Forgotten Greats

[SlimTrae]

As generations pass, their deeds, acts overtime die with them.

Any occupation, just give a shout out to someone who made life great for you but now see their name sliding into history's abyss.

Comedy: Benny Hill. When I mention his name, I'm reminded of how old I am, when those under age of 30 or even 35, look puzzled as to who could he be?


Martin Short: He did American skit show Saturday Night Live and a few good movies. 3 Amigos & surprisingly funny and heartfelt movie called 3 Fugitives with Nick Nolte



Sports: Evander Holyfield. I'm amazed at how many people under the age of 30 don't know him! Most say, oh the guy that Tyson bit? He did more than just become Mike's meal.

Fran Tarkenton." IMO Tarkenton is the reason for the term "being flushed out of the pocket came to be." Back then a QB usually took the sack if no one was open, but this little guy didn't like being sacked. When the announcers first saw it, they said "he was scrambling across the field." To which his title was dubbed "The Scrambler"

Defenses never seen it, so it was like a 3 stooges routine only with 11 guys chasing a guy who could make one play last 10-15 seconds. As time when on....IMO defensive coordinators started devising plans that if a QB did run away, flush him out & have a set up on the other side waiting for him.

Today we think QB's aren't that great if they're not mobile enough to prevent being sacked. I (think) it was Tark-Tark The Scrambler who was the first truly mobile QB.

[Master]

Benny Hill is now seen as sexist but as a kid he was funny.

Holyfield as a cruiserweight was punch perfect and I swear to myself he was a machine or robot because he never tired.

George Formby, Norman Wisdom and Will Hay were British black and white comedies I watched as a kid that were excellent at the time.

Harold Lloyd, Stan and Ollie and Chaplin were the US ones that I enjoyed.

[El Kabong]

Benny Hill is now seen as sexist

Fucking puritans just nonstop killjoys


W.C. Fields is my all time favorite comedian. It's a bit difficult to understand the language sometimes with his accent and the old recording being so scratchy sounding, but he was quite gifted at many things and very humorous.



People seem to have forgotten all about Father Coughlin who was a Catholic Priest that had a radio show in the 1930's. He got in a lot of hot water for getting lured in by fascists and the public turned on him quickly. But there was no denying how much of America really loved that guy. I am going to do a bit of a deep dive on his career when I get the opportunity as I know precious little about him save for what I've mentioned oh and also he'd get mail like nobody has ever seen before bags and bags of it from listeners.



Bing Crosby, before 'The Chairman of the Board', before Elvis, before The Beatles ol' Bing was THE guy music, movies, comedy he did everything and was quite the hit. He had a tragic life as a father with his children claiming he was at best inattentive to their needs and at worst a perfectionist monster dead set on having them succeed in Hollywood. He always seemed an affable enough fellow on screen but as the aforementioned W.C. Fields said "Show me a good actor and I'll show you a lousy father, show me an actress and you've seen the Devil!"


Jack Benny he was hilarious and the precursor to Johnny Carson


Chet Baker that dude had EVERYTHING! Sang like Frank played like Miles Davis, looked like James Dean....heroin got hold of him AND he was just about a sociopath.

Red Foxx & Flip Wilson....fucking incredible comics

[SlimTrae]

Benny Hill is now seen as sexist but as a kid he was funny.

.

I thought that as a kid watching his skimpy dancers in their uh sexist routine. great time to go through puberty!

[SlimTrae]

I knew Jack Benny was an older great, but not sure who came first, him or Milton Berle?

Oldest act for me was the Marx Brothers. I think schools that have arts class, should always remember the first talents in the arts of music, entertainment to comedy.

And for the hiphop awards shows, they do a disservice, always leaving the past gr8s behind.
WHat a shame that so many young adults...skip the youth, ...rather the 20 somethings have nothing but rap music in their collection & have no clue about Afrika Bambatta & the Soul Sonic Force. Pre 1970's The Last Poets.

Even award shows screw up the first women group (Salt N Peppa) when there was a group called Sequence in 1979 off the Sugar Hill Gang's production.
What a shame that the older crew gets no love nor recognition like that of jazz & rock. Those demographics never seem to forget who started it.

But ask a young hip-hopper who was Melle Mel? Boy Wise of P.R.T let alone the first king aka Kurtis Blow.

Even funnier is those who think Eminem is the first white dude rapper..have no clue about buffalo gals & malcolm McLaren. Well I don't know if he called himself a rapper or DJ, but I do know 2 things. One he was white 2. his sh%$t was funky!

[Mark TKO]

rap wise there was also MC Miker G and DJ Sven years before Eminem

[Mark TKO]

I always found George Burns hilarious. Some of his interviews on chat shows in his latter years were comedy gold.

When he was around 96 I remember an interviewee (might have been Des O'Connor) saying " I hear you've booked out the London Palladium for your 100th birthday ?"

George just dryly took a suck on his cigar and said "Yeah, I hope the Palladium is still there"

I will now go find a clip of that....

[Beanz]

Check out Mark Lamaars interview of Bernard Manning. You can see Mannings skill and craft honed by thousands of hours of working at what he loved.

Funny how he rips into Tarbuck.

[Dark Lord Al]

Manning was my favorite comic of all time.

[SlimTrae]

rap wise there was also MC Miker G and DJ Sven years before Eminem

LMAO!! I remember this but never saw their faces/video. I figured they were a one -hit-Weird Al Yangovic duo!!

[Mark TKO]

Check out Mark Lamaars interview of Bernard Manning. You can see Mannings skill and craft honed by thousands of hours of working at what he loved.

Funny how he rips into Tarbuck.

Yep Manning one of my all time favorites too - alongside Les Dawson , two very different acts.

Felt a bit for Bernard towards the end when he was vilified for his act that had started in a different era but didn't quite fit in modern times with the PC brigade who were making noise.

[Beanz]

Check out Mark Lamaars interview of Bernard Manning. You can see Mannings skill and craft honed by thousands of hours of working at what he loved.

Funny how he rips into Tarbuck.

Yep Manning one of my all time favorites too - alongside Les Dawson , two very different acts.

Felt a bit for Bernard towards the end when he was vilified for his act that had started in a different era but didn't quite fit in modern times with the PC brigade who were making noise.

Les was a genius. Not just his Piano playing which when he wanted to was beautiful but also when he recited Shakespeare and poetry. There was a great play on Radio4 a few years back with Johhny Vegas playing him.


I understand some of the points the alternative comedians were making about Manning and that generation but yes a lot of it was clumsy and ill thought out without any acknowledgement of his skill and why people loved him. ( I think Al loved him because of Bernard's Jewish roots ) There was going to be a drama about him like the Hatty Jakes and Kenneth Williams ones on BBC 4 but it got shelved.

[Beanz]

Brilliant Jewish joke here that would have had my Grandad in stitches

[Mark TKO]

I'll watch that when I'm not in the office !

[Mark TKO]

One of Les' greatest moments - i remember seeing this first time. Genius