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In this long overdue and affectionate salute, celebrated comedy historian Robert Ross pays tribute to some of the finest, funniest and most fascinating names in comedy from both sides of the Atlantic. Monty Python's Terry Jones wrote the foreword.

With the passionate input of such comics as Tim Brooke-Taylor, Hattie Hayridge, Roy Hudd, Michael Palin, Ross Noble, Chris Addison and Bernard Cribbins, Ross honours these legends of humor who, for a variety of reasons, didn't quite reach the heady heights of stardom or, once they had, couldn't cope with the pressures.

Whether it is a favorite from the distant smoke- and ale-stained world of the Music Hall like the great George Robey, or the downbeat poetry of Hovis Presley, who dropped disenchanted bombs on the late 1990s, Forgotten Heroes of Comedy will finally elevate them to the Hall of Fame where they belong. Forgotten, no longer.

Joe Baker UKEric Barker UKAlfie Bass UKMichael Bates India (to English parents)David Battley UKMichael Bentine UKHarold Berens UKWilie Best USAAlec Bregonzi UKMichael Ward UKDouglas Byng UKMarti Caine UKEsma Cannon Australia (but moved to UK)Patrick Cargill UKJimmy Clitheroe UKDanny Ross UKBilly Dainty UKJanet Davies UKFlorence Desmond UKJerry Desmonde UKEddie Leslie UKMaidie Dickson UKCharlie Drake UKJimmy Edwards UKGus Elen UKRay Ellington UKDick Emery UKPierre Etaix FranceBarry Evans UKMario Fabrizi UKDoug Fisher UKRonald Frankau UKLeslie Fuller UKDustin Gee UKPeter Glaze UKTommy Godfrey UKHarry Locke UKKen Goodwin UKBernard Gorcey Russia (died USA)Bert Gordon USAMonsewer' Eddie Gray UKRaymond Griffith USADeryck Guyler UKBrian Hall UKLloyd Hamilton USAArthur Haynes UKRichard Hearne UKDickie Henderson UKGerard Hoffnung Germany (died UK)Shemp Howard USANat Jackley UKRex Jameson UKSpike Jones USAJohn Junkin UKDave King UKRoy Kinnear UKDennis Kirkland UKPatsy Knox USADebbie Linden UKHugh Lloyd UKMalcolm McFee UKMoore Marriott UKGraham Moffatt UKRay Martine UKZeppo Marx USAGlenn Melvyn UKEric Merriman UKChristopher Mitchell UKAlbert Modley UKRobert Moreton UKGladys Morgan UKLily Morris UKRichard Murdoch UKTom E. Murray USADavid Nixon UKLarry Noble UKOle Olsen USAChic Johnson USAKen Platt UKSandy Powell UKVince Powell UKHovis Presley UKCardew Robinson UKJoe E. Ross USAPatsy Rowlands UKDerek Roy UKDerek Royle UKLeslie Sarony UKLarry Semon USARonald Shiner UKJohnnie Silver USADennis Spicer UKLarry Stephens UKJake Thackray UKThelma Todd USAJack Train UKKarl Valentin GermanyLiesl Karlstadt GermanyNorman Vaughan UKTom Walls UKRalph Lynn UKElsie and Doris Waters UKRita Webb UKJohn Wells UKGeorge and Kenneth Western UKGordon Wharmby UKBert Wheeler USARobert Woolsey USAAlbert Whelan Australia (died UK)Robb Wilton UKMike and Bernie Winters UKGeorgie Wood UKDolly Harmer UKHarry Worth UKMario Zampi Italy (died UK)

About the Author

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Robert Ross is the leading authority on the history of British comedy. His sixteen books include The Monty Python Encyclopedia, The Carry On Companion, Sid James - Cockney Rebel, The Complete Terry-Thomas and official BBC celebrations of Fawlty Towers, Last of the Summer Wine and Steptoe and Son. His latest book is a critically acclaimed biography of Marty Feldman. He is a frequent guest on radio and his many television credits include interviews for What's A Carry On?, Top Ten: Comedy Records, Will the Real Basil Fawlty Please Stand Up?, What the Pythons Did Next, Richard & Judy and BBC News.