Eric Sykes

[orpheum]

I have just finished reading the autobiog of Sykes.I have to say that it is any extraordinary ragbag of a book.|Clearly no editor dared to tell the bad tempered Sykes that his book was 250 pages too long.He regales us with evry birth death and marriage during his lifetime.He clearly cannot take any critiscism.When Bill Cotton told him his humour was passe he explodes with rage.

For those interested in his entertainment career it is not mentioned before page 170!

His mentions of Hatty Jacques are few and far between.Although he praises her ther is not hint of the awful treatment he handed out on stage to her referred to in her far superior biog.

Her revenge is the fact that she will be remembered through her roles in the Carry Ons many years after Sykes is dead and buried.

My one consolation for reading this tripe is that i borrowed it from the library,i did not pay for it.

It should be retitled "If i didnt write it who would care".

[Bernardo]

I take it you don't like him then.



Eric Sykes, CBE is a British comedic writer and actor. He is widely regarded as an unsung hero behind much of the British comedy scene over the past 50 years.

He is perhaps best known for his BBC television sitcom with Hattie Jacques and Deryck Guyler, called Sykes. However, he was well-known on radio during the 1950s, both behind the scenes and in front of the microphone.

He also helped Spike Milligan with The Goon Show after Milligan's depression. He had first collaborated with Milligan on a radio special called Archie in Goonland, which was a crossover between The Goon Show and the "radio ventriloquism" show Educating Archie starring Peter Brough and his dummy Archie Andrews, which Sykes had been writing. Archie in Goonland was not a success, and all existing recordings and scripts have been destroyed, but Milligan and Sykes collaborated on numerous Goon Show scripts and shared an office for years afterward.

One of Sykes' best known creations is his classic wordless slapstick routine, The Plank, which began as a sketch in his TV series. It was later expanded into an enduringly popular 45-minute film in 1967, co-starring Sykes, Tommy Cooper, Jimmy Edwards, Roy Castle, Graham Stark, Stratford Johns, Jim Dale, Jimmy Tarbuck and Hattie Jacques. A third version was made in 1979 as a half-hour special, with an all-star cast including Charlie Drake, Charles Hawtrey and Wilfred Hyde-White. More recently, Sykes appeared as Mollocks, the servant of Dr Prunesquallor, in the BBC's mini-series adaptation of Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast. He continues to act on stage, despite his advancing years.

Sykes became profoundly deaf as an adult. His "trademark" spectacles contain no lenses, but are rather a bone-conducting hearing aid.

In the New Year's Honours List published 31 December 2004 he was created a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to Drama, following a petition by MPs after he was left out of the Birthday Honours List.

In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, he was voted amongst the top 50 comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders.



Click here: Eric Sykes: Mummy's boy - Profiles, People - The Independent

[orpheum]

To be honest before reading his book and the bio of Hattie Jacques i had no feelings whatsoeve.I found him to be very dislikeable by virtue of his book..I have rarely been so glad to reach the end of a book.

[faginsgirl]

I have always thought he would be a bit of a grumpy man to meet to be honest, and find most of his jokes unfunny. Don`t think the programme `Sykes` would have been successful without Hattie!



I do however really like what he said in the article about his mother. I too believe that people guide us from the other side. There are too many things that most of us can`t explain.



xx

[davidb]

ive only just started reading this book ,his experiences of life in the 1920s certainly put things into perspective when you compare them to the problems we have today . i like eric sykes and am looking forward to reading the rest of the book

[gumby1987]

There's not really enough of his stuff commercially available unfortunately, but I also think he's a great talent. Enjoyed the book too. Bit of a grumpy old man but, with what he's lived through and is living with, I think it's understandable. Have met him on a couple of occasions and he was very appreciative and giving of his time to his fans.

[Pricey]

I too borrowed the autobiography from the library because I happened to overhear a conversation where one person raved about the book to a friend, saying it was the funniest thing he had read in ages. I have total respect for Eric Sykes and his contributions to British comedy, not least his unsung assistance to Spike Milligan on Goon Show scripts, but I have to agree that I was hugely disappointed by this book. It read like an extended "four yorkshiremen" sketch and wasn't amusing in the least. Where his undoubted comic credentials came from based on his upbringing and apparent personality is still a mystery after reading his own account.

[m35541]

None of you mention Sykes' 2 greatest achievements:



(a) his manuservant character in Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines/Monte Carlo or Bust is the inspiration for the cartoon character Muttley



(b) his voice yells out "tellytubbies" at the beginning of each episode of the tellytubbies.

[orpheum]

I really had not a lot against Sykes before i read his book but after it i really begrudged him the hours i spent on his book.Why for heanens sake do i want to know about his children.Why do i want to know about the many golf tournaments he played in.Why is it "my mate Tommy Cooper",etc.I could not wait to finish the book so that i could take it back to the library,The books on TT,JRJ and Hattie were far better.Maybe because they were biogs.

However much people do or dont like him the point that i would make is that dear old Hattie has been gone many years but her image is constantly with us.Sykes tv programmes never get repeated.Lets face it they are at best mildly funny.

[Flossie 1]

I never read biogs and I never watch personal interviews because I am always disappointed that the person is not the person that I thought they were. However I do think that I must stand up for Sykes. Life was hard for these older comics, they had to fight to get to the top and as for his mate Tommy Cooper who was of the same era. he didn't suffer fools easily either and was very hard to work with.

[faginsgirl]

I never read biogs and I never watch personal interviews because I am always disappointed that the person is not the person that I thought they were

I know what you mean, we often have a fantasy image of what our heros are like, thats why sometimes its best not to meet them, the fantasy goes and we realise they are just `normal` people . And if they are having a bad day.........



I suppose it depends on how much you put them on a pedestal



xx

[DB7]

I have always thought he would be a bit of a grumpy man to meet to be honest, and find most of his jokes unfunny. Don`t think the programme `Sykes` would have been successful without Hattie!

What about his comedy shorts; The Plank, Rhubarb Rhubarb, It's Your Move etc etc?

[faginsgirl]

What about his comedy shorts; The Plank, Rhubarb Rhubarb, It's Your Move etc etc?

Naa!





xx

[Windthrop]

I quite liked his original 60s versions but thought the later ones rather poor

[orpheum]

I prefer biogs to autobiogs so at least we can have a detached view.I think that the ideal length is probably around 250 pages,not 494 pages as with Sykes.Mind you if you took ot the references to his children,grandchildren,brothers and golf matches you would probably be down to 300 pages.Anyway about to start the long biog of Michael Redgrave.Hope this is better than the Sykes book.As a performer i quite like sykes.I remember seeing him in "Big Bad Mouse" with Jimmy Edwards,what about a biog of him,and it was very funny.However as a writer he doesnt know where to draw the line.

[Dandelion]

The Sykes episode with Peter Sellers returning to marry Hattie after a childhood promise, is fantastic stuff.

[smiffy]

There's not really enough of his stuff commercially available unfortunately, but I also think he's a great talent. Enjoyed the book too. Bit of a grumpy old man but, with what he's lived through and is living with, I think it's understandable. Have met him on a couple of occasions and he was very appreciative and giving of his time to his fans.

I thought It was a good book and really enjoyed it too

I wonder if his many run ins with the BBC top brass have anything to do with the lack of material available ? or Is It not deemed commercially viable ? I have a compilation of his TV shows from 1972, and the plank ,but I must admit I am happy with what I have

[Dandelion]

An outtake from the episode with Peter Sellers. I like the way Eric is trying hard to compose himself...

[Convict99]

.... Where his undoubted comic credentials came from based on his upbringing and apparent personality is still a mystery after reading his own account.

Exactly what I thought after reading his book.



I'm going to have to find a copy of Hatties book, get a different point of view.