THE BRITISH COMEDY SOCIETY

“To preserve and foster the traditions of British Comedy”

The Society originated in the front room of the Gatenbys’ humble Highgate home in May 1991 when, in a discussion about Peter Sellers, it emerged that he had lived as a boy almost on our doorstep, in a cottage in Muswell Hill Road in fact, and had attended the nearby St Aloysius’ Roman Catholic College for some years. The possibility of a statue of the great Goon was considered but rejected in favour of a less expensive option, namely a plaque on the wall of the said cottage. The idea of a money-raising event around the unveiling of a plaque was conceived there and then, and it was decided that if it were successful we could continue to honour more late comedians, and form a society called perhaps “The Dead Comics Society”. The name stuck, the motto was drafted and we were up and running.

Research soon established that English Heritage does not have a monopoly on putting up plaques; also they do not consider honouring someone who has not been dead for at least 20 years, and it then takes more time for them to decide whether to honour the candidate or not. We felt that comedians contribute enormously to the general happiness of society and are not sufficiently appreciated, so we would try to do something to raise their profile, and to thank those that had gone for the pleasure they gave. The Peter Sellers event attracted a lot of interest and it was wonderful to meet his first wife, children and grand-children, plus numerous colleagues such as Herbert Lom, Graham Stark, Alfred Marks, Burt Kwouk and Valerie Leon. A modest profit was made and funds given to St Aloysius’ College to fund an annual Peter Sellers prize for humorous writing, which continues to this day.

Plaques and events followed at the rate of 2 or 3 a year and included Tony Hancock, Benny Hill, Frankie Howerd, Charlie Chaplin, Kenneth Williams, Arthur Lowe, John le Mesurier, Arthur Haynes and Sid James. We had to do Sid twice because the first plaque was stolen; the second was placed much higher up the wall!

Some of our comedian and other celebrity supporters were muttering that they were not too keen on the “Dead” bit of our name and so, in 1995 it was changed the “The British Comedy Society”. Official permission has to be obtained to include “British” in a company name so we felt it was quite an achievement to be accepted as of sufficient standing in the world of comedy when the powers-that-be approved our application. This also opened the way to our honouring living comedians such as the amazing Norman Wisdom, the inimitable Ken Dodd and the lovely and evergreen June Whitfield. We have established a great relationship with Pinewood Film Studios who have generously given us access to a Hall of Fame which is now adorned with 21 of our plaques and has been the venue for many memorable events. Those with a “Carry On” and “Last of the Summer Wine” theme have been particularly popular. Similarly, Elstree Studios have dedicated a “Wall of Fame” for our use and it now bears plaques to TV sitcoms including “Are You Being Served”, plus the films which Peter Sellers made there. No-one who attended that unveiling by the late and much lamented Spike Milligan on one of his last public appearances will ever forget it. In addition, the foyer of the Empire Theatre at Shepherd’s Bush houses our plaques to Billy Cotton and Larry Grayson.

Profits from the events have gone to various good causes, usually ones associated with the comedian being honoured, including the British Heart Foundation, Leukaemia Research, UNICEF, Brinsworth House, MacMillan Nurses to name but a few. The directors of the BCS do not take any fees or profit financially from our activities – the very opposite in fact!

Happily, there is virtually endless scope for continuing to pay tribute to the greats of British comedy, and we are always open to new ideas about candidates, venues and types of event. So please feel free to get in touch with your suggestions, offers of help and even donations! The events always require a lot of hard work and organisation so if you’d like to get involved do please let us know. Meanwhile, come to our events and enjoy yourselves, and long live British Comedy!