![]() ![]() He wanted out of East Cheam, and he didn’t want to be seen as one half of a Hancock-James double act. However, Hancock wanted even more change. Television changed the show a bit: Bill Kerr was absent, and Williams and Jacques appeared as various characters only in the first two series. Hancock’s Half Hour eventually made the move to television in 1956, though the radio series also continued for three more years. Both Moira Lister and Andrée Melly were tried as love interests, but the formula was perfected when Hattie Jacques signed up as Griselda Pugh, Hancock’s permanently disgruntled secretary. Kenneth Williams was also a regular, playing a number of roles. Bill Kerr was Bill, Hancock’s child-like friend, and Sid James played Sid, initially Hancock’s adversary who became his agent and friend, all the while maintaining his own greedy motivations. Writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, wanting to break from the variety show tradition, developed a situational comedy: Hancock played Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock, who primarily worked as a comedian and lived at 23 Railway Cuttings, East Cheam. His career began on the stage, but it was in 1954 when his radio show Hancock’s Half Hour changed comedy history. Despite his short life, Hancock’s impact on comedy was massive and he remains relevant today. His radio and television show are still repeated in the UK today and many cite him as an inspiration, including comedians Steve Coogan and Paul Merton, musician Pete Doherty and artists Jake and Dinos Chapman. Like Jack Benny in the US, Hancock was the most beloved comedian of his time. Forty-four years ago in June, British comedian Tony Hancock committed suicide. ![]()
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