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Tony Hancock: The Definitive Biography
 
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Tony Hancock: The Definitive Biography (Hardcover)

by John Fisher (Author)
3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
RRP: £20.00
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Customers buy this book with The Tony Hancock BBC Collection (8 Disc Box Set) [DVD] DVD ~ Tony Hancock

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Price For Both: £41.98

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 480 pages
  • Publisher: Harper (1 Oct 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0007266774
  • ISBN-13: 978-0007266777
  • Product Dimensions: 23.8 x 15.8 x 5 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 50,807 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #16 in  Books > Biography > Film, Television & Music > Radio Performers
    #16 in  Books > Music, Stage & Screen > Radio > Biographies

Product Description

Review
`What John Fisher doesn't know about traditional British comedy probably isn't worth knowing.' --The Guardian.

Product Description
Regarded as the best radio and TV comic of his era, Tony Hancock was a man whose star burned brightly in the eyes and ears of millions before his untimely death in 1968. Now, forty years on, critically acclaimed biographer John Fisher brings the first fully authorised account of his life. Tony Hancock was one of post-war Britain's most popular comedians -- his radio show 'Hancock's Half Hour' would clear the streets as whole families tuned in to listen. His peerless timing and subtle changes in intonation marked Hancock out as a comic genius. His character 'Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock' was an amplification of his own persona, a pompous prat whose dreams of success are constantly thwarted. The original British loser that we recognise in Victor Meldrew and Alan Partridge. Wonderfully supported by a cast including Sid James, Hattie Jacques and Kenneth Williams, and working with scripts from Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, Hancock became a huge star. The show was commisioned for TV, showcasing his talent for hilarious facial expression, and he became the first British comedian to earn a thousand pounds a week.Behind Tony Hancock's success however hid the self-destructive behaviour that plagued him all his life. Prone to self-doubt, and wanting to be the star of his own show, he got rid of James, and finally dismissed Galton and Simpson who had created the platform for his success. His private life was wracked by his ever increasing alcoholism and bouts of depression, and his relationships shattered by his capacity for violence. His ratings fell and, feeling washed up and alone after divorcing his second wife, he committed suicide in an Australian hotel room in 1968. Now, forty years after his death John Fisher explores the turbulent life of a man regarded by his peers as one of the greatest British comics to have ever lived.

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8 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.9 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Probably the last word on "the lad", 14 Nov 2008
By William Brandon (London) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This isn't the first account of Tony Hancock's life. Variously his agent/wife Freddie, Hattie Jacques and Kenneth Williams among others have covered his story to one degree or another. The previous "full" account - When the Wind Changed - concentrated more on the scurrilous allegations of Tony's life -but, as John Fisher effectively says in hs preface here, you need to take some of that with a pinch of salt.

I guess we're not likely to have a more definitive biography than this one looking at the wealth of contributions to it. Fisher clearly knows his British comedy, as he pompously keeps telling us, but you are left with a very clear idea of where Hancock's humour came from, the contribution he made and the footprint he left. I'm tempted to say he left a huge shadow but it is clear that it was exactly those sort of puns which represented his dislike - if not loathing - of his self image.

The truth is that he was the best British comic actor of our time but he was fatally unable to simply recopgnise that and luxuriate in the genuine love his audience and colleagues had for him (Sid James comes out of this particularly sympathetically). Fisher brings out very well Hancock's huge intellectual pretensions and the negative impact his ever growing quest for perfection had on his comedy and those around him.

Hancock's alcoholism, mental illness and lapses into violence and abuse are well and responsibly handled by Fisher. Ultimately it leaves you with a real sense of sadness for what Hancock did to himself and what we lost. But there is a huge amount of good to remember and this long (very long)and exhaustive view of the lad and his times is rewarding at all times.

I finished the book and watched a couple of old TV shows straightaway, Brilliance.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Revealing insight, 9 Mar 2009
By J. W. Platt "Author of the Book" (The Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I grew up during the radio heyday of Tony Hancock - his "Hancock's Half Hour" persona was legendary when I was at grammar school, every episode being discussed at length at both break times and between lessons; every laugh being relived in the process. This biography of the flawed genius that was Hancock has given me so many insights into the man, his times and his character. He may not have been what I thought he was, but then few of us are, and my debt of gratitude to Hancock, as well as the author, is undiminished. I particularly liked the early chapters on radio comedy of the 1950s. A brilliant book, thoroughly recommended.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Meticulous biography of the best comedian we've ever had, 31 Mar 2009
By Mr. L. Williams "les-williams" (Exeter) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)      
Forty years after his death his genius is undimmed and is being re-discovered on BBC Radio 7. You have only to listen to Paul Merton doing some of the Hancock sketches to realise that although Merton is good, Tony Hancock is brilliant and his comic genius and perfect timing will never diminish.

This is 512 pages of closely typed text, meticulously researched, sometimes to the point of affecting the readability; I found myself re-reading sections as there were just too many facts to take in. It also has 8 pages of photographs. The book is described as the Definitive Biography and I wouldn't argue with that.

I found the final chapters particularly harrowing. Tony Hancock had the deep affection of the British people and the genuine love of those around him and yet his quest for perfection and his illness caused him to pay the ultimate price.

He left us a legacy of radio plays and TV shows and for those who want to know more and understand the man this biography can be recommended, even though at times it can be hard going!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars An exhaustive account
It has to be said that this book by John Fisher is probably the most in depth analysis of Tony Hancock that has ever been written. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mr. A. Whiteside

4.0 out of 5 stars Affectionate, but still heartbreaking.
In his preface to this work, John Fisher mentions eight other previous biographies of "the lad himself" that he has referred to and which have between them have attempted to tell... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Emanon

5.0 out of 5 stars Tony Hancock: The Definitive Biography
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0007266774/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_img

It was in very good condition. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Ian Burns

1.0 out of 5 stars Hancock (and His Fans) Deserves Better Than This
One of the problems of shopping via the Internet especially for someone like me who has little access to English-language bookshops, is that you don't get a chance to dip into the... Read more
Published 2 months ago by John Fitzpatrick

4.0 out of 5 stars Big Book of Hancock
This big book of Hancock is like combining many of he previously published books, nothing new here, but still good if you don't have the others. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Mr. A. Upton

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