1 00:00:01,360 --> 00:00:04,820 To millions of fans, he was the funniest man in the world. 2 00:00:07,240 --> 00:00:11,580 He really knew exactly what he wanted to do. He was a master, a genius. 3 00:00:12,360 --> 00:00:17,240 His childhood dream was to be the star of the show. 4 00:00:18,820 --> 00:00:21,060 It was a dream that became an obsession. 5 00:00:21,740 --> 00:00:24,160 The work had always devoured him, really. 6 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:27,340 And that's what he was. He was his work. 7 00:00:30,700 --> 00:00:34,280 He wanted to be as famous as his comic hero, Charlie Chaplin. 8 00:00:37,500 --> 00:00:42,520 He did achieve his ambition, but what a price he had to pay for it, because at 9 00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:48,600 the end of the day, he gave up everything and everybody for his 10 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:04,560 After more than 40 years in show business, Benny Hill received the 11 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:08,500 Chaplin Award for Comedy at his hero's Swiss home in 1991. 12 00:01:09,900 --> 00:01:12,060 It was the crowning moment of his life. 13 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:20,700 After the ceremony, Chaplin's son Eugene took Benny to his late 14 00:01:20,700 --> 00:01:21,700 father's study. 15 00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:24,300 He couldn't believe he was like in heaven. 16 00:01:24,780 --> 00:01:29,040 And I was looking around the room and I went, hey, Ben, come here, look at this. 17 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:31,540 And there was his telly and there was his armchair. 18 00:01:31,860 --> 00:01:35,820 And I said, look, and the rack said, Benny Hill, Benny Hill, Benny Hill, 19 00:01:35,820 --> 00:01:40,580 Hill, Benny Hill. And he went, oh, my God, a chaplain thought that much of me. 20 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:42,820 And Eugene said, my dad thought you were the greatest. 21 00:01:50,220 --> 00:01:54,960 In Southampton, a busy port on Britain's south coast, Benny Hill was born on 22 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:57,120 January 21st, 1924. 23 00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:02,300 Christened Alfred Hawthorne, he was the second child of Helen and Alfred Hill. 24 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:07,160 His brother Leonard was two years older, but it was to be nine years before his 25 00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:09,120 sister Diane made the family complete. 26 00:02:09,620 --> 00:02:12,960 Benny was his mother's favorite. They shared a love of singing. 27 00:02:13,180 --> 00:02:15,980 A quiet woman, she was the bedrock of the family. 28 00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:17,760 He was very fond of his mother. 29 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:20,760 He thought the world of her. 30 00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:25,680 She, I suppose, sort of stood up for him against his father when his father 31 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:26,860 became too domineering. 32 00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:31,780 His mother was the biggest influence in his life. 33 00:02:32,260 --> 00:02:37,680 His father used to come out into the front garden to do a bit of gardening 34 00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:39,040 he always wore a beret. 35 00:02:39,460 --> 00:02:44,400 That same beret which I saw later in some of Benny's shows. 36 00:02:45,460 --> 00:02:48,880 The Hills lived in an affluent suburb north of the city. 37 00:02:49,150 --> 00:02:53,390 Benny's father managed a shop that sold surgical trusses and other medical 38 00:02:53,390 --> 00:02:56,750 goods, including condoms, though they were never mentioned by name. 39 00:02:57,190 --> 00:03:01,370 Situated next to Southampton's docks, the shop was very profitable. 40 00:03:01,770 --> 00:03:07,670 There was a quite notorious pub nearby, so I think perhaps it was the place 41 00:03:07,670 --> 00:03:12,990 where you might find prostitutes if you were looking for them. And it sold what 42 00:03:12,990 --> 00:03:14,770 was then called rubber goods. 43 00:03:15,660 --> 00:03:19,360 So it was a bit of a joke that that's where his father was manager. 44 00:03:20,060 --> 00:03:22,560 I think the shop did quite well. 45 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:30,140 Benny's blood was touched by the big top. His father and uncle had both been 46 00:03:30,140 --> 00:03:34,460 clowns, but Alfred Senior was so strict his sons called him the captain. 47 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:41,500 His father had originally been with the circus before the First War. 48 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:47,740 And then he joined up in the First War and was taken prisoner by the Germans 49 00:03:47,740 --> 00:03:50,500 spent a couple of years in German prison camps. 50 00:03:52,100 --> 00:03:57,660 And whenever Benny or any of them complained about the food, he would 51 00:03:57,660 --> 00:04:01,300 the wonderful food they were having with what he'd had in a German prison camp. 52 00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:09,120 At 11, Benny won a scholarship to a local school. 53 00:04:09,630 --> 00:04:14,130 Not very athletic, he excelled at art, but was not really academically minded. 54 00:04:14,390 --> 00:04:18,370 Content with his own company, Benny was something of an enigma to his 55 00:04:18,370 --> 00:04:25,290 classmates. He did live to a certain extent in his own little world, even 56 00:04:25,550 --> 00:04:31,710 And that's why perhaps none of the other boys in the class really ever knew him. 57 00:04:33,650 --> 00:04:37,550 Despite his reserve, his mother encouraged him to join a musical group. 58 00:04:37,900 --> 00:04:42,620 Benny played guitar and told jokes which he'd quietly try out first on his 59 00:04:42,620 --> 00:04:43,620 school friends. 60 00:04:44,140 --> 00:04:48,120 He would sidle up to you and stand very close to you. 61 00:04:48,460 --> 00:04:51,000 Sometimes he might put his arm around you. 62 00:04:51,300 --> 00:04:55,840 And he'd tell you perhaps the latest smutty story. 63 00:04:57,260 --> 00:05:00,280 He'd sometimes have pictures of girls. 64 00:05:00,540 --> 00:05:02,660 They were often glamorous girls. 65 00:05:05,069 --> 00:05:08,630 Those were not the girls we were. I mean, the other boys in the class were 66 00:05:08,630 --> 00:05:13,150 interested in girls in the flesh, whereas he seemed to be more interested 67 00:05:13,150 --> 00:05:14,670 pictures of girls. 68 00:05:15,450 --> 00:05:17,950 It was the glamour, perhaps, which interested him. 69 00:05:19,290 --> 00:05:20,950 Glamour to Benny meant show business. 70 00:05:23,150 --> 00:05:27,270 His family had always taken him to Southampton's theatres, where he was 71 00:05:27,270 --> 00:05:29,090 entranced by the touring reviews. 72 00:05:29,330 --> 00:05:32,110 It was a glimpse into a world he wanted to join. 73 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:36,560 He said, when I was a kid, my dad used to take me to the variety theatres all 74 00:05:36,560 --> 00:05:41,080 the time, and you'd see a touring revue, and you'd see a foldy rolls type thing. 75 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:45,320 He said, and there was this little sort of chubby guy with a funny hat on, 76 00:05:45,400 --> 00:05:50,260 surrounded by beautiful girls, and making everybody in the audience laugh 77 00:05:50,260 --> 00:05:54,180 clap. And he said, even as a kid, I said, I want to be that man. 78 00:05:55,700 --> 00:05:58,440 It was the dream Benny pursued all his life. 79 00:06:01,680 --> 00:06:07,340 When World War II broke out in 1939, Benny's school was evacuated, and a year 80 00:06:07,340 --> 00:06:12,280 later he dropped out. At 15, and without qualifications of any kind for a job, 81 00:06:12,400 --> 00:06:16,380 he started out delivering milk, and then found work in a local Woolworth's 82 00:06:16,380 --> 00:06:20,880 store. He was surrounded by 26 shop girls, but he couldn't impress them with 83 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:21,679 new job. 84 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:27,260 He was a trainee manager, but as you said, it was mostly, they'd say... 85 00:06:27,710 --> 00:06:32,110 that the dog had done something over there by the perfumery, would you come 86 00:06:32,110 --> 00:06:34,210 pick it? He'd go with a shovel and pick it up, you know. 87 00:06:34,730 --> 00:06:38,590 He was learning to be a manager from the bottom upwards, you could say. 88 00:06:39,750 --> 00:06:44,450 At 17, Benny sold his guitar and left his hometown to pursue his dream. 89 00:06:45,410 --> 00:06:49,870 He set out for London and slept in an air raid shelter for lack of funds 90 00:06:49,870 --> 00:06:52,590 taking his first steps into the world of show business. 91 00:06:52,810 --> 00:06:57,050 He became a prop boy and assistant stage manager with a touring review. 92 00:06:57,710 --> 00:07:00,250 One night, the straight man didn't turn up. 93 00:07:00,910 --> 00:07:04,090 He was probably in the pub or something and forgot to come out. 94 00:07:04,650 --> 00:07:10,410 And Benny volunteered off his own back to go on and play the part of a straight 95 00:07:10,410 --> 00:07:11,410 man for the comic. 96 00:07:12,570 --> 00:07:15,870 And the comic thanked him and said, that was very good, you know, I think you 97 00:07:15,870 --> 00:07:18,430 should stay in the business or something like that. 98 00:07:19,830 --> 00:07:23,830 His fledgling career ground to a halt when he was drafted in 1942. 99 00:07:24,640 --> 00:07:28,300 The army trained him to be a mechanic, but as the war ended, he saw an 100 00:07:28,300 --> 00:07:32,180 opportunity to get back on stage, and he transferred to the army's 101 00:07:32,180 --> 00:07:35,640 entertainments division, where his saucy humor went down well. 102 00:07:36,420 --> 00:07:40,840 One night in Germany, the colonel in charge of forces entertainment came to 103 00:07:40,840 --> 00:07:41,840 the show. 104 00:07:41,900 --> 00:07:46,940 Benny was in a stars in battle dress party. He was actually the second comic 105 00:07:46,940 --> 00:07:48,220 the driver of the lorry. 106 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:51,140 And I went to a little tiny... 107 00:07:51,750 --> 00:07:57,170 beautiful little theatre, Schloss Theatre in Cella, and the local 108 00:07:57,170 --> 00:08:01,510 officer had said that Benny was not to do his act because he didn't think he 109 00:08:01,510 --> 00:08:06,750 funny. But the sergeant in charge, another comic, said, I think you'd 110 00:08:06,750 --> 00:08:08,210 it tonight because the colonel's in front. 111 00:08:08,650 --> 00:08:11,970 I thought he was very funny, so I went round to see him and I said, listen, you 112 00:08:11,970 --> 00:08:13,430 and I are not going to be in the army forever. 113 00:08:14,310 --> 00:08:16,750 I'm going to be an agent, I expect you're going to be a comedian. 114 00:08:17,290 --> 00:08:19,390 You'd better come and see me when you come out of the army. 115 00:08:20,270 --> 00:08:25,470 By the time he was signed up by Colonel Stone, Alf Hill became Benny Hill after 116 00:08:25,470 --> 00:08:27,410 the popular comedian Jack Benny. 117 00:08:28,270 --> 00:08:34,730 I sent Benny to audition, and Peter Sellers was at the audition, and I think 118 00:08:34,730 --> 00:08:40,830 beat Peter Sellers to the job, and he went down to Margit to feed Reg Varney. 119 00:08:41,289 --> 00:08:46,090 Reg Varney was one of Britain's top variety comedians. He needed a new 120 00:08:46,450 --> 00:08:48,890 After our first performance, I thought, 121 00:08:49,870 --> 00:08:51,430 This is going to be good, you know. 122 00:08:52,310 --> 00:08:57,710 But I didn't realise how good he was going to be until we'd been together for 123 00:08:57,710 --> 00:08:59,210 quite a few weeks. 124 00:08:59,990 --> 00:09:06,070 And we had this rapport which was uncanny, but he was so quick, it wasn't 125 00:09:06,150 --> 00:09:07,370 and he was a brilliant writer. 126 00:09:07,750 --> 00:09:12,430 For three seasons, their partnership blossomed, but Benny's ambition was to 127 00:09:12,430 --> 00:09:13,890 the star of the show like Reg. 128 00:09:14,090 --> 00:09:17,850 When he got the chance, he found the stage to be a very lonely place. 129 00:09:18,430 --> 00:09:24,530 Strange thing, when he was feeding me, playing characters, he was fantastic. 130 00:09:25,910 --> 00:09:27,330 Brilliant, to say the least. 131 00:09:28,030 --> 00:09:34,830 But as soon as he went on to do his own act, to be himself, no good. 132 00:09:35,470 --> 00:09:36,610 No good whatsoever. 133 00:09:37,210 --> 00:09:38,770 The public didn't like him. 134 00:09:39,990 --> 00:09:43,130 Then he got less laughs the farther north he travelled. 135 00:09:43,530 --> 00:09:46,050 It was a famous graveyard for London comics. 136 00:09:46,250 --> 00:09:49,190 He persevered, but his lack of success made him ill. 137 00:09:49,550 --> 00:09:53,310 Reg passed on advice to help his partner get over his stage fright. 138 00:09:54,550 --> 00:10:00,730 I went to this fellow who taught me how to relax and showed me what to do. 139 00:10:01,210 --> 00:10:04,050 And I was telling Benny, I said, it's marvellous. I said, 140 00:10:04,790 --> 00:10:09,110 he said, well, he said, he said, it's not that, he said, I can't sleep either 141 00:10:09,110 --> 00:10:12,810 night. I said, well, you won't do, because you're worried about... 142 00:10:13,050 --> 00:10:18,670 the performance and and i showed him what to do and told him what to do 143 00:10:18,670 --> 00:10:23,610 and uh in the morning at breakfast i said how'd you get on with the relaxing 144 00:10:23,610 --> 00:10:28,790 then ben he said yeah he said i tried he said after a while when it wasn't 145 00:10:28,790 --> 00:10:35,130 working i turned over and went to sleep i used to dread playing up north i 146 00:10:35,130 --> 00:10:38,770 really did it was uh you used to frighten me to death i have to go up 147 00:10:38,770 --> 00:10:42,430 don't know why it was my fault or what but i never seem to click Playing at 148 00:10:42,430 --> 00:10:43,430 North. 149 00:10:44,110 --> 00:10:48,350 It was at a theatre in the north of England that Benny starred with Reg 150 00:10:48,350 --> 00:10:49,350 for the last time. 151 00:10:49,810 --> 00:10:54,590 I'm in the dressing room and I thought, he's going well. 152 00:10:55,310 --> 00:11:00,470 And he's getting clapped and, you know, but when I listened, it was all 153 00:11:00,470 --> 00:11:01,470 together. 154 00:11:02,530 --> 00:11:05,790 And I'd never heard the slow hand clap before in all my life, you see. 155 00:11:06,930 --> 00:11:09,190 And it's a terrifying thing to hear. 156 00:11:11,860 --> 00:11:15,180 When he came off, it was ill, very ill, I think. 157 00:11:16,360 --> 00:11:21,920 And the manager came in, he said, he said, you've got a rotten act. 158 00:11:22,740 --> 00:11:25,540 And he said, well, what shall I do? 159 00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:30,820 Mr. Charlie said, he said, get off as quick as you can. 160 00:11:32,180 --> 00:11:37,080 With the loss of his solo act, Benny left the tour. He was disheartened but 161 00:11:37,080 --> 00:11:38,080 still determined. 162 00:11:38,400 --> 00:11:40,660 He came back and sat in his garden. 163 00:11:41,450 --> 00:11:43,290 in his mother's house in Southampton. 164 00:11:44,390 --> 00:11:47,810 And he sat there for two or three months, I think. It was a beautiful 165 00:11:48,710 --> 00:11:51,490 And he wrote hundreds of sketches. 166 00:11:52,250 --> 00:11:54,530 And he took them up to Ronnie Warmer at the BBC. 167 00:11:55,870 --> 00:11:58,030 And he said, there, Mr Warmer, look at that. 168 00:11:58,530 --> 00:12:03,070 And I think you'll find there's some good stuff there. 169 00:12:03,610 --> 00:12:04,690 And he said, I'm guaranteed. 170 00:12:05,070 --> 00:12:08,830 And Ronnie Warmer looked at them, and that's where he got the job, on 171 00:12:08,830 --> 00:12:09,830 television. 172 00:12:12,970 --> 00:12:15,130 Benny had the break he'd been looking for. 173 00:12:19,610 --> 00:12:23,830 By 1954, Benny Hill was Britain's best -loved comic. 174 00:12:24,130 --> 00:12:28,930 Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for the Benny Hill Show. 175 00:12:31,070 --> 00:12:36,130 The shy 30 -year -old with a risque sense of humor was his country's 176 00:12:36,530 --> 00:12:39,070 He wanted to get on television very badly. 177 00:12:40,130 --> 00:12:45,990 And when he got on, he became the first English comedian to be made by 178 00:12:45,990 --> 00:12:50,850 television because all the other comedians before him had been made by 179 00:12:51,290 --> 00:12:52,890 I owe pretty well everything to television. 180 00:12:53,610 --> 00:12:56,430 It's given me great opportunities outside television. 181 00:12:56,670 --> 00:12:58,530 It's given me the chance to appear in a West End show. 182 00:12:59,090 --> 00:13:00,210 I've done my first film. 183 00:13:00,750 --> 00:13:04,570 And, well, it's done one thing for me that I'm very grateful to television 184 00:13:04,610 --> 00:13:06,850 and that is that it's given me a lot of friends in the north of England. 185 00:13:08,290 --> 00:13:12,550 Before he became a TV star, Benny remembered that he had died a terrible 186 00:13:12,550 --> 00:13:15,170 with his solo act in the theatre in the north of England. 187 00:13:15,530 --> 00:13:18,610 My agent said, you're going to play this theatre again, you know, but you'll be 188 00:13:18,610 --> 00:13:20,390 topping the bill this time. And I said, I'm not going up there anymore. 189 00:13:20,810 --> 00:13:25,290 He talked me into it and I went up there and went on the Monday night and they 190 00:13:25,290 --> 00:13:27,950 were really fabulous. They were the most wonderful audience I've ever played to. 191 00:13:28,090 --> 00:13:30,130 I thought they were kidding at first. They were taking the mic out of me. 192 00:13:30,700 --> 00:13:33,540 Here we have the barbell, sir. There we have the weight. 193 00:13:33,840 --> 00:13:37,720 That's for getting your weight down. Television, not the stage, was Benny's 194 00:13:37,720 --> 00:13:39,740 home. Get the camera on that. Look at that. Look at that. 195 00:13:40,760 --> 00:13:41,760 Is it on? 196 00:13:42,140 --> 00:13:43,180 Yes. Cool. 197 00:13:44,080 --> 00:13:48,780 His characters, like Fred Scuttle, sprang to life. 198 00:13:49,060 --> 00:13:53,160 All the subtleties that had been lost in the theater from the fourth row back 199 00:13:53,160 --> 00:13:54,760 were picked up by the camera. 200 00:13:56,880 --> 00:13:59,600 I told you to wear a vest when you used these, didn't I? 201 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:08,320 I think his tradition, you know, was more American than English. I 202 00:14:08,320 --> 00:14:13,420 think he followed in the tradition of American burlesque. 203 00:14:14,140 --> 00:14:17,680 As you can see, Benjamin's wearing a new broad shoulder look. 204 00:14:18,320 --> 00:14:24,720 He was very unusual as a comedian, even in those days, you know, because... 205 00:14:25,150 --> 00:14:28,070 He wasn't the ordinary stand -up comedian with the jokes. 206 00:14:29,290 --> 00:14:32,290 It's an all -purpose jacket suitable for the smoker. 207 00:14:35,630 --> 00:14:38,770 Or equally suitable for the non -smoker. 208 00:14:43,250 --> 00:14:48,270 It was also Benny's attention to detail that made him TV's golden boy. He found 209 00:14:48,270 --> 00:14:51,630 new ways to use the new medium that delighted his audience. 210 00:14:52,270 --> 00:14:56,070 He was a great innovator in the early, early days of television. And he was the 211 00:14:56,070 --> 00:14:59,830 first person to do three characters in one scene, or it was four, I think, when 212 00:14:59,830 --> 00:15:00,890 he did Jukebox Jury. 213 00:15:01,270 --> 00:15:05,550 And he knew you could do it on a split screen because he knew if you filmed it, 214 00:15:05,590 --> 00:15:09,570 you could, in those days, put a bit of card over it, film it, put a bit of 215 00:15:09,630 --> 00:15:12,550 and then put the whole thing together. So there were four Bennys on a screen. 216 00:15:17,770 --> 00:15:21,050 Then he worked hard at making his humor look effortless. 217 00:15:21,400 --> 00:15:25,680 He brought new life to old material with his sharp observations that found the 218 00:15:25,680 --> 00:15:27,080 audience laughing at itself. 219 00:15:32,500 --> 00:15:34,740 Would you describe yourself as an angry young man? 220 00:15:35,140 --> 00:15:36,240 No, I don't think so, no. 221 00:15:36,800 --> 00:15:38,100 I am. 222 00:15:38,660 --> 00:15:41,180 He teamed up with budding writer Dave Freeman. 223 00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:42,400 What makes you angry? 224 00:15:42,420 --> 00:15:43,580 Oh, I thought you said hungry. 225 00:15:45,130 --> 00:15:49,330 For ten years, they collaborated, living in each other's pockets. It was the 226 00:15:49,330 --> 00:15:53,690 only time in Benny's life that he shared the burden of originating his comedy. 227 00:15:55,270 --> 00:15:58,970 There was nothing affected about him. He was very down -to -earth. 228 00:15:59,610 --> 00:16:02,910 He was like the chap who might work on the next bench in the factory. 229 00:16:03,350 --> 00:16:08,390 But he was a craftsman. Benny had perfect pitch in music and a way with 230 00:16:08,490 --> 00:16:11,570 In 1961, this song reached the top 20. 231 00:16:12,040 --> 00:16:18,060 I went to view a lady's house, she handed me the key. 232 00:16:18,460 --> 00:16:25,220 She said it's to be let as it stands with all that you can see. 233 00:16:25,740 --> 00:16:32,360 I said, are you to be let with the house in a very softy tone? 234 00:16:32,980 --> 00:16:39,240 She said, I'm not to be let with the house, I'm to be let alone. 235 00:16:42,760 --> 00:16:46,160 Benny's many faces and suggestive eyes were made for TV. 236 00:16:47,420 --> 00:16:54,080 Oh, we know it's right, it's in black and white, and it's all written down in 237 00:16:54,080 --> 00:16:55,780 diary. 238 00:16:57,680 --> 00:17:02,020 Show business was his entire life. That was really all he thought about. It 239 00:17:02,020 --> 00:17:05,359 obsessed him, and he thought about it early morning till late at night. 240 00:17:05,579 --> 00:17:08,980 He had very few hobbies. He didn't read much. 241 00:17:09,349 --> 00:17:13,990 He'd go and see films and he'd go and see shows, but always with an idea of 242 00:17:13,990 --> 00:17:16,130 whether they would inspire him into doing something. 243 00:17:32,560 --> 00:17:37,140 The gorgeous women from his childhood dream were on the screen to see, but 244 00:17:37,140 --> 00:17:39,160 in life did not mean lucky in love. 245 00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:46,860 On his first tour with Reg Varney, Benny met Elizabeth English, an actress from 246 00:17:46,860 --> 00:17:47,920 the theatre next door. 247 00:17:48,300 --> 00:17:52,800 She remembers him, he had beautiful hair, thick blonde hair, and lots and 248 00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:56,100 of scripts, always under his arm, piles and piles of scripts. 249 00:17:58,030 --> 00:18:02,430 But it was a dancer from her show that Benny fell in love with. One night he 250 00:18:02,430 --> 00:18:04,790 proposed marriage, but was turned down. 251 00:18:05,030 --> 00:18:09,930 He was very upset and tried to get a message through via my mother to this 252 00:18:09,930 --> 00:18:14,470 and it didn't work out. So my mother took him for a cup of tea and fish and 253 00:18:14,470 --> 00:18:15,990 chips or egg and chips to cheer him up. 254 00:18:16,690 --> 00:18:21,270 But he was very sweet and very sensitive, very sensitive young man. 255 00:18:23,450 --> 00:18:28,630 To the outside world, Benny was the funniest man. It was a role he played to 256 00:18:28,630 --> 00:18:29,630 perfection. 257 00:18:35,330 --> 00:18:39,990 Turning out to promote his first movie, which was followed by five more, he 258 00:18:39,990 --> 00:18:40,990 delighted his fans. 259 00:18:45,610 --> 00:18:50,190 But the real Benny was always happiest away from the celebrity spotlight. 260 00:18:51,100 --> 00:18:56,000 Self -taught and fluent in four languages, he spent months abroad, often 261 00:18:56,000 --> 00:19:00,640 Europe's fiestas, theatres and circuses, looking for new material for his shows. 262 00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:02,900 All his life, he travelled alone. 263 00:19:03,280 --> 00:19:05,540 Comedy was to be his only mistress. 264 00:19:06,440 --> 00:19:12,340 He hated responsibility, and I think he hated it because he felt it distracted 265 00:19:12,340 --> 00:19:13,380 him from work. 266 00:19:14,190 --> 00:19:18,350 He thought he couldn't be thinking of a show or what he was doing if he had to 267 00:19:18,350 --> 00:19:23,570 worry about the plumbing in a house that he owned or the roof leaking, and so he 268 00:19:23,570 --> 00:19:26,850 always rented accommodation so somebody else could look after that. 269 00:19:27,290 --> 00:19:31,310 He wouldn't have a car because he felt cars went wrong and you had to take them 270 00:19:31,310 --> 00:19:35,630 to the garage or somebody gave you a parking ticket, and that would distract 271 00:19:35,630 --> 00:19:36,630 him. 272 00:19:38,990 --> 00:19:40,650 Comedy had made Benny rich. 273 00:19:41,160 --> 00:19:43,560 but he had no use for the trappings of success. 274 00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:48,620 Benny kept everything as long as it worked, be it a telephone or a 20 -year 275 00:19:48,620 --> 00:19:49,620 pair of shoes. 276 00:19:52,180 --> 00:19:55,360 Generous to friends in need, he was austere with himself. 277 00:19:55,980 --> 00:20:00,800 He never spent anything, and in fact he was rather suspicious about money. He 278 00:20:00,800 --> 00:20:01,800 was suspicious. 279 00:20:01,880 --> 00:20:06,460 I can remember we put him with our accountants, one of the biggest 280 00:20:06,460 --> 00:20:07,460 firms in London. 281 00:20:08,010 --> 00:20:12,470 And because the managing director of this huge international accountancy firm 282 00:20:12,470 --> 00:20:16,870 went racing on a Saturday afternoon, Benny was very worried that he was 283 00:20:16,870 --> 00:20:19,710 his money at the races and that he'd lose it all. 284 00:20:20,190 --> 00:20:26,930 His idea of money had frozen around about 1950, so that he thought to pay a 285 00:20:26,930 --> 00:20:29,850 pound for tin of salmon was exorbitant. 286 00:20:30,910 --> 00:20:37,450 But... To give £500 to somebody who was in trouble didn't exist, you know. He 287 00:20:37,450 --> 00:20:42,110 didn't think above about £10 a week. That was a different form of currency. 288 00:20:42,770 --> 00:20:46,490 He lived in a sort of dual state of currency. 289 00:20:48,130 --> 00:20:53,390 In 1969, Benny signed a deal with Thames Television, which was to bring him more 290 00:20:53,390 --> 00:20:55,610 money and fame than he had ever dreamt of. 291 00:20:59,990 --> 00:21:01,010 You can hear... 292 00:21:01,790 --> 00:21:07,990 In 1971, Benny Hill recorded a song about a milkman, a job he had held 30 293 00:21:07,990 --> 00:21:09,370 earlier on leaving school. 294 00:21:09,590 --> 00:21:14,270 It shot to number one. His name was Ernie, and he drove the fastest milk 295 00:21:14,270 --> 00:21:15,270 the West. 296 00:21:15,670 --> 00:21:17,350 Now Ernie loved the widow. 297 00:21:17,850 --> 00:21:22,690 A lady known as Sue. She lived all alone in Lindley Lane at number 22. 298 00:21:23,170 --> 00:21:26,970 Benny was now a multi -millionaire. Each year, he made three or four shows, 299 00:21:27,010 --> 00:21:32,110 which he wrote, cast, and oversaw in every detail. His life was devoted to 300 00:21:32,110 --> 00:21:37,390 comedy. And he drove the fastest milk cart in the West. He used to watch 301 00:21:37,390 --> 00:21:40,670 television 24 hours a day. 302 00:21:41,410 --> 00:21:43,950 24 hours a day, and tape it when he went to bed. 303 00:21:44,280 --> 00:21:49,560 It sounds odd to any other human being, but his life was television, and his 304 00:21:49,560 --> 00:21:53,200 life was watching things, and it would always spark off some writing in him. 305 00:21:57,480 --> 00:22:02,060 Benny's show consumed his life. He watched the world, noting everything. 306 00:22:08,879 --> 00:22:13,840 Silent movies, TV, circus clowns and everyone around him were his 307 00:22:14,240 --> 00:22:18,840 His eyes were everywhere and he saw things in people just doing ordinary 308 00:22:18,840 --> 00:22:21,900 everyday things at a bus stop that he'd write down and they would go into a 309 00:22:21,900 --> 00:22:26,740 sketch. If he was at a cafe or if he was walking up the high street, he'd have a 310 00:22:26,740 --> 00:22:29,960 newspaper with him and it would be blue with ink by the time he came back. 311 00:22:31,020 --> 00:22:35,320 When he was travelling, Benny sent his scripts back to the studio on anything 312 00:22:35,320 --> 00:22:36,320 that came to hand. 313 00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:42,880 You know one of those bits of cardboard you get when you get your shirt back 314 00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:43,940 from the cleaners or whatever? 315 00:22:44,360 --> 00:22:48,580 And this arrived in an envelope from Madrid or somewhere like this. 316 00:22:49,040 --> 00:22:53,900 And we were reading it and I went, that looks like bloody glate, something or 317 00:22:53,900 --> 00:22:54,499 the other. 318 00:22:54,500 --> 00:22:59,060 And we studied this all day long and suddenly we went, of course, he's a 319 00:22:59,060 --> 00:23:01,900 Chinaman, a stupid idiot. Why are you no written? 320 00:23:02,260 --> 00:23:05,880 And that's the kind of thing we used to get on bits of anything, backs of 321 00:23:05,880 --> 00:23:10,460 envelopes, you name it. That's how Ben's script arrived from all over the world. 322 00:23:10,760 --> 00:23:12,040 You've just arrived, sir. 323 00:23:12,240 --> 00:23:13,420 I got a fright. 324 00:23:13,960 --> 00:23:15,380 How did you get a fright? 325 00:23:15,600 --> 00:23:16,600 With a fright ticket. 326 00:23:20,020 --> 00:23:21,560 A fright, yes. 327 00:23:22,520 --> 00:23:23,740 It was a miracle. 328 00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:25,900 What was a miracle? 329 00:23:26,200 --> 00:23:27,860 We take off with a miracle. 330 00:23:28,460 --> 00:23:29,560 You took off from a miracle? 331 00:23:30,080 --> 00:23:31,220 United States of America. 332 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:34,000 America. 333 00:23:35,420 --> 00:23:36,760 Bloody trick. 334 00:23:39,260 --> 00:23:44,480 His shows took three months to rehearse and record at Thames Television's 335 00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:45,480 Riverside Studios. 336 00:23:46,240 --> 00:23:51,060 Benny originated everything from the size and color of the props to the tunes 337 00:23:51,060 --> 00:23:54,960 would hum note by note for his musical director to transcribe. 338 00:23:56,140 --> 00:24:01,520 Benny was a perfectionist to the point of not being a very likeable person 339 00:24:01,520 --> 00:24:07,900 because he was so concerned about the props and the costumes and the scenery 340 00:24:07,900 --> 00:24:14,220 everything that he never lost his temper, but he used to get very tense 341 00:24:14,220 --> 00:24:17,580 would hum, pick his nails, always picking his nails and humming. 342 00:24:17,860 --> 00:24:20,100 And he always used to hum, if it takes forever. 343 00:24:21,930 --> 00:24:26,030 Always shy of strangers, Benny formed a trusted troupe of players. 344 00:24:26,290 --> 00:24:31,870 Henry McGee, Bob Todd, Jackie Wright were his unlikely leading men, and there 345 00:24:31,870 --> 00:24:33,210 were lots of glamorous girls. 346 00:24:33,550 --> 00:24:38,210 If he was rehearsing something in the big studio number one, and somebody 347 00:24:38,210 --> 00:24:39,210 come and sit. 348 00:24:39,939 --> 00:24:43,340 in the audience and they'd be in his eyeline and he didn't know who they 349 00:24:43,480 --> 00:24:47,740 he'd have to stop the rehearsal and go up to whoever it was, someone from the 350 00:24:47,740 --> 00:24:50,900 council or something had come down to watch and have to apologise and say, I'm 351 00:24:50,900 --> 00:24:56,080 terribly sorry, please forgive me, but I really can't do this if you're actually 352 00:24:56,080 --> 00:24:59,700 in my eyeline. He couldn't bear anyone actually being in the studio that he 353 00:24:59,700 --> 00:25:00,599 didn't know. 354 00:25:00,600 --> 00:25:06,540 So the cameramen, the wardrobe crew, everybody became like a family to him, 355 00:25:06,540 --> 00:25:08,900 he could do anything, he could try anything out of in front of them because 356 00:25:08,900 --> 00:25:09,900 knew them. 357 00:25:10,730 --> 00:25:15,290 Away from his professional family, he lived alone in a rented apartment in 358 00:25:15,290 --> 00:25:17,570 Queensgate, an exclusive part of London. 359 00:25:17,790 --> 00:25:22,370 For 20 years, it was his refuge from the world that only a chosen few could 360 00:25:22,370 --> 00:25:27,770 enter. My main job all through his career was to go out every time he 361 00:25:27,810 --> 00:25:32,930 I went out to the studio, watch the run -through, give him a few notes. 362 00:25:33,720 --> 00:25:38,280 watch the show, and then go back to his dressing room, help him put all his 363 00:25:38,280 --> 00:25:41,680 props into his plastic bags, get into my car. 364 00:25:42,380 --> 00:25:47,500 I drove him back to his house in Queensgate, and not once in 20 years did 365 00:25:47,500 --> 00:25:50,080 ever ask me to get out of the car and come up and have a cup of coffee. 366 00:25:52,080 --> 00:25:54,100 Benny didn't live like other celebrities. 367 00:25:54,560 --> 00:25:59,980 He disliked showbiz parties and hated any display of wealth. To his friends, 368 00:25:59,980 --> 00:26:02,660 lifestyle was frugal and uncompromising. 369 00:26:03,130 --> 00:26:07,050 All there was, there was a little settee, and it was a plasticky sort of 370 00:26:07,170 --> 00:26:11,030 and there was an awful coffee table there, and a telly, which was black and 371 00:26:11,030 --> 00:26:12,030 white telly there. 372 00:26:12,490 --> 00:26:14,430 And I went, is this it? 373 00:26:14,910 --> 00:26:17,590 He went, yeah, this is it. And he lives there. 374 00:26:17,930 --> 00:26:22,050 He's got his telly, he's got his cup of tea, he's got a pencil and a piece of 375 00:26:22,050 --> 00:26:24,550 paper. What more is there on this earth? 376 00:26:24,770 --> 00:26:27,330 I said, what's that up there? And he said, oh, it's a room up there. I said, 377 00:26:27,410 --> 00:26:28,550 well, let me have a look around the flat. 378 00:26:28,930 --> 00:26:30,650 And we went into this fantastic... 379 00:26:30,940 --> 00:26:32,140 Fantastic, huge room. 380 00:26:32,520 --> 00:26:36,880 And I went, my word, don't you use this? And it was sort of almost like a damp 381 00:26:36,880 --> 00:26:39,260 field to it. And he went, no, no, no, never go in there. 382 00:26:39,780 --> 00:26:41,000 And I went, that's crazy. 383 00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:44,220 And so he used to always live down there. That's where the telly was. 384 00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:47,160 There were no pictures on the wall. 385 00:26:47,420 --> 00:26:48,680 There were no books, actually. 386 00:26:49,380 --> 00:26:50,440 There was nothing. 387 00:26:50,940 --> 00:26:55,140 I looked around and there was a, in the shadows of the room, there was a 388 00:26:55,140 --> 00:26:56,340 fireplace with a mantelpiece. 389 00:26:56,700 --> 00:26:58,340 And I could see some things on that. 390 00:26:58,680 --> 00:27:02,580 And I went over and there were about, 20 or 30 objects on it. 391 00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:04,520 And they were all awards. 392 00:27:05,340 --> 00:27:06,340 Every one was awards. 393 00:27:06,540 --> 00:27:10,440 But they weren't arranged in any particular fashion. I mean, some of them 394 00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:11,640 lying on their backsides. 395 00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:15,780 That would be planned. They were just sort of plopped. There they were. 396 00:27:16,040 --> 00:27:19,680 And he came into the room and I said, my goodness, you've got a lot of awards 397 00:27:19,680 --> 00:27:22,400 there. He said, oh, there's a cupboard over there full of them. 398 00:27:22,880 --> 00:27:26,360 He didn't mean anything to him. 399 00:27:27,560 --> 00:27:32,420 Benny's obsession with work was only interrupted by his other obsession, 400 00:27:33,460 --> 00:27:39,920 We had a dozen fish fingers each and some peas and a cup of coffee. Now, I 401 00:27:39,920 --> 00:27:44,480 fish fingers, but I mean, this was the sort of diet he lived. I mean, it was a 402 00:27:44,480 --> 00:27:47,900 diet of a bachelor, of course, and this is what he ate. 403 00:27:49,640 --> 00:27:51,260 Benny couldn't control his weight. 404 00:27:52,360 --> 00:27:55,360 He bought his food daily to try to limit his appetite. 405 00:27:56,380 --> 00:27:58,520 But his waistline always fluctuated. 406 00:27:59,160 --> 00:28:03,020 He tried out many diets, especially at the start of filming. 407 00:28:04,240 --> 00:28:07,400 Sometimes when we were filming, he used to be very, very odd first thing in the 408 00:28:07,400 --> 00:28:11,220 morning. Rather stern and very fast, working very quickly. And everything, 409 00:28:11,320 --> 00:28:16,380 nothing was... And it took me a long time to realise he was taking a dietary 410 00:28:16,380 --> 00:28:17,720 tablet which was like speed. 411 00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:23,060 And this man, this lunatic, was hurtling around, being rather stoppy, and not 412 00:28:23,060 --> 00:28:25,740 having breakfast, not all of that. It was to stop him eating. 413 00:28:25,980 --> 00:28:29,620 And then slowly throughout the day, he'd come down to being our Ben again. 414 00:28:30,260 --> 00:28:34,380 Benny's youthful dream of fame and fortune had come true, but at a price. 415 00:28:34,600 --> 00:28:38,860 He had millions of fans and millions of dollars, and yet he remained an enigma 416 00:28:38,860 --> 00:28:39,860 to the world. 417 00:28:45,870 --> 00:28:50,310 By 1974, Benny Hill was at the top of his profession in Britain. 418 00:28:53,930 --> 00:28:59,110 Adored by his fans and with more awards than he could count, he was a star. His 419 00:28:59,110 --> 00:29:00,910 childhood dream had been achieved. 420 00:29:01,930 --> 00:29:03,750 I remember his 50th birthday. 421 00:29:04,450 --> 00:29:08,710 He said to me, we were rehearsing, he said, you know, I'm 50. 422 00:29:09,070 --> 00:29:10,750 And he said, I've had a good life. 423 00:29:10,990 --> 00:29:13,970 He said, it's been great fun and it's been a good life. 424 00:29:14,410 --> 00:29:18,850 And he said, to tell you the truth, he said, I wouldn't mind if I went 425 00:29:20,570 --> 00:29:26,370 And I think he meant it. The extraordinary thing about this was that 426 00:29:26,370 --> 00:29:28,090 before the great glory days. 427 00:29:28,670 --> 00:29:30,670 Before glory came grief. 428 00:29:31,310 --> 00:29:34,390 His mother, always his favorite lady, was dying. 429 00:29:35,010 --> 00:29:38,290 Benny nursed her until her death in February of 1976. 430 00:29:39,750 --> 00:29:43,510 Four years earlier, his irascible father had also died. 431 00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:48,600 His sister lived thousands of miles away in Australia, and he was estranged from 432 00:29:48,600 --> 00:29:52,980 his elder brother. Apart from his cousin, all his intimate friends were in 433 00:29:52,980 --> 00:29:53,980 professional family. 434 00:29:54,240 --> 00:29:58,960 As he got older, family became more important, and when 16 -year -old Louise 435 00:29:58,960 --> 00:30:02,240 English joined the show, Benny welcomed her like a daughter. 436 00:30:02,460 --> 00:30:06,300 I think he loved me as much as I loved him. He didn't like me smoking a 437 00:30:06,300 --> 00:30:10,520 cigarette. I wasn't allowed to do that. If I had a boyfriend, he wanted to meet 438 00:30:10,520 --> 00:30:11,520 him. 439 00:30:11,530 --> 00:30:14,970 So he was actually probably more strict with me than I think my father would 440 00:30:14,970 --> 00:30:15,970 have been with me. 441 00:30:18,370 --> 00:30:24,450 By the late 1970s, there were more scantily clad dancers than ever, and the 442 00:30:24,450 --> 00:30:26,290 humour seemed cruder, less witty. 443 00:30:30,910 --> 00:30:35,090 His public became polarised in their opinions. 444 00:30:35,310 --> 00:30:36,890 Benny faced mounting criticism. 445 00:30:41,630 --> 00:30:45,070 Totally sexist. Because it's completely and utterly anti -men. 446 00:30:45,370 --> 00:30:50,610 I mean, look at them. Little Jackie Wright, Bob Todd, Benny, Henry. I mean, 447 00:30:50,610 --> 00:30:55,690 boys are back in town, aren't they? In the show, Benny always lost and the 448 00:30:55,690 --> 00:30:58,330 always won. Now that is sexist. 449 00:31:00,550 --> 00:31:05,370 Benny's risque humour was ridiculed by the new breed of alternative comedians 450 00:31:05,370 --> 00:31:06,750 who called him old -fashioned. 451 00:31:07,170 --> 00:31:10,250 But he felt he still knew what made people laugh. 452 00:31:11,310 --> 00:31:16,810 I think very often the English public did take his funny sketches the wrong 453 00:31:16,910 --> 00:31:19,790 but you've got to see them from a young boy's point of view. 454 00:31:20,030 --> 00:31:22,950 He was, you know, a man in his 50s. 455 00:31:23,210 --> 00:31:26,450 He had the mind of a 5 or a 10 -year -old. 456 00:31:26,750 --> 00:31:32,330 He never, ever wanted to come across at all as a dirty old man or a lecherous 457 00:31:32,330 --> 00:31:35,210 man at all when anybody met Benny. 458 00:31:35,850 --> 00:31:37,550 They were surprised at his manners. 459 00:31:38,050 --> 00:31:42,230 I think everyone used to go up to Benny and say, Oh, hello, mate. Oh, how's the 460 00:31:42,230 --> 00:31:46,930 girls? Oh, nudge, nudge, wink, wink. And he's sort of in a suit with glasses on, 461 00:31:47,010 --> 00:31:49,570 and such a gentleman. They get quite a shock. 462 00:31:50,870 --> 00:31:54,410 Benny decided to introduce a touch of innocence to his shows. 463 00:31:56,270 --> 00:32:00,410 He wrote sketches that included children, but he didn't want stage 464 00:32:00,410 --> 00:32:05,030 youngsters. He chose instead the sons and daughters of his professional 465 00:32:05,600 --> 00:32:10,060 Ben was like a relative to me. He was Uncle Ben. I mean, we called him Uncle 466 00:32:10,060 --> 00:32:11,059 Benny. 467 00:32:11,060 --> 00:32:15,860 He was like the sort of friendly uncle that comes and takes you out and plays 468 00:32:15,860 --> 00:32:20,080 with you and buys you things. He was always buying us stuff, sort of 469 00:32:20,080 --> 00:32:24,560 gifts on us and always chocolate and sweets and cakes. And we did just have a 470 00:32:24,560 --> 00:32:25,560 great time with him. 471 00:32:25,960 --> 00:32:28,220 Sue Upton's children were extra lucky. 472 00:32:28,440 --> 00:32:31,380 Their Uncle Benny came to stay for a week each year. 473 00:32:31,710 --> 00:32:35,970 Taking them to the seaside and to theme parks, Benny played at having the family 474 00:32:35,970 --> 00:32:37,130 he had never had. 475 00:32:37,510 --> 00:32:42,910 He used to call me Mother, which is quite a strange thing. I don't think 476 00:32:42,930 --> 00:32:45,490 very occasionally would he actually ever call me Sue. 477 00:32:45,850 --> 00:32:50,010 And he'd say, come on then, Mummy, where shall we go now? Where are the 478 00:32:50,010 --> 00:32:54,630 littlies? And I can just imagine that that is exactly how Benny would have 479 00:32:54,630 --> 00:32:55,630 always been. 480 00:32:55,990 --> 00:32:58,030 It was just lovely to see him. 481 00:32:58,540 --> 00:33:01,100 to see the true Benny being a family man. 482 00:33:01,720 --> 00:33:05,980 Almost, I became his wife for that week, if you like. 483 00:33:06,760 --> 00:33:10,320 And he used to say to me, I don't think I could ever find a woman that would 484 00:33:10,320 --> 00:33:14,000 actually put up with me now. He said, because I'm so set in my ways. 485 00:33:16,960 --> 00:33:21,940 He'd like nothing more than to sit out in the garden with a couple of beers, 486 00:33:21,940 --> 00:33:25,460 he'd say, this is jolly pleasant here. 487 00:33:25,680 --> 00:33:27,480 I can think of nothing nicer. 488 00:33:28,280 --> 00:33:32,380 Then, of course, lying on a beach in the south of France, he said, but then I 489 00:33:32,380 --> 00:33:33,780 wouldn't have the company, would I? 490 00:33:36,160 --> 00:33:40,180 At the end of his stay, Sue would drive Benny to catch the train to Felixstowe, 491 00:33:40,360 --> 00:33:44,240 a seaside town where another lady had his company for the following week. 492 00:33:44,920 --> 00:33:48,820 He had visited Phoebe King annually since the 1950s. 493 00:33:50,220 --> 00:33:54,740 She was confined to a wheelchair with cerebral palsy, but the two of them 494 00:33:54,740 --> 00:33:56,620 enjoyed the same simple pleasures. 495 00:33:58,160 --> 00:34:04,820 We sit there and look at the sea and talk and have a joke and a laugh. 496 00:34:05,400 --> 00:34:08,980 And then somebody would run up, can I have your autograph, Mr Hill? 497 00:34:09,580 --> 00:34:12,100 And look at me, wondering who I was. 498 00:34:12,420 --> 00:34:14,880 One girl said, is that your sister? 499 00:34:15,440 --> 00:34:17,239 No, he said my girlfriend. 500 00:34:17,780 --> 00:34:18,780 Oh, 501 00:34:19,159 --> 00:34:21,000 he felt homely with me. 502 00:34:21,420 --> 00:34:25,760 He didn't have to put on airs. He could be himself with me. 503 00:34:26,699 --> 00:34:28,500 You've got to love him and his work. 504 00:34:30,420 --> 00:34:35,400 But I loved him, I loved his work and him as well, so I got on all right. 505 00:34:36,440 --> 00:34:40,480 If you met anybody of his public, then he was Benny Hill. 506 00:34:40,920 --> 00:34:45,840 But I got Alfred Althorne Hill, the quiet gentleman. 507 00:34:47,840 --> 00:34:52,020 Only Benny's closest friends knew about Phoebe and another handicapped friend, 508 00:34:52,179 --> 00:34:53,860 Netta. They were his secret. 509 00:34:54,570 --> 00:34:58,410 In his lifetime, he was a friend to many, but unknown to most. 510 00:35:05,830 --> 00:35:11,190 Half a world away, Benny was becoming TV's hottest property at the ripe old 511 00:35:11,190 --> 00:35:15,290 of 55, as his shows became cult viewing across America. 512 00:35:16,650 --> 00:35:18,790 I've often called it adult animation. 513 00:35:20,010 --> 00:35:26,070 It was a slapstick humor. It was an international humor that we all 514 00:35:26,070 --> 00:35:29,910 what Benny's doing and where he's coming from. 515 00:35:31,970 --> 00:35:34,510 Good evening. Here's the newsflash. 516 00:35:37,150 --> 00:35:43,830 I don't know of a live light entertainment comedy 517 00:35:43,830 --> 00:35:45,670 show, whether it's from here. 518 00:35:46,760 --> 00:35:51,800 Or the UK or anywhere that has had the success that that show has had. 519 00:35:52,640 --> 00:35:57,840 They made an enormous fuss of him. And it gradually dawned upon me, it seems 520 00:35:57,840 --> 00:36:01,180 strange that it should take so long to have any doubts at all. 521 00:36:01,960 --> 00:36:06,140 But then he gradually realized that he was successful. 522 00:36:06,860 --> 00:36:13,600 And I think this gave him a more comfortable confidence in 523 00:36:13,600 --> 00:36:14,600 himself. 524 00:36:14,750 --> 00:36:20,430 By 1989, the Benny Hill Show could be seen in over 140 countries. More people 525 00:36:20,430 --> 00:36:23,850 had laughed with him than his comic hero, Charlie Chaplin. 526 00:36:27,010 --> 00:36:31,190 By 1989, the Benny Hill Show was a worldwide phenomenon. 527 00:36:31,750 --> 00:36:36,070 His employer of over 20 years, Thames Television, called him the world's most 528 00:36:36,070 --> 00:36:40,990 successful comedian and the genius, as they pocketed the millions from sales to 529 00:36:40,990 --> 00:36:42,270 over 140 countries. 530 00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:45,640 On the 1st of May, they broadcast his latest show. 531 00:36:46,120 --> 00:36:48,100 Three weeks later, they fired him. 532 00:36:48,920 --> 00:36:52,340 Ten o 'clock one morning, we went into the outer office, and John came out and 533 00:36:52,340 --> 00:36:55,900 said, oh, do you mind if I have a word with Ben? I said, no, not at all. They 534 00:36:55,900 --> 00:36:59,480 went in, and about a minute later, John came out, and I went in, and Ben was 535 00:36:59,480 --> 00:37:01,260 sitting in the corner, ashen. 536 00:37:01,860 --> 00:37:04,160 And I just said, hiya, how are you? It's fine. 537 00:37:04,420 --> 00:37:08,580 And John was sort of making small talk, and Ben said, you can tell him, you 538 00:37:08,580 --> 00:37:09,960 know, he's a big grown -up lad. 539 00:37:10,810 --> 00:37:13,350 And I said, what's the problem? He said, I don't want to do any more Benny 540 00:37:13,350 --> 00:37:14,770 Hills. And that was it. 541 00:37:15,610 --> 00:37:17,550 Ben was, I mean, he was murdered. 542 00:37:18,230 --> 00:37:21,790 They'd taken away his child. It's like losing your own child. That's how much 543 00:37:21,790 --> 00:37:22,790 the show meant to him. 544 00:37:23,550 --> 00:37:28,570 He was heartbroken, and it absolutely destroyed him. They just said that he 545 00:37:28,570 --> 00:37:31,970 the jewel in their crown, and then they just sacked him like a schoolboy. 546 00:37:32,350 --> 00:37:33,750 Quite, quite disgraceful. 547 00:37:35,530 --> 00:37:38,750 After nearly 40 years at the top, there was suddenly nothing. 548 00:37:39,120 --> 00:37:43,580 An unemployed superstar, Benny returned alone to the apartment he had rented to 549 00:37:43,580 --> 00:37:44,920 be near his beloved studios. 550 00:37:45,620 --> 00:37:51,300 The devastation was so unbelievable, I don't think even crying could actually 551 00:37:51,300 --> 00:37:54,880 get the frustration and the upset out from his whole system. 552 00:37:55,600 --> 00:38:01,280 I think it totally destroyed part of him. I'm sure it did. 553 00:38:02,580 --> 00:38:07,960 With no show to write or to diet for, Benny's weight ballooned. Age was 554 00:38:07,960 --> 00:38:08,960 up with him. 555 00:38:09,050 --> 00:38:11,570 Then Don Taffner threw him a lifeline. 556 00:38:12,110 --> 00:38:15,790 I came over. I couldn't imagine because he was so successful worldwide. 557 00:38:17,050 --> 00:38:23,010 And that's what I hope I can say this. I was so pissed off that I said, OK, 558 00:38:23,230 --> 00:38:25,650 well, let's do our own show. We don't need him. 559 00:38:26,250 --> 00:38:31,330 It was a B -12 shot. It helped him come around. 560 00:38:31,530 --> 00:38:32,570 And besides. 561 00:38:33,390 --> 00:38:39,050 making a few dollars on it, it was good for him and everyone around it that 562 00:38:39,050 --> 00:38:43,210 here's a guy that was so successful and somebody did a horrible thing to him and 563 00:38:43,210 --> 00:38:46,230 we're helping him come back to life, so to speak. 564 00:38:48,670 --> 00:38:53,530 Though shot on location in New York, Benny returned to Thames Studios to 565 00:38:53,530 --> 00:38:56,030 his sketches with his trusted cast and crew. 566 00:38:56,290 --> 00:39:00,310 It was going to be the first of a whole new series, but it became a one -time 567 00:39:00,310 --> 00:39:01,310 special. 568 00:39:02,850 --> 00:39:07,270 By the time another British broadcaster started negotiations for a new series, 569 00:39:07,510 --> 00:39:11,430 Benny had been eating and drinking unchecked for two years and his health 570 00:39:11,430 --> 00:39:12,430 suffered. 571 00:39:13,090 --> 00:39:16,490 Following a heart attack, he was hospitalized with breathing 572 00:39:19,670 --> 00:39:21,730 He booked under the name of Mr. Martini. 573 00:39:22,650 --> 00:39:26,510 And I said, why did you call yourself Mr. Martini? He said, well, any time, 574 00:39:26,510 --> 00:39:27,510 place, anywhere. 575 00:39:28,330 --> 00:39:29,410 Which made me laugh. 576 00:39:30,150 --> 00:39:32,010 He didn't want me to go and see him in hospital. 577 00:39:32,760 --> 00:39:36,920 He didn't want anyone to see him. He wanted to keep himself to himself, but 578 00:39:36,920 --> 00:39:40,940 was very ill and didn't tell anyone how ill he really was. 579 00:39:42,260 --> 00:39:47,440 Leaving the hospital, Benny wanted to finalise his forthcoming shows. He also 580 00:39:47,440 --> 00:39:51,340 was determined to see Louise English, now starring in a West End play. 581 00:39:51,720 --> 00:39:53,460 The theatre's very hot. It's full. 582 00:39:53,900 --> 00:39:57,220 You might find a little bit too much of you. No, no, I want to be there. I want 583 00:39:57,220 --> 00:39:59,020 to be there. And I want you to arrange a photographer. 584 00:39:59,850 --> 00:40:03,790 to take a photograph of us together, which is something he'd never, ever 585 00:40:04,270 --> 00:40:05,550 I thought that was very odd. 586 00:40:06,250 --> 00:40:08,930 And it was a very, very happy day. And he came to see the matinee. 587 00:40:09,250 --> 00:40:13,010 And I remember his face looking up at me. And he had little tears. 588 00:40:15,090 --> 00:40:18,330 And then he came to the dressing room afterwards. 589 00:40:19,710 --> 00:40:21,450 And he stayed and he stayed. 590 00:40:21,750 --> 00:40:23,830 And he wouldn't go. He just wouldn't leave. 591 00:40:24,150 --> 00:40:26,710 And he kept sort of mentioning lovely things to me. 592 00:40:27,800 --> 00:40:31,060 Very sensitive things, and it's almost like he knew. 593 00:40:34,080 --> 00:40:38,860 Benny went home to his Thameside apartment, but when he didn't answer the 594 00:40:38,860 --> 00:40:43,860 for three days and his neighbours heard his television constantly on, his friend 595 00:40:43,860 --> 00:40:47,700 Dennis Kirkland climbed a ladder to gain entrance to Benny's third -floor 596 00:40:47,700 --> 00:40:48,700 apartment. 597 00:40:48,860 --> 00:40:53,600 And then I got to the top, like so, and I could see him sitting there with his 598 00:40:53,600 --> 00:40:58,370 lovely hair all stuck up like that and the TV on, and it was... quite evident 599 00:40:58,370 --> 00:41:04,210 was he was dead and um i crawled onto the balcony and i could see him through 600 00:41:04,210 --> 00:41:10,930 the window and um he just looked oh so sad and his beautiful 601 00:41:10,930 --> 00:41:15,890 hair stuck up and the guy opened the window their kitchen window there next 602 00:41:15,890 --> 00:41:18,650 ben's balcony and he said would you like a drink and i said just give me the 603 00:41:18,650 --> 00:41:24,110 bottle you know then the police arrived and um they broke the door in and then 604 00:41:24,110 --> 00:41:29,350 they let me into the kitchen window and and I won't tell you what it's like when 605 00:41:29,350 --> 00:41:31,750 you discover a body that's been there for a couple of days, but they wouldn't 606 00:41:31,750 --> 00:41:32,750 let me touch anything. 607 00:41:32,810 --> 00:41:35,370 And I said, please, you've got to let me straighten his hair. 608 00:41:35,570 --> 00:41:36,570 And they said, okay. 609 00:41:36,910 --> 00:41:41,550 And his lovely hair was stuck up, so I smoothed it all down for him, and he was 610 00:41:41,550 --> 00:41:43,650 okay. He was okay, and that was it. 611 00:41:46,390 --> 00:41:47,430 Benny was 68. 612 00:41:48,530 --> 00:41:53,250 On the table beside his body, amongst many papers, was the contract for his 613 00:41:53,250 --> 00:41:55,230 series just waiting for his signature. 614 00:41:56,040 --> 00:42:00,200 He was quite prepared in the last seven or eight years of his life, you know, to 615 00:42:00,200 --> 00:42:05,900 go at any time. He felt he'd fulfilled every ambition. He'd become a big star 616 00:42:05,900 --> 00:42:12,140 America. He was known all over the world. What more was there to do, you 617 00:42:15,840 --> 00:42:19,500 Then he was buried next to his parents in his hometown of Southampton. 618 00:42:22,500 --> 00:42:24,360 He died a comedic legend. 619 00:42:24,910 --> 00:42:26,530 like his hero, Charlie Chaplin. 620 00:42:28,210 --> 00:42:35,050 He somehow managed to hit a common thread of humor in people, this 621 00:42:35,050 --> 00:42:39,750 universal funny bone, which very few people have ever been able to do. 622 00:42:40,390 --> 00:42:44,230 He entertains people, and he will always entertain people. 623 00:42:45,130 --> 00:42:49,210 And what he has left is just pure laughter for everyone. 624 00:42:56,520 --> 00:42:58,060 Thank you.