Comedy Playhouse (1961–1975)

Creators:

A.J. Bacon, Neil Munro

Stars:

Frank Thornton, John Le Mesurier, Ronald Fraser

Cast

Series cast summary:
Frank Thornton	...	Captain Stephen Peacock (6 episodes, 1962-1973)
John Le Mesurier	...	Caleb Bullrush (6 episodes, 1963-1973)
Ronald Fraser	...	Arnold (5 episodes, 1962-1974)
Bernard Cribbins	...	Ambrose Twombly (5 episodes, 1962-1970)
Warren Mitchell	...	Alf Ramsey (5 episodes, 1961-1972)
Graham Stark	...	Arthur Pratt (5 episodes, 1962-1965)
Robert Dorning	...	Bank Manager (5 episodes, 1964-1969)
Pat Coombs	...	Café Server (5 episodes, 1963-1970)
John Junkin	...	Ernie Babcock (4 episodes, 1965-1971)
Yootha Joyce	...	Lil Wilson (4 episodes, 1963-1973)
Peter Jones	...	Clive (4 episodes, 1962-1974)
Patrick Newell	...	Barney (4 episodes, 1963-1974)
Daphne Anderson	...	Ethel Waring (4 episodes, 1961-1967)
Roger Avon	...	Newsagent (4 episodes, 1961-1968)
Derek Nimmo	...	Estate Agent (4 episodes, 1963-1970)
Frankie Howerd	...	Lurcio (3 episodes, 1963-1974)
Alfred Marks	...	Lionel Hogg (3 episodes, 1962-1974)
Richard Caldicot	...	Clanders (3 episodes, 1962-1969)
Deryck Guyler	...	Major Humphrey Carlton (3 episodes, 1963-1970)
June Whitfield	...	June Fletcher (3 episodes, 1962-1974)
Wilfrid Brambell	...	Albert Steptoe (3 episodes, 1962-1965)
Gordon Rollings	...	Happy Brazier (3 episodes, 1963-1966)
Derek Francis	...	Harold Harbinger (3 episodes, 1964-1972)
Patricia Hayes	...	Blanche (3 episodes, 1970-1974)
Betty Marsden	...	Marcia Honeywell (3 episodes, 1962-1972)
Bob Todd	...	Boat Pilot (3 episodes, 1962-1970)
Michael Stainton	...	Chauffeur (3 episodes, 1963-1973)
Harry H. Corbett	...	Ernest 'Ern' Conway (3 episodes, 1962-1975)
James Beck	...	Johnny (3 episodes, 1963-1972)
Barbara Windsor	...	Cynthia Spooner (3 episodes, 1964-1970)
Dermot Kelly	...	Dermot (3 episodes, 1963-1967)
Harry Locke	...	AA Man (3 episodes, 1963-1965)
Robert Raglan	...	Jack (3 episodes, 1963-1965)
Blake Butler	...	Crook 1 (3 episodes, 1963-1973)
Harold Goodwin	...	Widden (3 episodes, 1962-1968)
Ann Lancaster	...	Amanda (3 episodes, 1963-1967)
Jonathan Cecil	...	Maj. Fitzwarren (3 episodes, 1966-1970)

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

partially lost tv series

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 December 1961 (UK)

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Many episodes of this series are no longer extant. Please check your attic.

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Connections

Referenced in Masters of Sound (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Happy Joe"
Composed by Ron Grainer

User Reviews

Square one for many classics

Not well known, but it should be, 'Comedy Playhouse' was a show that showed a sitcom pilot every week. Most of these pilots were just pilots, but some pilots became some of the most brilliant British Sitcoms of all time.

It kicked off with Galton and Simpson's 'Clicquot et Fills' starring Eric Sykes and Warren Mitchell (Mitchell would play his most famous role as a result of a Comedy Playhouse pilot, the infamous Alf Garnett). The fourth episode, titled 'The Offer' turned out to be the pilot of Galton and Simpson's best work 'Steptoe and Son' In the fourth series, Johnny Speight's 'Till Death us do Part' turned up as a pilot, which would be a massive show and with spin-offs etc. would go on till 1992. Though Alf Garnett was called Alf Ramsey (the name of the England football manager) in the pilot and his wife Else wasn't played by the great Dandy Nichols, but Gretchin Franklin. The first two episodes in series five would result in big rating successes when the respective series got commissioned, the first being 'The Bishop Rides Again' with led to 'All Gas and Gaiters' the second being Wolfe and Chesney's 'Beggar My Neighbour' starring future 'On the Buses' star Reg Varney. Series seven saw the pilot episode for Wolfe and Chesney's just about pre 'On the Buses' sitcom 'Wild Wild Women' which was basically a remake of their massive hit 'The Rag Trade' but set in Edwardian times. Series 8 began with 'The Liver Birds' which again was a series that had a very long run and ended with Frankie Howerd's most memorable series, 'Up Pompeii' The shocking murder of Israeli Athletes at the 1972 Olympic games led to chaos in the BBC's schedule, so a couple of Comedy Playhouse pilots were put on that were meant to be shown later that year, one of these being the first outing for Croft and Lloyd's high innuendo sitcom 'Are you Being Served' The first episode of series twelve titled 'Of Funerals and Fish' bought us to Holmfirth for the first time. The pilot was the opening episode of Roy Clarke's 'Last of the Summer Wine' which is still running to this day, thirty-five years on. The fourth episode of series thirteen was 'Happy Ever After' which of course lasted for many series and was then spun-off into the very memorable 'Terry and June' Series thirteen was the last series, ending with PG Wodenhouse's 'The Reverent Wooling of Archibald'

So, a lot of successful sitcoms were as a result of this series. The first two series were written solely by script-writing legends Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. Then other writers contributed scripts. Most interestingly is the writing partnership of Vince Powell and Harry Driver who wrote scores of scripts for ITV. But in this series, they did contribute scripts, but not together. Powell wrote two episodes with Frank Roscoe and Driver wrote three episodes with the great Jack Rosenthal. A great, sadly and criminally forgotten series. 'Have you ever heard of Steptoe and Son?', 'Yes, of course I have', 'Have you ever heard of the show that gave it its pilot, Comedy Playhouse', 'No' Best Episode: The Offer, Series 1 episode 4: The pilot of Steptoe and Son.