Make the whole world laugh and die alone among dirty dishes: the tragic fate of comedian Benny Hill

It had millions of viewers, but no one in the toughest times.

Benny Hill, born Alfred Hawthorne Hill, was born on January 21, 1924 in the English city of Southampton, a port city, from where, 12 years before the birth of the future comedian, the Titanic left on its first and last voyage.

The passion for buffoonery was inherited by Hill. His father and grandfather were circus clowns. But they settled down at some point – for example, his father became the manager of a store of surgical instruments, but Alfred, pushing ordinary jobs, realized that such a life was absolutely not for him. It belongs to the scene.

But the road to the stage, as usual, was long and winding. After leaving school, Hill managed to work as a milkman. During World War II, he was drafted into the army and served as a mechanic, truck driver and searchlight operator in Normandy. When the war ended, Hill was transferred to the entertainment division of the British Armed Forces Broadcasting Service, and in peacetime he got a job in radio.

Hill was inspired by British music hall comedians and decided to make his mark in show business as well. He took the nickname “Benny” after his favorite comedian, Jack Benny.

In 1950, he made his first appearance on television. And in 1955, the first episode of The Benny Hill Show aired, which would become a cult comedy and last for decades. The last issue was shot in 1989.

Hill managed to deliver a spectacular music hall-based format combining live comedy and filmed segments, and his humor was based on slapstick, allusions and parodies. The audience liked the show – it always got high ratings.

The feature of the program was the final scene, in which various funny characters chased the main character – in our time, the music from there has become a real network meme and is still actively used in commercials for comic effect.

Since the early 1980s, the show has also featured a troupe of attractive young women called the Hill’s Angels. However, this soon began to attract criticism – many were outraged by the excessive sexualization of the girls and the lewd jokes. Considering Hill himself was no longer young, many of the scenes felt less funny than gross.

The show has expired. Benny was fine when he was young, but when you’re over 60 it’s a little different watching a beautiful girl,” John Howard Davis, head of Light Entertainment at Thames Television, where the show once said. was 21 years old. .

These words were soon followed by deeds. In the press, it was Davis who ended up being called the man who fired Benny Hill, although publicly it was all more decently arranged. The comedian said he was taking a year off. However, his contract was never renewed.

After losing his job, Hill stopped appearing in public and lived the life of an ordinary solitary pensioner. During his life he earned millions, but he had no idea how to spend them – the savings, bordering on greed, were passed on to him by his parents.

Benny didn’t own a house, preferring to rent apartments, buy cheap groceries, walk rather than take a taxi. The only luxury he allowed himself was travel, and even then he stayed in modest hotels.

The comedian’s personal life did not work out. He twice proposed to his beloved wives, one of them was actress Annette André, but was rejected twice. Throughout his life he was never married, he had no children. He met his old age alone, in a small flat in Teddington. In February 1992, Hill suffered a heart attack. Only Michael Jackson came to visit him in the hospital, who called Hill the #1 comedian. Doctors recommended that Benny get bypass surgery, but he refused. This decision became fatal.

On April 20 of that year, he was found dead in his apartment. The cause of death was a second heart attack. Benny, 68, sat in a chair watching TV, his hair disheveled and surrounded by dirty dishes. His body was found by his show’s producer, Denis Kirkland. For several days he had been trying to reach Hill with the good news. Viewers have bombarded Thames Television with letters asking them to put their favorite show back on the air. The TV bosses gave up and decided to start broadcasting unreleased programs.

On the day Hill died, he also received a new contract in the mail from Independent Central Television, for which he was to direct a series of television specials.

Hill bequeathed his entire fortune to his parents long before his death, but by then they were no longer alive, along with other close relatives – his brother and sister, Leonard and Diana, with whom he had no relationship. Accordingly, the inheritance was divided between the nephews. And it was a very impressive amount – the fortune of the comedian at the time of his death was equal to 7,548,192 pounds, which is equivalent to 16,600,000 pounds at present.

However, rumors quickly spread among people that supposedly untold riches in the form of gold and jewels were buried with Hill. Six months later, the assailants opened Hill’s grave in Hollybrook Cemetery but, of course, found no treasure there. After that, by decision of the police, the grave was closed with a concrete slab.

And if the comedian’s money has long been spent by the heirs, then his show still belongs to the audience, who, no, no, and even smiles when hearing familiar music.

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