Michael Bentine, RIP
John D. Owen
Wonder how many other afpers out there where as sad as I was last night
at hearing of the death of Michael Bentine? Along with his fellow Goons,
Bentine really invented the kind of anarchic humour that runs as a
thread through the last forty years of British comedy. He was very good
on his own, too, as the various TV shows he did in the 60s and 70s
showed, some elements of which I still think of and laugh about to
myself occasionally (like the Messerschmidt attack on Broadcasting
Centre that ended one of his programmes, the Messerschmidt in question
being a bubble car decked out in Luftwaffe insignia with a machine gun
on the top, with Bentine as a crazed SS officer). Lovely man, sad day.
JDO
The Fat Aardvark
"John D. Owen" <J.D....@open.ac.uk> was typing in the park and wrote:
>Wonder how many other afpers out there where as sad as I was last night
>at hearing of the death of Michael Bentine?
I was saddened by it too, I only visited his web page that day...
wow..
I will miss his humour.
His fleas will however be missed with gladness (scratch)
It truly will be a square world without him
--
A true friend is one who cares. I am glad I have true friends
- The Fat Aardvark 1995.
Dave O'Brien
aard...@innotts.co.uk (The Fat Aardvark) wrote:
>>Wonder how many other afpers out there where as sad as I was last night
>>at hearing of the death of Michael Bentine?
Stands at attention as the Last Post plays. Dignified salute.
"Did they play the Last Post and chorus?"
"Did the Pipes play the flowers of the forest?"
Long thoughtful moment; then thumbs nose at camera.
dave (It's what he would have wanted. To be remembered with humour.)
ps. The ultimate accolade: he made everybody laugh. Can a man have a
better epitaph?
pps dave (still saluting: Michael, wind up St Peter...)
Dave O'Brien, http://www.diaspoir.demon.co.uk/
Andy Davison
In message <329DBA...@open.ac.uk>
"John D. Owen" <J.D....@open.ac.uk> writes:
> Wonder how many other afpers out there where as sad as I was last night
> at hearing of the death of Michael Bentine? Along with his fellow Goons,
> Bentine really invented the kind of anarchic humour that runs as a
> thread through the last forty years of British comedy. He was very good
> on his own, too, as the various TV shows he did in the 60s and 70s
> showed, some elements of which I still think of and laugh about to
> myself occasionally (like the Messerschmidt attack on Broadcasting
> Centre that ended one of his programmes, the Messerschmidt in question
> being a bubble car decked out in Luftwaffe insignia with a machine gun
> on the top, with Bentine as a crazed SS officer). Lovely man, sad day.
Yes, I too was deeply saddened to hear of his death. He once did a
superb sketch with two blokes on a train who get talking and suddenly
discover they're both married to the same woman. Even after he left
the Goons, they had an occasional character called Bentine and there
were often references such as in one show when Bloodnok was worried
about the Germans invading and wanted to skip the country. Seagoon
says to him, "Colonel Bentine was worried like you. He filled his
pack with gold bars. He took a fast plane to Dublin and a submarine
to South America. Poor fool, he thought he got away with it and we
all know what happened to Colonel Bentine....HE GOT AWAY WITH IT!"
Having seen some of the tributes to lesser entertainers on TV I hope
the BBC and ITV do the right thing and repeat some of Square World
and Potty Time or that interview when he admitted that he almost
caused a chemical warfare alert in Germany during the war when a
bomber under his command 'accidentally' dropped a toilet overboard.
Andy Davison
Martyn Clapham
In article <329e2bd4...@pubnews.demon.co.uk>, The Fat Aardvark
<aard...@innotts.co.uk> writes
>>at hearing of the death of Michael Bentine?
>
>wow..
>
>I will miss his humour.
>
>His fleas will however be missed with gladness (scratch)
>
>It truly will be a square world without him
I feel the same. Potty Time was one of the best kids programs ever, the
working models of various events were absolutely amazing.
MartynC
--
Inhabitant of REAL witch country I Mobile 0860 914817
( Pendle, Lancashire, England ) I http://www.mclapham.demon.co.uk
I AFPurity 61%
Alan MacRae
John D. Owen <J.D....@open.ac.uk> wrote in article
<329DBA...@open.ac.uk>...
> Wonder how many other afpers out there where as sad as I was last night
> at hearing of the death of Michael Bentine?
>
snippety snip
> Lovely man, sad day.
>
> JDO
>
I agree. I was fortunate enough to meet him in July at a charity concert I
was involved with in Bristol. He gave his time for free, and despite only
recently being in hospital for some fairly major surgery, he had the house
in stitches [1]
A generous and funny man who will be sadly missed.
--------------------------------------------------------
looking for a good sig[1] - found this-
on a clear disk you can seek forever
email: alanm...@enterprise.net
Mike Knell
In article <84931255...@diaspoir.demon.co.uk>,
>>>at hearing of the death of Michael Bentine?
>
> "Did they play the Last Post and chorus?"
> "Did the Pipes play the flowers of the forest?"
Oddly enough, I've got a copy of "The Green Fields Of France" on my
desk right now, on an album by The Men They Couldn't Hang. Didn't
Mr. Bogle write lots of cheery ditties? ("And the Band Played Waltzing
Matilda" springs to mind, too)
Can't resist the ppoints though:
"Did the band sound the Last Post and chorus?
Did they pipe the Flowers of the Forest?"
Great song.
Mike
>ps. The ultimate accolade: he made everybody laugh. Can a man have a
>better epitaph?
Probably, I think, not.
--
Mike Knell -- a Good, Safe Alternative to Wholesale Murder. ((c) jldomini)
Department of Computer Science, The University of Nottingham, UK
A huge green fierce snake bars the way! -=- http://www.cs.nott.ac.uk/~mpk/
Terry Pratchett
In article <199611300...@zetnet.co.uk>, Andy Davison
<andyd...@zetnet.co.uk> writes
>Having seen some of the tributes to lesser entertainers on TV I hope
>the BBC and ITV do the right thing and repeat some of Square World
>and Potty Time or that interview when he admitted that he almost
>caused a chemical warfare alert in Germany during the war when a
>bomber under his command 'accidentally' dropped a toilet overboard.
I wonder...I always felt he was marginalised and yet, to my mind, he was
the best of the Goons. Milligan might have been the central geunius
around which it all revolved, but there is something truly manic about
him. Bentine's humour ran deep, perhaps because he was, by all
accounts, a genuinely nice guy. He kept one foot on the ground and his
preferred style might be called 'Victorian Goon' (Steam-Goon?). I'm
thinking of those long, internally consistent sketches that used to end
the IASW series (Broacasting House being blasted into space, or turned
into a WW2 prison camp). And of the London-to-Brighton Nanny Pram Race.
When they draw the map of British humour, the line from the Goons will
go directly to Monty Python, and another line will go through the
'Bentine Collection' to The Goodies, I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again and,
for those of you with long memories, At Last The 1948 Show.
Legend says he fell out with Milligan and that was why he left the
Goons, but legend comes in many flavours.
Oh, lor'...if I shut my eyes I can still hear the sound of Bumbly 2's
voice...
--
Terry Pratchett
David Humphriss
In article <329DBA...@open.ac.uk>, "John D. Owen"
<J.D....@open.ac.uk> writes
>Wonder how many other afpers out there where as sad as I was last night
>at hearing of the death of Michael Bentine?
> Lovely man, sad day.
I agree. I remember Potty Time with great fondness, as well as his
inspired pieces of mock sports commentary including the announcer who
thinks he might be going to win a jackpot on the football pools and the
totally biased show jumping commentator. His life story was a delight to
read and I had the privilege of seeing him do his one man show at the
Newcastle Comedy festival a couple of years ago. The man was quite
simply special and the world is a better place for having been graced by
his presence.
--
_\~~\__v\ David ( da...@dbhumphriss.demon.co.uk )
@/ \ \ '=] Then...he let it go like, as the poet beautifully puts it,
\____--__/^ the sound of the great Amen. 'Pig-HOOOOO-OOO-OOO-O-O-ey!'
[] [] And suddenly, as it died, another softer sound succeeded
it. The Empress was feeding. ( PGW - Blandings Castle )
Andrew Raphael
In article <E1oxo...@cs.nott.ac.uk>
m...@cs.nott.ac.uk (Mike Knell) writes:
>Didn't Mr Bogle write lots of cheery ditties?
>("And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" springs to mind, too)
That's the one I want as the Australian national song. It's got _hole_.
--
Andrew Raphael <rap...@research.canon.com.au>
"Oh! I see, it's your birthday. It's your big day, and I forgot."
Tony Finch
rap...@research.canon.com.au (Andrew Raphael) wrote:
> m...@cs.nott.ac.uk (Mike Knell) writes:
> >
> >("And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" springs to mind, too)
>
> That's the one I want as the Australian national song. It's got _hole_.
What, like a billabong?
FTony.
--
Strc prst skrz krk
an...@mrent.demon.co.uk
Andrew Raphael wrote:
>
> In article <E1oxo...@cs.nott.ac.uk>
> m...@cs.nott.ac.uk (Mike Knell) writes:
>
> >Didn't Mr Bogle write lots of cheery ditties?
>
Eric Bogle did a gig in our village folk club many years ago, (About 82
I think, well about the time I was leaving 6th form college.
He supported Mike Harding a few times as well.
jsh3
In article <DNQFjEAw...@unseen.demon.co.uk>,
tprat...@unseen.demon.co.uk says...
>
>In article <199611300...@zetnet.co.uk>, Andy Davison
><andyd...@zetnet.co.uk> writes
>>Having seen some of the tributes to lesser entertainers on TV I hope
>>the BBC and ITV do the right thing and repeat some of Square World
>>and Potty Time or that interview when he admitted that he almost
>>caused a chemical warfare alert in Germany during the war when a
>>bomber under his command 'accidentally' dropped a toilet overboard.
Classic stuff, indeed. <pauses to wipe tear from eye>
>
>I wonder...I always felt he was marginalised and yet, to my mind, he was
>the best of the Goons. Milligan might have been the central geunius
>around which it all revolved, but there is something truly manic about
>him. Bentine's humour ran deep, perhaps because he was, by all
>accounts, a genuinely nice guy. He kept one foot on the ground and his
>preferred style might be called 'Victorian Goon' (Steam-Goon?).
But one foot only! A side of Michael Bentine one hears nothing about
is the account of his life in "A Door Marked Summer". He managed in
that book to take a topic many people find frivolous and make it deeply
serious and meaningful. (Like someone else we know? :-))
>I'm thinking of those long, internally consistent sketches that used to end
>the IASW series (Broacasting House being blasted into space, or turned
>into a WW2 prison camp). And of the London-to-Brighton Nanny Pram Race.
Which Python 'pinched' on more than one occasion...
>
>When they draw the map of British humour, the line from the Goons will
>go directly to Monty Python, and another line will go through the
>'Bentine Collection' to The Goodies, I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again and,
>for those of you with long memories, At Last The 1948 Show.
And, of course, Not Only But Also...
>Legend says he fell out with Milligan and that was why he left the
>Goons, but legend comes in many flavours.
Milligan told it differently (during an interview after the death of
Peter Sellers), but there's nothing to stop legends from starting legends...
>Oh, lor'...if I shut my eyes I can still hear the sound of Bumbly 2's
>voice...
Amen.
Jarrad Scott Harries
________________________________________________________
Political correctness is the last refuge of a dirty mind
Lara Beaton
so sayeth m...@cs.nott.ac.uk (Mike Knell) :
>In article <84931255...@diaspoir.demon.co.uk>,
>Dave O'Brien <d...@diaspoir.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>>Stands at attention as the Last Post plays. Dignified salute.
>> "Did they play the Last Post and chorus?"
>> "Did the Pipes play the flowers of the forest?"
>Oddly enough, I've got a copy of "The Green Fields Of France" on my
>desk right now, on an album by The Men They Couldn't Hang. Didn't
>Mr. Bogle write lots of cheery ditties? ("And the Band Played Waltzing
>Matilda" springs to mind, too)
>Can't resist the ppoints though:
>"Did the band sound the Last Post and chorus?
> Did they pipe the Flowers of the Forest?"
It depends on who's singing it, the Clancy Brothers' version of
_Willie McBride_ is closer to the Dave O'Brien's than yours, but still
slightly different.
>Great song.
Agreed entirely.
========================================================================
Lara Beaton
The opinions expressed are not those of Hughes Aircraft or General
Motors, nor are they probably opinions at all.
"Do you mind? I was talking to the cheese!" - TRSZ
Listicath
"John D. Owen" <J.D....@open.ac.uk> wrote:
>Wonder how many other afpers out there where as sad as I was last night
>at hearing of the death of Michael Bentine? Along with his fellow Goons,
>Bentine really invented the kind of anarchic humour that runs as a
>thread through the last forty years of British comedy. He was very good
>on his own, too, as the various TV shows he did in the 60s and 70s
>showed, some elements of which I still think of and laugh about to
>myself occasionally (like the Messerschmidt attack on Broadcasting
>Centre that ended one of his programmes, the Messerschmidt in question
>being a bubble car decked out in Luftwaffe insignia with a machine gun
>on the top, with Bentine as a crazed SS officer). Lovely man, sad day.
I agree. I just hope the BBC/ITV produce a fitting tribute to him.
Personally, I will be celebrating his life by listening to a recording of
"Je t'aime" on which he provides a simultaneous translation. (A BBC
recording, which AFAIK was never broadcast (I wonder why!)). He will be
sorely missed.
--
/\ ______/_____________/__/________________________________________
__/_/. / . __ __ / /_ +++ Divide By Cucumber Error. Please
___/ / /\ / / / / / / / / Reinstall Universe And Reboot +++
\_/\__\_/_/_\_/\_/\__/\_\_\_/ /________[Hogfather]_____A...@dircon.co.uk
Mark Adri-Soejoko
Martyn Clapham <mar...@mclapham.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>I feel the same. Potty Time was one of the best kids programs ever, the
>working models of various events were absolutely amazing.
>MartynC
>--
>Inhabitant of REAL witch country I Mobile 0860 914817
>( Pendle, Lancashire, England ) I http://www.mclapham.demon.co.uk
> I AFPurity 61%
I loved Potty Time when I was young and I will always remember the
fantastic retelling of Waterloo he did. Just the thing to stir a
bored child's interest in all things Historic.
Wonderful memories
Wonderful man
Thank you Mr Bentine for making me smile.
Mark Adri-Soejoko
Mark Adri-Soejoko (Tallish, Darkish, Sort of Handsome)
soe...@dircon.co.uk
http://www.users.dircon.co.uk/~soejoko
2rules 1. Don't sweat the small stuff 2. Everything is small stuff
Tom May
In article <57vt9j$5...@hacgate2.hac.com>, lbe...@ccgate.hac.com says...
>so sayeth m...@cs.nott.ac.uk (Mike Knell) :
>>In article <84931255...@diaspoir.demon.co.uk>,
>>Dave O'Brien <d...@diaspoir.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>>>Stands at attention as the Last Post plays. Dignified salute.
>>> "Did they play the Last Post and chorus?"
>>> "Did the Pipes play the flowers of the forest?"
>
>>Oddly enough, I've got a copy of "The Green Fields Of France" on my
>>desk right now, on an album by The Men They Couldn't Hang. Didn't
>>Mr. Bogle write lots of cheery ditties? ("And the Band Played Waltzing
>>Matilda" springs to mind, too)
>>Can't resist the ppoints though:
>>"Did the band sound the Last Post and chorus?
>> Did they pipe the Flowers of the Forest?"
>It depends on who's singing it, the Clancy Brothers' version of
>_Willie McBride_ is closer to the Dave O'Brien's than yours, but still
>slightly different.
>>Great song.
>Agreed entirely.
>Lara Beaton
Close but still no cigar
Did the bugles sound the "?Last Post" in chorus
Did the pipes play the "Flowers of the Forest"?
If I recall from my tape of Eric Bogle
Cheers
Tom
Dave O'Brien
Dave O'Brien:
> "Did they play the Last Post and chorus?"
> "Did the Pipes play the flowers of the forest?"
Mike Knell:
> "Did the band sound the Last Post and chorus?
> Did they pipe the Flowers of the Forest?"
lbe...@ccgate.hac.com (Lara Beaton) wrote:
>It depends on who's singing it, the Clancy Brothers' version of
>_Willie McBride_ is closer to the Dave O'Brien's than yours, but still
>slightly different.
Well, according to my dad, (who's sung with several Clancy's) my
version is right - just like the version by the Furey Brothers'.
so there
dave
--
Dave O'Brien, http://www.diaspoir.demon.co.uk/
Newbie page: http://www.diaspoir.demon.co.uk/newbie.htm
Lara Beaton
so sayeth d...@diaspoir.demon.co.uk (Dave O'Brien) :
<munch argument over the words to Willie McBride>
>lbe...@ccgate.hac.com (Lara Beaton) wrote:
>>It depends on who's singing it, the Clancy Brothers' version of
>>_Willie McBride_ is closer to the Dave O'Brien's than yours, but still
>>slightly different.
>Well, according to my dad, (who's sung with several Clancy's) my
>version is right - just like the version by the Furey Brothers'.
Cool. did your dad ever record anything with the Clancys? If so, my
folks have probably got it.
>so there
:-p
========================================================================
Lara Beaton
The opinions expressed are not those of Hughes Aircraft or General
Motors, nor are they probably opinions at all.
"Female engineers become irresistable at the age of consent and
remain that way until about thirty minutes after clinical death.
Longer if it's a warm day."
Dave O'Brien
lbe...@ccgate.hac.com (Lara Beaton) wrote:
>Cool. did your dad ever record anything with the Clancys? If so, my
>folks have probably got it.
Dungarvan (Ireland) for a few years and all sorts of people would
turn up and join in.
>"Female engineers become irresistable at the age of consent and
>remain that way until about thirty minutes after clinical death.
>Longer if it's a warm day."
Lara, you've got a wicked line in .sigs.
Dave Golder
In article <DNQFjEAw...@unseen.demon.co.uk>, Terry Pratchett
<tprat...@unseen.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> In article <199611300...@zetnet.co.uk>, Andy Davison
> <andyd...@zetnet.co.uk> writes
> >Having seen some of the tributes to lesser entertainers on TV I hope
> >the BBC and ITV do the right thing and repeat some of Square World
> >and Potty Time
>
> When they draw the map of British humour, the line from the Goons will
> go directly to Monty Python, and another line will go through the
> 'Bentine Collection' to The Goodies, I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again and,
> for those of you with long memories, At Last The 1948 Show.
>
> Legend says he fell out with Milligan and that was why he left the
> Goons, but legend comes in many flavours.
>
> Oh, lor'...if I shut my eyes I can still hear the sound of Bumbly 2's
> voice...
Last night I listened, for the first time in ages, to an interview I did
with Mike Bentine nine years ago. Brought tears to my eyes, but a smile to
my face - at the same time. A wonderfully warm and friendly guy, and one
of the cleverest men I've ever met.
He told me about his friendship with Patrick Moore and Arthur C Clarke
when they were helping to set up the British Interplanetary Society. He
told me of practical examples of psychic phenomena which he had witnessed
in Peru (not sure about those myself, but...).
Alas, he also confirmed my story that the BBC had wiped all tapes of It's
A Square World. He said that they wanted him to be more satirical, but he
just wanted to be a clown, so they wiped the tapes in a fit of pique. I
hope recordings exist somewhere - maybe Australia or South Africa.
Nevertheless, I do have several records and books of his. A few months I
finally found the single of "Astronauts" b/w "Wine drinker" and they are
both wonderfully funny.
Nevertheless, the curse of the Simo interview has struck again.
Beware, Terry, beware!
MJ 'Simo' Simpson
President, ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha - the official Hitchhiker's Guide to the
Galaxy Appreciation Society
(for details, SAE to 37 Keens Rd, Croydon, Surrey CR0 1AH, U.K.)
(also News Editor, SFX; posted via Dave Golder, Editor, SFX)