Review
‘Wonderful anthology. A superbly sustained piece of comedy.‘ Times
Chris Power, The Times
Product Description
A Spike Milligan opus, containing everything from classics to hidden gems, with a foreword by Eddie Izzard.
With a foreword by Milligan-fan Eddie Izzard, this stunning anthology of Spike Milligan's work comprises of favourites from his classic books, (‘Adolf Hitler: My Part in his Downfall’, ‘Goodbye Soldier’, ‘Puckoon’…) as well as scripts from the now-classic Goon Show. Interspersing such comic genius is also a touching collection of letters and his celebrated and liberating writings on depression, demonstrating the diverse talent of a man whose creative output spanned over half a century.
A selection of children's poetry and writings (‘Unspun Socks for A Chicken's Laundry’, ‘A Book of Milliganimals’, ‘Silly Verse for Kids’ and much more) reveals Spike's irresistible connection with the childlike imagination and a brillant sense of the ridiculous. All the favourite and funniest stories are there. For those who want an excellent introduction to the mind of Milligan or a welcome return to a much-loved genius, this is the ultimate Milligan reader.
From the Publisher
Foreward written by Eddie Izard
From the Back Cover
With a foreword by Milligan-fan Eddie Izzard, this stunning anthology of Spike Milligan's work comprises of favourites from his classic books, (Adolf Hitler: My Part in his Downfall, Goodbye Soldier, Puckoon…) as well as scripts from the now-classic Goon show. Interspersing such comic genius is also a touching collection of letters and his celebrated and liberating writings on depression, demonstrating the diverse talent of a man whose creative output spanned over half a century.
A selection of children's poetry and writings (Unspun Socks for A Chicken's Laundry, A Book of Milliganimals, Silly Verse for Kids and much more) reveals Spike's irresistible connection with the childlike imagination and a brillant sense of the ridiculous. All the favourite and funniest stories are there. For those who want an excellent introduction to the mind of Milligan or a welcome return to a much-loved genius, this is the ultimate Milligan reader.
About the Author
Spike Milligan was born in 1918 to a British military family in the Raj. Young Spike fought the Nazis in Europe before being invalided out. After the war, he wrote and performed throughout the '50s in The Goon Show, with Peter Sellers and Harry Secombe. In the '60s he had success as a stage and film actor. Frail but still active into his Eighties, his one-man shows were always sell-out events. In 1992 he was made an honorary CBE, and in 2000 and 2001 he received two Lifetime Achievement Awards: for writing and for comedy. Spike Milligan died in 2002.
Alexander Games was comedy critic of the Evening Standard for six years and is the author of ‘Pete & Dud: An Illustrated Biography’ and ‘Backing into the Limelight: The Biography of Alan Bennett’.
Excerpted from The Essential Spike Milligan by Spike Milligan, Alexander Games, Eddie Izzard. Copyright © 2002. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Spike Milligan: The Godfather of Alternative Comedy
He wrote the Goons in the 1950s. Those crazy scripts 'pushed the edge of the envelope' as astronauts like to say. From his unchained mind came forth ideas that just had no boundaries. And he influenced a new generation of comedians who came to be known as 'alternative'.
I first heard the Goons on Radio Dubai in 1974, (I told Spike this - he laughed and thought I was mad.) A suitably surreal medium to hear them on.
My dad said 'I think you might like this'. We recorded the program on my brother's Sharp tape recorder - and I was hooked.
He was stationed in Bexhill-on-Sea during the war and I was stationed there during the 70s. He manned a gun - I sold ice creams. Both equally as dangerous (except mine wasn't).This was the connection that linked Spike to me and I needed that connection to believe I could make it out of Bexhill (I was digging a tunnel).
Spike was also in The Three Musketeers as Raquel Welch's husband who spies on her for Charlton Heston. A great piece of acting in a nightshirt. Spike went on to win the Nobel Prize for Scene Stealing with this role (well - he should have).
With his books and poetry and TV series and of course the Goons, his legacy will live on forever. His writings were timeless and so they age very well (try listening to the Goons now - it still kicks). In his later years I tried to do a gig in Rye (his home town) to see if he'd watch it and hopefully like what I did. I was looking for parental approval. I never did it in the end because I thought he might just tell me to '**** off' - as he would sometimes do on a summer's day (not to me - just to anyone).
But he was a giant of comedy and creation - who will not be forgotten.
