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Bob MonkhouseEnglish entertainer
Date of Birth: 01.06.1928
Country:  Great Britain |
Content:
Biograhy of Bob Monkhouse
Early Life and CareerBob Monkhouse was born on June 1, 1928, in Beckenham, Kent, United Kingdom. He was the son of successful businessman Wilfred Adrian Monkhouse, who passed away in 1957, and his wife Dorothy Muriel Hansard. During his time at Dulwich College, Monkhouse wrote stories for the comics "Beano" and "Dandy". In addition to adventure comics, he also wrote over 100 pornographic stories for the publication "Harlem Hotspots". After completing his service in the Royal Air Force in 1948, Monkhouse began his adult writing career as a scriptwriter for radio comedy alongside his partners Denis Goodwin and Oldos Hellenian. He co-wrote for comedians such as Arthur Askey, Jimmy Edwards, Ted Ray, and Max Miller, and also wrote gags for American celebrities, including Bob Hope, during their British tours.
Television and Film Career
Monkhouse became the host of the British version of the American game show "Do You Trust Your Wife?" in 1956 and went on to host 30 different quiz shows. His popularity grew, and he began appearing in comedy films, including the 1959 film "Carry On Sergeant". Monkhouse also hosted the show "Hidden Camera", collaborated with Henry Howard, and starred in the sketch series "Bonkers!" with the Hudson Brothers in 1979. He was a respected stand-up comedian known for his ability to come up with jokes on the spot. He frequently performed at private dinners and similar events and appeared in television commercials, including for Polaroid cameras. However, it was as a game show host that he achieved the most success. In the late 1960s, he had unprecedented success with the game show "The Golden Shot", which aired every week, 52 times a year, and attracted nearly 17 million viewers. Other quiz shows he appeared on consistently had ratings of around 15 million viewers.
Later Life and Personal Life
After starting his own chat show on BBC in the mid-1980s, called "The Bob Monkhouse Show", the comedian hosted many famous people from the world of film and comedy, including Pamela Stephenson. As a serious collector of silent films, Monkhouse presented his film "Mad Movies" in 1966, which consisted of clips from comedic silent films. His private collection led to a court case at the Old Bailey in 1979 when Monkhouse was accused of attempting to deceive film distributors, but he was acquitted. Many films from his collection, including unique ones, were confiscated and destroyed before the verdict of acquittal was reached. Monkhouse was married twice. On November 5, 1949, he married Elizabeth Thompson, with whom he had three children. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1972. He then married Jacqueline Harding on October 4, 1973. After Monkhouse's death, only his daughter Abigail survived. His son, who suffered from cerebral palsy, passed away in Essex at the age of 40 in 1992, which motivated Monkhouse to actively support disabled individuals. Another son, Simon, who had not been in contact with his father for almost 10 years, died from a drug overdose in a Bangkok hotel in 2001. Monkhouse died from prostate cancer on December 29, 2003, in Bradford, England. Through the use of new technology and compiled video footage, he posthumously appeared in British television commercials discussing prostate cancer on June 12, 2007. In these commercials, Monkhouse stood next to his own gravestone, although in reality, he was cremated, and spoke seriously about the disease, interspersed with humorous comments to another camera: "What killed me is killing one man an hour in Britain. That's even worse than my wife's cooking."
