Tributes flow to Monkhouse

Stars from the world of comedy paid tribute tonight to entertainer Bob Monkhouse after he lost his fight against cancer.

Veteran funnymen including Max Bygraves, Ken Dodd and Norman Wisdom spoke of their sadness at his death, dubbing him a “comic genius” and an inspiration.

The 75-year-old was one of Britain’s top comedians for more than four decades.

He fronted a host of TV game shows including favourites such as Celebrity Squares, and Bob’s Full House, as well as carving out roles as a comic writer, stand-up comedian and an actor.

Fellow comedian Dodd, who worked with Monkhouse on the stage, said: “We have lost one of our greatest and most talented entertainers and a very good friend.

“A king among comedians, Bob was a true superstar who could charm and dazzle any audience.”

Wisdom also heaped praise on the star, saying: “Bob was a comedy genius and will be missed by all his fellow comedians, including myself.”

TV star Des O’Connor said of Monkhouse, who was known for his incredible memory and quick-fire one-liners: “One of the brightest lights just went out on the Christmas tree.”

He added: “Anyone who understood comedy loved Bob.

“He would arrive at any function or cabaret with specially written, individual material for every occasion.

“He loved showbusiness and showbusiness was lucky to have him. He was not only a brilliant mind, but the warmest and most genuine of friends.”

Monkhouse died peacefully in his sleep during the night at his home in the village of Eggington, near Leighton Buzzard, Beds, after a two-and-a-half-year battle with prostate cancer.

His manager Peter Prichard said he was “choked” to deliver “the very, very sad news”.

Private Eye editor Ian Hislop spoke of Monkhouse’s appearance on the TV satirical quiz show Have I Got News For You.

“He just came on and blew everybody away. He had a reputation for being cheesy and smarmy but he had millions of good jokes.

“Nobody could stop him, he was like a machine gun.”

Friend Bygraves said: “He knew the entertainment game backwards and understood the mechanics of comedy like no one else.

“He had an incredible mind for filing away jokes. When his joke books were stolen, he lost thousands of gags but he rewrote them again from memory.”

Two of his priceless joke books in which he scribbled his endless stream of ideas were stolen in 1995, but finally returned after an 18-month wait.

Bygraves said that Monkhouse went “out of vogue” for a while, but was back in demand when people realised there was nobody who could do it as well as him

Les Dennis, who took over the Family Fortunes show which Monkhouse once hosted, said the star had called him out of the blue to give him some encouragement.

“He was brilliant and inspirational and there are not many comics of his calibre around any more.”

Impressionist Mike Yarwood described him as “a very gifted comedian but a very modest man with no ego”, while comic writer Barry Cryer said: “He could do anything.

“We used to say he had a computer in his head. His memory was astonishing.”

Close pal Russ Abbott said: “The man was a genius and one of the last comic greats.

“I had no idea he had contributed sketches to the Russ Abbott Show until he told me one day over a glass of wine that he worked under a pseudonym.”

BBC director general Greg Dyke described him as a “major entertainment figure” for nearly half a century.

Monkhouse appeared in public in March at an awards ceremony where he joked about the cancer that eventually killed him.

He delivered the wise-crack: “I discovered about two years ago that visits to the loo were less and less profitable.

“I saw a specialist who asked me ‘Are you familiar with the phrase faecal impaction?’ I said I think I saw that one with Glenn Close and Michael Douglas.”

Other gems from his vast repertoire included: “The last time I was in Spain I got through six Jeffrey Archer novels. I must remember to take enough toilet paper next time.”

Born in Beckenham, Kent, in June 1928, Monkhouse started out as a comedy writer and rose to become a top comic with a highly polished on-screen persona that people seemed to either love or hate.

He hit the screens in the 1950s in the comedy show Fast And Loose and by 1960 was host of the British version of Candid Camera.

He went on to front Celebrity Squares, Family Fortunes, Bob’s Full House, Bob Says Opportunity Knocks and later the National Lottery Draw.

Monkhouse also appeared in 12 films including Carry On Sergeant.

Despite his on-screen success, Monkhouse’s life was dogged by personal tragedy.

He fell out with his parents over his marriage to first wife Elizabeth when he was 20, never making up with his father.

He got back on terms with his mother only after 20 years, shortly before she died.

The marriage to Elizabeth ended after 18 years. They had three children – Abigail, Gary and Simon.

Monkhouse married his secretary Jackie in 1973.

Gary died of cerebral palsy in the early 1990s. Simon fell out with his father and died of a heroin overdose in a Thai guest house in 2001.