The Benny Hill Show 

A skit based show with Benny Hill, often containing smutty humour.

Stars:

Benny Hill, Henry McGee, Jackie Wright

Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Benny Hill	...	Himself - Host / ... 59 episodes, 1969-1989
Henry McGee	...	Himself / ... 46 episodes, 1969-1989
Jackie Wright	...	Himself / ... 44 episodes, 1969-1985
Bob Todd	...	Himself / ... 42 episodes, 1970-1989
The Ladybirds	...	Vocal Backing / ... 42 episodes, 1969-1989
Sue Upton	...	Various Roles / ... 28 episodes, 1977-1989

Storyline

A sketch-comedy series in which Hill would often play multiple characters and satirize popular British and American performers and stars. Common themes in the show were the husband-beating wife, buxom women, and silent, high-speed chase scenes between Hill and the other characters.

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Plot Keywords:

british | sketch comedy | variety show | sex | irreverence | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

January 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Benny Hill

Company Credits

Production Co:

Thames Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

51 min (58 episodes) 35 min (dubbed version) (edited) (dubbed)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White (1970-1971) (3 episodes) Color (1969-1970 and 1971-1989)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The piece of music frequently used for the show's ending sequence is "Yakety Sax". It typically accompanied otherwise silent, rapidly paced comedy sequences often involving a chase scene. "Yakety Sax" was written by Boots Randolph and James Rich and released as a 45 RPM single by Randolph in 1963. The composition includes pieces of assorted fiddle tunes such as "Chicken Reel", and was written for a performance at a venue called The Armory in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. There are also two bars of "Entrance of the Gladiators" worked into it. The combination of "Yakety Sax" and chase scenes have been parodied in many other TV shows and movies ever since.

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Quotes

Blanche: Drink and sex. That's what killed your uncle - drink and sex!
Harry: Yeah. He couldn't get either, so he shot himself.

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: Gunslinger (1993)

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Soundtracks

Yakety Sax
Written by Boots Randolph and James Rich
(closing theme)

User Reviews

Exceptional laugh-making

This is the show, which means more than just a few laughs to me. And not only to me actually. In our country "Benny Hill Show" was extremely popular and when it was shown on our TV millions of Russian people (little kids and mature adults) couldn't breathe - so funny it was. I'm not sure about the opposite sex but we were always blown away by this stuff.

Much time has passed since my school years and when I watch the show now the reaction from me is the same. It is a brilliant mixture of sketches, which are going one after another. You don't have much time to laugh at one joke while the others are coming in spades already. There are misses of course. There are some points at which Mr Benny Hill is almost "over the board" with some rather cheeky humour, but then he manages to get out of the mess with his chin up.

Great talent. Great British humour. Great British actors and actresses. Great show. Something I want to watch and re-watch from time to time.

Thank you, Mr Benny Hill, your show is one solid anti-depressant from bottom to the top. And you can easily wipe out the today's performances of frigging "comedians" with one single sketch of yours. Yours will remain the classics.

10 out of 10 - exceptional quality. Thank you for attention.