Bob Block (20 July 1921 – 17 April 2011) was a British radio and television comedy scriptwriter.

Career

His earliest work was for radio, best known for co-writing the domestic

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

Life with the Lyons ''Life with the Lyons'' was a British radio and television domestic sitcom from the 1950s (1950–1961 on radio, 1955–1960 on television). Overview ''Life with the Lyons'' featured a real American family. Ben Lyon and his wife Bebe Daniels h ...

'' for

Ben Lyon Ben Lyon (February 6, 1901 – March 22, 1979) was an American film actor and a studio executive at 20th Century-Fox who later acted in British radio, films and TV. Early life and career Lyon was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Alvine ...

, as well as working with

Arthur Askey Arthur Bowden Askey, (6 June 1900 – 16 November 1982) was an English comedian and actor. Askey was known for his short stature (5' 2", 1.58 m) and distinctive horn-rimmed glasses, and his playful humour incorporating improvisation ...

and

Frankie Howerd Francis Alick Howard (6 March 1917 – 19 April 1992), better known by his stage-name Frankie Howerd, was an English actor and comedian. Early life Howerd was born the son of soldier Francis Alfred William (1887–1934)England & Wales, Deat ...

. Block was best known for writing television comedy series for children, including ''

Pardon My Genie ''Pardon My Genie'' (1972–73) was a children's comedy series produced by British ITV contractor Thames Television, and written by Bob Block, who later created ''Rentaghost''. The premise was that a magic genie (Hugh Paddick in the first seri ...

'' (1972–73), ''

Robert's Robots ''Robert's Robots'' is a British children's television show that ran from 1973–1974 on ITV. Robert Sommerby is the inventor of the robots, and he lives with Aunt Millie. Cast The cast included John Clive, Nigel Pegram, Sylvester McCoy, Christo ...

'' (1974–75), ''

Galloping Galaxies ''Galloping Galaxies!'' is a British children's television comedy series set on a spaceship that was shown on the BBC from 1 October 1985 to 18 December 1986, comprising two series, of ten episodes in total. It was created and written by Bob Bloc ...

'' (1985) and the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

's ''

Rentaghost ''Rentaghost'' is a British children's television comedy show, originally broadcast by the BBC between 6 January 1976 and 6 November 1984. The show's plot centred on the antics of a number of ghosts who worked for a firm called Rentaghost, which ...

'' (1976–84).

Notable credits

Radio

*''

Variety Bandbox ''Variety Bandbox'' is a BBC Radio variety show transmitted initially in the General Forces Programme and then the Light Programme. Featuring a mixture of comic performances and music, the show helped to launch the careers of a number of leadin ...

(1940s–1950s) *''

Radio Rinso Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

'' (1950) *'' The Starlight Hour'' (1950) *''

'' (1951–1961) *''

Festival of Britain The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition and fair that reached millions of visitors throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1951. Historian Kenneth O. Morgan says the Festival was a "triumphant success" during which people: ...

'' (1951) *'' Arthur's Inn'' (1952) *'' Discord in Three Flats'' (1962)

Television

*'' Our House'' (1960) *'' That's My Boy'' (1963) *'' Crackerjack'' (1964–1973) *'' Hey Presto It's Rolf'' (1966) *''

Broaden Your Mind ''Broaden Your Mind'' (1968–1969) is a British television comedy series, broadcast on BBC2 and starring Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden, joined by Bill Oddie for the second series. Guest cast members included Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Jo ...

'' (1968–1969) *'' Ken Dodd and the Diddymen'' (1969–1970) *'' The Dave King Show'' (1969–1970) *''

Dave Allen At Large David Tynan O'Mahony (6 July 193610 March 2005), known professionally as Dave Allen, was an Irish comedian, satirist, and actor. He was best known for his observational comedy. Allen regularly provoked indignation by highlighting political hypo ...

'' (1970–1979) *''

'' (1972–1973) *'' Roberts Robots'' (1973–1974) *'' Truscott's Luck'' *''

'' (1975–1984) *'' Grandad'' (1979–1984) *'' Galloping Galaxies!'' (1985–1986)

Music hall

*''Kindly Leave the Stage'' (1968)

External links

*
Official Site via Wayback Archive

References

1921 births 2011 deaths British children's writers British radio writers British male screenwriters English television writers British male television writers {{UK-tv-bio-stub