Funny for Money Bob Monkhouse talks to Ben Elton

[@MrChessecake55]

You can see that Bob so enjoyed this chat. He simply loves talking about the intricacies of comedy.

[@johnking5174]

If you have ever seen his library, his books were filled with comedy.

[@meirwise1107]

How generous was Bob Monkhouse! RIP Master of Standup Comedy.

[@DavidAndrewsPEC]

Meir Wise When Monkhouse died, we lost the Professor of Comedy - the only one we've had. Such an encyclopaedic knowledge of comedy as a whole ... his approach was practically scientific, really.

[@PhilMacVee]

What an absolute joy to see Ben and Bob talking about comedy and humour. Two Pro's from different generations. Yes, a joy to watch even 28 years after the event.

[@petyrkowalski9887]

Bob is like a comic psychiatrist here.... Asking, analysing, getting Ben to talk and open up. Really brilliant and the only man I can think of that could have done these types of interviews justice.

[@marshallappleblack412]

Loved this. Mr Elton how intellectual he is and Big Bob bless him i am just old enough to appreciate his gags

[@skygazer6898]

Found this really interesting and enjoyable. Love Bob Monkhouse, he was the absolute master and the likes of Ben Elton realise and appreciate him.

[@jimmydempsey6857]

Yep grew up with Bob loved the " golden shot" etc king of the game shows and superb comedy later in the club's. 👍

[@essexpeter6116]

Very good, I did not see this at the time, what a gem to have missed and thank you for posting. Bob Monkhouse got more from Ben Elton than any regular chat show.

[@simons1543]

What a fascinating interview. So glad I happened across this. You can really see and sense the mutual respect they had for each other

[@barrypoupard7009]

Disappointing that this has only has so few views. I enjoyed every minute of it. Monkhouse asks intelligent, pertinent questions and then allows Ben Elton to flow. Thanks for posting.

[@degsbabe]

Absolutely Barry. Should be standard viewing for up & coming comedians.No wonder present comedy isn't very funny.

[@danw1374]

Its brilliant, getting right down to the nuts & bolts of comedy performance. Sad that you don't see this level of insight today on tv.

[@markdaly1648]

There was a series in which Bob monkhouse analysed comedians by looking at their history and revealing what they were really like. It was the best thing he ever did. Absorbing TV. In one episode he revealed what Peter sellers was really like. And how sellers who agreed to be on celebrity squares. Let monkhouse down spectacularly. 1 minute to air. No sign of sellers. When suddenly there was a call. Monkhouse was handed a phone. Sellers could not make the as he was on the qe 2. Heading to carribean with family. Monkhouse never forgave and he never worked with sellers again

[@markdaly1648]

Bob monkhouse behind the laughter

[@gavinallan7897]

Bob monkhouse almost a bridge between comedy cultures here..And he was viewed as so old fashioned ..Game show credibility old school comedy etc..At the time I had these views but they were passing I was a lad..Bob monkhouse had a great appreciation for comedy of it's time.and writing and performers. Whatch a routine from him,a total master of the stage ..performer and audience ..And delivery with the jokes insightful n funny for the time and timeless Great interview very telling of its time

[@zivkovicable]

Well the gameshow persona was a bit old fashioned and cheesy. Far fewer people got to see his standup in the early 80's which was brilliant.

[@ghughesarch]

It would have been so interesting to see a reverse of this - Ben interviewing Bob.

[@RUBYMUNRO]

2 great comics, never to be repeated.

[@jamesparker40]

2 great comics never to be repeated...sorry you did say.

[@JJmoony]

Thanks for this video! Excellent I've never understood why people in past never liked Ben Elton I think he's great writer. And that was a great interview, love Bens philosophy. God bless Bob.

[@StefanTravis]

Fascinating little series - which completely passed me by at the time. Bob Monkhouse going back to his roots as a technician of comedy - who just happens also to tell jokes.

[@MrMurph73]

I remember recording this on VHS tape at the time and watching it at least 5 times. Great to see it again, thanks for posting it.

[@hawsrulebegin7768]

Can’t believe I missed this when it was aired. Bob asking very good, informative questions and letting the guest talk. Like the idea of different generations of comic discussing the art. Rip Bob.

[@thaitim007]

Bob wrote over a million gags and was a professor of comedy. Ben Elton and the 80s comedy he wrote was a special, classic time. Great to dig deep into comedy.

[@canadianbacon3007]

Bob was a kin genius in so many fields and so kin funny with it and not just comedy

[@DavidMiller-ps5rr]

I used to think Ben Elton was a prat, but I've changed my mind after watching this. It was odd to see and hear Bob Monkhouse in such a quiet, thoughtful mood; not a single joke. He would have made a great chat show host, because he did what so many chat show hosts don't do, which is to listen to his guests and let them be the show.

[@pharoahegypt]

the polar opposite of parkinson you mean? lol. fair point that i'll agree with to the end.

[@skygazer6898]

David Miller Bob was a chat show host once upon a time.

[@DenkyManner]

Bob is so serious here because the mechanics of comedy were his absolute passion and obsession. He wasn't merely having a chat, he was genuinely fascinated by the answers. No room for time wasting getting a laugh. The credits show it was devised by him too.

[@malcolmharris5277]

You read my mind there, David. I was on the verge of making a fresh comment and so I am glad that I scrolled through what had already been said. Largely apart from enjoying the heyday of The Golden Shot as a youngster, and to be fair his Silent Comedy show Mad Movies in the 60s, I was never fond of Bob Monkhouse's act. Sadly, it is only more recently that I have watched the documentary series about his prodigious archive and the one about his career that I learned quite how different he was to the on stage persona. And in this show, I thought he did a great job. Equally with Ben Elton, his early act painted him as an utter knob, but I loved Blackadder and secretly ascribed all the best writing to Richard Curtis. But he comes across well here, less bursting to court approval constantly.

[@talcumpowder1000]

He was a chat show host

[@samuelhutchison8433]

Two brilliant comedians and very humble ...

[@markramsay6399]

wow. so many years ago. So rewarding. .

[@johncameron1349]

Two of my favourite comedians

[@PaulFromBrighton]

Thanks for this. God isn’t Bob much missed? Can you imagine him doing Brexit, Trump, reality “stars” and all that? Absolute guv’nor

[@GeoffreyJohns]

I had no knowledge of this. It is brilliant

[@dennismurphy911]

An excellent insight into writing and performing Comedy.

[@dashercronin]

Good to see Monkhouse's intelligence shine through the persona that his performances belie. Pity he didnt pursue a serious chat show host career. Ben Elton at his ranting best is drop dead screamingly funny about very serious topics and personalities. Two amazing intelligent English funny comedy geniuses in different comedy niches.

[@philingram4810]

Fantastic interview

[@RitchieRosson]

Thanks for posting this! Very interesting.

[@harrysimpson8522]

Wonderful...

[@brendanquinlan5936]

Really enjoyed that. Thanks for uploading 👍

[@waynestyles7916]

This is a masterclass on how a clever Comedian and actor can read audiences

[@MalHope-j9z]

Funny is Funny...

[@Dukes-nt1er]

WHAT A FANTASTIC...PIECE THANK YOU FOR PUTTING THIS UP..............TWO GREAT MINDS AT WORK HERE......LOVELY.

[@Markeebee100]

This interview leaves me thinking, as I've always suspected, that Ben is just a bloody good, comedy writer, in every same sense as the classic comedy performers and writers that he talks about who inspired him. He came on the scene as a supposedly trailblazing, alternative, satirical comedian, but at the end of the day he's simply just exceptionally good at writing funny gags and good comedy sitcoms.

[@jamesparker40]

31:21 is the key why Bob and Ben will never be seen as great stand ups(very good yes but great no). Vulnerability. All great stand-ups have a pain behind the veneer that the audience will sense and sometimes glimpse first hand. Bob and Ben never let the mask slip enough. Ben talks about sadness being part of the human condition and comedians are only expressing that part of the condition among others. But not everyone needs that affirmation of getting laughs to make them feel alive. Pain and sadness are the driving force behind the comedians onslaught and the biggest drive of all fear of rejection. Or to quote Harry Lime..."In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, and they had 500 years of democracy and peace. And what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."

[@Darren68a]

I suspect that Ben thought of Bob as one of the comedy greats but didn't want to say so as it might have sounded insincere.

[@knumbugs]

28:57 "I wouldn't aspire to be even in the same room as my all time greats"... or in other words "sorry Bob, you're not an all time great"

[@danw1374]

Watch again, ben elton clearly said it in jest, he knew as well as everyone in that room he was in the presence of genius.

[@sanddancer1951]

That's the kind of crack Bob Monkhouse often came out with himself. A bit like his gag "they used to laugh when I said I wanted to be a comedian; they're not laughing now.

[@TomBartram-b1c]

Bob could have asked how the f are YOU the best new comedy talent out there at the moment? But didn't. I would have in his place.

[@ianbentley7276]

2 geniuses of comedy.

[@theflyingninja1]

Ben Eltons comedy is really not my cup of tea, but he's a great interviewee.

[@johnking5174]

The point of comedy is that there should be different styles, genres, topics that a comedian covers. There should be at least one comedian for every person's own preference and style. For me Billy Connolly, Dave Allen, Jasper Carrott are my favourite of old style comedians.

[@danw1374]

I was disappointed at Elton for having a pop at Benny Hill, Benny was a very clever comedian, obsessive about his craft, Ben's comments could not have been more badly timed. That said i still think he's a great writer and Blackadder was so much funnier from the 2nd series when he started writing the show with Curtis.

[@sullfa]

Was this a one off or a series? I think Bob played it almost too straight but it was still very interesting.

[@vhsvideovault]

This was a one-off, although I believe Monkhouse wanted it to go to series. Would have been fascinating.

[@matthewperris]

This feels like a pilot for a series which, sadly, never got made. However the pilot was so good it got televised. I agree that Monkhouse plays it a little too straight, and rarely even breaks into a smile. That said, I think if it had gone to a series he would've relaxed somewhat.

[@peteratkinson922]

Elton moved from angry young man with mullet to a more middle of the road enertainer and author.

[@eugenedusauzay9468]

His working class accent slips into posh back and forth

[@vordman]

The London twang is an act. Elton was from an academic background.

[@bluey7007]

The Guvnor

[@trevorfeelgood]

Was this the only one made ?

[@TheSimonG]

It should have been called gay for pay

[@peteratkinson922]

Like Bob Dylan, Elton has moved on. How many want to hear 'the old stuff'? Topicality doesn't age well.

[@pauldavis5194]

Good point

[@danw1374]

Ben Elton was more of a political comic observer, so much of his material had to be fresh and new almost each week so i applaud him for his work ethic there.

[@pjfearless]

Disagree. I dunno, recently I keep thinking about his book Stark, especially when I think of Elon Musk.

[@davidcaledonia5187]

George Carlin was an amazing american comic, I have never found ben particularly funny, and george was a better writer, there was no political correctness with george

[@danw1374]

George Carlin was brilliant

[@banjopink4409]

Two men on chairs.

[@jimreid6370]

A great man on a chair plus one 😅

[@simonhoulding4414]

Can’t stand Ben Elton, he is about as funny as toothache.

[@errol-ih4jy]

ben elton is to comedy, what Frank Bruno is to brain surgery.

[@andy6576]

Ironic then, that your attempt at a humorous putdown was so _painfully_ unfunny. The guy co-wrote "The Young Ones" and "Blackadder". Story, end of.

[@SuperFerdie1965]

Did you tell that one to Frank?

[@peteratkinson922]

Were you frank's first patient?

[@grantleslie8779]

dont understand why these people are talking to one another .. bizarre

[@pharoahegypt]

what part don't you get? the part where one much loved and respected comedy performer asks another what makes him tick? or are you just too young to appreciate their combined works & accept they above many others know what their talking about?

[@tf2506]

Just brilliant. A very much changed perception of Ben Elton as a performer. Always loved his writing though. And Bob, as well prepared as ever. Isn't it great when the interviewer has actually studied his interviewee? Great, and more importantly, intelligent interview. RIP Bob.

[@mpdalyful1]

The last couple of series Bob monkhouse did for the BBC was all about seeing what made comedians tick. The first series was all about people he knew. It was one of the best things he ever did. It was deeply serious bob monkhouse. Who was a very intelligent man

[@danw1374]

Theres absolutely nothing to understand.

[@davidcartmell2141]

you can tell that bob does not like billy big mouth

[@kevinscott168]

I always thoughhe was a tosser Bob your too good for him