Bob Monkhouse facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bob Monkhouse
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|---|---|
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| Born |
Robert Alan Monkhouse
1 June 1928 |
| Died | 29 December 2003 (aged 75) Eggington, Bedfordshire, England
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| Years active | 1952–2003 |
| Spouse(s) |
Elizabeth Thompson
(m. 1949; div. 1972)Jacqueline Harding
(m. 1973) |
| Children | 3 |
Robert Alan Monkhouse (born June 1, 1928 – died December 29, 2003) was a famous English comedian, writer, and actor. He was well-known for hosting popular TV game shows like The Golden Shot, Celebrity Squares, Family Fortunes, and Wipeout. He was also awarded the OBE for his work in entertainment.
Contents
Early Life and First Steps in Comedy
Bob Monkhouse was born on June 1, 1928, in Beckenham, Kent, England. His father was an accountant, and his grandfather helped start a company that made custard powder. Bob had an older brother named John.
Bob went to Goring Hall School and Dulwich College. He was even expelled from Dulwich College for climbing the clock tower! While still at school, Bob showed his creative side. He wrote for famous comics like The Beano and The Dandy. He also drew for other comics such as Hotspur and Wizard.
He teamed up with his school friend Denis Gifford to write and draw comics. In the early 1950s, they even started their own publishing company called Streamline.
After school, Bob joined the Royal Air Force for his National service in 1948. He managed to get an audition with the BBC by writing a letter that his group captain accidentally signed. This letter made it seem like Bob was a war hero!
Before becoming a big name, Bob performed on stage in London. He played Aladdin in a stage show and also appeared in the musical The Boys from Syracuse in 1963. In this show, he worked alongside another famous comedian, Ronnie Corbett.
Becoming a TV Star and Writer
Bob Monkhouse began his career as a scriptwriter for radio comedy. He worked with his friend Denis Goodwin. They also hosted a show called Smash Hits on Radio Luxembourg.
Besides performing together, Bob and Denis wrote jokes for many well-known comedians. These included Arthur Askey and Bob Hope.
In 1956, Bob hosted Do You Trust Your Wife?, a British game show. This was the start of a long career hosting over 30 different quiz shows on British television. His fame grew, and he also started acting in comedy films. He appeared in Carry On Sergeant in 1958, which was one of the first Carry On movies. He also starred in Dentist in the Chair (1960) and Dentist on the Job (1961).
During the 1960s, Bob also presented popular shows like Candid Camera and Sunday Night at the London Palladium. In the early 1970s, he was on BBC Radio in a show called Mostly Monkhouse.
Stand-Up Comedy and Comeback
Bob Monkhouse was a respected stand-up comedian. He was known for his amazing ability to make up jokes on the spot, called ad-libbing. He was very popular for after-dinner speeches and even wrote a book about it called Just Say a Few Words.
Some people in the 1980s thought his comedy style was old-fashioned. They sometimes made fun of him for being too smooth. But in the 1990s, he became popular again. An appearance on the show Have I Got News for You really helped bring him back into the spotlight.
Bob's last stand-up show was on August 25, 2003, just four months before he passed away. Many famous British comedians were in the audience, invited by Bob himself.
Hosting Game Shows
In his later years, Bob Monkhouse was perhaps best known for hosting TV quiz shows. One of his biggest hits was The Golden Shot. He hosted it from 1967 to 1972, and again from 1974 to 1975. This show was live and watched by up to 17 million people!
He also hosted many other popular shows, including Celebrity Squares, Family Fortunes, and Bob's Full House. These shows often had over 15 million viewers. From 1987 to 1989, he hosted a new version of the talent show Opportunity Knocks, called Bob Says Opportunity Knocks.
From 1996 to 1998, Bob presented The National Lottery Live on BBC1. He created a famous catchphrase for it: "I know I'm a sinner, but make me a winner!" He was very good at making up jokes on the spot. One time, his autocue (the screen that shows the words) stopped working, but he still managed to deliver a funny routine. He also hosted when the lottery machine famously broke down live on air in 1996.
Bob then went back to quizzes, taking over as host of Wipeout from Paul Daniels. He hosted Wipeout from 1998 until a few months before he died in 2003.
His Own Chat Show
In the mid-1980s, Bob Monkhouse hosted his own chat show for the BBC, called The Bob Monkhouse Show. It ran for three series and featured comedians from different generations. Bob was known for being very supportive of new comedians. He used his show to introduce new talents like Robin Williams and Jim Carrey to the audience.
Film and TV Collection
Bob Monkhouse was an expert on the history of silent cinema and loved collecting films. In 1966, he presented a show called Mad Movies. He wrote, produced, and paid for this show himself. It featured clips from old silent comedy films, many of which came from his own private collection. He even helped find and fix some of these old films.
His collection was so important that in 2008, his daughter, Abigail, contacted the British Film Institute. They found many old radio and TV shows that were thought to be lost forever. This included shows starring Bob himself, like The Flip Side and My Pal Bob. His collection had 36,000 videotapes, starting from when he bought his first home video recorder in 1966.
Today, Bob Monkhouse's entire film and television collection is kept by Kaleidoscope. It has been carefully organized and saved in digital formats.
In his final years, Bob hosted a show on BBC Radio 2 called The Monkhouse Archive. In this show, he shared funny stories and clips of comedy acts from the past 50 years.
Awards and Lasting Impact
In 1993, Bob Monkhouse was given an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) award for his great work in entertainment.
In 1995, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Comedy at the National Comedy Awards. Just a few weeks before he passed away, he received a special award for his amazing contribution to broadcasting. He appeared on the TV show This Is Your Life twice, once in 1982 and again in 2003.
In 2005, a poll of comedians voted Bob Monkhouse as one of the top 50 comedy acts. Many years after his death, a critic named Michael Deacon said that Bob's style of writing and performing influenced many modern British comedians. These include Jimmy Carr, Michael McIntyre, and Peter Kay.
Personal Life
Bob Monkhouse was married twice. He had three children from his first marriage. Sadly, only his adopted daughter, Abigail, was still alive when he passed away. His eldest son, Gary, had cerebral palsy and passed away at age 40. Bob was a strong supporter of people with disabilities. His other son, Simon, passed away at age 46.
Bob lived in a house called "Claridges" in Eggington. He also had a flat in London and a holiday home in Barbados.
Throughout his career, Bob wrote down jokes, facts, and ideas in special leather-bound books. He took these books with him everywhere. In 1995, two of them were stolen, and Bob offered a large reward to get them back. They were returned after 18 months. After Bob's death, these special books were given to his friend Colin Edmonds.
Death
Bob Monkhouse was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2001. He passed away from this illness at his home on December 29, 2003. His wife, Jacqueline, passed away in 2008.
Helping Others After His Death
On June 12, 2007, Bob Monkhouse appeared in a TV advertisement after his death. This ad was made to raise awareness about prostate cancer. Using computer animation and a voice actor who sounded like him, Bob was shown in a graveyard next to his own grave. He talked seriously about the disease, but also added some of his famous humor. He ended by saying, "As a comedian, I've died many deaths. Prostate cancer, I don't recommend. I'd have paid good money to stay out of here. What's it worth to you?"
This advertisement was made with the support of Bob's family. It helped raise money for the Prostate Cancer Research Foundation.
See also
In Spanish: Bob Monkhouse para niños
