Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan and Harry Seacombe rehearsing a Goon Show
The Goon Show was a popular and influential British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC from 1951 to 1960. The scripts mixed ludicrous plots with surreal humour, puns, catchphrases and an array of silly and bizarre sound effects. Some of the later episodes feature electronic effects devised by the fledgling BBC Radiophonic Workshop, many of which were reused by other shows for decades afterward. Many elements of the show satirised contemporary life in the Brittish Commonwealth, parodying aspects of show business, commerce, industry, art, politics, diplomacy, the police, the military, education, class structure, literature and film.
The Goons, as the show's performers became known, first came together in a pub called Grafton's in London's Victoria. The pub was a popular meeting place for actors, comics and writers in the early post-war years, with landlord and scriptwriter Jimmy Grafton serving up advice and encouragement along with the beer. Spike Milligan was renting a room above the pub and working on comedy scripts with Grafton - who became known as KOGVOS, Keeper of Goons and Voice of Sanity - when his wartime friend Harry Secombe, introduced him to Peter Sellers and Michael Bentine.
There then began a terrible rasping, squealing, giggling, snorting period of lunacy which continued unabated until 1960. The Goons first went on air at the BBC as The Crazy People on 28th May 1951. It wasn't until the second series in January 1952 that the BBC agreed to changing the name of the show to The Goon Show. Spike Milligan, of course, became the driving force behind The Goons, writing the scripts and devising the characters which became part of our comedy heritage.
The cast of the first series (Crazy People) were:
Peter Sellers, Harry Secombe, Spike Milligan, Michael Bentine, The Ray Ellington Quartet, The Stargazers, Max Geldray and The BBC Dance Orchestra conducted by Stanley Black. Announcer Andrew Timothy. Produced by Dennis Main Wilson. Wallace Greenslade announced from series 5 onwards.
Some of the main characters were:
• Mr. Henry Crun : Peter Sellers
• Miss Minnie Bannister : Spike Milligan
• Ned Seagoon : Harry Secombe
• Lance Brigadier Grytpype-Thynne: Peter Sellers
• Major Dennis Bloodnok : Peter Sellers
• Eccles : Spike Milligan
• Moriarty : Spike Milligan
• Bluebottle : Peter Sellers
The final episode in the tenth Goon Show series was broadcast on 28th January 1960. This was not the end of the Goon Show, however. Episodes have continued to be broadcast every week to this very day in nations of the British Commonwealth, such as Britain, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, where show still enjoys a strong cult following.
Peter Sellers died of a heart attack July 1980, following an illustrious movie career.
Michael Bentine, who enjoyed solo success, died in November 1996.
Harry Secombe died following a stroke in April 2001 after many TV, radio and stage appearances as an actor, singer and presenter.
Spike Milligan was awarded a British Comedy Award for lifetime achievement in 1995, and the Prince of Wales gave him an honorary knighthood in 2001, a year before his death in February 2002.
The Goon Show Repository | The Goon Show website
