Tony Hancock
Tony Hancock (actually Anthony John Hancock , born May 12, 1924 in Birmingham , England , † June 24, 1968 in Sydney , Australia ) was a British comedian who was successful in the 1950s and 1960s on BBC television and radio.
The beginning of his career
Tony Hancock grew up in Bournemouth, Dorset , England , where his father, John Hancock, worked as a comedian and entertainer. He spent his school days in a boarding school in Berkshire . In 1942 he joined the Royal Air Force (RAF). His first successes were appearances in radio programs, u. a. 1951 in Educating Archie , where he appeared as a teacher of a ventriloquist dummy. In the same year he appeared for the first time on television with the BBC program Kaleidoscope . In 1954 he got his own radio show Hancock's Half Hour .
Hancock's Half Hour
Hancock's Half Hour was Tony Hancock's greatest success first as a radio show and from 1956 as a television show, which made him popular across the UK. The half-hour broadcasts captivated with funny scenes from everyday life and thus introduced the situation comedy . Sidney James , Kenneth Williams and Hattie Jacques , among others, had regular appearances in Hancock's Half Hour , all three of whom also became known in Germany through their appearances in numerous carry-on films .
Sidney James in particular became Hancock's constant film partner. In 1960, however, James and Hancock fell out because Hancock saw James as a potential competitor. In 1961 he separated from Ray Galton and Alan Simpson , who had previously written the scripts for Hancock's Half Hour . This is seen as the biggest wrong decision of his life, because from that moment on the level of the show went downhill, and with it Tony Hancock's popularity.
Until 1967, Hancock appeared on British television, but his appearances got worse and worse, which is partly due to his increased alcohol consumption at the time.
In May 1968 Hancock went to Australia, where he committed suicide a short time later.
Others
The album title Send Away the Tigers from the Manic Street Preachers is a quote from Hancock. As he began to drink more alcohol, he said he was drinking to remove his inner demons.
In the song "You're my Waterloo" by the Libertines , a band by English scandal rocker Peter Doherty , Tony Hancock is mentioned in one line ("But I'm not Tony Hancock, baby").
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hancock, Tony |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Hancock, Anthony John |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British comedian |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 12, 1924 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Birmingham , England |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 24, 1968 |
| Place of death | Sydney , Australia |