>The way I remember it, he'd always put his best material in the first 2 shows, so quality would decline rapidly from show 3 till the end of the season. However, the good stuff was very funny, sometimes quite surreal.

To be honest, I've held off contributing to this so far simply because it's such a long time ago and I can't remember individual skits but the Thames Night compilation (screened in '95) was very good indeed, and I remember almost crying with laughter at the first couple of BBC series (watching with the whole family). Loved Cupid Stunt, the mime artist, always chuckled at Dino De Horrendous Productions Proudly Present (didn't know what it meant though at the time).


>His 1983 series had that gung-ho US general character who would shout "Bomb the bastards!" That also had some playground impact, I recall.
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Barry Cryer later revealed that they scrapped the character after Everett had patriots approach him in the street and congratulate him for telling it like it is (this was Falklands War era). Which, if true, may put his Tory Campaign performance of 1983 ("Let's bomb Russia!") into perspective.

But no - I'd love to see it again. Didn't Paramount repeat some of 'em a couple of years ago?

INcidentally, heard a documentary on Radio 4 just after he died in 1995, which included some pirate radio extracts from the mid-60s. Very Chris Morris, I have to say! (Had a particular penchant for putting sound effects/tapes rewinding/reverb over the ends and intros of records, begging the response "Was that what I thought it was?").

Just to strike a sour note and say that I always thought his shows were downright mediocre (with infrequent exceptions). He wasn't an actor and he wasn't exactly a comic, just your standard manic but fragile showbiz ego bursting at the seams. The fact that he established a catchphrase or two proves nothing: that's always been the laziest way to raise a laugh.

(Brief digression: in an early incarnation of the Goon Show, Milligan was already so bored with catchphrase humour - this is the early 50's, for God's sake - that he did an experiment: early on in the show, he came into a room and cried "More coal!" The audience were a bit bemused and remained silent. However he continued to do this at random intervals until by the end of the half hour he was getting belly laughs and a round of applause whenever he did it. Proved his point - that catchphrases are piss-easy, lazy, and pointless. For some reason Harry Enfield chose to prove his point all over again forty years later. )

Anyway, I'll duck back beneath the parapet now, as I'm aware everyone else thinks Everett was a comedy genius, there'll never be another, how did he think it all up, etc etc.

I don't think he was a genius, I thought the 'tribute' to him on C4(or whatever) a few years ago was mostly embarrassing tat.... but he did have his moments.

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>To be honest, I've held off contributing to this so far simply because it's such a long time ago and I can't remember individual skits but the Thames Night compilation (screened in '95) was very good indeed, and I remember almost crying with laughter at the first couple of BBC series (watching with the whole family). Loved Cupid Stunt, the mime artist, always chuckled at Dino De Horrendous Productions Proudly Present (didn't know what it meant though at the time).
>i used to watch kenny Everett back in the late 70's/early 80's(just before Dr Who).
I found it quite amazing.. some outrageous characters ie. Sid Snott; Capt. Kremlin(animated feat.). back in the 80's thorn/EMI relased a video compliation of his video show (approx 180mins).. it was really good. Now BBC video have relased a compilation called 'In the best possible taste'(something like that?)
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>INcidentally, heard a documentary on Radio 4 just after he died in 1995, which included some pirate radio extracts from the mid-60s. Very Chris Morris, I have to say! (Had a particular penchant for putting sound effects/tapes rewinding/reverb over the ends and intros of records, begging the response "Was that what I thought it was?").
>That documentary has now been released on two tapes.. from his BBC radio show
quite amazing.. I played alot of Kenny Everett material on my radio show the
response was good..
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