Benny Hill - Revision history

Kurt at 18:14, 18 March 2023

2023-03-18T18:14:47Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:14, 18 March 2023
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	~~{{Short description\|English comedy actor (1924–1992)}}~~
	~~{{Use British English\|date=August 2014}}~~
	~~{{Use dmy dates\|date=July 2022}}~~
	{{Infobox comedian		{{Infobox comedian
	~~\| name = Benny Hill~~
	\| image = Benny Hill.jpg		\| image = Benny Hill.jpg
	\| caption =		\| caption =
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	\| birth_place = {{nowrap\|[[Southampton]], [[Hampshire]], England}}		\| birth_place = {{nowrap\|[[Southampton]], [[Hampshire]], England}}
	\| death_date = {{Death date and age\|df=yes\|1992\|4\|20\|1924\|1\|21}}		\| death_date = {{Death date and age\|df=yes\|1992\|4\|20\|1924\|1\|21}}
	\| death_place = [[~~w:Teddington\|~~Teddington]], [[~~w:Greater London\|~~Greater London]], England		\| death_place = [[Teddington]], [[Greater London]], England
	\| medium = {{Flatlist\|		\| medium = {{Flatlist\|
	* Film		* Film
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	\| active = 1947–1992		\| active = 1947–1992
	\| genre = {{Flatlist\|		\| genre = {{Flatlist\|
	* [[~~w:Burlesque\|~~Burlesque]]		* [[Burlesque]]
	* [[double entendre]]		* [[double entendre]]
	* [[~~w:slapstick\|~~slapstick]]		* [[slapstick]]
	}}		}}
	}}		}}

	'''Alfred Hawthorne Hill''' (21 January 1924 – 20 April 1992)<!-- He was born on 21 January 1924. ref birth indexes for 1st quarter (Jan, Feb, Mar) 1924 reveal "Alfred H. Hill" registered Southampton — mother's maiden name "Cave". This is CORRECT — Please do not change to 1925. --> was an English [[w:comedian\|comedian]], [[w:actor\|actor]], [[w:singer\|singer]] and [[w:writer\|writer]]. He is remembered for his television programme ''[[The Benny Hill Show]]'', an amalgam of slapstick, burlesque and [[double entendre]] in a format that included live comedy and filmed segments, with Hill at the focus of almost every segment.		'''Alfred Hawthorne Hill''' (21 January 1924 – 20 April 1992)<!-- He was born on 21 January 1924. ref birth indexes for 1st quarter (Jan, Feb, Mar) 1924 reveal "Alfred H. Hill" registered Southampton — mother's maiden name "Cave". This is CORRECT — Please do not change to 1925. --> was an English [[comedian\|comedian]], [[actor\|actor]], [[singer\|singer]] and [[writer\|writer]]. He is remembered for his television programme ''[[The Benny Hill Show]]'', an amalgam of slapstick, burlesque and [[double entendre]] in a format that included live comedy and filmed segments, with Hill at the focus of almost every segment.

	Hill was a prominent figure in British television for several decades. His show was among the [[List of most watched television broadcasts in the United Kingdom#Most watched programmes\|most-watched programmes]] in the UK, with the audience peaking at more than 21 million in 1971.<ref>{{cite web \|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/mostwatched/1970s.html \|title=Features \| Britain's Most Watched TV \| 1970s \|publisher=British Film Institute (BFI) \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051122221511/http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/mostwatched/1970s.html \|archive-date=22 November 2005 \|access-date=22 October 2016}}</ref> ''The Benny Hill Show'' was also exported to many countries around the world.<ref>{{cite news \|title=The legend of Benny Hill \|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/legend-benny-hill-9234415.html \|access-date=16 November 2020 \|newspaper=[[The Independent]]}}</ref> He received a [[BAFTA Television Award]] for [[British Academy Television Craft Award for Best Writer: Drama\|Best Writer]] and a [[Rose d'Or]], and was nominated for the [[British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance\|BAFTA for Best Entertainment Performance]] and two [[Emmy Awards]] for [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Series#1980s\|Outstanding Variety]]. In 2006, Hill was voted by the British public number 17 in [[ITV (TV network)\|ITV]]'s poll of [[TV's 50 Greatest Stars]].<ref>{{cite news\|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5142726.stm\|title=ITV to salute '50 greatest stars'\|date=3 July 2006\|agency=[[BBC News]]\|access-date=9 August 2014}}</ref>		Hill was a prominent figure in British television for several decades. His show was among the [[List of most watched television broadcasts in the United Kingdom#Most watched programmes\|most-watched programmes]] in the UK, with the audience peaking at more than 21 million in 1971.<ref>{{cite web \|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/mostwatched/1970s.html \|title=Features \| Britain's Most Watched TV \| 1970s \|publisher=British Film Institute (BFI) \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051122221511/http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/mostwatched/1970s.html \|archive-date=22 November 2005 \|access-date=22 October 2016}}</ref> ''The Benny Hill Show'' was also exported to many countries around the world.<ref>{{cite news \|title=The legend of Benny Hill \|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/legend-benny-hill-9234415.html \|access-date=16 November 2020 \|newspaper=[[The Independent]]}}</ref> He received a [[BAFTA Television Award]] for [[British Academy Television Craft Award for Best Writer: Drama\|Best Writer]] and a [[Rose d'Or]], and was nominated for the [[British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance\|BAFTA for Best Entertainment Performance]] and two [[Emmy Awards]] for [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Series#1980s\|Outstanding Variety]]. In 2006, Hill was voted by the British public number 17 in [[ITV (TV network)\|ITV]]'s poll of [[TV's 50 Greatest Stars]].<ref>{{cite news\|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5142726.stm\|title=ITV to salute '50 greatest stars'\|date=3 July 2006\|agency=[[BBC News]]\|access-date=9 August 2014}}</ref>
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	The [[alternative comedy\|alternative comedian]] [[Ben Elton]] made a headline-grabbing allegation, both on the TV show ''[[Saturday Live (UK TV programme)\|Saturday Live]]'' and in the pages of ''[[Q (magazine)\|Q]]'' magazine (in its January 1987 issue), that ''The Benny Hill Show'' incited crimes and misdemeanours. "We know in Britain, women can't even walk safe in a park anymore. That, for me, is worrying."<ref name=“GQ”>{{cite news \|title='Benny Hill saw sex as both a nightmare and an impossible dream' \|url=https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/benny-hill-sex-controversy-and-legacy \|access-date=24 November 2021 \|work=GQ}}</ref> A writer in ''[[The Independent]]'' newspaper, though, opined that Elton's assault was "like watching an elderly uncle being kicked to death by young thugs".<ref>Jemima Lewis [https://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/jemima-lewis-why-did-the-british-disown-benny-hill-479887.html "Why did the British disown Benny Hill?"] ''The Independent'', 27 May 2006</ref> ''[[GQ]]'' magazine stated, "pompous and portentous as this is, blaming Hill for rape statistics is like pointing a finger at concert pianists for causing elephant poaching".<ref name=“GQ”/> Elton later parodied himself in ''[[Harry Enfield & Chums]]'' as Benny Elton, a politically correct spoilsport, in which Elton ends up being chased by angry women, accompanied by the "Yakety Sax" theme, after trying to force them to be more feminist.<ref>{{cite web\|author=Stas Bekman\|url=http://stason.org/TULARC/tv/ben-elton/05-Television-all-broadcast-dates-are-UK-unless-otherwise-s.html \|title=05 Television (all broadcast dates are UK unless otherwise stated) (Ben Elton) \|website=Stason.org \|access-date=4 November 2021}}</ref> A spokesman for the [[Broadcasting Standards Authority]] commented that "the convention is becoming increasingly offensive ]...] It's not as funny as it was to have half-naked girls chased across the screen by a dirty old man."<ref>{{cite book \| last = Baker \| first = Rob \| title = Beautiful idiots and brilliant lunatics: a sideways look at twentieth-century London \| publisher = Amberley Publishing \| location = Stroud \| year = 2015 \| isbn = 9781445651200 }}</ref>		The [[alternative comedy\|alternative comedian]] [[Ben Elton]] made a headline-grabbing allegation, both on the TV show ''[[Saturday Live (UK TV programme)\|Saturday Live]]'' and in the pages of ''[[Q (magazine)\|Q]]'' magazine (in its January 1987 issue), that ''The Benny Hill Show'' incited crimes and misdemeanours. "We know in Britain, women can't even walk safe in a park anymore. That, for me, is worrying."<ref name=“GQ”>{{cite news \|title='Benny Hill saw sex as both a nightmare and an impossible dream' \|url=https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/benny-hill-sex-controversy-and-legacy \|access-date=24 November 2021 \|work=GQ}}</ref> A writer in ''[[The Independent]]'' newspaper, though, opined that Elton's assault was "like watching an elderly uncle being kicked to death by young thugs".<ref>Jemima Lewis [https://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/jemima-lewis-why-did-the-british-disown-benny-hill-479887.html "Why did the British disown Benny Hill?"] ''The Independent'', 27 May 2006</ref> ''[[GQ]]'' magazine stated, "pompous and portentous as this is, blaming Hill for rape statistics is like pointing a finger at concert pianists for causing elephant poaching".<ref name=“GQ”/> Elton later parodied himself in ''[[Harry Enfield & Chums]]'' as Benny Elton, a politically correct spoilsport, in which Elton ends up being chased by angry women, accompanied by the "Yakety Sax" theme, after trying to force them to be more feminist.<ref>{{cite web\|author=Stas Bekman\|url=http://stason.org/TULARC/tv/ben-elton/05-Television-all-broadcast-dates-are-UK-unless-otherwise-s.html \|title=05 Television (all broadcast dates are UK unless otherwise stated) (Ben Elton) \|website=Stason.org \|access-date=4 November 2021}}</ref> A spokesman for the [[Broadcasting Standards Authority]] commented that "the convention is becoming increasingly offensive ]...] It's not as funny as it was to have half-naked girls chased across the screen by a dirty old man."<ref>{{cite book \| last = Baker \| first = Rob \| title = Beautiful idiots and brilliant lunatics: a sideways look at twentieth-century London \| publisher = Amberley Publishing \| location = Stroud \| year = 2015 \| isbn = 9781445651200 }}</ref>

	In late May 1989, Hill announced that after 21 years with Thames Television he was quitting and taking a year off. His shows had earned Thames £26 million, with a large percentage due to the success of his shows in the United States.<ref>{{cite magazine\|magazine=[[w:Daily Variety\|Daily Variety]]\|date=1 June 1989\|page=16\|title=Benny Hill To Call It A Day}}</ref> [[John Howard Davies]], the head of Light Entertainment at Thames Television, was cited by the British press as the man who sacked Benny Hill when the company decided not to renew Hill's contract.<ref name = guardobit>Matthew Sweet [https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/aug/24/john-howard-davies-obituary Obituary: John Howard Davies], ''The Guardian'', 24 November 2019</ref> "The show was past its sell-by date", Davies told ''[[The Guardian]]'' newspaper. "Benny was all right when he was young, but when you're in your 60s, it's a slightly different matter to leer at a pretty girl."<ref>{{Cite news\|last=Bernstein\|first=Adam\|date=23 August 2011\|title=John Howard Davies, British comedy producer and former child actor, dies at 72\|language=en-US\|work=Washington Post\|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/john-howard-davies-british-comedy-producer-and-former-child-actor-dies-at-72/2011/08/23/gIQAUJliZJ_story.html\|access-date=19 February 2021\|issn=0190-8286}}</ref>		In late May 1989, Hill announced that after 21 years with Thames Television he was quitting and taking a year off. His shows had earned Thames £26 million, with a large percentage due to the success of his shows in the United States.<ref>{{cite magazine\|magazine=[[Daily Variety\|Daily Variety]]\|date=1 June 1989\|page=16\|title=Benny Hill To Call It A Day}}</ref> [[John Howard Davies]], the head of Light Entertainment at Thames Television, was cited by the British press as the man who sacked Benny Hill when the company decided not to renew Hill's contract.<ref name = guardobit>Matthew Sweet [https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/aug/24/john-howard-davies-obituary Obituary: John Howard Davies], ''The Guardian'', 24 November 2019</ref> "The show was past its sell-by date", Davies told ''[[The Guardian]]'' newspaper. "Benny was all right when he was young, but when you're in your 60s, it's a slightly different matter to leer at a pretty girl."<ref>{{Cite news\|last=Bernstein\|first=Adam\|date=23 August 2011\|title=John Howard Davies, British comedy producer and former child actor, dies at 72\|language=en-US\|work=Washington Post\|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/john-howard-davies-british-comedy-producer-and-former-child-actor-dies-at-72/2011/08/23/gIQAUJliZJ_story.html\|access-date=19 February 2021\|issn=0190-8286}}</ref>

	In 1991, Hill started work on a new television series called ''Benny Hill's World Tour'' which would see Hill performing his sketches in various places around the world where his show had become popular. However, Hill only managed to record one special called ''Greetings from New York'' (with regular cast members such as Henry McGee, Bob Todd and Sue Upton), with the show becoming billed as "his final TV appearance" when released onto DVD.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/benny_hill/shop/1596/benny_hills_world_tour_greetings_from_new_york_dvd/\|title = Benny Hill's World Tour - Greetings from New York DVD}}</ref><ref>{{cite book\|author1=Gale Group\|author2=Thomas Riggs\|title=Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nuVkAAAAMAAJ\|year=2002\|publisher=Cengage Gale\|isbn=978-0-7876-5114-5}}</ref>		In 1991, Hill started work on a new television series called ''Benny Hill's World Tour'' which would see Hill performing his sketches in various places around the world where his show had become popular. However, Hill only managed to record one special called ''Greetings from New York'' (with regular cast members such as Henry McGee, Bob Todd and Sue Upton), with the show becoming billed as "his final TV appearance" when released onto DVD.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/benny_hill/shop/1596/benny_hills_world_tour_greetings_from_new_york_dvd/\|title = Benny Hill's World Tour - Greetings from New York DVD}}</ref><ref>{{cite book\|author1=Gale Group\|author2=Thomas Riggs\|title=Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nuVkAAAAMAAJ\|year=2002\|publisher=Cengage Gale\|isbn=978-0-7876-5114-5}}</ref>
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	* {{cite web \|url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/7547472/Benny-Hill.html \|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100423072452/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/7547472/Benny-Hill.html \|url-status= dead \|archive-date= 23 April 2010 \|title= Benny Hill \|publisher= Daily Telegraph \|work= Obituary \|date= 22 April 1992}}		* {{cite web \|url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/7547472/Benny-Hill.html \|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100423072452/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/7547472/Benny-Hill.html \|url-status= dead \|archive-date= 23 April 2010 \|title= Benny Hill \|publisher= Daily Telegraph \|work= Obituary \|date= 22 April 1992}}
	* {{Find a Grave\|481}}		* {{Find a Grave\|481}}
	* {{cite web \|url= https://museum.tv/eotv/bennyhillsh.htm \|title= Benny Hill \|website= [[w:Museum of Broadcast Communications\|Museum of Broadcast Communications]] \|first= Albert \|last= Moran\|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141124024326/https://museum.tv/eotv/bennyhillsh.htm \|archive-date= 24 November 2014 }}		* {{cite web \|url= https://museum.tv/eotv/bennyhillsh.htm \|title= Benny Hill \|website= [[Museum of Broadcast Communications\|Museum of Broadcast Communications]] \|first= Albert \|last= Moran\|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141124024326/https://museum.tv/eotv/bennyhillsh.htm \|archive-date= 24 November 2014 }}
	* {{cite web \|url= http://laughterlog.com/2009/03/19/benny-hill/ \|title= Benny Hill \|publisher= Laugh Magazine \|work= List of appearances on television, radio and record \|first= Peter \|last= Tatchell \|date= 2001 <!-- issue= 22 -->}}		* {{cite web \|url= http://laughterlog.com/2009/03/19/benny-hill/ \|title= Benny Hill \|publisher= Laugh Magazine \|work= List of appearances on television, radio and record \|first= Peter \|last= Tatchell \|date= 2001 <!-- issue= 22 -->}}
	* [http://eastleighso50.tripod.com/id5.html The Eastleigh Photograph Archive] Photos of the dairy and streets where Benny worked as a milkman, inspiring the song "Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West)"		* [http://eastleighso50.tripod.com/id5.html The Eastleigh Photograph Archive] Photos of the dairy and streets where Benny worked as a milkman, inspiring the song "Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West)"
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	* [https://downstairslounge.wordpress.com/2015/01/13/benny-hill-sings/ Benny Hill Sings?] Benny Hill's 1965 debut LP on Pye records		* [https://downstairslounge.wordpress.com/2015/01/13/benny-hill-sings/ Benny Hill Sings?] Benny Hill's 1965 debut LP on Pye records
	* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/hampshire/hi/people_and_places/newsid_8186000/8186192.stm BBC Hampshire] BBC article on Benny Hill's Hampshire connections		* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/hampshire/hi/people_and_places/newsid_8186000/8186192.stm BBC Hampshire] BBC article on Benny Hill's Hampshire connections
	* [http://www.runstop.de/ Benny's Place] featuring [[w:Louise English\|Louise English]] & Hill's Angels		* [http://www.runstop.de/ Benny's Place] featuring [[Louise English\|Louise English]] & Hill's Angels
	* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOGnr_LgS6Q ''What Happened to Benny Hill''], a short [[~~w:YouTube\|~~YouTube]] biography		* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOGnr_LgS6Q ''What Happened to Benny Hill''], a short [[YouTube]] biography

	{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Benny}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Benny}}

Kurt: /* External links */

2023-01-16T00:54:15Z

External links

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:54, 15 January 2023
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	== External links ==		== External links ==
	~~{{Wikiquote}}~~
	~~{{Commons category}}~~
	~~{{Portal\|Biography}}~~
	* {{official website\|http://www.bennyhill.co.uk/}}		* {{official website\|http://www.bennyhill.co.uk/}}
	* {{IMDb name\|0001350}}		* {{IMDb name\|0001350}}
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	* {{cite web \|url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/7547472/Benny-Hill.html \|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100423072452/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/7547472/Benny-Hill.html \|url-status= dead \|archive-date= 23 April 2010 \|title= Benny Hill \|publisher= Daily Telegraph \|work= Obituary \|date= 22 April 1992}}		* {{cite web \|url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/7547472/Benny-Hill.html \|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100423072452/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/7547472/Benny-Hill.html \|url-status= dead \|archive-date= 23 April 2010 \|title= Benny Hill \|publisher= Daily Telegraph \|work= Obituary \|date= 22 April 1992}}
	* {{Find a Grave\|481}}		* {{Find a Grave\|481}}
	* {{cite web \|url= https://museum.tv/eotv/bennyhillsh.htm \|title= Benny Hill \|website= [[Museum of Broadcast Communications]] \|first= Albert \|last= Moran\|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141124024326/https://museum.tv/eotv/bennyhillsh.htm \|archive-date= 24 November 2014 }}		* {{cite web \|url= https://museum.tv/eotv/bennyhillsh.htm \|title= Benny Hill \|website= [[w:Museum of Broadcast Communications\|Museum of Broadcast Communications]] \|first= Albert \|last= Moran\|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141124024326/https://museum.tv/eotv/bennyhillsh.htm \|archive-date= 24 November 2014 }}
	* {{cite web \|url= http://laughterlog.com/2009/03/19/benny-hill/ \|title= Benny Hill \|publisher= Laugh Magazine \|work= List of appearances on television, radio and record \|first= Peter \|last= Tatchell \|date= 2001 <!-- issue= 22 -->}}		* {{cite web \|url= http://laughterlog.com/2009/03/19/benny-hill/ \|title= Benny Hill \|publisher= Laugh Magazine \|work= List of appearances on television, radio and record \|first= Peter \|last= Tatchell \|date= 2001 <!-- issue= 22 -->}}
	* [http://eastleighso50.tripod.com/id5.html The Eastleigh Photograph Archive] Photos of the dairy and streets where Benny worked as a milkman, inspiring the song "Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West)"		* [http://eastleighso50.tripod.com/id5.html The Eastleigh Photograph Archive] Photos of the dairy and streets where Benny worked as a milkman, inspiring the song "Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West)"
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	* [https://downstairslounge.wordpress.com/2015/01/13/benny-hill-sings/ Benny Hill Sings?] Benny Hill's 1965 debut LP on Pye records		* [https://downstairslounge.wordpress.com/2015/01/13/benny-hill-sings/ Benny Hill Sings?] Benny Hill's 1965 debut LP on Pye records
	* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/hampshire/hi/people_and_places/newsid_8186000/8186192.stm BBC Hampshire] BBC article on Benny Hill's Hampshire connections		* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/hampshire/hi/people_and_places/newsid_8186000/8186192.stm BBC Hampshire] BBC article on Benny Hill's Hampshire connections
	* [http://www.runstop.de/ Benny's Place] featuring [[Louise English]] & Hill's Angels		* [http://www.runstop.de/ Benny's Place] featuring [[w:Louise English\|Louise English]] & Hill's Angels
	* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOGnr_LgS6Q ''What Happened to Benny Hill''], a short [[YouTube]] biography		* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOGnr_LgS6Q ''What Happened to Benny Hill''], a short [[w:YouTube\|YouTube]] biography

	~~{{Use dmy dates\|date=September 2021}}~~

	~~{{Authority control}}~~

	{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Benny}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Benny}}
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	[[Category:British sketch comedians]]		[[Category:British sketch comedians]]
	[[Category:Burials at Hollybrook Cemetery]]		[[Category:Burials at Hollybrook Cemetery]]
	~~[[Category:Deaths from coronary thrombosis]]~~
	[[Category:English comedy musicians]]		[[Category:English comedy musicians]]
	[[Category:English male comedians]]		[[Category:English male comedians]]

Kurt: /* Death */

2023-01-16T00:52:59Z

Death

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:52, 15 January 2023
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	== Death ==		== Death ==
	[[File:Benny Hill Tombstone.jpg\|thumb\|upright\|~~left~~\|Hill's grave at [[Hollybrook Cemetery]], Southampton]]		[[File:Benny Hill Tombstone.jpg\|thumb\|upright\|right\|Hill's grave at [[Hollybrook Cemetery]], Southampton]]
	Hill's health declined in the late 1980s and after working for Thames Television. After a mild heart attack on 24 February 1992, doctors recommended him a [[Coronary artery bypass surgery\|heart bypass]]. He declined, and a week later was found to have [[kidney failure]]. Hill died at his flat in [[Teddington]] on 20 April 1992, at the age of 68.<ref name="NYTimes" /> Two days later, after several days of unanswered telephone calls<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://flashbak.com/the-rise-fall-and-lonely-death-of-benny-hill-371668/\|title=The Rise, Fall, and Lonely Death of Benny Hill\|date=22 January 2017\|website=flashbak.com}}</ref> he was found dead in his armchair in front of the television. The cause of death was recorded as [[coronary thrombosis]].<ref>{{cite ODNB\|last=Took\|first=Barry\|title=Hill, Alfred Hawthorne [Benny] (1924–1992), comedian\|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/51126\|year=2004\|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/51126\|access-date=6 June 2011}}</ref> Hill was buried at [[Hollybrook Cemetery]], near his birthplace in Southampton, on 26 April 1992.		Hill's health declined in the late 1980s and after working for Thames Television. After a mild heart attack on 24 February 1992, doctors recommended him a [[Coronary artery bypass surgery\|heart bypass]]. He declined, and a week later was found to have [[kidney failure]]. Hill died at his flat in [[Teddington]] on 20 April 1992, at the age of 68.<ref name="NYTimes" /> Two days later, after several days of unanswered telephone calls<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://flashbak.com/the-rise-fall-and-lonely-death-of-benny-hill-371668/\|title=The Rise, Fall, and Lonely Death of Benny Hill\|date=22 January 2017\|website=flashbak.com}}</ref> he was found dead in his armchair in front of the television. The cause of death was recorded as [[coronary thrombosis]].<ref>{{cite ODNB\|last=Took\|first=Barry\|title=Hill, Alfred Hawthorne [Benny] (1924–1992), comedian\|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/51126\|year=2004\|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/51126\|access-date=6 June 2011}}</ref> Hill was buried at [[Hollybrook Cemetery]], near his birthplace in Southampton, on 26 April 1992.

Kurt: /* The Benny Hill Show */

2023-01-16T00:52:28Z

The Benny Hill Show

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:52, 15 January 2023
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	Hill remained mostly with the BBC through to 1968, except for a few sojourns with [[ITV (TV network)\|ITV]] and [[Associated Television\|ATV]] stations between 1957 and 1960 and again in 1967. In 1969, his show moved from the BBC to [[Thames Television]], where it remained until its cancellation in 1989, with an erratic schedule of one-hour specials. The series showcased Hill's talents as an imaginative writer, comic performer and impressionist. He may have bought scripts from various comedy writers, but if so, they never received an onscreen credit (some evidence indicates he bought a script from one of his regular cast members in 1976, [[Cherri Gilham]], to whom he wrote from Spain, telling her he was using her "Fat Lady" idea on the show in January 1977).		Hill remained mostly with the BBC through to 1968, except for a few sojourns with [[ITV (TV network)\|ITV]] and [[Associated Television\|ATV]] stations between 1957 and 1960 and again in 1967. In 1969, his show moved from the BBC to [[Thames Television]], where it remained until its cancellation in 1989, with an erratic schedule of one-hour specials. The series showcased Hill's talents as an imaginative writer, comic performer and impressionist. He may have bought scripts from various comedy writers, but if so, they never received an onscreen credit (some evidence indicates he bought a script from one of his regular cast members in 1976, [[Cherri Gilham]], to whom he wrote from Spain, telling her he was using her "Fat Lady" idea on the show in January 1977).

	{{Quote box\|width=29%\|align=right\|quote="To this day, ''The Benny Hill Show'', as watched by 21.1 million people in 1977, and which over the years won its star a [[BAFTA]], the [[Rose d'Or\|Golden Rose of Montreux]], and a Variety Club Of Great Britain ITV Personality Of The Year award, remains the sole programme that spoke directly to the dream experience of the hot-blooded adolescent. This was perhaps why [[Thames Television\|Thames]] could sell the show to so many foreign markets, from France, Spain and West Germany to the remotest jungle clearing in Brazil – deep up the Amazon River, photos of Hill were to be found in mud huts."\|source=—Roger Lewis in ''[[GQ]]'' magazine on the popularity of the show in Britain and abroad, April 2014.<ref name=“GQ”/>}}
	The most common running gag in Hill's shows was the closing sequence, the "run-off", which was literally a [[running gag]] in featuring various members of the cast chasing Hill, along with other stock comedy characters such as policemen, vicars and old women. This was commonly filmed using "under-cranking" camera techniques and included other comic features such as jogging instead of a run at full speed and characters running off one side of the screen and reappearing running on from the other. The tune used in all the chases, [[Boots Randolph]]'s "[[Yakety Sax]]", is so strongly associated with the show that it is commonly referred to as "The Benny Hill Theme". It has been used as a form of [[parody]] in many ways by television shows and films. In a 2015 UK-wide poll the show's theme song was voted number 1 on the [[ITV (TV channel)\|ITV]] special ''[[The Nation's Favourite\|The Sound of ITV – The Nation's Favourite Theme Tune]]''.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.itv.com/presscentre/ep1week38/sound-itv-nations-favourite-theme-tune\|title=The Sound of ITV: The Nation's Favourite Theme Tunes Episode 1\|publisher=itv.com\|access-date=24 November 2019}}</ref>		The most common running gag in Hill's shows was the closing sequence, the "run-off", which was literally a [[running gag]] in featuring various members of the cast chasing Hill, along with other stock comedy characters such as policemen, vicars and old women. This was commonly filmed using "under-cranking" camera techniques and included other comic features such as jogging instead of a run at full speed and characters running off one side of the screen and reappearing running on from the other. The tune used in all the chases, [[Boots Randolph]]'s "[[Yakety Sax]]", is so strongly associated with the show that it is commonly referred to as "The Benny Hill Theme". It has been used as a form of [[parody]] in many ways by television shows and films. In a 2015 UK-wide poll the show's theme song was voted number 1 on the [[ITV (TV channel)\|ITV]] special ''[[The Nation's Favourite\|The Sound of ITV – The Nation's Favourite Theme Tune]]''.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.itv.com/presscentre/ep1week38/sound-itv-nations-favourite-theme-tune\|title=The Sound of ITV: The Nation's Favourite Theme Tunes Episode 1\|publisher=itv.com\|access-date=24 November 2019}}</ref>

	From the start of the 1980s, the show featured a troupe of attractive young women, known collectively as "Hill's Angels". They would appear either on their own in a dance sequence or in character as foils against Hill. [[Sue Upton]] was one of the longest-serving members of the Angels. [[Jane Leeves]] appeared, as well. [[Henry McGee]] and [[Bob Todd]] joined Jackie Wright as comic supporting players, and the later shows also featured "Hill's Little Angels", a group of cute children including the families of [[Dennis Kirkland]] (the show's director) and Sue Upton. [[Jenny Lee-Wright]] (who first appeared on Hill's show in 1970) earned the nickname "The Sexiest Stooge" – coined by Hill.<ref>{{cite news \|title=The Generation Game dames who gave legendary BBC TV game show glamour are nice to see again, nice... \|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/generation-game-dames-who-gave-12288583 \|access-date=24 November 2019 \|work=The Mirror}}</ref>		From the start of the 1980s, the show featured a troupe of attractive young women, known collectively as "Hill's Angels". They would appear either on their own in a dance sequence or in character as foils against Hill. [[Sue Upton]] was one of the longest-serving members of the Angels. [[Jane Leeves]] appeared, as well. [[Henry McGee]] and [[Bob Todd]] joined Jackie Wright as comic supporting players, and the later shows also featured "Hill's Little Angels", a group of cute children including the families of [[Dennis Kirkland]] (the show's director) and Sue Upton. [[Jenny Lee-Wright]] (who first appeared on Hill's show in 1970) earned the nickname "The Sexiest Stooge" – coined by Hill.<ref>{{cite news \|title=The Generation Game dames who gave legendary BBC TV game show glamour are nice to see again, nice... \|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/generation-game-dames-who-gave-12288583 \|access-date=24 November 2019 \|work=The Mirror}}</ref>

			{{Quote box\|width=29%\|align=right\|quote="To this day, ''The Benny Hill Show'', as watched by 21.1 million people in 1977, and which over the years won its star a [[BAFTA]], the [[Rose d'Or\|Golden Rose of Montreux]], and a Variety Club Of Great Britain ITV Personality Of The Year award, remains the sole programme that spoke directly to the dream experience of the hot-blooded adolescent. This was perhaps why [[Thames Television\|Thames]] could sell the show to so many foreign markets, from France, Spain and West Germany to the remotest jungle clearing in Brazil – deep up the Amazon River, photos of Hill were to be found in mud huts."\|source=—Roger Lewis in ''[[GQ]]'' magazine on the popularity of the show in Britain and abroad, April 2014.<ref name=“GQ”/>}}

	The [[alternative comedy\|alternative comedian]] [[Ben Elton]] made a headline-grabbing allegation, both on the TV show ''[[Saturday Live (UK TV programme)\|Saturday Live]]'' and in the pages of ''[[Q (magazine)\|Q]]'' magazine (in its January 1987 issue), that ''The Benny Hill Show'' incited crimes and misdemeanours. "We know in Britain, women can't even walk safe in a park anymore. That, for me, is worrying."<ref name=“GQ”>{{cite news \|title='Benny Hill saw sex as both a nightmare and an impossible dream' \|url=https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/benny-hill-sex-controversy-and-legacy \|access-date=24 November 2021 \|work=GQ}}</ref> A writer in ''[[The Independent]]'' newspaper, though, opined that Elton's assault was "like watching an elderly uncle being kicked to death by young thugs".<ref>Jemima Lewis [https://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/jemima-lewis-why-did-the-british-disown-benny-hill-479887.html "Why did the British disown Benny Hill?"] ''The Independent'', 27 May 2006</ref> ''[[GQ]]'' magazine stated, "pompous and portentous as this is, blaming Hill for rape statistics is like pointing a finger at concert pianists for causing elephant poaching".<ref name=“GQ”/> Elton later parodied himself in ''[[Harry Enfield & Chums]]'' as Benny Elton, a politically correct spoilsport, in which Elton ends up being chased by angry women, accompanied by the "Yakety Sax" theme, after trying to force them to be more feminist.<ref>{{cite web\|author=Stas Bekman\|url=http://stason.org/TULARC/tv/ben-elton/05-Television-all-broadcast-dates-are-UK-unless-otherwise-s.html \|title=05 Television (all broadcast dates are UK unless otherwise stated) (Ben Elton) \|website=Stason.org \|access-date=4 November 2021}}</ref> A spokesman for the [[Broadcasting Standards Authority]] commented that "the convention is becoming increasingly offensive ]...] It's not as funny as it was to have half-naked girls chased across the screen by a dirty old man."<ref>{{cite book \| last = Baker \| first = Rob \| title = Beautiful idiots and brilliant lunatics: a sideways look at twentieth-century London \| publisher = Amberley Publishing \| location = Stroud \| year = 2015 \| isbn = 9781445651200 }}</ref>		The [[alternative comedy\|alternative comedian]] [[Ben Elton]] made a headline-grabbing allegation, both on the TV show ''[[Saturday Live (UK TV programme)\|Saturday Live]]'' and in the pages of ''[[Q (magazine)\|Q]]'' magazine (in its January 1987 issue), that ''The Benny Hill Show'' incited crimes and misdemeanours. "We know in Britain, women can't even walk safe in a park anymore. That, for me, is worrying."<ref name=“GQ”>{{cite news \|title='Benny Hill saw sex as both a nightmare and an impossible dream' \|url=https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/benny-hill-sex-controversy-and-legacy \|access-date=24 November 2021 \|work=GQ}}</ref> A writer in ''[[The Independent]]'' newspaper, though, opined that Elton's assault was "like watching an elderly uncle being kicked to death by young thugs".<ref>Jemima Lewis [https://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/jemima-lewis-why-did-the-british-disown-benny-hill-479887.html "Why did the British disown Benny Hill?"] ''The Independent'', 27 May 2006</ref> ''[[GQ]]'' magazine stated, "pompous and portentous as this is, blaming Hill for rape statistics is like pointing a finger at concert pianists for causing elephant poaching".<ref name=“GQ”/> Elton later parodied himself in ''[[Harry Enfield & Chums]]'' as Benny Elton, a politically correct spoilsport, in which Elton ends up being chased by angry women, accompanied by the "Yakety Sax" theme, after trying to force them to be more feminist.<ref>{{cite web\|author=Stas Bekman\|url=http://stason.org/TULARC/tv/ben-elton/05-Television-all-broadcast-dates-are-UK-unless-otherwise-s.html \|title=05 Television (all broadcast dates are UK unless otherwise stated) (Ben Elton) \|website=Stason.org \|access-date=4 November 2021}}</ref> A spokesman for the [[Broadcasting Standards Authority]] commented that "the convention is becoming increasingly offensive ]...] It's not as funny as it was to have half-naked girls chased across the screen by a dirty old man."<ref>{{cite book \| last = Baker \| first = Rob \| title = Beautiful idiots and brilliant lunatics: a sideways look at twentieth-century London \| publisher = Amberley Publishing \| location = Stroud \| year = 2015 \| isbn = 9781445651200 }}</ref>

	In late May 1989, Hill announced that after 21 years with Thames Television he was quitting and taking a year off. His shows had earned Thames £26 million, with a large percentage due to the success of his shows in the United States.<ref>{{cite magazine\|magazine=[[Daily Variety]]\|date=1 June 1989\|page=16\|title=Benny Hill To Call It A Day}}</ref> [[John Howard Davies]], the head of Light Entertainment at Thames Television, was cited by the British press as the man who sacked Benny Hill when the company decided not to renew Hill's contract.<ref name = guardobit>Matthew Sweet [https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/aug/24/john-howard-davies-obituary Obituary: John Howard Davies], ''The Guardian'', 24 November 2019</ref> "The show was past its sell-by date", Davies told ''[[The Guardian]]'' newspaper. "Benny was all right when he was young, but when you're in your 60s, it's a slightly different matter to leer at a pretty girl."<ref>{{Cite news\|last=Bernstein\|first=Adam\|date=23 August 2011\|title=John Howard Davies, British comedy producer and former child actor, dies at 72\|language=en-US\|work=Washington Post\|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/john-howard-davies-british-comedy-producer-and-former-child-actor-dies-at-72/2011/08/23/gIQAUJliZJ_story.html\|access-date=19 February 2021\|issn=0190-8286}}</ref>		In late May 1989, Hill announced that after 21 years with Thames Television he was quitting and taking a year off. His shows had earned Thames £26 million, with a large percentage due to the success of his shows in the United States.<ref>{{cite magazine\|magazine=[[w:Daily Variety\|Daily Variety]]\|date=1 June 1989\|page=16\|title=Benny Hill To Call It A Day}}</ref> [[John Howard Davies]], the head of Light Entertainment at Thames Television, was cited by the British press as the man who sacked Benny Hill when the company decided not to renew Hill's contract.<ref name = guardobit>Matthew Sweet [https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/aug/24/john-howard-davies-obituary Obituary: John Howard Davies], ''The Guardian'', 24 November 2019</ref> "The show was past its sell-by date", Davies told ''[[The Guardian]]'' newspaper. "Benny was all right when he was young, but when you're in your 60s, it's a slightly different matter to leer at a pretty girl."<ref>{{Cite news\|last=Bernstein\|first=Adam\|date=23 August 2011\|title=John Howard Davies, British comedy producer and former child actor, dies at 72\|language=en-US\|work=Washington Post\|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/john-howard-davies-british-comedy-producer-and-former-child-actor-dies-at-72/2011/08/23/gIQAUJliZJ_story.html\|access-date=19 February 2021\|issn=0190-8286}}</ref>

	In 1991, Hill started work on a new television series called ''Benny Hill's World Tour'' which would see Hill performing his sketches in various places around the world where his show had become popular. However, Hill only managed to record one special called ''Greetings from New York'' (with regular cast members such as Henry McGee, Bob Todd and Sue Upton), with the show becoming billed as "his final TV appearance" when released onto DVD.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/benny_hill/shop/1596/benny_hills_world_tour_greetings_from_new_york_dvd/\|title = Benny Hill's World Tour - Greetings from New York DVD}}</ref><ref>{{cite book\|author1=Gale Group\|author2=Thomas Riggs\|title=Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nuVkAAAAMAAJ\|year=2002\|publisher=Cengage Gale\|isbn=978-0-7876-5114-5}}</ref>		In 1991, Hill started work on a new television series called ''Benny Hill's World Tour'' which would see Hill performing his sketches in various places around the world where his show had become popular. However, Hill only managed to record one special called ''Greetings from New York'' (with regular cast members such as Henry McGee, Bob Todd and Sue Upton), with the show becoming billed as "his final TV appearance" when released onto DVD.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/benny_hill/shop/1596/benny_hills_world_tour_greetings_from_new_york_dvd/\|title = Benny Hill's World Tour - Greetings from New York DVD}}</ref><ref>{{cite book\|author1=Gale Group\|author2=Thomas Riggs\|title=Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nuVkAAAAMAAJ\|year=2002\|publisher=Cengage Gale\|isbn=978-0-7876-5114-5}}</ref>

Kurt: /* The Benny Hill Show */

2023-01-16T00:50:42Z

The Benny Hill Show

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:50, 15 January 2023
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	Hill remained mostly with the BBC through to 1968, except for a few sojourns with [[ITV (TV network)\|ITV]] and [[Associated Television\|ATV]] stations between 1957 and 1960 and again in 1967. In 1969, his show moved from the BBC to [[Thames Television]], where it remained until its cancellation in 1989, with an erratic schedule of one-hour specials. The series showcased Hill's talents as an imaginative writer, comic performer and impressionist. He may have bought scripts from various comedy writers, but if so, they never received an onscreen credit (some evidence indicates he bought a script from one of his regular cast members in 1976, [[Cherri Gilham]], to whom he wrote from Spain, telling her he was using her "Fat Lady" idea on the show in January 1977).		Hill remained mostly with the BBC through to 1968, except for a few sojourns with [[ITV (TV network)\|ITV]] and [[Associated Television\|ATV]] stations between 1957 and 1960 and again in 1967. In 1969, his show moved from the BBC to [[Thames Television]], where it remained until its cancellation in 1989, with an erratic schedule of one-hour specials. The series showcased Hill's talents as an imaginative writer, comic performer and impressionist. He may have bought scripts from various comedy writers, but if so, they never received an onscreen credit (some evidence indicates he bought a script from one of his regular cast members in 1976, [[Cherri Gilham]], to whom he wrote from Spain, telling her he was using her "Fat Lady" idea on the show in January 1977).

	{{Quote box\|width=29%\|align=~~left~~\|quote="To this day, ''The Benny Hill Show'', as watched by 21.1 million people in 1977, and which over the years won its star a [[BAFTA]], the [[Rose d'Or\|Golden Rose of Montreux]], and a Variety Club Of Great Britain ITV Personality Of The Year award, remains the sole programme that spoke directly to the dream experience of the hot-blooded adolescent. This was perhaps why [[Thames Television\|Thames]] could sell the show to so many foreign markets, from France, Spain and West Germany to the remotest jungle clearing in Brazil – deep up the Amazon River, photos of Hill were to be found in mud huts."\|source=—Roger Lewis in ''[[GQ]]'' magazine on the popularity of the show in Britain and abroad, April 2014.<ref name=“GQ”/>}}		{{Quote box\|width=29%\|align=right\|quote="To this day, ''The Benny Hill Show'', as watched by 21.1 million people in 1977, and which over the years won its star a [[BAFTA]], the [[Rose d'Or\|Golden Rose of Montreux]], and a Variety Club Of Great Britain ITV Personality Of The Year award, remains the sole programme that spoke directly to the dream experience of the hot-blooded adolescent. This was perhaps why [[Thames Television\|Thames]] could sell the show to so many foreign markets, from France, Spain and West Germany to the remotest jungle clearing in Brazil – deep up the Amazon River, photos of Hill were to be found in mud huts."\|source=—Roger Lewis in ''[[GQ]]'' magazine on the popularity of the show in Britain and abroad, April 2014.<ref name=“GQ”/>}}
	The most common running gag in Hill's shows was the closing sequence, the "run-off", which was literally a [[running gag]] in featuring various members of the cast chasing Hill, along with other stock comedy characters such as policemen, vicars and old women. This was commonly filmed using "under-cranking" camera techniques and included other comic features such as jogging instead of a run at full speed and characters running off one side of the screen and reappearing running on from the other. The tune used in all the chases, [[Boots Randolph]]'s "[[Yakety Sax]]", is so strongly associated with the show that it is commonly referred to as "The Benny Hill Theme". It has been used as a form of [[parody]] in many ways by television shows and films. In a 2015 UK-wide poll the show's theme song was voted number 1 on the [[ITV (TV channel)\|ITV]] special ''[[The Nation's Favourite\|The Sound of ITV – The Nation's Favourite Theme Tune]]''.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.itv.com/presscentre/ep1week38/sound-itv-nations-favourite-theme-tune\|title=The Sound of ITV: The Nation's Favourite Theme Tunes Episode 1\|publisher=itv.com\|access-date=24 November 2019}}</ref>		The most common running gag in Hill's shows was the closing sequence, the "run-off", which was literally a [[running gag]] in featuring various members of the cast chasing Hill, along with other stock comedy characters such as policemen, vicars and old women. This was commonly filmed using "under-cranking" camera techniques and included other comic features such as jogging instead of a run at full speed and characters running off one side of the screen and reappearing running on from the other. The tune used in all the chases, [[Boots Randolph]]'s "[[Yakety Sax]]", is so strongly associated with the show that it is commonly referred to as "The Benny Hill Theme". It has been used as a form of [[parody]] in many ways by television shows and films. In a 2015 UK-wide poll the show's theme song was voted number 1 on the [[ITV (TV channel)\|ITV]] special ''[[The Nation's Favourite\|The Sound of ITV – The Nation's Favourite Theme Tune]]''.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.itv.com/presscentre/ep1week38/sound-itv-nations-favourite-theme-tune\|title=The Sound of ITV: The Nation's Favourite Theme Tunes Episode 1\|publisher=itv.com\|access-date=24 November 2019}}</ref>

Kurt at 00:42, 16 August 2022

2022-08-16T00:42:24Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:42, 15 August 2022
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	{{Infobox comedian		{{Infobox comedian
	\| name = Benny Hill		\| name = Benny Hill
	\| image = Benny Hill ~~Smiling~~.jpg		\| image = Benny Hill.jpg
	\| caption =		\| caption =
	\| birth_name = Alfred Hawthorne Hill		\| birth_name = Alfred Hawthorne Hill
	\| native_name =		\| native_name =
	\| native_name_lang =		\| native_name_lang =
	\| birth_date = {{Birth date\|df=yes\|1924\|1\|21}}<ref name="NYTimes">{{cite news \|newspaper=New York Times \|date=21 April 1992 \|title=Benny Hill, 67 ''[sic]'', English Comedian And Creator of TV Show, Is Dead \|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/04/21/arts/benny-hill-67-english-comedian-and-creator-of-tv-show-is-dead.html \|author=Craig Wolff}}</ref>		\| birth_date = {{Birth date\|df=yes\|1924\|1\|21}}<ref name="NYTimes">{{cite news \|newspaper=New York Times \|date=21 April 1992 \|title=Benny Hill, 67 ''{{sic}}'', English Comedian And Creator of TV Show, Is Dead \|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/04/21/arts/benny-hill-67-english-comedian-and-creator-of-tv-show-is-dead.html \|author=Craig Wolff}}</ref>
	\| birth_place = {{nowrap\|[[Southampton]], [[Hampshire]], England}}		\| birth_place = {{nowrap\|[[Southampton]], [[Hampshire]], England}}
	\| death_date = {{Death date and age\|df=yes\|1992\|4\|20\|1924\|1\|21}}		\| death_date = {{Death date and age\|df=yes\|1992\|4\|20\|1924\|1\|21}}
	\| death_place = [[Teddington]], [[Greater London]], England		\| death_place = [[w:Teddington\|Teddington]], [[w:Greater London\|Greater London]], England
	\| medium = {{Flatlist\|		\| medium = {{Flatlist\|
	* Film		* Film
Line 20:		Line 20:
	\| active = 1947–1992		\| active = 1947–1992
	\| genre = {{Flatlist\|		\| genre = {{Flatlist\|
	* [[Burlesque]]		* [[w:Burlesque\|Burlesque]]
	* [[double entendre]]		* [[double entendre]]
	* [[slapstick]]		* [[w:slapstick\|slapstick]]
	}}		}}
	}}		}}

	'''Alfred Hawthorne Hill''' (21 January 1924 – 20 April 1992)<!-- He was born on 21 January 1924. ref birth indexes for 1st quarter (Jan, Feb, Mar) 1924 reveal "Alfred H. Hill" registered Southampton — mother's maiden name "Cave". This is CORRECT — Please do not change to 1925. --> was an English [[comedian]], [[actor]], [[singer]] and [[writer]]. He is remembered for his television programme ''[[The Benny Hill Show]]'', an amalgam of slapstick, burlesque and [[double entendre]] in a format that included live comedy and filmed segments, with Hill at the focus of almost every segment.		'''Alfred Hawthorne Hill''' (21 January 1924 – 20 April 1992)<!-- He was born on 21 January 1924. ref birth indexes for 1st quarter (Jan, Feb, Mar) 1924 reveal "Alfred H. Hill" registered Southampton — mother's maiden name "Cave". This is CORRECT — Please do not change to 1925. --> was an English [[w:comedian\|comedian]], [[w:actor\|actor]], [[w:singer\|singer]] and [[w:writer\|writer]]. He is remembered for his television programme ''[[The Benny Hill Show]]'', an amalgam of slapstick, burlesque and [[double entendre]] in a format that included live comedy and filmed segments, with Hill at the focus of almost every segment.

	Hill was a prominent figure in British television for several decades. His show was among the [[List of most watched television broadcasts in the United Kingdom#Most watched programmes\|most-watched programmes]] in the UK, with the audience peaking at more than 21 million in 1971.<ref>{{cite web \|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/mostwatched/1970s.html \|title=Features \| Britain's Most Watched TV \| 1970s \|publisher=British Film Institute (BFI) \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051122221511/http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/mostwatched/1970s.html \|archive-date=22 November 2005 \|access-date=22 October 2016}}</ref> ''The Benny Hill Show'' was also exported to many countries around the world.<ref>{{cite news \|title=The legend of Benny Hill \|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/legend-benny-hill-9234415.html \|access-date=16 November 2020 \|newspaper=[[The Independent]]}}</ref> He received a [[BAFTA Television Award]] for [[British Academy Television Craft Award for Best Writer: Drama\|Best Writer]] and a [[Rose d'Or]], and was nominated for the [[British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance\|BAFTA for Best Entertainment Performance]] and two [[Emmy Awards]] for [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Series#1980s\|Outstanding Variety]]. In 2006, Hill was voted by the British public number 17 in [[ITV (TV network)\|ITV]]'s poll of [[TV's 50 Greatest Stars]].<ref>{{cite news\|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5142726.stm\|title=ITV to salute '50 greatest stars'\|date=3 July 2006\|agency=[[BBC News]]\|access-date=9 August 2014}}</ref>		Hill was a prominent figure in British television for several decades. His show was among the [[List of most watched television broadcasts in the United Kingdom#Most watched programmes\|most-watched programmes]] in the UK, with the audience peaking at more than 21 million in 1971.<ref>{{cite web \|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/mostwatched/1970s.html \|title=Features \| Britain's Most Watched TV \| 1970s \|publisher=British Film Institute (BFI) \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051122221511/http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/mostwatched/1970s.html \|archive-date=22 November 2005 \|access-date=22 October 2016}}</ref> ''The Benny Hill Show'' was also exported to many countries around the world.<ref>{{cite news \|title=The legend of Benny Hill \|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/legend-benny-hill-9234415.html \|access-date=16 November 2020 \|newspaper=[[The Independent]]}}</ref> He received a [[BAFTA Television Award]] for [[British Academy Television Craft Award for Best Writer: Drama\|Best Writer]] and a [[Rose d'Or]], and was nominated for the [[British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance\|BAFTA for Best Entertainment Performance]] and two [[Emmy Awards]] for [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Series#1980s\|Outstanding Variety]]. In 2006, Hill was voted by the British public number 17 in [[ITV (TV network)\|ITV]]'s poll of [[TV's 50 Greatest Stars]].<ref>{{cite news\|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5142726.stm\|title=ITV to salute '50 greatest stars'\|date=3 July 2006\|agency=[[BBC News]]\|access-date=9 August 2014}}</ref>

Kurt: 1 revision imported

2022-07-21T03:48:44Z

1 revision imported

← Older revision	Revision as of 22:48, 20 July 2022
(No difference)

en>Samuel J Walker: /* Death */

2022-07-20T18:25:29Z

Death

Show changes

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:52, 15 January 2023
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	Hill remained mostly with the BBC through to 1968, except for a few sojourns with [[ITV (TV network)\|ITV]] and [[Associated Television\|ATV]] stations between 1957 and 1960 and again in 1967. In 1969, his show moved from the BBC to [[Thames Television]], where it remained until its cancellation in 1989, with an erratic schedule of one-hour specials. The series showcased Hill's talents as an imaginative writer, comic performer and impressionist. He may have bought scripts from various comedy writers, but if so, they never received an onscreen credit (some evidence indicates he bought a script from one of his regular cast members in 1976, [[Cherri Gilham]], to whom he wrote from Spain, telling her he was using her "Fat Lady" idea on the show in January 1977).		Hill remained mostly with the BBC through to 1968, except for a few sojourns with [[ITV (TV network)\|ITV]] and [[Associated Television\|ATV]] stations between 1957 and 1960 and again in 1967. In 1969, his show moved from the BBC to [[Thames Television]], where it remained until its cancellation in 1989, with an erratic schedule of one-hour specials. The series showcased Hill's talents as an imaginative writer, comic performer and impressionist. He may have bought scripts from various comedy writers, but if so, they never received an onscreen credit (some evidence indicates he bought a script from one of his regular cast members in 1976, [[Cherri Gilham]], to whom he wrote from Spain, telling her he was using her "Fat Lady" idea on the show in January 1977).

	{{Quote box\|width=29%\|align=right\|quote="To this day, ''The Benny Hill Show'', as watched by 21.1 million people in 1977, and which over the years won its star a [[BAFTA]], the [[Rose d'Or\|Golden Rose of Montreux]], and a Variety Club Of Great Britain ITV Personality Of The Year award, remains the sole programme that spoke directly to the dream experience of the hot-blooded adolescent. This was perhaps why [[Thames Television\|Thames]] could sell the show to so many foreign markets, from France, Spain and West Germany to the remotest jungle clearing in Brazil – deep up the Amazon River, photos of Hill were to be found in mud huts."\|source=—Roger Lewis in ''[[GQ]]'' magazine on the popularity of the show in Britain and abroad, April 2014.<ref name=“GQ”/>}}
	The most common running gag in Hill's shows was the closing sequence, the "run-off", which was literally a [[running gag]] in featuring various members of the cast chasing Hill, along with other stock comedy characters such as policemen, vicars and old women. This was commonly filmed using "under-cranking" camera techniques and included other comic features such as jogging instead of a run at full speed and characters running off one side of the screen and reappearing running on from the other. The tune used in all the chases, [[Boots Randolph]]'s "[[Yakety Sax]]", is so strongly associated with the show that it is commonly referred to as "The Benny Hill Theme". It has been used as a form of [[parody]] in many ways by television shows and films. In a 2015 UK-wide poll the show's theme song was voted number 1 on the [[ITV (TV channel)\|ITV]] special ''[[The Nation's Favourite\|The Sound of ITV – The Nation's Favourite Theme Tune]]''.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.itv.com/presscentre/ep1week38/sound-itv-nations-favourite-theme-tune\|title=The Sound of ITV: The Nation's Favourite Theme Tunes Episode 1\|publisher=itv.com\|access-date=24 November 2019}}</ref>		The most common running gag in Hill's shows was the closing sequence, the "run-off", which was literally a [[running gag]] in featuring various members of the cast chasing Hill, along with other stock comedy characters such as policemen, vicars and old women. This was commonly filmed using "under-cranking" camera techniques and included other comic features such as jogging instead of a run at full speed and characters running off one side of the screen and reappearing running on from the other. The tune used in all the chases, [[Boots Randolph]]'s "[[Yakety Sax]]", is so strongly associated with the show that it is commonly referred to as "The Benny Hill Theme". It has been used as a form of [[parody]] in many ways by television shows and films. In a 2015 UK-wide poll the show's theme song was voted number 1 on the [[ITV (TV channel)\|ITV]] special ''[[The Nation's Favourite\|The Sound of ITV – The Nation's Favourite Theme Tune]]''.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.itv.com/presscentre/ep1week38/sound-itv-nations-favourite-theme-tune\|title=The Sound of ITV: The Nation's Favourite Theme Tunes Episode 1\|publisher=itv.com\|access-date=24 November 2019}}</ref>

	From the start of the 1980s, the show featured a troupe of attractive young women, known collectively as "Hill's Angels". They would appear either on their own in a dance sequence or in character as foils against Hill. [[Sue Upton]] was one of the longest-serving members of the Angels. [[Jane Leeves]] appeared, as well. [[Henry McGee]] and [[Bob Todd]] joined Jackie Wright as comic supporting players, and the later shows also featured "Hill's Little Angels", a group of cute children including the families of [[Dennis Kirkland]] (the show's director) and Sue Upton. [[Jenny Lee-Wright]] (who first appeared on Hill's show in 1970) earned the nickname "The Sexiest Stooge" – coined by Hill.<ref>{{cite news \|title=The Generation Game dames who gave legendary BBC TV game show glamour are nice to see again, nice... \|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/generation-game-dames-who-gave-12288583 \|access-date=24 November 2019 \|work=The Mirror}}</ref>		From the start of the 1980s, the show featured a troupe of attractive young women, known collectively as "Hill's Angels". They would appear either on their own in a dance sequence or in character as foils against Hill. [[Sue Upton]] was one of the longest-serving members of the Angels. [[Jane Leeves]] appeared, as well. [[Henry McGee]] and [[Bob Todd]] joined Jackie Wright as comic supporting players, and the later shows also featured "Hill's Little Angels", a group of cute children including the families of [[Dennis Kirkland]] (the show's director) and Sue Upton. [[Jenny Lee-Wright]] (who first appeared on Hill's show in 1970) earned the nickname "The Sexiest Stooge" – coined by Hill.<ref>{{cite news \|title=The Generation Game dames who gave legendary BBC TV game show glamour are nice to see again, nice... \|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/generation-game-dames-who-gave-12288583 \|access-date=24 November 2019 \|work=The Mirror}}</ref>

			{{Quote box\|width=29%\|align=right\|quote="To this day, ''The Benny Hill Show'', as watched by 21.1 million people in 1977, and which over the years won its star a [[BAFTA]], the [[Rose d'Or\|Golden Rose of Montreux]], and a Variety Club Of Great Britain ITV Personality Of The Year award, remains the sole programme that spoke directly to the dream experience of the hot-blooded adolescent. This was perhaps why [[Thames Television\|Thames]] could sell the show to so many foreign markets, from France, Spain and West Germany to the remotest jungle clearing in Brazil – deep up the Amazon River, photos of Hill were to be found in mud huts."\|source=—Roger Lewis in ''[[GQ]]'' magazine on the popularity of the show in Britain and abroad, April 2014.<ref name=“GQ”/>}}

	The [[alternative comedy\|alternative comedian]] [[Ben Elton]] made a headline-grabbing allegation, both on the TV show ''[[Saturday Live (UK TV programme)\|Saturday Live]]'' and in the pages of ''[[Q (magazine)\|Q]]'' magazine (in its January 1987 issue), that ''The Benny Hill Show'' incited crimes and misdemeanours. "We know in Britain, women can't even walk safe in a park anymore. That, for me, is worrying."<ref name=“GQ”>{{cite news \|title='Benny Hill saw sex as both a nightmare and an impossible dream' \|url=https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/benny-hill-sex-controversy-and-legacy \|access-date=24 November 2021 \|work=GQ}}</ref> A writer in ''[[The Independent]]'' newspaper, though, opined that Elton's assault was "like watching an elderly uncle being kicked to death by young thugs".<ref>Jemima Lewis [https://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/jemima-lewis-why-did-the-british-disown-benny-hill-479887.html "Why did the British disown Benny Hill?"] ''The Independent'', 27 May 2006</ref> ''[[GQ]]'' magazine stated, "pompous and portentous as this is, blaming Hill for rape statistics is like pointing a finger at concert pianists for causing elephant poaching".<ref name=“GQ”/> Elton later parodied himself in ''[[Harry Enfield & Chums]]'' as Benny Elton, a politically correct spoilsport, in which Elton ends up being chased by angry women, accompanied by the "Yakety Sax" theme, after trying to force them to be more feminist.<ref>{{cite web\|author=Stas Bekman\|url=http://stason.org/TULARC/tv/ben-elton/05-Television-all-broadcast-dates-are-UK-unless-otherwise-s.html \|title=05 Television (all broadcast dates are UK unless otherwise stated) (Ben Elton) \|website=Stason.org \|access-date=4 November 2021}}</ref> A spokesman for the [[Broadcasting Standards Authority]] commented that "the convention is becoming increasingly offensive ]...] It's not as funny as it was to have half-naked girls chased across the screen by a dirty old man."<ref>{{cite book \| last = Baker \| first = Rob \| title = Beautiful idiots and brilliant lunatics: a sideways look at twentieth-century London \| publisher = Amberley Publishing \| location = Stroud \| year = 2015 \| isbn = 9781445651200 }}</ref>		The [[alternative comedy\|alternative comedian]] [[Ben Elton]] made a headline-grabbing allegation, both on the TV show ''[[Saturday Live (UK TV programme)\|Saturday Live]]'' and in the pages of ''[[Q (magazine)\|Q]]'' magazine (in its January 1987 issue), that ''The Benny Hill Show'' incited crimes and misdemeanours. "We know in Britain, women can't even walk safe in a park anymore. That, for me, is worrying."<ref name=“GQ”>{{cite news \|title='Benny Hill saw sex as both a nightmare and an impossible dream' \|url=https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/benny-hill-sex-controversy-and-legacy \|access-date=24 November 2021 \|work=GQ}}</ref> A writer in ''[[The Independent]]'' newspaper, though, opined that Elton's assault was "like watching an elderly uncle being kicked to death by young thugs".<ref>Jemima Lewis [https://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/jemima-lewis-why-did-the-british-disown-benny-hill-479887.html "Why did the British disown Benny Hill?"] ''The Independent'', 27 May 2006</ref> ''[[GQ]]'' magazine stated, "pompous and portentous as this is, blaming Hill for rape statistics is like pointing a finger at concert pianists for causing elephant poaching".<ref name=“GQ”/> Elton later parodied himself in ''[[Harry Enfield & Chums]]'' as Benny Elton, a politically correct spoilsport, in which Elton ends up being chased by angry women, accompanied by the "Yakety Sax" theme, after trying to force them to be more feminist.<ref>{{cite web\|author=Stas Bekman\|url=http://stason.org/TULARC/tv/ben-elton/05-Television-all-broadcast-dates-are-UK-unless-otherwise-s.html \|title=05 Television (all broadcast dates are UK unless otherwise stated) (Ben Elton) \|website=Stason.org \|access-date=4 November 2021}}</ref> A spokesman for the [[Broadcasting Standards Authority]] commented that "the convention is becoming increasingly offensive ]...] It's not as funny as it was to have half-naked girls chased across the screen by a dirty old man."<ref>{{cite book \| last = Baker \| first = Rob \| title = Beautiful idiots and brilliant lunatics: a sideways look at twentieth-century London \| publisher = Amberley Publishing \| location = Stroud \| year = 2015 \| isbn = 9781445651200 }}</ref>

	In late May 1989, Hill announced that after 21 years with Thames Television he was quitting and taking a year off. His shows had earned Thames £26 million, with a large percentage due to the success of his shows in the United States.<ref>{{cite magazine\|magazine=[[Daily Variety]]\|date=1 June 1989\|page=16\|title=Benny Hill To Call It A Day}}</ref> [[John Howard Davies]], the head of Light Entertainment at Thames Television, was cited by the British press as the man who sacked Benny Hill when the company decided not to renew Hill's contract.<ref name = guardobit>Matthew Sweet [https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/aug/24/john-howard-davies-obituary Obituary: John Howard Davies], ''The Guardian'', 24 November 2019</ref> "The show was past its sell-by date", Davies told ''[[The Guardian]]'' newspaper. "Benny was all right when he was young, but when you're in your 60s, it's a slightly different matter to leer at a pretty girl."<ref>{{Cite news\|last=Bernstein\|first=Adam\|date=23 August 2011\|title=John Howard Davies, British comedy producer and former child actor, dies at 72\|language=en-US\|work=Washington Post\|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/john-howard-davies-british-comedy-producer-and-former-child-actor-dies-at-72/2011/08/23/gIQAUJliZJ_story.html\|access-date=19 February 2021\|issn=0190-8286}}</ref>		In late May 1989, Hill announced that after 21 years with Thames Television he was quitting and taking a year off. His shows had earned Thames £26 million, with a large percentage due to the success of his shows in the United States.<ref>{{cite magazine\|magazine=[[w:Daily Variety\|Daily Variety]]\|date=1 June 1989\|page=16\|title=Benny Hill To Call It A Day}}</ref> [[John Howard Davies]], the head of Light Entertainment at Thames Television, was cited by the British press as the man who sacked Benny Hill when the company decided not to renew Hill's contract.<ref name = guardobit>Matthew Sweet [https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/aug/24/john-howard-davies-obituary Obituary: John Howard Davies], ''The Guardian'', 24 November 2019</ref> "The show was past its sell-by date", Davies told ''[[The Guardian]]'' newspaper. "Benny was all right when he was young, but when you're in your 60s, it's a slightly different matter to leer at a pretty girl."<ref>{{Cite news\|last=Bernstein\|first=Adam\|date=23 August 2011\|title=John Howard Davies, British comedy producer and former child actor, dies at 72\|language=en-US\|work=Washington Post\|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/john-howard-davies-british-comedy-producer-and-former-child-actor-dies-at-72/2011/08/23/gIQAUJliZJ_story.html\|access-date=19 February 2021\|issn=0190-8286}}</ref>

	In 1991, Hill started work on a new television series called ''Benny Hill's World Tour'' which would see Hill performing his sketches in various places around the world where his show had become popular. However, Hill only managed to record one special called ''Greetings from New York'' (with regular cast members such as Henry McGee, Bob Todd and Sue Upton), with the show becoming billed as "his final TV appearance" when released onto DVD.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/benny_hill/shop/1596/benny_hills_world_tour_greetings_from_new_york_dvd/\|title = Benny Hill's World Tour - Greetings from New York DVD}}</ref><ref>{{cite book\|author1=Gale Group\|author2=Thomas Riggs\|title=Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nuVkAAAAMAAJ\|year=2002\|publisher=Cengage Gale\|isbn=978-0-7876-5114-5}}</ref>		In 1991, Hill started work on a new television series called ''Benny Hill's World Tour'' which would see Hill performing his sketches in various places around the world where his show had become popular. However, Hill only managed to record one special called ''Greetings from New York'' (with regular cast members such as Henry McGee, Bob Todd and Sue Upton), with the show becoming billed as "his final TV appearance" when released onto DVD.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/benny_hill/shop/1596/benny_hills_world_tour_greetings_from_new_york_dvd/\|title = Benny Hill's World Tour - Greetings from New York DVD}}</ref><ref>{{cite book\|author1=Gale Group\|author2=Thomas Riggs\|title=Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nuVkAAAAMAAJ\|year=2002\|publisher=Cengage Gale\|isbn=978-0-7876-5114-5}}</ref>

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:50, 15 January 2023
Line 67:		Line 67:
	Hill remained mostly with the BBC through to 1968, except for a few sojourns with [[ITV (TV network)\|ITV]] and [[Associated Television\|ATV]] stations between 1957 and 1960 and again in 1967. In 1969, his show moved from the BBC to [[Thames Television]], where it remained until its cancellation in 1989, with an erratic schedule of one-hour specials. The series showcased Hill's talents as an imaginative writer, comic performer and impressionist. He may have bought scripts from various comedy writers, but if so, they never received an onscreen credit (some evidence indicates he bought a script from one of his regular cast members in 1976, [[Cherri Gilham]], to whom he wrote from Spain, telling her he was using her "Fat Lady" idea on the show in January 1977).		Hill remained mostly with the BBC through to 1968, except for a few sojourns with [[ITV (TV network)\|ITV]] and [[Associated Television\|ATV]] stations between 1957 and 1960 and again in 1967. In 1969, his show moved from the BBC to [[Thames Television]], where it remained until its cancellation in 1989, with an erratic schedule of one-hour specials. The series showcased Hill's talents as an imaginative writer, comic performer and impressionist. He may have bought scripts from various comedy writers, but if so, they never received an onscreen credit (some evidence indicates he bought a script from one of his regular cast members in 1976, [[Cherri Gilham]], to whom he wrote from Spain, telling her he was using her "Fat Lady" idea on the show in January 1977).

	{{Quote box\|width=29%\|align=~~left~~\|quote="To this day, ''The Benny Hill Show'', as watched by 21.1 million people in 1977, and which over the years won its star a [[BAFTA]], the [[Rose d'Or\|Golden Rose of Montreux]], and a Variety Club Of Great Britain ITV Personality Of The Year award, remains the sole programme that spoke directly to the dream experience of the hot-blooded adolescent. This was perhaps why [[Thames Television\|Thames]] could sell the show to so many foreign markets, from France, Spain and West Germany to the remotest jungle clearing in Brazil – deep up the Amazon River, photos of Hill were to be found in mud huts."\|source=—Roger Lewis in ''[[GQ]]'' magazine on the popularity of the show in Britain and abroad, April 2014.<ref name=“GQ”/>}}		{{Quote box\|width=29%\|align=right\|quote="To this day, ''The Benny Hill Show'', as watched by 21.1 million people in 1977, and which over the years won its star a [[BAFTA]], the [[Rose d'Or\|Golden Rose of Montreux]], and a Variety Club Of Great Britain ITV Personality Of The Year award, remains the sole programme that spoke directly to the dream experience of the hot-blooded adolescent. This was perhaps why [[Thames Television\|Thames]] could sell the show to so many foreign markets, from France, Spain and West Germany to the remotest jungle clearing in Brazil – deep up the Amazon River, photos of Hill were to be found in mud huts."\|source=—Roger Lewis in ''[[GQ]]'' magazine on the popularity of the show in Britain and abroad, April 2014.<ref name=“GQ”/>}}
	The most common running gag in Hill's shows was the closing sequence, the "run-off", which was literally a [[running gag]] in featuring various members of the cast chasing Hill, along with other stock comedy characters such as policemen, vicars and old women. This was commonly filmed using "under-cranking" camera techniques and included other comic features such as jogging instead of a run at full speed and characters running off one side of the screen and reappearing running on from the other. The tune used in all the chases, [[Boots Randolph]]'s "[[Yakety Sax]]", is so strongly associated with the show that it is commonly referred to as "The Benny Hill Theme". It has been used as a form of [[parody]] in many ways by television shows and films. In a 2015 UK-wide poll the show's theme song was voted number 1 on the [[ITV (TV channel)\|ITV]] special ''[[The Nation's Favourite\|The Sound of ITV – The Nation's Favourite Theme Tune]]''.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.itv.com/presscentre/ep1week38/sound-itv-nations-favourite-theme-tune\|title=The Sound of ITV: The Nation's Favourite Theme Tunes Episode 1\|publisher=itv.com\|access-date=24 November 2019}}</ref>		The most common running gag in Hill's shows was the closing sequence, the "run-off", which was literally a [[running gag]] in featuring various members of the cast chasing Hill, along with other stock comedy characters such as policemen, vicars and old women. This was commonly filmed using "under-cranking" camera techniques and included other comic features such as jogging instead of a run at full speed and characters running off one side of the screen and reappearing running on from the other. The tune used in all the chases, [[Boots Randolph]]'s "[[Yakety Sax]]", is so strongly associated with the show that it is commonly referred to as "The Benny Hill Theme". It has been used as a form of [[parody]] in many ways by television shows and films. In a 2015 UK-wide poll the show's theme song was voted number 1 on the [[ITV (TV channel)\|ITV]] special ''[[The Nation's Favourite\|The Sound of ITV – The Nation's Favourite Theme Tune]]''.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.itv.com/presscentre/ep1week38/sound-itv-nations-favourite-theme-tune\|title=The Sound of ITV: The Nation's Favourite Theme Tunes Episode 1\|publisher=itv.com\|access-date=24 November 2019}}</ref>