Peter Sellers (top), Spike Milligan (left) and Harry Secombe (right) in a 1950s BBC publicity shot
The Goons 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 28 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.
More Goons!
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 series was broadcast on 28th. January 1960.
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.
V01E01 – The Dreaded Batter Pudding Hurler
V01E02 – The Jet-Propelled Guided Naafi
V01E03 – The History’s Of Pliny The Elder
V01E04 – The Evils Of Bushey Spon
V02E01 – Lurgi Strikes Britian
V02E03 – The International Christmas Pudding
V03E02 – The Treasure Of Loch Lomond
V04E01 – The Case Of The Missing CD Plates
V04E02 – The Nasty Affair At The Burami Oasis
V04E03 – The Man Who Never Was
V05E04 – The Last Smoking Seagoon
V07E01 – The Whistling Spy Enigma
V07E02 – The Affair Of The Lone Banana
V08E01 – The Greatest Mountain In The World
V08E02 – The Mystery Of The Mary Celeste (Solved)
V09E01 – Under Two Floorboards
V09E02 – The Sinking Of Westminister Peir
V09E04 – The Mysterious Punch-up-the-Conker
V10E01 – The White Box Of Great Bardfield
V10E03 – The Mystery Of The Fake Neddy Seagoons
V10E04 – The Great Bank Robbery
V11E02 – The White Neddie Trade
V12E01 – The Phantom Head Shaver (of Brighton)
V12E03 – Drums Along the Mersey
V13E02 – The Moriarty Murder Mystery
V13E04 – The £1,000,000 Penny
V14E01 – The Childe Harolde Rewarde
V14E03 – The Battle of Spion Kop
V14E04 – The Gold Plate Robbery
V15E01 – Ye Bandit of Sherwood Forest
V15E03 – Operation Christmas Duff
V16E02 – The Curse of Frankenstein
V17E02 – The Treasure in the Tower
V19E01 – The Pevensey Bay Disaster
V19E02 – The Spectre of Tintagel
V20E03 – The Great British Revolution
V20E04 – The Sahara Desert Statue
V21E03 – The Missing Battleship
V21E04 – Ten Snowballs that Shook the World
V22E01 – The Booted Gorilla (found)
V22E04 – The Sale of Manhattan
V23E01 – The Collapse of the British Railway Sandwich System
V23E02 – The Lost Gold Mine (of Charlotte)
V24E01 – The Case of the Missing Heir
V24E03 – The Pam’s Paper Insurance Policy
V24E04 – The Dreaded Piano Clubber
V25E01 – The Internal Mountain
V25E02 – The Fireball of Milton Street
V25E04 – The Terrible Revenge of Fred Fu-Manchu
V26E01 – The Great Bank of England Robbery
V26E03 – The Siege of Fort Night
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