Benny Hill

[MCC06]

Was Benny Hill truly a comic genius?

[shonacashmo]

Surely he must be - in fact I think he was probably the most successful television comedian in the world. More than 140 countries in the world have broadcast his show and he won the British Academy for Best Comedy Show and the Golden Rose of Montreux. He was born Alfred Hawthorn in Southampton in 1924 and died in 1992 of a heart attack, while alone in his apartment.
His shows were a unique mix of quick-fire sketches, zany monologues, cheeky songs and fast-action sequences with the Hill's Angels. It was a leery, laughable sort of mix, that went down particularly well in the 80s. It has enjoyed enormous success in the States.
As well as a comedian, Benny Hill also appeared in films including, The Waiters, The Italian Job, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and Those Magnificent men in Their Flying Machines.