''The Pall Bearer's Revue'' is a 1992 sketch and stand-up comedy show written by

Jerry Sadowitz Jerry Sadowitz (born June 1961) is an American-born Scottish stand-up comedian and magician. Notorious for his controversial brand of black comedy, Sadowitz has said that audiences going to see a comedian should suspend their beliefs. He has i ...

and starring Sadowitz and Dreenagh Darrell. The show also featured appearances from

Geoffrey McGivern Geoffrey M. McGivern is a British actor in film, television, radio and stage, as well as a comedian. He is best known for originating the role of Ford Prefect in ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Career He played Ford Prefect in the ...

Ben Miller Bennet Evan Miller (born 24 February 1966) is an English comedian, actor and author. He rose to fame as a member of the comedy duo Armstrong and Miller, with Alexander Armstrong. He is known for roles as Angus Jeremy Bough in the '' Johnny Eng ...

and

Mark E. Smith Mark Edward Smith (5 March 1957 – 24 January 2018) was an English singer-songwriter. He was the lead vocalist, lyricist and only constant member of the post-punk group the Fall. Smith formed the band after attending the June 1976 Sex Pistol ...

. The series' title comes from an old magic magazine "The Pallbearer's Review". Each episode featured a mixture of sketches, comedy monologues from Sadowitz, as well as magic tricks including a special section dubbed "The Roy Walton Moment" in which Sadowitz would perform a magic trick invented by his mentor, famed magician

Roy Walton Roy Walton (11 April 1932 – 4 February 2020) was an English card magic expert. Biography First interested in magic at the age of eight, Walton was a world-recognised card magician creating hundreds of card effects, including his most famo ...

. Although not as abundant with profanity or scatological humour as Sadowitz' live stand up, the show nevertheless made heavy use of tasteless and aggressive blue comedy and has been described as one of the most controversial comedy series ever broadcast in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The final episode ended with the studio being invaded by the armies of all the countries Sadowitz had offended over the course of the series, who then gunned down Sadowitz and Darrell. As a result of the record number of viewer complaints sent to the BBC, The Pall Bearer's Revue was rescheduled to a late night slot, had negative continuity announcements air before the show, and has never been repeated or released on home video or DVD. The series is also frequently cited as the catalyst for the BBC blackballing Sadowitz from the organisation entirely and for his long-standing reputation of being "difficult to work with". However, in a 2013 interview with the

British Comedy Guide British Comedy Guide or BCG (formerly the British Sitcom Guide or BSG) is a Great Britain, British website covering British comedy, British comedies. BCG publishes guides to TV and radio situation comedy, sketch shows, comedy dramas, satire, va ...

, Sadowitz dismissed these claims, stating that

Alan Yentob Alan Yentob (11 March 1947 – 24 May 2025) was an English television executive and presenter. He held senior roles at the BBC, including head of music and arts, controller of BBC1 and BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadca ...

hated the show and saw it as a threat to his job, so Yentob did everything he could to conceal it and make sure as few people as possible saw it.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pall Bearers Revue, The 1992 British television series debuts 1992 British television series endings BBC television comedy 1990s British comedy television series BBC controversies