From Fringe to Flying Circus: Celebrating a Unique Generation of Comedy 1960-1980

by Roger Wilmut

Describes the development of stage, radio, television, and film humor in Great Britain and profiles the careers of British comedians

Genres: Nonfiction, Comedy, Humor, Tv, History, Biography, British Literature

269 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

Reviews

[Rod]

Goodness gracious, but this book is chock full of information! It's a non-stop parade of names (of people and of TV series), half of which I knew and half of which I've never heard of, with all of it setting me a-whirl trying to keep it all straight in my head. Be prepared for a fascinating but very heavy read -- the print font is TINY, making each and every page a much longer read than you're expecting. In the last chapter, the author suggests where the comedians he's talked about might "go from here". With the gift of hind-sight (the book was written in 1980) it's interesting (and sometimes sobering) to compare his suggestions with where things really went.

One interesting omission, I think: For a book about 1960's and 70's British comedy, Benny Hill is conspicuous in his absence. He's not mentioned once.

[Nick Sanders]

A brilliant history of the sixties/seventies British comedy boom.

[Roy]

Loved this book i purchased in 1980 I think . Having just seen the Secret policeman's ball i was interested to read about the birth of English satire including the Pythons , Goodies , Cook and Moore and other stuff. I still have my copy and it's real beat up due my rereading it so many times .

[Nicole Marino]

Stumbled upon this in a small book fair while escaping the wind in Howth, and was very, very, VERY thrilled. A score indeed.