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British Comedy, in film, radio and television, is known for its consistently quirky characters, plots and settings, and has produced some of the most famous and memorable comic actors and characters in the last fifty years. Radio is the transmission of signals by Modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible Light. Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic An actor, actress, player or thespian (see terminology) is a person who Acts in a Dramatic production and who works

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Film comedy

British comedy films are legion, but among the most notable are the Ealing comedies, the 1950s satires of the Boulting Brothers, and innumerable popular comedy series including the St Trinian's films, the "Doctor" series, and the long-running Carry On films. For the film see Ealing Comedy (film. For the film comedies see Ealing Comedies. John and Roy Boulting were English film-makers, who became known for their popular series of satirical comedies in the 1950s and 1960s St Trinian's is a fictional girls' Boarding school, the creation of British cartoonist Ronald Searle, that later became the subject of a popular Doctor in the House is a 1954 British Comedy Film, directed by Ralph Thomas and produced by Betty Box. The Carry On films were a long-running series of low-budget British comedy films directed by Gerald Thomas and produced by Peter Rogers. Some of the best known British film comedy stars include Will Hay, George Formby, Norman Wisdom, Peter Sellers and the Monty Python team. William Thomson Hay ( 6 December 1888 &ndash 18 April 1949) was an English Comedian, Actor and amateur George Formby may refer to George Formby Jr, banjolele player singer and comedian 1904 - 1961 George Formby Sr Sir Norman Wisdom, OBE (born 4 February 1915) is an English Comedian, Singer and Actor. Richard Henry Sellers, CBE, commonly known as Peter Sellers ( 8 September 1925 &ndash 24 July 1980) was a British Monty Python (sometimes known as The Pythons) is the collective name of the six creators of Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British Television Other actors associated with British comedy films include Ian Carmichael, Terry-Thomas, Margaret Rutherford, Irene Handl and Leslie Phillips. Ian Carmichael OBE (born 18 June 1920) is an English Film, stage, Television and Radio Actor Thomas Terry Hoar-Stevens ( 14 July 1911 &ndash 8 January 1990) was a distinctive English comic Actor, known Dame Margaret Rutherford DBE ( May 11, 1892 &ndash May 22, 1972) was an Academy Award -winning English Irene Handl ( 27 December, 1901 – 29 November, 1987) was an English film actress noted for her comic and character Leslie Samuel Phillips, CBE (born 20 April 1924) is a BAFTA -nominated English Actor, best known for his comedy roles

Recent successful films include the working class comedies Brassed Off (1996) and The Full Monty (1997), the more middle class Richard Curtis-scripted films Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) and Notting Hill (1999) and youth-oriented, pop-culture referencing Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Working class is a term used in academic Sociology and in ordinary conversation to describe depending on context and speaker those employed in specific fields or types Brassed Off is a 1996 Black comedy British film written and directed by Mark Herman. This article is about the film The Full Monty is a 1997 British Comedy film. The middle class, in colloquial usage consists of those who have some economic independence but not a great deal of social Influence or power. For the former state representative from Washington State see Richard Curtis (politician Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis, CBE (born Four Weddings and a Funeral is a 1994 British Romantic comedy film directed by Mike Newell. Notting Hill is a 1999 Romantic comedy film set in Notting Hill, London, released on 21 May 1999 Shaun of the Dead is a 2004 British Zombie -themed Comedy (or " rom zom com " as it dubs itself film Hot Fuzz is a 2007 British action Comedy film written by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright and starring Simon

See Cinema of the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom has been influential in the technological, commercial and artistic development of cinema.

Radio

Radio comedy in Britain has been almost exclusively the preserve of the BBC, and a number of British radio comedies achieved considerable renown in the second half of the twentieth century. Radio comedy, or comedic Radio programming, is a radio broadcast that may involve Sitcom elements sketches, and many other forms of comedy found

In the 1940s and 1950s variety dominated the schedules, and popular series included ITMA and Much Binding in the Marsh. Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh was the title of a comical BBC radio and Radio Luxembourg show broadcast from 1944 to 1954 starring Kenneth Horne In the mid 1950s, however, two notable series emerged which would help to shape the future of radio and television comedy in Britain. Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Goons (Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan and Harry Secombe) starred in their own anarchic series The Goon Show which ran throughout the 1950s. The Goon Show was a British Radio comedy programme originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960 Richard Henry Sellers, CBE, commonly known as Peter Sellers ( 8 September 1925 &ndash 24 July 1980) was a British Terence Alan Patrick Seán Milligan KBE ( 16 April, 1918 &ndash 27 February 2002) known as Spike Milligan, was an Anglo Sir Harry Donald Secombe, CBE ( 8 September 1921 &ndash 11 April 2001) was a Welsh Entertainer with a noted fine At the same time, the BBC was also running Hancock's Half Hour starring Tony Hancock, the first of a new generation of comedies based around believable characters and situations. Hancock's Half Hour was a ground-breaking and influential BBC Radio comedy series of the 1950s starring Tony Hancock, with Sid James Anthony John "Tony" Hancock (born 12 May 1924 &ndash 24 June 1968) was a popular British Actor and Hancock's Half Hour later transferred to TV and was phenomenally successful throughout the '50s, running concurrently on radio and television until 1960.

Another notable radio show was the double entendre-laden Round the Horne (1965-1968), a sequel to the earlier series Beyond Our Ken, which ran from 1959 to 1964. Not to be confused with Puns which employ multiple phrases A double entendre is a Figure of speech similar to the Pun, in Round the Horne was one of the most influential BBC Radio Comedy programmes comparable to The Goon Show in its influence on other Beyond Our Ken (1958-1964 was a Radio programme the predecessor to Round the Horne (1965-1968

Later radio shows made use of the panel game format, including the long-running Just a Minute (from 1967 to date) and I'm Sorry, I Haven't a Clue (from 1972). Just a Minute is a BBC Radio 4 Radio comedy Panel game which has been broadcast since 22 December 1967 and is hosted by I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, sometimes abbreviated to "ISIHAC" or simply "Clue", is a BBC This in turn has influenced TV series like Have I Got News for You (from 1990) and They Think It's All Over (from 1995). Have I Got News for You is a British television panel show produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. They Think It's All Over was a British Comedy Panel game with a sporting theme produced by TalkbackTHAMES and shown on BBC One

BBC Radio has continued to be a breeding ground for new talent and many programmes have transferred successfully to television in recent years, including Whose Line is it Anyway?, Goodness Gracious Me, Knowing Me, Knowing You and Little Britain. Whose Line Is It Anyway? (abbreviated to Whose Line? or WLIIA) was a short-form Improvisational comedy TV show " Knowing Me Knowing You " is a hit single recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. Little Britain is a character-based comedy Sketch show first appearing on BBC radio and then television

Television

Although many popular shows of recent years began life on BBC radio, there have been many successful and influential series which were designed purely for TV.

Following the success of Hancock's Half Hour, the sitcom became firmly entrenched in the television schedules. Some of the most successful examples include Steptoe and Son, Dad's Army, The Likely Lads, Fawlty Towers, The Good Life, Are You Being Served?, Yes Minister, Only Fools and Horses, Red Dwarf, The Vicar of Dibley, Father Ted, Blackadder, One Foot in the Grave, Porridge and The Office. Steptoe and Son is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about two rag and bone men living in Oil Drum Lane a fictional street Dad’s Army is a British sitcom about the Home Guard in the Second World War. The Likely Lads was a hit British sitcom created and written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais. Fawlty Towers is a British sitcom made by the BBC and first broadcast on BBC2 in 1975 The Good Life is a British sitcom that aired on BBC1 from 1975 to 1978 Are You Being Served? was a long-running British sitcom broadcast from 1972 to 1985 Yes Minister is a multi-award winning satirical British sitcom written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn that was first transmitted Only Fools and Horses is a British Television sitcom, created and written by John Sullivan, and made and broadcast by the BBC According to the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, a red dwarf star is a small and relatively cool Star, of the Main sequence, either late K The Vicar of Dibley is a British sitcom created by Richard Curtis and written for its lead actress Dawn French, by Curtis and Paul Father Ted was a popular 1990s Television Situation comedy set around the lives of three Irish Catholic priests on the remote (and Blackadder is the generic name that encompasses four series of an acclaimed BBC One historical sitcom, along with several one-off instalments One Foot in the Grave was a BBC television Situation comedy series written by David Renwick. Porridge was a British situation comedy that was broadcast on BBC1 from 1973 to 1977 running for three series two Christmas specials as well as This article is about the original version of The Office For the US version see The Office (US TV series, and for a comparison of the various versions from around the

The BBC has generally been dominant in television comedy, but the commercial stations have also had some successes. ITV's most successful sitcoms were generally produced in the 1970s, including Rising Damp, On the Buses, George and Mildred, Man About The House and the now terminally unfashionable Love Thy Neighbour. Independent Television (generally known as ITV) is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters set up under the Independent Rising Damp was a UK television sitcom produced by Yorkshire Television for ITV, first broadcast from 1974 to 1978 On The Buses was a British Situation comedy created by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney. George and Mildred was a British sitcom produced by Thames Television that aired from 1976 to 1980 Man About the House was a British sitcom starring Richard O'Sullivan, Paula Wilcox and Sally Thomsett that was broadcast Love Thy Neighbour is a British sitcom which ran from 13 April 1972 to 22 January 1977, made by Thames Television

Commercial station Channel 4 has been more successful than ITV with situation comedies in recent years. Channel 4 is a public-service Television and Radio broadcaster in the United Kingdom centred around a television channel of the same name which began Some of the better-known examples are Chelmsford 123, Chance in a Million, Drop the Dead Donkey, Spaced, Father Ted, Black Books,Green Wing and The IT Crowd

Other formats have also been popular, with sketch shows, stand-up comedy, impressionists and even puppet shows finding success. Chelmsford 123 was a Situation comedy produced for British Channel 4 television by Hat Trick Productions. Chance in a Million was a British Sitcom broadcast in 1984 and 1986. Drop the Dead Donkey was a Situation comedy that ran on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom from 1990 to 1998. Spaced is a British Television Situation comedy written by and starring Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson, and Father Ted was a popular 1990s Television Situation comedy set around the lives of three Irish Catholic priests on the remote (and Black Books was a British sitcom broadcast on Channel 4 starring Dylan Moran, Bill Bailey and Tamsin Greig Green Wing is an award-winning British television Comedy set in the fictional East Hampton Hospital Trust. The IT Crowd (ˈɪt or ˌaɪˈtiː is a British Sitcom written by Irish director Graham Linehan and produced by Ash Atalla An impressionist is a performer whose act consists of giving the "impression" of being someone else by imitating the other person's voice and mannerisms Although impressionists experienced a lull in popularity in the 1990s, the recent success of Dead Ringers (another BBC radio cross-over) has been notable. Dead Ringers was a UK Radio and Television Comedy impressions show which first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and

The most notable satirical comedies are the ground-breaking 1960s series That Was The Week That Was, ITV's controversial puppet show Spitting Image. Satire is often strictly defined as a literary genre or form; although in practice it is also found in the graphic and Performing arts In satire human That Was The Week That Was, also known as TW3, was a Satirical Television comedy programme that aired on BBC Television in 1962 and Independent Television (generally known as ITV) is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters set up under the Independent Spitting Image was a British satirical Puppet show that ran on the ITV television network from 1984 to 1996 British satire has also washed over into Quiz shows - popular examples include the news quiz Have I Got News for You and music-based Never Mind The Buzzcocks. Have I Got News for You is a British television panel show produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. Never Mind the Buzzcocks is a Comedy Panel game show with a pop and Rock music theme currently presented by Simon Amstell

One of the most influential sketch shows was Monty Python's Flying Circus, a comedy from the late 1960s and early seventies that introduced us to such luminaries as John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Graham Chapman, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam. Monty Python’s Flying Circus (also known as Flying Circus or during the final series just Monty Python) is a BBC Sketch comedy This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. John Marwood Cleese (ˈkliːz born 27 October, 1939) is a British Actor, Comedian, Writer, Film producer Eric Idle (born 29 March 1943 is an English Comedian, Actor, Author, Singer and Composer of comedic songs Michael Edward Palin, CBE (born 5 May 1943 is an English Comedian, actor writer and Television presenter best known for being one of the members Graham Arthur Chapman (8 January 1941 &ndash 4 October 1989 was an English Comedian, Actor, Writer, Physician and one of the For other uses see Terry Jones (disambiguation. Terence Graham Parry Jones (born 1 February 1942) is a Welsh Terrence Vance Gilliam (born 22 November 1940) is an American -born British Writer, Filmmaker, Animator and member The Pythons went on to produce several feature films and had a profound influence on British comedy. They themselves had been influenced by The Goons and Spike Milligan's Q series. The Goon Show was a British Radio comedy programme originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960 Terence Alan Patrick Seán Milligan KBE ( 16 April, 1918 &ndash 27 February 2002) known as Spike Milligan, was an Anglo Spike Milligan 's Q was a surreal television comedy sketch show which ran from 1969 to 1983 on BBC Two. Python found surprising popularity in the United States in the 1970s, as did the less cerebral humour of Benny Hill and his ITV sketch series The Benny Hill Show. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Alfred Hawthorne Hill ( 21 January 1924 &ndash 19 April 1992) better known as Benny Hill, was a prolific English The Benny Hill Show is a British Comedy television show starring Benny Hill and various comedy character actors

Other notable sketch-based series include Morecambe and Wise, The Two Ronnies, French and Saunders, Absolutely, Little Britain and The Fast Show. Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise, usually referred to as Morecambe and Wise, were a British comic Double act, working in variety, radio Film The Two Ronnies was a British Sketch show that aired on BBC 1 from 1971 to 1987 French & Saunders is a British Sketch comedy Television show written by and staring BAFTA Award -nominee Dawn French Absolutely was a popular United Kingdom television comedy Sketch show shown on Channel 4 between 1989 and 1993 Little Britain is a character-based comedy Sketch show first appearing on BBC radio and then television The Fast Show, known as Brilliant in the US was a BBC comedy sketch show programme that ran for three series from 1994 to 1997

Vic Reeves Big Night Out influenced the style of a whole new generation of comics in the 1990s until the present day. Vic Reeves Big Night Out was a Cult British Comedy stage show and later TV series which ran on Channel 4 for [1]

The 1990s and 2000s have also seen the rise of a new set of British comedians who have made innovative contributions mainly in the form of sitcoms. Programmes such as Green Wing, Black Books, Spaced, Smack the Pony, Big Train and The Office have used editing, surreal humour and cultural references to great effect. Green Wing is an award-winning British television Comedy set in the fictional East Hampton Hospital Trust. Black Books was a British sitcom broadcast on Channel 4 starring Dylan Moran, Bill Bailey and Tamsin Greig Spaced is a British Television Situation comedy written by and starring Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson, and Smack the Pony was a British Sketch comedy show that ran from 1999 until 2003 on Channel 4. Big Train is a surreal British Television Comedy Sketch show created by Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan This article is about the original version of The Office For the US version see The Office (US TV series, and for a comparison of the various versions from around the A loose clique of stars, including Simon Pegg, Dylan Moran, Jessica Stevenson, Mark Heap, Ricky Gervais, Tamsin Greig and Bill Bailey have revolved around these series, with the most obvious acknowledgement of this coming in the scene in the film Shaun of the Dead when the two groups of survivors troop past each other, with cameos galore. Simon Pegg (born Simon John Beckingham; 14 February 1970) is an award-winning English Actor, Comedian, Writer Dylan Moran (born 3 November 1971) is a BAFTA and Perrier Award -winning Irish Comedian, Actor and Jessica Hynes (née Stevenson; born 15 November 1972) is an English actress and Writer, best known as one of the creators Mark Heap (born 13 May 1957 in Kodaikanal, India is an English Actor best known for a variety of Television comedy roles including struggling Ricky Dene Gervais (dʒɜːˈveɪz born 25 June 1961 is an English Actor, Comedian, Writer, director, Producer and former Tamsin Greig (ˈtæmzɪn ˈgrεg (born 23 February 1967) is an Olivier Award -winning British stage and screen actress Mark Bailey where he was initially an academic pupil winning most of the prizes Shaun of the Dead is a 2004 British Zombie -themed Comedy (or " rom zom com " as it dubs itself film

See also

References

  1. ^ [1]

External links

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