Spike Milligan

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Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan KBE (* 16th April 1918 in Ahmadnagar , India ; † 27. February 2002 in Rye in East Sussex ) was an Irish comedian , writer , poet , actor and jazz - musicians ( trumpet and guitar ).

biography

Spike Milligan was born Terence Alan Milligan in India. His father was an Irish officer in the British Army. Although he lived most of his life in Great Britain and served in the British Army, he was declared "stateless" in 1960 and obtained Irish citizenship in 1962 through his paternal descent, which he retained until his death.

During the 1930s he performed primarily as a jazz trumpeter, but occasionally also as a comedian.

During World War II ( drafted in 1940, service until the end of the war) he achieved the rank of Lance Bombardier of the Royal Artillery and served in the North Africa and Italy campaigns . In Italy he was finally hospitalized for a "war neurosis" (PTSD) . He was then honored from military service and joined forces as a guitarist with Bill Hall (violin) and Johnny Mulgrew (bass) to form the jazz comedy group "The Bill Hall Trio". Initially, the group performed mainly for the troops, later also on public stages.

In early 1948, Milligan moved to the Central Pool of Artists and began writing parodies that later became the main feature of the Goon Show . Milligan was both lead writer and lead actor on the hit Goon Show between 1951 and 1960. He is widely considered to be the father of modern British comedy , who influenced many other comedians - including Monty Python . However, he was overwhelmed with the preparation and implementation of one show per week. He suffered several nervous breakdowns; once he is said to have hunted Peter Sellers with a knife.

In an August 1999 survey by the British Broadcasting Corporation , Milligan was voted "Funniest Person in 1000 Years". He was named Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by the British Crown in 1992 and Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in 2000. As an Irish citizen, the latter was awarded on an honorary basis and was not associated with the elevation to the personal nobility status ("Sir").

Milligan appeared in over 70 films, such as Peters Sellers' comedy film Magic Christian , and (television) series on; his novel Puckoon , published in 1963 and advanced to become a bestseller, was made into a film by Terence Ryan in 2002.

During his life he suffered from a bipolar affective disorder (" manic - depressive illness"). 1994 Milligan had successfully made a guest appearance Himself Scottish BBC - Miniseries Takin 'Over the Asylum , which also manic-depressive protagonist Campbell Bain ( David Tennant ) can win for a highly effective fundraiser for the new hospital radio station celebrities successful.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ A Truly Remarkable Interview: The comic Tony Brown interviews British / Irish Spike Miligan . Jazz Professional, 1970 (transcript). Retrieved June 9, 2019.
  2. ^ The funniest person of the last thousand years: Spike Milligan . BBC, 1999. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
personal data
SURNAME Milligan, Spike
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Milligan, Terence Alan (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Irish comedian, writer, poet and jazz musician (trumpet and guitar)
DATE OF BIRTH April 16, 1918
PLACE OF BIRTH Ahmadnagar
DATE OF DEATH February 27, 2002
Place of death Rye (East Sussex)