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Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish actor, comedian, writer, musician, poet, and playwright. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Colonial India, where he spent his childhood before relocating in 1931 to England, where he lived and worked for the majority of his life. Disliking his first name, he began to call himself "Spike" after hearing the band
Spike Jones and his City Slickers Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones (December 14, 1911 – May 1, 1965) was an American musician and bandleader specializing in spoof arrangements of popular songs and classical music. Ballads receiving the Jones treatment were punctuated with gun ...
on Radio Luxembourg. Milligan was the co-creator, main writer, and a principal cast member of the British radio comedy programme '' The Goon Show'', performing a range of roles including the characters Eccles and Minnie Bannister. He was the earliest-born and last surviving member of
the Goons ''The Goon Show'' is a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme. The first series, broadcast from 28 May to 20 September 19 ...
. He took his success with ''The Goon Show'' into television with '' Q5'', a surreal sketch show credited as a major influence on the members of ''
Monty Python's Flying Circus ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' (also known as simply ''Monty Python'') is a British surreal sketch comedy series created by and starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam, who became known ...
''. He wrote and edited many books, including '' Puckoon'' (1963) and a seven-volume autobiographical account of his time serving during the Second World War, beginning with '' Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall'' (1971). He also wrote comical verse, with much of his poetry written for children, including ''Silly Verse for Kids'' (1959).


Early life

Terence Alan Milligan was born in
Ahmednagar Ahmednagar (), is a city located in the Ahmednagar district in the state of Maharashtra, India, about 120 km northeast of Pune and 114 km from Aurangabad. Ahmednagar takes its name from Ahmad Nizam Shah I, who founded the town in 1494 ...
on 16 April 1918 during the British Raj, the son of an Irish father, Leo Alphonso Milligan, MSM, RA (1890–1969), a regimental sergeant-major in the
British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...
, and English mother, Florence Mary Winifred (née Kettleband; 1893–1990). He spent his childhood in
Poona Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...
and later in
Rangoon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...
, capital of
British Burma British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
. He was educated at the Convent of Jesus and Mary, Poona, and later at St Paul's High School, Rangoon. Due to his father remaining in the Indian Army after the end of the First World War, steady promotion meant "the family's lifestyle became almost lavish"; Milligan considered that "My old man lived the life of a gentleman on sergeant's pay". When Army cuts meant his father's position was no longer required, Milligan travelled, by sea, from India to England for the first time; he arrived on a winter's morning and was bemused by the climate, so different from India's, remembering the dock's "terrible noise, and everything so cold and grey." The Milligan family lived in England in somewhat straitened circumstances, Leo Milligan only being able to find "a poorly paid job in the Associated Press photo library"; Milligan recalled his mother "often tense and angry... a domestic tyrant" due to having to manage on "next to no income". After moving to Brockley, south east London from the age of 12 in 1931, Milligan attended
Brownhill Road School Brownhill is a suburb of Blackburn, in the unitary borough of Blackburn with Darwen, in Lancashire, England. It is situated to the north-east of the town centre, in the Roe Lee ward which has an estimated population of around 5948. Other nearby ...
(later to be renamed Catford Boys School) and
St Saviours School ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...
, Lewisham High Road. Disliking his first name Terry, he began to call himself "Spike" after hearing the band
Spike Jones and his City Slickers Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones (December 14, 1911 – May 1, 1965) was an American musician and bandleader specializing in spoof arrangements of popular songs and classical music. Ballads receiving the Jones treatment were punctuated with gun ...
on Radio Luxembourg. On leaving school, he worked as a clerk in the Woolwich Arsenal, played the
cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a sopr ...
and discovered jazz. He also joined the Young Communist League to demonstrate his hatred of Oswald Mosley's
British Union of Fascists The British Union of Fascists (BUF) was a British fascist political party formed in 1932 by Oswald Mosley. Mosley changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists in 1936 and, in 1937, to the British Union. In 1939, fo ...
, who were gaining support near his home in South London.


Second World War

During most of the late 1930s and early 1940s, Milligan performed as an amateur jazz vocalist, guitarist, and trumpeter before, during and after being called up for military service joining the Royal Artillery, in the fight against Nazi Germany, but even then he wrote and performed comedy sketches as part of concerts to entertain troops. After his call-up, but before being sent abroad, he and fellow musician Harry Edgington (1919–1993) (whose nickname 'Edge-ying-Tong', inspired one of Milligan's most memorable musical creations, the "
Ying Tong Song The "Ying Tong Song" (also known by its refrain, which is variously either "Ying tong diddle I po" or "Ying tong yiddle I po" rather than the oft-quoted but apparently absent "Ying tong iddle I po") is a novelty song written by Spike Milligan ...
") would compose surreal stories, filled with puns and skewed logic, as a way of staving off the boredom of life in barracks. One biographer describes his early dance band work as follows: "He managed to croon like
Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 â€“ October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...
and win a competition: he also played drums, guitar and trumpet, in which he was entirely self taught"; he also acquired a double bass, on which he took lessons and would strum in jazz sessions.Scudamore (1985) pp. 52–53. Milligan had perfect pitch. During the Second World War, Milligan served as a signaller in D Battery (later 19 Battery),
56th Heavy Regiment, Royal Artillery The 7th London Brigade, Royal Field Artillery was a new unit formed when Britain's Territorial Force was created in 1908. Its origin lay in Artillery Volunteer Corps formed in West London in the 1860s, which had later been incorporated into a lar ...
, as Gunner Milligan, 954024. The unit was equipped with the obsolete First World War era BL 9.2-inch howitzer and based in Bexhill on the south coast of England. Milligan describes training with these guns in part two of ''Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall'', claiming that, during training, gun crews resorted to shouting "bang" in unison as they had no shells with which to practise. The unit was later re-equipped with the BL 7.2-inch howitzer and saw action as part of the First Army in the North African campaign and then in the succeeding Italian campaign. Milligan was appointed
lance bombardier A lance is a spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior or cavalry soldier (lancer). In ancient and medieval warfare, it evolved into the leading weapon in cavalry charges, and was unsuited for throwing or for repeated thrusting, unlike sim ...
and was about to be promoted to bombardier, when he was wounded in action in the Italian theatre at the
Battle of Monte Cassino The Battle of Monte Cassino, also known as the Battle for Rome and the Battle for Cassino, was a series of four assaults made by the Allies against German forces in Italy during the Italian Campaign of World War II. The ultimate objective was ...
. Subsequently, hospitalised for a mortar wound to the right leg and shell shock, he was demoted by an unsympathetic commanding officer (identified in his war diaries as Major Evan "Jumbo" Jenkins) back to Gunner. It was Milligan's opinion that Major Jenkins did not like him, because Milligan constantly kept up the morale of his fellow soldiers, whereas Jenkins's approach was to take an attitude towards the troops similar to that of Lord Kitchener. An incident also mentioned was when Jenkins had invited Gunners Milligan and Edgington to his bivouac to play some jazz with him, only to discover that the musicianship of the gunners was far superior to his own ability to play "Whistling Rufus". After hospitalisation, Milligan drifted through a number of rear-echelon military jobs in Italy, eventually becoming a full-time entertainer. He played the guitar with a jazz and comedy group called ''
The Bill Hall Trio The Bill Hall Trio was a musical comedy act originally consisting of Bill Hall (violin), Johnny Mulgrew (double bass) and Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish actor, comedian, write ...
'', in concert parties for the troops. After being demobilised, Milligan remained in Italy playing with the trio but returned to Britain soon after. While he was with the
Central Pool of Artists BFBS Live Events (formerly Combined Services Entertainment (CSE) until 2 March 2020) is the live entertainment arm of the British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) (and prior to March 2020 the Services Sound and Vision Corporation (SSVC), a regist ...
(a group he described as composed "of bomb-happy
squaddie The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkhas ...
s") he began to write parodies of their mainstream plays, which displayed many of the key elements of what would later become '' The Goon Show'' (originally called ''Crazy People'') with Peter Sellers, Harry Secombe and
Michael Bentine Michael Bentine, (born Michael James Bentin; 26 January 1922General Register Office for England and Wales – Birth Register for the March Quarter of 1922, Watford Registration District, Reference 3a 1478, listed as "Michael J. Bentin", mother ...
.


Career


''The Goon Show''

Milligan returned to jazz in the late 1940s and made a precarious living with the Hall trio and other musical comedy acts. He was also trying to break into the world of radio, as a performer or script writer. His first success in radio was as writer for comedian Derek Roy's show. After a delayed start, Milligan, Peter Sellers, Harry Secombe and
Michael Bentine Michael Bentine, (born Michael James Bentin; 26 January 1922General Register Office for England and Wales – Birth Register for the March Quarter of 1922, Watford Registration District, Reference 3a 1478, listed as "Michael J. Bentin", mother ...
joined forces in a relatively radical comedy project, '' The Goon Show''. During its first season the BBC titled the show as ''Crazy People'', or in full, ''The Junior Crazy Gang featuring those Crazy People, the Goons'', an attempt to make the programme palatable to BBC officials, by connecting it with the popular group of theatre comedians known as The Crazy Gang. p. 186. The first episode was broadcast on 28 May 1951 on the
BBC Home Service The BBC Home Service was a national and regional radio station that broadcast from 1939 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 4. History 1922–1939: Interwar period Between the early 1920s and the outbreak of World War II, the BBC ...
. Although he did not perform as much in the early shows, Milligan eventually became a lead performer in almost all of the ''Goon Show'' episodes, portraying a wide range of characters including Eccles, Minnie Bannister, Jim Spriggs and the nefarious Count Moriarty. He was also the primary author of most of the scripts, although he co-wrote many scripts with various collaborators, most notably Larry Stephens and Eric Sykes. Most of the early shows were co-written with Stephens (and edited by
Jimmy Grafton James Douglas Grafton, (19 May 1916 – 2 June 1986) was a producer, writer and theatrical agent. He served in World War II as an officer in the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment and was awarded the Military Cross for his actions during O ...
) but this partnership faltered after Series 3. Milligan wrote most of Series 4 but from Series 5 (coinciding with the birth of the Milligans' second child, Seán) and through most of Series 6, he collaborated with Eric Sykes, a development that grew out of his contemporary business collaboration with Sykes in Associated London Scripts. Milligan and Stephens reunited during Series 6 but towards the end of Series 8 Stephens was sidelined by health problems and Milligan worked briefly with John Antrobus. The Milligan-Stephens partnership was finally ended by Stephens' death from a brain haemorrhage in January 1959; Milligan later downplayed and disparaged Stephens' contributions. ''The Goon Show'' was recorded before a studio audience and during the audience warm-up session, Milligan would play the trumpet, while Peter Sellers played on the orchestra's drums. For the first few years the shows were recorded live, direct to 16-inch transcription disc, which required the cast to adhere closely to the script but by Series 4, the BBC had adopted the use of magnetic tape.Carpenter, 2003, p. 120. Milligan eagerly exploited the possibilities the new technology offered—the tapes could be edited, so the cast could now ad-lib freely and tape also enabled the creation of groundbreaking sound effects. Over the first three series, Milligan's demands for increasingly complex sound effects (or "grams", as they were then known) pushed technology and the skills of the BBC engineers to their limits—effects had to be created mechanically ( foley) or played back from discs, sometimes requiring the use of four or five turntables running simultaneously. With magnetic tape, these effects could be produced in advance and the BBC engineers were able to create highly complex, tightly edited effects "stings" that would have been very difficult (if not impossible) to perform using foley or disc. In the later years of the series many Goon Show "grams" were produced for the series by members of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, a notable example being the "
Major Bloodnok Major Denis Bloodnok is a fictional character from the 1950s BBC Radio comedy ''The Goon Show''. He was voiced by Peter Sellers. Basis of character Bloodnok's army career is notable for cowardice and monetary irregularities. He was discharged aft ...
's Stomach" effect, realised by
Dick Mills Dick Mills (born 1936) is a British sound engineer, specialising in electronic music, electronic sound effects which he produced at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Mills was one of the original staff at the Radiophonic Workshop, joining in 1958 ...
. Although the Goons elevated Milligan to national stardom, the demands of writing and performing the series took a heavy toll. During Series 3 he had the first of several serious
mental breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...
s, which also marked the onset of a decades-long cycle of
manic-depressive Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...
illness. In late 1952, possibly exacerbated by suppressed tensions between the Goons' stars, Milligan apparently became irrationally convinced that he had to kill Sellers but when he attempted to gain entry to Sellers's neighbouring flat, armed with a potato knife, he accidentally walked straight through the plate-glass front door. He was hospitalised, heavily sedated for two weeks and spent almost two months recuperating; fortunately for the show, a backlog of scripts meant that his illness had little effect on production. Milligan later blamed the pressure of writing and performing ''The Goon Show'' for both his breakdown and the failure of his first marriage. A lesser-known aspect of Milligan's life in the 1950s and 1960s was his involvement in the writers' agency Associated London Scripts. Milligan married for the first time and began a family. This reportedly distracted him from writing so much that he accepted an invitation from Eric Sykes to share his small office, leading to the creation of the co-operative agency.


Television

Milligan made several forays into television as a writer-performer, in addition to his many guest appearances on interview, variety and sketch comedy series from the 1950s to the 2000s. ''
The Idiot Weekly, Price 2d ''The Idiot Weekly, Price 2d'' was the first real attempt to translate the humour of ''The Goon Show'' to television. It was made by Associated-Rediffusion during 1956 and was broadcast only in the London area. It combined elements of a sitcom ...
'' (1956), starring Peter Sellers, was the first attempt to translate Goons humour to TV; it was followed by '' A Show Called Fred'' and '' Son of Fred'', both made during 1956 and directed by Richard Lester, who went on to work with the
Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...
. During a visit to Australia in 1958, a similar special was made for the Australian Broadcasting Commission, "The Gladys Half-Hour", which also featured local actors Ray Barrett and
John Bluthal John Bluthal (born Isaac Bluthal; 12 August 1929 – 15 November 2018) was a Polish-born Australian actor and comedian, noted for his six-decade career internationally in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. He started his career ...
, who would appear in several later Milligan projects. In 1961, Milligan co-wrote two episodes of the popular sitcom '' Sykes and a...'', co-starring Sykes and Hattie Jacques and the one-off "Spike Milligan Offers a Series of Unrelated Incidents at Current Market Value". The 15-minute series '' The Telegoons'' (1963), was the next attempt to transplant the Goons to television, this time using
puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods ...
versions of the familiar characters. The initial intention was to "visualise" original recordings of 1950s Goon Show episodes but this proved difficult, because of the rapid-fire dialogue and was ultimately frustrated by the BBC's refusal to allow the original audio to be used. Fifteen-minute adaptations of the original scripts by Maurice Wiltshire were used instead, with Milligan, Sellers and Secombe reuniting to provide the voices; according to a contemporary press report, they received the highest fees the BBC had ever paid for 15-minute shows. Two series were made in 1963 and 1964 and (presumably because it was shot on 35mm film rather than video) the entire series has reportedly been preserved in the BBC archives. Milligan's next major TV venture was the sketch comedy series '' The World of Beachcomber'' (1968), made in colour for
BBC 2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
; it is believed all 19 episodes are
lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
. That same year, the three Goons reunited for a televised re-staging of a vintage ''Goon Show'' for Thames Television, with
John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Emerging from the Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and ...
substituting for the late Wallace Greenslade but the pilot was not successful and no further programmes were made. In early 1969, Milligan starred in
brownface Brownface is a social phenomenon in which a white or light-skinned person attempts to portray themselves as a "brown" person of color, but less overtly and with a lighter complexion than traditional blackface. This may include mimicry of Middle ...
in the situation comedy ''
Curry and Chips ''Curry and Chips'' is a British television sitcom broadcast in 1969 which was produced by London Weekend Television for the ITV network. Set on a factory floor of 'Lillicrap Ltd', it starred a browned up Spike Milligan as an Irishman of Paki ...
'', created and written by Johnny Speight and featuring Milligan's old friend and colleague Eric Sykes. ''Curry and Chips'' set out to satirise
racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
attitudes in Britain in a similar vein to Speight's earlier creation, the hugely successful ''
Till Death Us Do Part ''Till Death Us Do Part'' is a British television sitcom that aired on BBC1 from 1965 to 1975. The show was first broadcast in 1965 as a ''Comedy Playhouse'' pilot, then as seven series between 1966 and 1975. In 1981, ITV continued the sitcom ...
'', with Milligan 'browning up' to play Kevin O'Grady, a half-Pakistani–half-Irish factory worker. The series generated numerous complaints, because of its frequent use of racist epithets and 'bad language'—one viewer reportedly complained of counting 59 uses of the word "bloody" in one episode—and it was cancelled on the orders of the Independent Broadcasting Authority after only six episodes. Milligan was also involved in the ill-fated programme '' The Melting Pot''. Director John Goldschmidt's film ''The Other Spike'' dramatised Milligan's nervous breakdown in a film for
Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...
, for which Milligan wrote the screenplay and in which he played himself. Later that year, he was commissioned by the BBC to write and star in ''Q5'', the first in the innovative ''Q...'' TV series, acknowledged as an important precursor to ''
Monty Python's Flying Circus ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' (also known as simply ''Monty Python'') is a British surreal sketch comedy series created by and starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam, who became known ...
'', which premiered several months later. There was a hiatus of several years, before the BBC commissioned ''Q6'' in 1975. ''Q7'' appeared in 1977, '' Q8'' in 1978, ''Q9'' in 1980 and ''
There's a Lot of It About ''Q...'' is a surreal television comedy sketch show written by Spike Milligan and Neil Shand, and starring Spike Milligan with supporting players, usually including Julia Breck, John Bluthal, Bob Todd, and John Wells. The show ran from 1969 t ...
'' in 1982. Milligan later complained of the BBC's cold attitude towards the series and stated that he would have made more programmes, had he been given the opportunity. A number of episodes of the earlier "Q" series are missing, presumed wiped. Milligan's daughter, Laura, conceived and co-wrote an animated series called ''
The Ratties ''The Ratties'' is a British animated series about a family of six rats who live in the wall of a country house. The rats try to emulate the human family who own the house. The idea for ''The Ratties'' was conceived by Laura Milligan, daught ...
'' (1987). Milligan narrated the 26 five-minute episodes. He later voiced the highly successful animated series '' Wolves, Witches and Giants'', which aired on ITV from 1995 to 1998. The series was written by Ed Welch, who had previously appeared in the ''Q'' series, and collaborated with Spike on several audio productions produced and directed by Simon & Sara Bor. ''Wolves, Witches and Giants'' was broadcast in more than 100 territories, including Britain and the United States.


Poetry and other writings

Milligan also wrote verse, considered to be within the genre of literary nonsense. For example: ''"It's due to pigeons that alight; on Nelson's hat that makes it white."'' His poetry has been described by comedian Stephen Fry as "absolutely immortal—greatly in the tradition of
Lear Lear or Leir may refer to: Acronyms * Liga de Escritores y Artistas Revolucionarios, a Mexican association of revolutionary artists and writers * Low Energy Ion Ring, an ion pre-accelerator of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN ** Low Energy Antipr ...
." One of his poems, "
On the Ning Nang Nong "On the Ning Nang Nong" is a poem by the comedian Spike Milligan featured in his 1959 book '' Silly Verse For Kids''. In 1998 it was voted the UK's favourite comic poem in a nationwide poll, ahead of other nonsense poems by poets such as Lewis Car ...
", was voted the UK's favourite comic poem in 1998 in a nationwide poll, ahead of other nonsense poets including Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear. This nonsense verse, set to music, became a favourite Australia-wide, performed week after week by the ABC children's programme '' Playschool''. Milligan included it on his album ''
No One's Gonna Change Our World ''No One's Gonna Change Our World'' is a charity album released in the United Kingdom on 12 December 1969 for the benefit of the World Wildlife Fund. The compilation, assembled by comedian Spike Milligan, includes two tracks from Milligan and on ...
'' in 1969, to aid the World Wildlife Fund. In December 2007 it was reported that, according to
OFSTED The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...
, it is among the ten most commonly taught poems in primary schools in the UK. While depressed, he wrote serious poetry, much of which is compiled in ''Open Heart University''. He also wrote a novel '' Puckoon'' and a series of war memoirs, including '' Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall'' (1971), '' "Rommel?" "Gunner Who?": A Confrontation in the Desert'' (1974), '' Monty: His Part in My Victory'' (1976) and '' Mussolini: His Part in My Downfall'' (1978). Milligan's seven volumes of memoirs cover the years from 1939 to 1950 (his call-up, war service, first breakdown, time spent entertaining in Italy and return to the UK). Milligan also wrote comedy songs, including "Purple Aeroplane", which was a parody of the Beatles' song " Yellow Submarine". In addition, he wrote the lyric to saxophonist/composer Duncan Lamont's "English Folk Song," heard on jazz singer
Tina May Daphne Christina May (30 March 1961 – 26 March 2022), known professionally as Tina May, was an English jazz vocalist. Early life and career The younger of two daughters born to Harry May and Daphne E. Walton,Bernard Miles gave Milligan his first straight acting role, as Ben Gunn, in the Mermaid Theatre production of '' Treasure Island''. Miles described Milligan as: ''Treasure Island'' played twice daily through the winter of 1961–62 and was an annual production at the Mermaid Theatre for some years. In the 1968 production, Barry Humphries played the role of Long John Silver, alongside William Rushton as Squire Trelawney and Milligan as Ben Gunn. To Humphries, Milligan's "best performance must surely have been as Ben Gunn ..., Milligan stole the show every night, in a makeup which took at least an hour to apply. His appearance on stage always brought a roar of delight from the kids in the audience and Spike had soon left the text far behind as he went off into a riff of sublime absurdity."Barry Humphries, in Ventham (2002), pp. 92–97.


''The Bedsitting Room''

In 1961–62, during the long pauses between the matinee and the evening show of ''Treasure Island'', Milligan began talking to Miles about the idea he and John Antrobus were exploring, of a dramatised post-nuclear world. This became the one-act play '' The Bedsitting Room'', which Milligan co-wrote with John Antrobus and which premiered at the Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury on 12 February 1962. It was adapted to a longer play and staged by Miles at London's Mermaid Theatre, making its debut on 31 January 1963. It was a critical and commercial success and was revived in 1967 with a provincial tour before opening at London's Saville Theatre on 3 May 1967. Richard Lester later directed a film version, released in 1969.Scudamore (1985) pp. 200, 203–204, 242–243.McCann (2006) pp. 157–159.


''

Oblomov ''Oblomov'' ( ru , link=no, Обломов; ) is the second novel by Russian writer Ivan Goncharov, first published in 1859. Ilya Ilyich Oblomov is the central character of the novel, portrayed as the ultimate incarnation of the superfluous man, ...
''

Tiring of comedic roles, Milligan sought out more serious material. He had read Ivan Goncharov's ''
Oblomov ''Oblomov'' ( ru , link=no, Обломов; ) is the second novel by Russian writer Ivan Goncharov, first published in 1859. Ilya Ilyich Oblomov is the central character of the novel, portrayed as the ultimate incarnation of the superfluous man, ...
'' and felt a kinship with the title character, who declines to leave his bed to face the world. According to Scudamore's biography: The novel had been adapted for the stage by Italian writer
Riccardo Aragno Riccardo is a male given name, Italian version of Ricardo or Richard. It also may be a surname. It means "Powerful Leader". It may refer to: People A–L *Riccardo Antoniazzi (1853–1912), Italian violin maker *Riccardo Bacchelli (1891–1985), ...
. Aragno's script for ''Oblomov'' was bought by Milligan's production company in early 1964. Milligan had long nurtured hopes of transitioning from comedy to serious drama. To this end, Milligan rehearsed for seven weeks with director Frank Dunlop and castmates Joan Greenwood, Bill Owen, and Dyall Valentine at the Lyric Hammersmith. The first preview was on 6 October 1964. During this performance Milligan was struck by stage fright and forgot nearly all of his lines. He quickly began making up things to say to the cast, turning the drama into an impromptu improv session. Noticing that a drama critic who'd given rave reviews to Milligan's other stage comedies was in the audience, Milligan ended the first performance by shouting "Thank God, Milton Shulman’s in!" The play was savaged in the theatrical press. However, ''Oblomov'''s producers had booked the play into the Lyric for three weeks. Anxious to recoup their investment by any means, they gave Milligan carte-blanche on stage. Milligan's antics included starting the play while sitting with the audience, yelling for his castmates to entertain him. Another night he wore a false arm that fell out of his sleeve when co-star Ian Flintoff, playing Oblomov's doctor, shook Milligan's hand. When Flintoff complained to Bill Kerr, a longtime friend of Milligan, that Spike was making a mockery of their hard work Kerr replied: "We have to put up with all the shit, mate, because it pays the rent." Joan Greenwood, who played Olga, later recalled that her husband André Morell thought the first performance was so appalling that they should get Greenwood out of her contract. According to Scudamore: The play continued running as an improv comedy. This decision soon caused it to break all box office records at the Lyric. After five weeks it was rechristened ''Son of Oblomov'' and moved on 2 December 1964 to the Comedy Theatre in the West End. It would run there for a total of 559 performances. As the play was substantially new each night it drew record numbers of repeat traffic. On 22 April 1965,
Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elisabeth or Elizabeth the Queen may refer to: Queens regnant * Elizabeth I (1533–1603; ), Queen of England and Ireland * Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022 ...
and her family attended as part of her 39th birthday celebration. Just after the curtain rose, a group of four latecomers attempted to slink to their seats directly in front of the royal family. Milligan immediately shouted: "Turn up the house lights! Start everything again!" He pointed to the blushing foursome and cried: "That's cost you your knighthood!" Then, noticing that Peter Sellers was seated between
Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...
and
Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth  ...
, Milligan asked in a loud voice: "Is there a Sellers in the house?" Sellers immediately shouted, "Yes!" Milligan launched into a vaudeville routine about Prince Phillip's suspenders, with Sellers participating from his seat with the royals. This culminated in Milligan giving a high-kick, lobbing one of his bedroom slippers at Sellers, nearly missing Prince Phillip's head. Once back in bed with co-star Joan Greenwood, Milligan spent the rest of the performance poking fun at the Queen for bringing her son to such a racy play. The play ended with Milligan unsheathing a katana on stage and asking the Queen to knight him for his efforts that night. She declined. The performance ran 45 minutes over its scheduled ending. Prince Charles reportedly saw the play five times. In a 1988 interview with
Bernard Braden Bernard Chastey Braden (16 May 1916 – 2 February 1993) was a Canadian-born British actor and comedian, who is best known for his appearances in UK television and radio shows. Life Braden was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, and educated ...
, Milligan described theatre as important to him:


Ken Russell films

In 1959
Ken Russell Henry Kenneth Alfred Russell (3 July 1927 â€“ 27 November 2011) was a British film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. His films in the main were liberal adaptation ...
made a short
35 mm film 35 mm may refer to: * 135 film, a type of still photography format commonly referred to as 35 mm film * 35 mm movie film 35 mm film is a film gauge used in filmmaking, and the film standard. In motion pictures that record on f ...
about and with Milligan entitled ''Portrait of a Goon''. The making of the film is detailed in Paul Sutton's 2012 authorised biography ''Becoming Ken Russell''. In 1971 Milligan played a humble village priest in Russell's film '' The Devils''. The scene was cut from the release print and is considered lost but photographs from the scene, together with Murray Melvin's memory of that day's filming, are included in Sutton's 2014 book ''Six English Filmmakers''.


Ad-libbing

As illustrated in the description of his involvement in theatre, Milligan often ad-libbed. He also did this on radio and television. One of his last screen appearances was in the BBC dramatisation of Mervyn Peake's ''
Gormenghast Gormenghast may refer to: * ''Gormenghast'' (series), a trilogy of novels by Mervyn Peake ** ''Gormenghast'' (novel), second in the series * ''Gormenghast'' (opera), an opera based on the books * ''Gormenghast'' (TV serial), a BBC adaptatio ...
'' and he was (almost inevitably) noted as an ad-libber. One of Milligan's ad-lib incidents occurred during a visit to Australia in the late 1960s. He was interviewed live on air and remained in the studio for the news broadcast that followed (read by Rod McNeil), during which Milligan constantly interjected, adding his own name to news items. As a result, he was banned from making any further live appearances on the
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
. The ABC also changed its national policy so that guests had to leave the studio after interviews were complete. A tape of the bulletin survives and has been included in an ABC Radio audio compilation, and also on the BBC tribute CD, ''Vivat Milligna''. Film and television director Richard Lester recalls that the television series ''A Show Called Fred'' was broadcast live. "I've seen very few moments of genius in my life but I witnessed one with Spike after the first show. He had brought around a silent cartoon" and asked Lester if his P.A. took shorthand. "She said she did. 'Good, this needs a commentary.' It was a ten-minute cartoon and Spike could have seen it only once, if that. He ad-libbed the commentary for it and it was perfect. I was open-mouthed at the raw comedy creation in front of me."Richard Lester, in Ventham (2002), pp.73–74.


Cartoons and art

Milligan contributed occasional cartoons to the satirical magazine ''
Private Eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satire, satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely r ...
''. Most were visualisations of one-line jokes. For example, a young boy sees the Concorde and asks his father "What's that?". The reply is "That's a flying groundnut scheme, son." Milligan was a keen painter. pp.109–110, 258. (Published in 2003 as paperback under ''Spike'', or ''Spike Milligan'', depending on listing) pp. 17, 24.


Advertising

In 1967, applying a satirical angle to a fashion for the inclusion of
Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...
-inspired characters in British television commercials, Milligan dressed up in a "Bat-Goons" outfit, to appear in a series of television commercials for British Petroleum. A contemporary reporter found the TV commercials "funny and effective". Milligan appeared with Peter Sellers in an advert for Benson & Hedges in 1973. Milligan requested that his fee was paid to ASH: Action on Smoking and Health. When this was refused he gave the money to charity instead. The advert was popular with the public and also won several industry awards. From 1980 to 1982, he advertised for the
English Tourist Board VisitEngland is the official tourist board for England. Before 1999 it was known as the English Tourist Board and between 1999 and 2009 as the English Tourism Council. In 2003, it merged with the British Tourist Authority to form VisitBritain bef ...
, playing a Scotsman on a visit around the different regions of England. Other advertising appearances included television commercials for
Kellogg's The Kellogg Company, doing business as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. Kellogg's produces cereal and convenience foods, including crackers and toaste ...
Corn Flakes, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and Planters nuts.


Other contributions

In the 1970s,
Charles Allen Charles Allen may refer to: Politicians *Charles Allen (Massachusetts politician) (1797–1869), American politician and congressman in Massachusetts *Charles Allen (Australian politician) (1833–1913), Australian politician and member of the T ...
compiled a series of stories from British people's experiences of life in the British Raj, called ''Plain Tales from the Raj'', and published in 1975. Milligan was the youngest contributor, describing his life in India when it was under British rule. In it he mentions the imperial parades there:
The most exciting sound for me was the sound of the Irregular Punjabi Regiment playing the '' dhol'' and ''surmai'' type of drum€”one beat was dum-da-da-dum, dum-da-da-dum, dum-da-da-dum! They wore these great long pantaloons, a gold dome to their turbans, khaki shirts with banded waistcoats, double-cross bandoliers, leather sandals, and they used to march very fast, I remember, bursting in through the dust on the heels of an English regiment. They used to come in with trailed arms and they'd throw their rifles up into the air, catch it with their left hand—always to this dum-da-da-dum, dum-da-da-dum—and then stamp their feet and fire one round, synchronising with the drums. They'd go left, right, left, right, ''shabash''! ''Hai''! Bang! Dum-da-da-dum—it was sensational!


Music composition

In 1988, whilst visiting his mother in Woy Woy (on the shores of Brisbane Water), Milligan composed and orchestrated a ''Grand Waltz for Brisbane Water'' and gave it to the symphony orchestra of nearby Gosford. Symphony Central Coast has performed it occasionally since, including a 2020 YouTube video as a COVID-19 isolation project.


Personal life


Family

Milligan married his first wife, June (Marchinie) Marlow, in 1952; Peter Sellers was best man. They had three children, Laura, Seán and Síle, and divorced in 1960. He married Patricia Ridgeway (also known as Paddy) in June 1962, with George Martin as best man and the marriage produced one child, Jane Milligan (b. 1966). The marriage ended with Patricia's death from breast cancer in 1978. In 1975 he fathered a son, James (b. June 1976), in an affair with Margaret Maughan. Another child, a daughter Romany, is suspected to have been born at the same time, to a Canadian journalist named Roberta Watt. His last wife was Shelagh Sinclair, to whom he was married from 1983 until his death on 27 February 2002. Shelagh Milligan died in June 2011. Upon marrying Shelagh his existing will was automatically revoked by operation of law. His former will had left everything to his children, and instead he made a new will which left his entire estate to Shelagh. The children attempted to overturn the will, to no avail. Four of his children collaborated with documentary makers on a multi-platform programme called ''I Told You I Was Ill: The Life and Legacy of Spike Milligan'' (2005). In October 2008, an array of Milligan's personal effects was sold at auction by his third wife, Shelagh, who was moving into a smaller home. These included his vast legacy of books and memorabilia and a grand piano salvaged from a demolition and apparently played every morning by Paul McCartney, a neighbour in Rye in East Sussex.


Health

He had bipolar disorder for most of his life, having several serious
mental breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...
s, several lasting over a year. He spoke candidly about his condition and its effect on his life:


Nationality

Milligan was born in the British Empire to an English mother and felt that he was thus entitled to British citizenship, especially after having served in the British Army for six years. When British law related to Commonwealth-born residents (which had given him a secure place in the UK) changed, he applied for a British passport in 1960. The application was refused, partly because he would not swear an
Oath of Allegiance An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to a monarch or a country. In modern republics, oaths are sworn to the country in general, or to the country's constitution. For ...
. Through his Irish father, he avoided
statelessness In international law, a stateless person is someone who is "not considered as a national by any state under the operation of its law". Some stateless people are also refugees. However, not all refugees are stateless, and many people who are st ...
by becoming an Irish citizen in 1962 and remained so for the rest of his life; this status gave him almost the same rights as a British subject.


Religion

Milligan was
agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable. (page 56 in 1967 edition) Another definition provided is the view that "human reason is incapable of providing sufficient ...
, saying that he "sometimes prayed in moments of desperation on the off chance that somebody might be listening, but he always felt that he was talking to a void". Milligan was raised Catholic and expressed the view that "someone raised a Catholic was always a Catholic", referring to himself as a Catholic throughout his life.


Legal issues

In 1974 Milligan was arrested for shooting a trespasser with an air rifle. He defended himself in court and was given a conditional discharge.


Humour with the Prince of Wales

Charles III (then the Prince of Wales), was a fan of Milligan. When Milligan received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the British Comedy Awards in 1994, the prince sent a congratulatory message to be read out on live television. The comedian interrupted the message to call the prince a "little grovelling bastard". He later faxed the prince, saying: "I suppose a knighthood is out of the question?" In reality, he and the prince were very close friends, and Milligan had already been made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1992 (honorary because of his Irish citizenship). He was made an honorary
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
(KBE) in 2001. On 23 July 1981, the Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer were presented with a poem about the forthcoming Royal Wedding, delivered to
Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...
on a 3-foot-9-inch parchment scroll, written under the pen name MacGoonical. A ridiculous verse written in the style of William McGonagall, the ode was commissioned by the Legal and General Assurance society as a "mark of esteem and affection". The verse, titled "Ode to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales on the occasion of his Weeding", begins:


Campaigning

He was a strident campaigner on environmental matters, particularly arguing against unnecessary noise, such as the use of " muzak". In 1971, Milligan caused controversy by attacking an art exhibition at the Hayward Gallery with a hammer. The artwork included catfish, oysters and shrimp which were to be electrocuted. He was a staunch and outspoken scourge of
domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...
, dedicating one of his books to Erin Pizzey.


Death

Even late in life, Milligan's black humour had not deserted him. After the death of Harry Secombe from cancer, he said, "I'm glad he died before me, because I didn't want him to sing at my funeral." (A recording of Secombe singing was played at Milligan's memorial service.) In 1990, he also wrote his own obituary, in which he stated repeatedly that he "wrote the ''Goon Show'' and died". Milligan died from kidney failure, at the age of 83, on 27 February 2002, at his home near
Rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe (Triticeae) and is closely related to both wheat (''Triticum'') and barley (genus ''Hordeum''). Rye grain is u ...
, Sussex. On the day of his funeral, 8 March 2002, his coffin was carried to St Thomas Church in Winchelsea, East Sussex, and was draped in the
flag of Ireland The national flag of Ireland ( ga, bratach na hÉireann), frequently referred to in Ireland as 'the tricolour' () and elsewhere as the Irish tricolour is a vertical tricolour of green (at the hoist), white and orange. The proportions of th ...
. He had once quipped that he wanted his headstone to bear the words "I told you I was ill." He was buried at St Thomas' churchyard but the Chichester diocese refused to allow this epitaph. A compromise was reached with the
Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...
translation of "I told you I was ill", and in English, "Love, light, peace". The additional epitaph can be read as "Great love for you Shelagh". According to a letter published in the ''Rye and Battle Observer'' in 2011, Milligan's headstone was removed from St Thomas' churchyard in Winchelsea and moved to be alongside the grave of his wife, but was later returned.


Legacy

From the 1960s, Milligan was a regular correspondent with
Robert Graves Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 â€“ 7 December 1985) was a British poet, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were both Celtic ...
. Milligan's letters to Graves usually addressed a question to do with
classical studies Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
. The letters form part of Graves's bequest to
St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pro ...
. The film of '' Puckoon'', starring Sean Hughes, including Milligan's daughter, actress Jane Milligan, was released after his death. Milligan lived for several years in Holden Road, Woodside Park,
Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. Finchley is on high ground, north of Charing Cross. Nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, Mill Hill and H ...
, at The Crescent,
Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...
, and was a contributing founder and strong supporter of the Finchley Society. His old house in Woodside Park is now demolished but there is a
blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...
in his memory on the block of flats on the site. A memorial bench featuring a bronze likeness of Milligan sits in his former home of
Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. Finchley is on high ground, north of Charing Cross. Nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, Mill Hill and H ...
. Over ten years the Finchley Society led by Barbara Warren raised funds—the Spike Milligan Statue Fund—to commission a statue of him by local sculptor John Somerville and erected on the grounds of
Avenue House Avenue House (also known as Stephens House) is a large Victorian mansion (Grade II listed) situated on East End Road in Finchley in the London Borough of Barnet. Built in 1859 on land formerly known as Temple Croft Field, it was acquired in 187 ...
in East End Road. The memorial was unveiled on 4 September 2014 at a ceremony attended by a number of local dignitaries and showbusiness celebrities including
Roy Hudd Roy Hudd, OBE (16 May 1936 – 15 March 2020) was an English comedian, actor, presenter, radio host, author and authority on the history of music hall entertainment. Early life Hudd was born in Croydon on 16 May 1936 to Evalina "Evie" (née ...
, Michael Parkinson,
Maureen Lipman Dame Maureen Diane Lipman (born 10 May 1946) is an English actress, writer and comedian. She trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and her stage work has included appearances with the National Theatre and the Royal Shakesp ...
, Terry Gilliam, Kathy Lette, Denis Norden and Lynsey de Paul. There is a campaign to erect a statue in the London Borough of Lewisham where he grew up. After coming to the UK from India in the 1930s, he lived at 50 Riseldine Road, Brockley and attended Brownhill Boys' School (later Catford Boys' School, which was demolished in 1994). There is a plaque and bench located at the
Wadestown Library Wadestown may also refer to: * Wadestown, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in the United States * Wadestown, New Zealand Wadestown is a northern suburb of Wellington, (the capital city of New Zealand) located about 2–3 km by r ...
, Wellington, New Zealand, in an area called "Spike Milligan Corner". In a 2005 poll to find the "Comedians' Comedian", he was voted among the top 50 comedy acts, by fellow comedians and comedy insiders. In a BBC poll in August 1999, Milligan was voted the "funniest person of the last 1,000 years". Milligan has been portrayed twice in films. In the adaptation of his novel ''Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall'', he was played by Jim Dale, while Milligan played his father. He was portrayed by Edward Tudor-Pole in '' The Life and Death of Peter Sellers'' (2004). In a 2008 stage play, ''Surviving Spike'', Milligan was played by
Michael Barrymore Michael Ciaran Parker (born 4 May 1952), known by his stage name Michael Barrymore, is an English actor, comedian and television presenter of game shows and light entertainment programmes on British television in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Th ...
. On 9 June 2006, it was reported that Richard Wiseman had identified Milligan as the writer of the
world's funniest joke The "world's funniest joke" is a term used by Richard Wiseman of the University of Hertfordshire in 2002 to summarize one of the results of his research. For his experiment, named LaughLab, he created a website where people could rate and submit ...
as decided by the Laughlab project. Wiseman said the joke contained all three elements of what makes a good gag: anxiety, a feeling of superiority and an element of surprise. Eddie Izzard described Milligan as "The Godfather of Alternative Comedy". "From his unchained mind came forth ideas that just had no boundaries. And he influenced a new generation of comedians who came to be known as 'alternative'." Members of
Monty Python Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) were a British comedy troupe who created the sketch comedy television show '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'', which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four ...
greatly admired him. In one interview, which was widely quoted at the time,
John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Emerging from the Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and ...
stated "Milligan is the Great God to all of us".Scudamore (1985), p. 170. The Pythons gave Milligan a cameo role in their 1979 film '' Monty Python's Life of Brian'', when Milligan happened to be holidaying in Tunisia, near where the film was being shot; he was re-visiting where he had been stationed during wartime. Graham Chapman gave him a minor part in ''
Yellowbeard ''Yellowbeard'' is a 1983 British comedy film directed by Mel Damski and written by Graham Chapman, Peter Cook, Bernard McKenna, and David Sherlock, with an ensemble cast featuring Chapman, Cook, Peter Boyle, Cheech & Chong, Martin Hewitt, Mi ...
''. After their retirement, Milligan's parents and his younger brother Desmond moved to Australia. His mother lived the rest of her long life in the coastal town of Woy Woy on the New South Wales Central Coast, just north of
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
. As a result, he became a regular visitor to Australia and made a number of radio and TV programmes there, including ''
The Idiot Weekly ''The Idiot Weekly'' (1958–1962) was a radio program made by the Australian Broadcasting Commission. Background Transcriptions of ''The Goon Show'' were broadcast on Australian radio from late 1955. When Spike Milligan visited his parents in W ...
'' with Bobby Limb. He also wrote several books including ''Puckoon'' during a visit to his mother's house in Woy Woy. Milligan named the town "the largest above-ground cemetery in the world" when visiting in the 1960s. Milligan's mother became an Australian citizen in 1985, partly in protest at the circumstances which led to her son's ineligibility for British citizenship; Milligan himself was reportedly considering applying for Australian citizenship at the time as well. The suspension bridge on the cyclepath from Woy Woy to Gosford was renamed the Spike Milligan Bridge in his memory, and a meeting room in the Woy Woy Public Library is also named after him.


Radio comedy shows

* '' The Goon Show'' (1951–60) * ''
The Idiot Weekly ''The Idiot Weekly'' (1958–1962) was a radio program made by the Australian Broadcasting Commission. Background Transcriptions of ''The Goon Show'' were broadcast on Australian radio from late 1955. When Spike Milligan visited his parents in W ...
'' (1958–62) * ''
The Omar Khayyam Show ''The Omar Khayyam Show'' was a 1963 BBC radio comedy programme, written by Spike Milligan based on six episodes of his ''The Idiot Weekly'' made for the Australian Broadcasting Commission in 1958–1962. The cast was Spike Milligan, John Blut ...
'' (1963–64) * '' Milligna'' (1972). The title is based on Milligan's introduction in ''
The Last Goon Show of All ''The Last Goon Show of All'' is a special edition of the BBC Radio comedy programme ''The Goon Show'' commissioned as part of the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the BBC. Simulcast on radio and television on 5 October 1972, the performan ...
'' as "Spike Milligna, the well-known typing error". * ''
The Milligan Papers ''The Milligan Papers'' was a BBC radio comedy show, written by John Antrobus and starring Spike Milligan. First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1987, it also featured Chris Langham, John Bluthal, and Antrobus, and is often referred to as ''A Goon S ...
'' (1987) *''
Flywheel, Shyster, and Flywheel ''Flywheel, Shyster, and Flywheel'' is a situation comedy radio show starring two of the Marx Brothers, Groucho and his older brother Chico Marx, and written primarily by Nat Perrin and Arthur Sheekman. The series was originally broadcast in the ...
'' (1990)


Other radio shows

Milligan contributed his recollections of his childhood in India for the acclaimed 1970s BBC audio history series ''Plain Tales From The Raj''. The series was published in book form in 1975 by André Deutsch, edited by
Charles Allen Charles Allen may refer to: Politicians *Charles Allen (Massachusetts politician) (1797–1869), American politician and congressman in Massachusetts *Charles Allen (Australian politician) (1833–1913), Australian politician and member of the T ...
.


Television comedy shows

* '' Don't Spare the Horses'' * ''
The Idiot Weekly, Price 2d ''The Idiot Weekly, Price 2d'' was the first real attempt to translate the humour of ''The Goon Show'' to television. It was made by Associated-Rediffusion during 1956 and was broadcast only in the London area. It combined elements of a sitcom ...
'' * '' A Show Called Fred'' * '' Son of Fred'' * '' The World of Beachcomber'' * The ''Q'' series: ''Q5'', ''Q6'', ''Q7'', ''Q8'', ''Q9'', and ''There's a Lot of It About'' * ''
Curry and Chips ''Curry and Chips'' is a British television sitcom broadcast in 1969 which was produced by London Weekend Television for the ITV network. Set on a factory floor of 'Lillicrap Ltd', it starred a browned up Spike Milligan as an Irishman of Paki ...
'' * ''
Oh In Colour Oh In Colour was a comedy television sketch programme broadcast on BBC 2 in 1970. It ran for one six-episode series from September to November 1970. It was written by and featured Spike Milligan, who was accompanied by different stars every w ...
''


Other notable television involvement

* '' Six-Five Special'', first aired on 31 August 1957. Spike Milligan plays an inventor, Mr. Pym, and acts as a butcher in a sketch. * '' The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine'', Milligan co-wrote and performed in some sketches. * In 1975 Milligan co-wrote (with
Neil Shand Neil Hodgson Shand (3 March 1934 – 14 April 2018) was a British television comedy writer. He was born in Luton to parents from Glasgow, the son of a Vauxhall employee and a dressmaker. Neil was the eldest of three boys. Raised in a "two up tw ...
) and co-starred in a BBC TV sitcom called ''The Melting Pot''. Its cast of characters included two illegal immigrants, an Irish landlord, a Chinese Cockney, a Scottish Arab and numerous other racial stereotypes; Milligan himself took the part of Mr Van Gogh, described as "an illegal Pakistani immigrant". After screening the pilot, the series was deemed to be too offensive for transmission. Five episodes remain unseen. Some of the characters and situations were reused in Milligan's novel '' The Looney''. * '' Tiswas'' – 1981 edition. * Guest appearing along with Peter Cook in ''Kenny Everett's Christmas Show'' in 1985. * Playing a moaning stranger in an episode from 1987 of '' In Sickness and in Health''. * Narrator of ''
The Ratties ''The Ratties'' is a British animated series about a family of six rats who live in the wall of a country house. The rats try to emulate the human family who own the house. The idea for ''The Ratties'' was conceived by Laura Milligan, daught ...
'' (1987), a children's cartoon series written by
Mike Wallis Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documenta ...
and Laura Milligan, Spike's daughter. *'' The Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town'' ran as a serial in '' The Two Ronnies'' in the 1970s. * Special guest star of edition of 18 January 1979 of '' The Muppet Show''. * Guest star in the 3rd episode of the award-winning
BBC Scotland BBC Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: ''BBC Alba'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. It is one of the four BBC national regions, together with the BBC English Regions, BBC Cymru Wales and BBC Northern Ireland. I ...
drama series '' Takin' Over the Asylum'' (1994). * Narrated the 1995 TV show '' Wolves, Witches and Giants''. A cartoon based on the book of the same name, it retold classic tales such as '' Little Red Riding Hood'' and '' Cinderella'', but with a twist. The programme won the 1995 Royal Television Society award for Best Children's Entertainment, and was nominated for the same award again in 1997. * Guest on Series 4, Episode 3 of ''Room 101'' in 1999.


Theatre

* '' Treasure Island'' (1961, 1973–1975) * '' The Bedsitting Room'' (1963, 1967), written by Milligan and John Antrobus * ''
Oblomov ''Oblomov'' ( ru , link=no, Обломов; ) is the second novel by Russian writer Ivan Goncharov, first published in 1859. Ilya Ilyich Oblomov is the central character of the novel, portrayed as the ultimate incarnation of the superfluous man, ...
'' opened at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, in 1964. It was based on the Russian classic by Ivan Goncharov, and gave Milligan the opportunity to play most of the title role in bed. Unsure of his material, on the opening night he improvised a great deal, treating the audience as part of the plot almost, and he continued in this manner for the rest of the run, and on tour as 'Son of Oblomov'. The show ran at the Comedy Theatre in London's West End in 1965. * '' Badjelly's Bad Christmas'' was a play created and performed by the
Chickenshed Chickenshed (also known as Chicken Shed or the Chicken Shed Theatre Company) is a British theatre company based in Southgate, London. Chickenshed's membership programme comprises four Children's theatre groups and two Youth theatre groups for you ...
Theatre Company using the works of Spike Milligan and his characters.


Filmography


Books


''Goon Show''

* ''The Goon Show Scripts'' (1972) * ''More Goon Show Scripts'' (1973) * ''The Book of the Goons'' (1974) * ''The Goon Cartoons'' (1982) (illustrated by Peter Clarke) * ''More Goon Cartoons'' (1983) (illustrated by Peter Clarke) * ''The Lost Goon Shows'' (1987)


Novels

* '' Puckoon'' (1963) * '' The Looney: An Irish Fantasy'' (1987) * ''The Murphy'' (2000)


William McGonagall

* ''The Great McGonagall Scrapbook'' (1975) (with Jack Hobbs) * ''William McGonagall: The Truth at Last'' (1976) (with Jack Hobbs) * ''William McGonagall Meets George Gershwin: A Scottish Fantasy'' (1988) (with Jack Hobbs) * ''William McGonagall: Freefall'' (1992) (with Jack Hobbs)


"According to" books

* '' The Bible—the Old Testament According to Spike Milligan'' (1993) * '' Lady Chatterley's Lover According to Spike Milligan'' (1994) * '' Wuthering Heights According to Spike Milligan'' (1994) * '' D. H. Lawrence's John Thomas and Lady Jane: According to Spike Milligan—Part II of "Lady Chatterley's Lover"'' (1995) * ''
Black Beauty According to Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish actor, comedian, writer, musician, poet, and playwright. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Raj, British Colonial India, where h ...
'' (1996) * ''
Frankenstein According to Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish actor, comedian, writer, musician, poet, and playwright. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Colonial India, where he spent his c ...
'' (1997) * '' Robin Hood According to Spike Milligan'' (1998) * '' The Hound of the Baskervilles According to Spike Milligan'' (1998) * ''
Treasure Island According to Spike Milligan ''According to Spike Milligan'' is a series of literary pastiche novels written by Spike Milligan from 1993 to 2000. Each part of the series was a rewriting of an original novel, with surreal comic elements added that fit into certain points of t ...
'' (2000) * ''Classic Adventures: According to Spike Milligan'' (2002)


Scripts

*'' The Bed-Sitting Room'' (1970) (with John Antrobus) * ''The Q Annual'' (1979) * ''Get in the Q Annual'' (1980) * ''There's a Lot of it About!'' (1983) * ''The Melting Pot'' (1983)


Children's books

* ''Bald Twit Lion'' (1968) * ''
Badjelly the Witch ''Badjelly the Witch'' is a brief handwritten, illustrated story by Spike Milligan, created for his children, then printed in 1973. It was made into an audio and a video version. In 1975, in the planning for an audio version for the BBC "infan ...
'' (1973) * ''Dip the Puppy'' (1974) * ''
Sir Nobonk and the Terrible Dreadful Awful Naughty Nasty Dragon ''Sir Nobonk and the Terrible Dreadful Awful Naughty Nasty Dragon'' (also known by the shorter title of ''Sir Nobonk and the... Dragon'') is a 1982 comedy novel written by Spike Milligan, and the fourth picture book by Milligan after ''The Bald ...
'' (1982) * ''A Children's Treasury of Milligan: Classic Stories and Poems'' (1999) * ''The Magical World of Milligan'' (2009) * ''Spike's Bike Book for Parents of Little Kids'' (Published by Traffic Authority NSW, 1985) * ''Spike Milligan SPIKE'S BIKE BOOK FOR MEDIUM KIDS'' (Published by Traffic Authority NSW, 1985) * ''Spike's Bike Book For Big Kids'' (Published by Traffic Authority NSW, 1985)


Memoirs

The War (and Peace) Memoirs. (The seven memoirs were also recorded as talking books with Milligan reciting them.) *1 '' Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall'' (1971) *2 ''
"Rommel?" "Gunner Who?" ''"Rommel?" "Gunner Who?": A Confrontation in the Desert'' is Spike Milligan's second volume of war autobiography, published in 1974, with Jack Hobbs credited as an editor. This book spans events from January to May 1943, during Operation Torc ...
'' (1974) *3 '' Monty: His Part in My Victory'' (1976). This and the previous two books were released and publicised as the first, second and third part respectively of a trilogy. *4 '' Mussolini: His Part in My Downfall'' (1978). This was announced as the fourth part of his "increasingly misnamed" trilogy. *5 ''
Where Have All the Bullets Gone? Where may refer to: * Where?, one of the Five Ws in journalism * where (command), a shell command * Where (SQL), a database language clause * Where.com, a provider of location-based applications via mobile phones * ''Where'' (magazine), a s ...
'' (1985) *6 ''
Goodbye Soldier ''Goodbye Soldier'' is Spike Milligan's sixth volume of autobiography. While he began writing it immediately after finishing Where Have All the Bullets Gone? in 1985, he finished it in a manic two week period in early 1986. World War II has ...
'' (1986) *7 ''
Peace Work A peaceworker is an individual or member of an organization that undertakes to resolve violent conflict, prevent the rise of new violent conflicts, and rebuild societies damaged by war. The term peaceworker is usually reserved for civilian, unarmed ...
'' (1991) * ''Milligan's War'' (1988) Compilation of the first six volumes of Milligan's war memoirs. * ''It Ends with Magic: A Milligan Family History'' (1990) * ''Spike Milligan: The Family Album: An Illustrated Autobiography'' (1999) * ''Milligan's Meaning of Life: An Autobiography of Sorts'' (2011)


Non-fiction

* ''The Spike Milligan Letters'' (1977) * ''More Spike Milligan Letters'' (1984) * ''Dear Robert, Dear Spike: The Graves–Milligan Correspondence'' (1991) (with Robert Graves) * ''Depression and How to Survive It'' (1993) (with Anthony Clare)


Collections of literature

* ''A Dustbin of Milligan'' (1961) * ''The Little Pot Boiler: A Book Based Freely On His Seasonal Overdraft'' (1963) * ''Book of Bits or a Bit of a Book'' (1965) * ''Bedside Milligan'' (1969) * ''Indefinite Articles and Scunthorpe'' (1981) * ''A Potboiling Dustbin Full of Bits'' (1984) * ''Scunthorpe Revisited: With Added Milligan Articles and Instant Relatives'' (1989) * ''A Mad Medley of Milligan'' (1999) * ''The Essential Spike Milligan'' (2002) * ''The Compulsive Spike Milligan'' (2004) * ''Box 18: The Unpublished Spike Milligan'' (2006)


Collections (mostly poetry)

* ''
Silly Verse for Kids ''Silly Verse for Kids'' is a collection of humorous poems, limericks and drawings for children by Spike Milligan, first published by Dennis Dobson in 1959. ''Silly Verse for Kids'' was Milligan's first book. Many of the pieces had been written ...
'' (1959) * ''
A Book of Milliganimals ''A Book of Milliganimals'' is a children's book by Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish actor, comedian, writer, musician, poet, and playwright. The son of an English mother and I ...
'' (1968) * ''Values'' (poems) (1969) * ''Milligan's Ark'' (1971) * ''Small Dreams of a Scorpion'' (poems) (1972) * ''Transports of Delight'' (1974) * ''Milligan Book of Records'' (1975) * ''Poems'' (1977) * ''Goblins'' (poems) (1978) * ''Open Heart University'' (poems) (1979) * ''Twelve Poems That Made December Colder'' (1979) * ''Unspun Socks from a Chicken's Laundry'' (poems) (1981) * ''Chill Air'' (poems) (1981) * ''One Hundred and One Best and Only Limericks of Spike Milligan'' (1982) * ''Silly Verse for Kids and Animals'' (1984) * ''Floored Masterpieces with Worse Verse'' (1985) (with Tracey Boyd) * ''Further Transports of Delight'' (1985) * ''The Mirror Running'' (poems) (1987) * ''Startling Verse for All the Family'' (1987) * ''That's Amazing'' (1988) * ''Condensed Animals'' (1991) * ''Hidden Words: Collected Poems'' (1993) * ''Fleas, Knees and Hidden Elephants'' (poems) (1994)


Recordings

Does not include ''Goon Show''-related recordings * ''Milligan Preserved'' (1961) * ''
Bridge on the River Wye ''Bridge on the River Wye'' is an album by members of the British comedy group ''The Goon Show'' and other humorists. It was produced by George Martin for EMI's Parlophone Records. It is a parody of the 1957 film ''The Bridge on the River Kwai''. ...
'' (1962) * ''Best of Milligan's Wake'' (1964) * ''How to Win an Election (Or Not Lose By Much)'' (1964) * ''Muses With Spike Milligan'' (1965) * ''The World of Beachcomber'' (1968) * ''A Record Load of Rubbish'' (1971) * ''Badjelly The Witch (A Musical Tale) and Other Goodies'' (1974) * ''He's Innocent of Watergate (or Dick's Last Stand)'' (1974) * ''Spike Milligan with Jeremy Taylor: An Adult Entertainment Live at Cambridge University'' (1974) * ''Spike Milligan and Ed Welch Sing Songs From Q8'' (1978) * ''Puckoon'' (1980) * ''Adolf Hitler – My Part in His Downfall'' (1981) * ''Spike Milligan: Wolves, Witches & Giants'' (1982) * ''Unspun Socks From a Chicken's Laundry'' (1982) * ''Where Have All the Bullets Gone?'' (1989) * ''Peace Work'' (1995) * ''Rommel? Gunner Who?'' (1997) * ''Mussolini: His Part in My Downfall'' (1997) * ''Spike Milligan: The Parkinson Interviews'' (2002)


Notes


References


Further reading


Articles

* * * * * *


Books

* * * * * * *


External links

* * *
Grand Waltz for Brisbane Water
composed by Spike Milligan. {{DEFAULTSORT:Milligan, Spike 1918 births 2002 deaths 20th-century British comedians 20th-century British poets 20th-century memoirists 21st-century British comedians Actors awarded knighthoods Audiobook narrators BBC people British Army personnel of World War II British Book Award winners British comedy writers British male comedians British male comedy actors British male dramatists and playwrights British male film actors British male radio actors British male stage actors British male television actors British male voice actors British memoirists British parodists British people in colonial India British radio writers British surrealist artists Burials in East Sussex Deaths from kidney failure English people of Irish descent Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Humorous poets Military personnel of British India People from Ahmednagar People from Rye, East Sussex People with bipolar disorder People with post-traumatic stress disorder Royal Artillery soldiers The Goon Show Writers who illustrated their own writing