Several months before he died in 2003. Bob Monkhouse gave an intimate comedy performance to a small audience comprising of comedians and celebrities. Many of them were younger and modern comedians paying tribute to a consummate master of laughs. Some in the audience such as David Walliams were about hit the stratosphere soon.
There is no doubt Bob was a funny man. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of jokes, facts and showbiz folks. He had honed his skills to that of a finely tuned F1 sports car. Somehow he never got the love from the viewers at home that Bruce Forsyth got. You admired him, you never adored him.
I once had a job that required some public speaking. To gain some confidence and tips, I bought Bob Monkhouse's book on speaking in public, at least I knew it would have some good gags in it.
Here we get to see clips from that show which in itself has achieved cult status. Some of the participants who were there that night talk about Bob. There is genuine affection from the likes of Reece Shearsmith, Mark Steel and Kevin Day. I thought there might be some sneering as Bob was regarded as the old guard and a Tory voting one at that.
At one point, Mike Yarwood is invited on stage by Bob to have a chat. Yarwood was a big television star when I was a kid, he was the best impressionists about. In the early 1980s, he switched channels, went to ITV and his fame soon declined. Yarwood talks about the empty seats when he did his theatre shows. At the height of his popularity he never knew the colours of the seats in the theatres he performed in. It was always a full house.
Bob speaks candidly about his illness on the stage that would soon claims his life. You sense he is not well, his delivery is less smooth. However this is a good tribute to a comedy great from his younger peers.
There is no doubt Bob was a funny man. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of jokes, facts and showbiz folks. He had honed his skills to that of a finely tuned F1 sports car. Somehow he never got the love from the viewers at home that Bruce Forsyth got. You admired him, you never adored him.
I once had a job that required some public speaking. To gain some confidence and tips, I bought Bob Monkhouse's book on speaking in public, at least I knew it would have some good gags in it.
Here we get to see clips from that show which in itself has achieved cult status. Some of the participants who were there that night talk about Bob. There is genuine affection from the likes of Reece Shearsmith, Mark Steel and Kevin Day. I thought there might be some sneering as Bob was regarded as the old guard and a Tory voting one at that.
At one point, Mike Yarwood is invited on stage by Bob to have a chat. Yarwood was a big television star when I was a kid, he was the best impressionists about. In the early 1980s, he switched channels, went to ITV and his fame soon declined. Yarwood talks about the empty seats when he did his theatre shows. At the height of his popularity he never knew the colours of the seats in the theatres he performed in. It was always a full house.
Bob speaks candidly about his illness on the stage that would soon claims his life. You sense he is not well, his delivery is less smooth. However this is a good tribute to a comedy great from his younger peers.
