Benny Hill

For Decades Alfred Hawthorne Hill -- known to us as Benny Hill -- was a titan of British (and later American) television comedy with a show that blended slapstick, parody, mime, and a generous helping of double entendre. Benny presided over the show with a rascally gleam in his eye and Boots Randolph's hit "Yakety Sax" was used as the theme -- to the point people had no idea it wasn't written just for the show. Feeling Benny had run his course (after 35 years!) tv bigwigs axed the program in 1989, but the British public begged to differ, keeping it popular in reruns and DVD reissues to this day. As always, find extra clips below and thanks for sharing our shows!

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Benny was a high energy host and this 1965 clip catches a bit of that, along with a great take on a German English instructor.https://youtu.be/EmMZ9J-EKlQ

Benny's shows always featured a lot of double entendre and general naughtiness. That style eventually fell out of favor, though Hill noted the butt of his "hanky panky" jokes always were the guys. Here's Benny in a sketch about a reluctant bridegroom. https://youtu.be/jZMcP9SoTVc

Parodies of American television were stock in trade for Benny Hill, particularly of crime and detective shows. Hill was a fine mimic, and here he takes on three top cops -- Frank Cannon, McCloud, and Hercule Poirot. https://youtu.be/EMId43b-fWA