Series24
TV6.8Talk ShowThe Dick Cavett Show has been the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various television networks.
The Dick Cavett Show
1968 · 22 votes
TV7.1ComedyNewsHilarious, totally-irreverent, near-slanderous political quiz show, based mainly on news stories from the last week or so, that leaves no party, personality or action unscathed in pursuit of laughs.
Have I Got News for You
1990 · 82 votes
TV5.3Talk ShowChat show hosted by Terry Wogan, featuring live studio interviews with famous and notable personalities.
Wogan
1982 · 7 votes
TV6.4ComedyKidsThe Sooty Show is a British children's Puppet series which aired on the BBC from 1955 to 1967 and ITV from 1968 to 1992. It follows the adventures and comedic day to day life of puppets Sooty, Sweep and Soo with their owner Harry Corbett, and in later years, his son Matthew.
The Sooty Show
1955 · 9 votes
TV7.0NewsDocumentaryWorld in Action was Granada Television’s flagship ITV current affairs series, running from 7 Jan 1963 to 7 Dec 1998, and built a reputation for film-led investigative reporting and a forceful editorial stance. Its journalism produced major public and political repercussions—including investigations associated with miscarriages of justice such as the Birmingham Six—and it also served as a platform for landmark documentary projects, including the first broadcast of “Seven Up!” as part of the strand in 1964.
World in Action
1963 · 2 votes
TV8.0ComedyFamilyGo behind the curtains as Kermit the Frog and his muppet friends struggle to put on a weekly variety show.
The Muppet Show
1976 · 364 votes
TV6.6ComedyTalk ShowFast-moving game show meets talk show, which sees Frank Skinner refereeing three celebrities each week as they compete to banish their top peeve or worst nightmare to the depths of Room 101.
Room 101
1994 · 27 votes
TV5.3ComedyFamilyBlankety Blank is a British comedy game show based on the 1977–1979 Australian game show Blankety Blanks. The British version ran from 18 January 1979 to 12 March 1990 on BBC One, hosted first by Terry Wogan and later by Les Dawson. Regular members of the celebrity panel on this version included Kenny Everett, Lorraine Chase, Gareth Hunt, Gary Davies, and Cheryl Baker. A revival fronted by Lily Savage was produced by the BBC from 26 December 1997 to 28 December 1999, followed by ITV from 7 January 2001 to 10 August 2002. This version was produced by Grundy, then Thames.
Blankety Blank
1979 · 8 votes
TV7.3ComedySketch comedy show starring Kenny Everett.
The Kenny Everett Television Show
1982 · 12 votes
TV8.1ComedyThis final follow-up to 'Till Death Us Do Part' follows an aged Alf Garnett, now dealing with his wife Else's declining health and mobility, as well as the challenges of navigating the social security system and other everyday situations.
In Sickness and in Health
1985 · 18 votes
TV7.4ComedyHancock's Half Hour is a BBC television comedy series of the 1950s and 60s written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The series starred Tony Hancock with Sid James. The final series, renamed simply Hancock, starred Hancock alone. Comedian Tony Hancock starred in the show, playing an exaggerated and much poorer version of his own character and lifestyle, Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock, 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.
Hancock's Half Hour
1956 · 9 votes
TV7.6ComedyThis English follows the East End working-class Garnett family, headed by patriarch Alf, a reactionary working-class man who wields racist and anti-Socialist views. His long-suffering wife Else manages to keep things in control... for the most part. Their progressive daughter Rita lives with them, as does her Irish husband Mike, who, with an array of liberal worldviews, often quarrels with his father-in-law. It inspired the American show "All In The Family" and several other international variations on the same theme.
Till Death Us Do Part
1966 · 28 votes
TV7.6RealityYou Bet! is a British game show based around the format of the German show Wetten, dass..? developed by Frank Elstner. You Bet! ran on ITV, mostly on Saturday nights but sometimes on Fridays, between 20 February 1988 and 12 April 1997, initially hosted by Bruce Forsyth from 1988 to 1990, then by Matthew Kelly from 1991 to 1995 and finally by Darren Day from 1996 to 1997. It was replaced the following year by Don't Try This At Home!, which emulated the challenges of You Bet!, but were considerably more risky and dangerous.
You Bet!
1988 · 5 votes
TV10.0DocumentaryEveryman is a British television documentary series that aired on BBC One in a late-night slot on Sunday evenings between 1977 and 2005. Its subject matter tended to be focused on moral and religious issues, often in the form of a film in which individuals would discuss their thoughts. One edition from 1990, A Game of Soldiers concerned a group of soldiers exploring their feelings about being trained to kill. Throughout much of its time on air, series of Everyman aired alternately with Heart of the Matter, a debate series which featured somewhat similar topics. Both series were cancelled in the 2000s after the BBC revamped the output of its religious programming.
Everyman
1977 · 1 votes
TV6.4ComedyFamilyAdapted from Forrest Wilson's books, the children's programme revolves around a grandmother with super powers and her arch nemesis, The Scunner Campbell.
Super Gran
1985 · 16 votes
TV7.0Sci-Fi & FantasyMysteryAt the Castle of Gormenghast, the Groan family has ruled with dusty ceremony for more than seventy generations. A clever and ambitious new kitchen boy, Steerpike, begins to insinuate himself into the affections of Lady Fuchsia Groan and to murder his way to power.
Gormenghast
2000 · 34 votes
TV8.0DocumentaryExhaustive 13-part survey of the television medium from its hesitant beginnings in the 1920s to the multi-million dollar extravaganzas of today and the cable and satellite technologies of the future [relative to 1985]. Tackling the medium as a worldwide phenomenon, the series examines each of the principal areas of programming - news, drama, documentaries, and light entertainment - and the unique impact of "live" coverage.
Television
1985 · 1 votes
TV8.4ComedyDramaA salesman starts to run a hospital radio station inside a facility for people with mental heath needs.
Takin' Over the Asylum
1994 · 22 votes
TVComedyMarti Caine presents a star studded variety show in which she performs comedy material, sings and dances alongside special guests.
TV7.7AnimationFamilyWolves, Withches and Giants gives a twisted and humorous take on classic fairy tales, narrated by Spike Milligan and adapted by Ed Welch.
Wolves, Witches and Giants
1995 · 3 votes
TV6.5The Ratties is a British cartoon series that ran in 1987 with 26 episodes. It is about a family of rats that live in a country house. The rats try to emulate the human owners of their house. The show was created by Mike Wallis and Laura Milligan, and is narrated by Spike Milligan. F Productions and UK Finance3 funded the show, while it was animated by cel animation. The series attracted a cult following in the UK, although no further episodes were made after 1987; however, the series was repeated in 1993 and 1994.
The Ratties
1988 · 2 votes
- TV
Emma Freud invites celebrity guests to unlock the film and video vaults.
Plunder
1990
TV7.0DocumentaryA monthly series of highly personal documentary films in which individuals are given a platform to discuss issues close to their heart.
One Pair of Eyes
1967 · 1 votes
TV5.3ComedyThe Telegoons is a comedy puppet show, adapted from the highly successful BBC radio comedy show of the 1950s.
The Telegoons
1963 · 4 votes