As I'm sure everybody will know by now, TIM BROOKE-TAYLOR from The GOODIES died on April 12th of complications from COVID-19. He was only 79, which isn't really considered old these days, and it's a shame to think we'll never see him reunited with his two Goodies pals (GRAEME GARDEN and BILL ODDIE), or hear him again on I'M SORRY, I HAVEN'T A CLUE.
Several years back, I bought the first two DVD releases of The Goodies BBC shows, followed not long after by all the ITV episodes from when they switched broadcasters in 1980. However, a few months ago, I purchased the boxed set of the complete BBC episodes on account of not being able to recall where I stored my earlier discs, so I've now got every Goodies episode ever made by the BBC and ITV.
I'll eventually get around to watching them, and it's good to know that, though he may no longer be with us in person, we can all still enjoy seeing Tim in all his comedic glory as one third of one of the most fondly regarded and remembered comedy shows ever seen on British TV. If you were a fan of the show back in the day, I'd eagerly recommend you tracking down this set on eBay and reliving your far-away youth in a good ol' nostalgia-fest, and having a good hearty laugh in the process.
15 comments:
My parents died aged 71 and 77 so 79 seems like a fairly good innings but I'll mainly miss Tim because of his appearances on 'I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue'. It really won't be the same without him.
The previous Kinky Boots comment was mine too - my name might have appeared as "Unknown" but I've sorted it now hopefully.
Year ago, I thought people in their 50s and 60s looked ancient, CJ, whereas now they don't seem so old. Many famous actors and comedians were younger than I am now when they died, but when I see clips of them on the telly when they were even younger, they still look older than me to my eyes.
I think the perception of the definition of 'old' has shifted a bit in the last decade or so, don't you think? Having said that, I know a guy who's 80, fit as f*ck and looks 20 years younger, whereas his brother who's a few years younger looks about 90 and hobbles around on sticks. I guess it varies from person-to-person when it comes to the appearance of age.
However, Tim Brooke-Taylor always seemed like an overgrown schoolboy to me, so that's probably why I didn't consider him old.
I was saddened to hear of Tim's death. Part of my youth. I remember him so well when I watched the Goodies avidly in the Seventies. The three of them where our generation's Goons; zany, lively, topical and weekly! Less cerebral than the Monty Python shows, I loved the Goodies take on modern life. They came into their own for me when they got into Kung Fu just like me. Ecky Thump! Oh man how I adored their antics. Black Puddin Bertha was up there with Carl Douglas' Kung Fu Fighting! I think their successor was Kenny Everatt in the Kenny Everatt television show, another zany comic I stayed in for. RIP Tim.
What amazes me is that The Goodies show was on TV for around 12 years, which was very nearly half my life at the point they were cancelled, Woodsy, Astounding, eh? I just heard on the radio that I'm Sorry, I Haven't A Clue is back on next Monday, and that they're going to have a tribute show to Tim. I can't remember what it was called, but I even liked the quiz show that he did with Graeme Garden.
When I heard about Tim, it hit me like a ton of bricks...it was a sense of grief out of all proportion for someone I've never met. He's a huge chunk of our childhoods, but it surprised me how deeply it hit me. These are strange days, so it doesn't surprise me that emotions are heightened. Anyway, I immediately put on 'Saturday Night Grease" as I've always considered that a particularly Tim episode...
I always remember the giant cat episode. Funny which ones you remember .
I haven't watched any episodes since Tim died, HS, but I'll eventually start at the beginning and work my way through them all. I'm sure there'll be some that aren't as good as others, but that's the same for everything, just about.
******
That, and the Ecky Thump one, PS. Daft as a brush, but hugely entertaining.
The funniest part of Ecky Thump to me, is the idea that there's a load of regional martial arts - the taffs have "yakki dah" (please forgive spelling attempt), the Jews have "Oy Vey!", etc. On a more morbid note, whenever I watch it, I'm always trying to spot the bit that famously killed the viewer who died laughing back when it was originally shown.. M
I can't help but wonder what the guy's wife thinks if she ever sees clips of it, HS. That must be odd - perhaps laughing at the very thing that caused her husband's death.
It may have been that the gentleman who sadly passed away watching the Goodies had a genetic abnormality in his genes that caused something called Long QT Syndrome that can induce a sudden fatal heart attack. His granddaughter had a heart attack about 5 years ago and it was found she had this syndrome (she was put into an induced coma and is now ok) . Still his dearth was in all probability still brought on by laughing at the show, which is not a bad way to go (even although he wasn’t that old at the time.
Remember the tag-line for Superman the Movie, McS? 'You'll believe a man can fly'. Imagine if the BBC had said about The Goodies 'You'll die laughing' when it first appeared on TV; would the man's family have had grounds for a claim against them I wonder? However, as you say, better to die laughing (I suppose) than die screaming in agony.
The mans wife actually wrote to the Goodies to thank them for making his last hour so enjoyable, I doubt that would happen today and a legal claim would be put in.
It's maybe not too late - just look at all those alleged historical sex crimes that keep popping up. Could maybe happen with 'manslaughter' events, where a claim could've been made at the time but wasn't. You're right though, today a claim in a similar incident would be submitted right away.
Surely you meant "Man's laughter" events? Oh, I'm a witty bugger...
Someone once said that I was witty. At least, it sounded like witty - it certainly rhymed.
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