Saucy Boy: The Life Story of Benny Hill

Saucy Boy: The Life Story of Benny Hill by Leonard Hill. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780246134271.

"Benny Hill has made more people laugh longer than any entertainer in history," his elder brother Leonard asserts in this witty, lively biography of the worlds most popular comedian. For 40 years Benny Hill has been to television comedy what Charlie Chaplin was to the silent movies. Today the Benny Hill Show is broadcast regularly in over 100 countries, and may be seen every night in the USA. Yet, though his comic genius is universally recognized, few people know the real Benny Hill. Why is the man behind the clowns make- up such a mystery? What are the sources of his comic art? To answer these and many other questions, Leonard Hill tells for the first time the full, intimate story of Bennys life and career. Fascinating anecdotes reveal the extraordinary character and bizarre lifestyle of the man voted Global TVs Top Banana. Every aspect of Bennys development is described, from his difficult relationship with his father to his turbulent love-life. From Bennys birth in 1924 into a family with a circus tradition, Leonard shared his brothers upbringing and many of his experiences. He has performed with Benny (who was christened Alfred), entertained in bomb-shelters with him during the Blitz, written scripts and songs with him, and given him his stage name, Benny. He has also spoken with relatives, friends, associates and famous fans, including Michael Bentine, Anthony Burgess, Michael Caine, Phil Collins, Lord Delfont, Phyllis Diller, Dick van Dyke, Jack Lemmon, Bob Monkhous€e, Burt Reynolds, Joan Rivers, Twiggy, and Reg Varney. With humour and insight, he traces Bennys rise to fame via radio and television and describes his addiction to work (forever observing, forever inventing), his versatile caricatures and love of burlesque, his deeply felt need for privacy, attitude to money and possessions - and, of course, his girlfriends.