FAB Radio

Spike always described himself as a coward. I wish I had met him if only to tell him he’s a brave man. To write all those scripts, make a fool of himself in front of millions and actually get on a troop ship in the first place takes courage. Spike Milligan: a brave man who showed us how to laugh at and with the world. Thank-you Spike.
Guy, UK

It was back in 1980 Canada the first time I spoke with Spike. I was working for the International Fund for Animal Welfare .. of which he was one of our supporters. Since that time and wherever I was in the world working for animals, he was always there for me .. donating things for auction for animals and exchanging notes! He was to me, such a kind and compassionate man, with his fantastic sense of humour at all the right times … his love and dedication for animals is what I knew best and it is this I will personally miss most.
Mary Alice Pollard ‘Moonflower’, a Canadian living in Cornwall, UK

He had a tough road through life but never lost his ability to take joy in it.
Tom Gamblin, Canada

In “Son of Oblomov” on the London stage years ago, Spike Milligan and Bill Owen were a few minutes into the opening dialogue when Spike noticed some late-comers being shown to their seats. “Hold it Bill, hold it,” he said to Owen. Then, moving to stage front, he addressed the hapless newcomers who by now had the spotlights on them. “Where the hell have you been?” he berated mockingly. Then, without waiting for an answer, he said to Owen: “OK, Bill. Start again!” And they did, with all the dialogue now sounding like a 33 played at 78. No doubt an old trick, but as fresh and funny as any of his wonderful irreverent material for those of us lucky enough to have seen it live. Thanks for the memories, Spike!
Chris Lake-Smith, USA (ex-UK)

Spike Milligan makes me think of Freud’s comment that “a great comedian takes our pain onto himself.” He had a tough road through life but never lost his ability to take joy in it, which came through so strongly in his work. The Goon Show at least matches Monty Python for surrealism and surpasses it for the evident, glorious sense of fun on every show they taped. I’ve been listening for a quarter-century now (Dad introduced me to “Foiled by President Fred” when I was and not a week goes by when I don’t, at least once, call to mind some amazing line or genius sound effect. Spike once said that in writing the scripts, under such pressure (including the self-imposed pressure to be mind-bendingly funny, week in, week out), he was trying to claim his place in heaven. I guess heaven, like the BBC in the 50s, is about to find out what it’s like to give house room to a true subversive. I just hope he’s not bored up there…
Tom Gamblin, Canada (formerly UK)

Back in my misspent youth, he was the only one to reply promptly when our English teacher told us to write a letter to a famous person. Although he did tell me off for not dating it…
Rob Marsh, Bermuda

Spike and Douglas Adams in less than a year. Heaven must be in need of generous, zany, thoughtful geniuses at the moment.
Stuart Kerner, UK

Spike was a creative tornado who’s serious poetry is often criminally overlooked. Ultimately though he was just very very funny and he will live on through his work because it has a timeless childlike quality. Let’s hope the BBC, in tribute, show all they have left of the brilliant Q series. It’s the least they can do. RIP
Steven Madge, England

In May 1983, Spike was in Cairns (North Queensland, Australia)for a “farewell Australia” concert. At the time, I was the Announcer and Manager of the ABC’s Regional Radio Station there. When I rang his agent, I was told that “Spike did not do interviews” yet a hour later Spike was in the studio taping an hour program covering topics from comedy to “the bloody bomb”. He paid me the greatest compliment in my 40 year media career when he sent co-performer Gerard Kenny to the studio the next day while the interview was playing to congratulate me and ask for a copy of the tape.
Robert O’Sullivan, Australia

Spike was one of a handful of true comic revolutionaries.

Nick Santa Maria, USA

As an American, I had only a rudimentary knowledge of Spike for most of life, but one day I found myself in a small town was in a tiny town while touring some comedy clubs {I’m a comedian}, I purchased a Goon Show tape from a bookstore. My life changed. I was a huge fan of the Pythons, but it was immediately clear that this was where it all began. Spike was one of a handful of true comic revolutionaries. The word genius would also apply. Sleep well Little Jim.
Nick Santa Maria, USA

Spike was not only a friend, but a Trustee of The Tree of Hope Children’s Charity in the UK. He cared so much for the children we help, because he knew that these children were being given Life Saving Medical Treatment, and a better quality of life. If only there were more people like Spike. It would make a happier world.
Who is going to make us laugh now???
Corinne Gardner, England

Do we rejoice in the rich legacy left by Spike or grieve that it can be no more. I do not know but his humour, his passion for just causes and his gift for appealing to all ages will never ever be surpassed. A man of simple complexes I shall always miss for the laughter he brought to my childhood and the wisdom he provided in my later years. The Spike is dead. Long live the Spike.
Bert, New Zealand

It’s a shame that Spike is not around to see how many fans and admirers he had. I think he’d have given one of those looks that only Spike could give and something like: “You’re all lunatics…so there¿s a £3 entrance fee”. If laughter is becoming a therapy for pain relief then he was the surgeon general who trained many students. Thanks for being here during our generation and you can be sure you work will never disappear. RIP
David J, UK

Spike taught me how to really laugh

Dennis Lenane, Australia

I first encountered Spike when my father’s second wife brought a paperback copy of “The Goon Show Scripts” into our house. I read it and several months later discovered that the ABC was still regularly broadcasting Goon Shows even though they were by then, some 15 to 20 years old. They were still funny and I was hooked.

Spike taught me how to really laugh and how to look at the world in an irreverent manner. He introduced me to environmentalism when he lent his name to a campaign to protect an island near his parents’ home of Woy Woy, across a small channel from which, I lived.

As I grew older I devoured his war biographies, poems and of course Puckoon (the loss of which, when I lent it to a friend who failed to return it, still rankles more than 20 years later).

In later years I learnt of his bouts with mental illness and the suffering he went through in making us all laugh. I admired him for his courage, the causes he worked for, his honesty and always, that wonderful sense of humour.
I loved you Spike, and I’ll miss you very much.
Dennis Lenane, Australia

There have been many times in my life when I have been in need of cheering up. One such time was my daughter, Emma, being born and diagnosed as having severe Spina Bifida. The prescription was simple, daily doses of the Goons. I have never grown tired of those lunatic half hour episodes, Spike and his numerous characters being my favourite from my introduction to them back in the seventies. I have listened to him, read his books and watched him on the TV my only regret is that I never saw him live, what a treat that would have been, I just had to see him on TV and the laughter would begin. My only hope is that now, maybe, this greatly misunderstood and underrated man will be recognised as the genius he really was. It’s just a shame that he has to leave beforehand. Deaded but not forgotted. Cheers Spike, you were and always will be the best.
RB, UK

I guess heaven looks forward to certain folk arriving – Spike will undoubtedly be one of them. In the true sense of the word Spike was a genius, packed full of wonderful contradictions that occasionally left you squirmming – but always laughing. His books, particularly his wartime memoirs have me aching with laughter one minute and crying from sorrow the next as he took you on his special rollercoaster ride. I keep them by the loo for me and others to ponder from time to time. My cat (Milligan) and I will miss you. Thanks and have fun wherever you are.
Geoff George, UK

Milligan,
Milligoon,
Milligone,
Thank you.
Simon C, England

Spike was regarded as the funniest man in the last 1,000 years.

john Smith, Canada

In a poll, Spike was regarded as the funniest man in the last 1,000 years, and that consensus is not that farfetched. Without his bizarre strain of humour, there would be no Monty Python, and that is an easy call. However, when I hear episodes of the Goons from the early ’50s, then watch a performance of Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, first performed in 1955, wonder how much Beckett took from Spike’s writing and direction. Certainly, the Beatles would not have shocked the Americans in the early ’60s with their wit and banter, a thing that the Americans certainly were not prepared for. Beyond the Fringe, Private Eye, Python, Eddie Izzard, Alexei Sayle…could any of these comics have achieved their voice without Spike opening the floodgates? I Don’t think that these brilliant wits could ignore Spike’s influence, and as I have read, they are the first to admit their debt to the master.

In all Spike is more important to humour and satire than anyone that I can think of. And I do not believe that I am too bold to place him on the level of Dickens and Shakespeare.
John Smith, Canada

Spike Milligan to you we take a bow
Your departure has saddened many
I wish that you could be here again now
Instead of being just on the telly.
Your the sanest madman I ever knew
Your were really quite unique
Now in all of us is a little piece of you.
We’ve learnt to turn the other cheek
Darren Yates, Basingstoke, UK

“..the nearest thing to a human being, without actually being one.” I can think of no higher praise. Goodbye and thank you.
Steve Saul, Australia

About fifteen years ago, I was part of a film crew working with Spike on a TV commercial. As a common courtesy one of us asked him how he would like to be called. Even then, he was very frail, but in a warm voice he looked intently at us and said ‘Some people call me Mr. Milligan, some people call me Spike, but you……you can call me you!’ Wonderful lovely man.
Jules Wigdor, Japan

One of my earliest childhood memories was that of the Q series. I remember this funny little man jumping around with a funny nose. Even today his work is as funny and as sharp as it was all them years ago. Thank you Spike for making our lives a tad brighter.
Mark P, England

He’s fallen in the water.

David Hawkes, England

Spike Milligan was a true genius who tilted at windmills with the strong lance of his view of life. I wrote once, asking for an autograph, never having wanted to write to anyone before. He wrote back himself, corrected in his own hand on an old typewriter he used. He took the time to do that. In an age where genius is overused and comedy is a euphemism for the mundane Spikes light will be sorely missed. He’s fallen in the water.
Dave Hawkes, England

In the early 1970′s, I sang at Ronnie Scott’s. One of my pieces was a vocal-ese on a familiar classical melody. One night, a wild-eyed man came speeding toward the stage, shouting “Have you sung the Bach yet?” I discovered Spike loved that rendition, and came in every night just to hear it. I have a cherished photo of us taken in Ronnie’s office. How I loved him!
Carol Sloane, USA

My 8 year old son told me, saying, ¿The man that writes my funny poems has died!” A far reaching talent, and for generations to come.
Carl, UK

His world was made richer by his presence

Andrew Warran, England

Spike’s humour was unique. He had a rare talent of making the absurd funny. He was a great influence on my life, as well as many others. This world was made richer by his presence, and sadder now that he has left it. Goodbye Spike – may you find happiness wherever you are.
Andrew Warran, England

We admired him so much we named our daughter after him, Milligan Beaumont. He was one of those rare people who touched the heart and soul, leaving something everlasting. I think he was a wonderful person, I miss him already.
Glenn Beaumont, UK

It is probable that few will ever realise the influence Spike had upon the creative climate of the UK in the 1970′s and 80′s. We need his genius, his compassion and his anarchic disrespect for everything that deserves no respect. Many have tried to follow his vision, none have managed to sustain it for as long as Spike did. Spike was no “shooting star”, he never sold out and he never gave up being funny.
Steve Thompson, Wales

He was undoubtedly a comic genius

Neil Baxter, USA (ex-UK)

Spike’s books were such an inspiration and I have read his wartime memoirs many times. During my own service in the Gulf, I carried a copy of ” Rommel: Gunner Who?”, which provided some much needed light-hearted reading. He was undoubtedly a comic genius, who like many of his ilk are never truly appreciated until they are gone. Thanks, Spike, I and many Britons like me owe you an enormous debt for the laughter you have given us in a very serious world.
Neil Baxter, USA (ex-UK)

Spike Milligan was one of my all-time heroes who managed to persuade me to read novels and poetry and rhymes when schooling failed to do so. He was a genius and I owe him a lot for the pleasure he has brought me and will bring my children as they grow older.
Rob, UK

My daughter, Danielle who is six had Spike’s poetry book for Christmas and through her love of his manic humour now listens to the Goons. She is very sad and upset tonight, she feels she has lost another very silly grandpa! Luv ya Spike! Very sad for your family who were very lucky to have known you.
Kerry Varley, Great Britain

This is far from the first time that he has me in tears. We shouldn’t waste time comparing him to anyone – he was incomparable and irreplaceable. In his own words – farewell to Spike Maligna, the well-known typing error!
Henry Kaye, Israel

When I was 8 years old (17 years ago) I wrote a letter to Spike Milligan, via the publisher of one of his books. To my amazement, he replied to me. I shall always love that man dearly, I didn’t watch The Goons, but his children¿s books were second to none. God bless Spike.
Will Faulkner, Hale, Cheshire, UK

The nation has lost one of its greatest and most misunderstood comedians.

Neil, UK

I worked at the BBC for 17 years, in that time I met many of famous people, but there was only one I every really wanted to meet, and that was Spike Milligan. A couple of week before I left the BBC, I finally achieved my wish. I got into one of the lifts in broadcasting House with him. He looked very old then, and was shuffling along like an old man (which he was), but his mind and his wit were as sharp as anything, and in the brief ride in the lift of only two floors, he had me and the producer, who was with him, in stitches with a witty, off-the-cuff diatribe about being issued with identity passes whenever he entered the building. The nation has lost one of its greatest and most misunderstood comedians.
Neil, UK

I vividly recall being on the train to the City back in the 70′s and being virtually unable to breathe whilst attempting to suppress hysterical laughter at reading “Adolf Hitler My Part in His Downfall” surrounded by a carriage full of newspaper reading straight faced suits. Spike Milligan was a genius and I think his life and work should be celebrated and enjoyed with our highest honours and deepest feelings
Simon Doughty, England

Milligan was a pure genius. I am just 14 but I knew all of his best works. One quote that sticks in my mind is the fabulous sketch: “Legs are hereditary and run in most families.” He will be very sorely missed. Spike Milligan: God rest his soul.
Russell Petch, England

I think the one thing about Spike that we love was that he never seemed to appreciate the esteem in which he was held. It’s a rare thing when you find yourself crying with laughter again at a sketch or a phrase written decades ago that you’ve heard a million times before. Spike we hope you feel more at ease with yourself where you are now than you seemed to here with us mortals – you take the love and respect of millions of us with you.
Mel, UK

As a white South African, I admired him for coming to South Africa to tell us of his abhorrence of our government’s policies.

Malcolm Hepplewhite, South Africa

The world has lost one of its greatest citizens. Spike Milligan could make us laugh till the tears ran and our bellies ached, but behind the humour was a man that hurt with pain at what we do to each other and to our beautiful world. As a white South African, I admired him for coming to South Africa to tell us of his abhorrence of our government’s policies. I believe that that took more courage and had a greater effect on many whites than those that just stayed away. I, like so many of the contributors, feel I have lost a friend, even though I have never met Spike in person. Farewell, Mr. Milligan, and may you find the peace you so richly deserve. The world will remember you fondly, and no doubt with more than a laugh or two.
Malcolm Hepplewhite, South Africa

To quote his end-of-sketch dialogue from his brilliant Q series “What are we going to do now?….what are we going to do now?…what are….”
Paul, Bangor, Northern Ireland

To many young aspiring comics, Spike has been and forever will be the guru. No-one can repeat his style or his jokes, yet he has taught so many people how to laugh at serious things and cry at comedy. Like millions of others all over the world, I can enjoy listening to him whenever I want with my vast Goon collection, but tapes, LP’s and Cds can never replace the real thing. There’ll certainly never be another one like Spike.
Andy Oram, England

No more heroes!
John Thaw, Chuck Jones and now Spike Milligan in less than a week. I think God must be short of some entertainment. I have no doubt that once Peter, Harry and Spike are reunited in Heaven, they will have the old boy in stitches and the place won’t be quite the same again. I once had the privilege of meeting Spike while working as a film technician and if you thought he was brilliantly outrageous in public, you should have heard him in private. I don’t think the contribution he made to comedy can be under estimated. I think the Monty Python team and performers like Eddie Izzard would readily admit that they owe a lot to Spike’s work. A very sad day
Tony Peters, England

I suspect that, Spike being Spike, tonight God will be getting complaints about the noise.

Mike Allum, UK

Today I lost one of the greatest influences in my life. I found The Goons when I was 10 and they helped me through the grey times of my teenage years; whenever I needed to I could hide for a while in Spike’s lunatic world.
His war memoirs showed us a man of passions and desires, a man with feet of clay but with a head in the clouds. He showed us all that you must be what you must be – flaws and all.
I suspect that, Spike being Spike, tonight God will be getting complaints about the noise – but will be reluctant to do anything in case Spike gives him the length of his tongue (Six and a half Inches…). Goodnight Eccles.
Mike Allum, UK

The funniest man there ever was. My sides ached with laughter now my heart aches instead. You will be missed. They will be laughing and loving it where ever you are now. This was not the way to reunite the Goons!!
Sallyann McNeil, USA ex UK

I moved to Toronto from England 10 years ago. I drive around here in an old Jeep and the only tapes I own are a full set of The Goon Show my parents have sent me over those years, which I play at full volume with the roof off of the truck. Apart from Spike Milligan and the crew giving me the best laughs still, it’s staggeringly confused looks on the faces of North Americans when they hear it that makes it so worthwhile. The loss of such an innovative and brave humour, along with the clear reminder of the simplicity that is brilliant comedy, is so sadly missed…but I’ll still grin from ear-to-ear when I hear “Whant is it Enccles?”…
Ian J., Canada

Spike was funny, yes but more than that he was a man of deep humanity. His real voice comes out in his poetry. The world is poorer today! RIP JH, New Jersey, USA
J Herber, USA

I can’t help but wonder what he would make of all these tributes to him.

Laurence Elijah, France

Spike was quite simply the Godfather of British comedy. Comics and writers owe careers to his influence, he created modern surreal humour and made it accessible for all. I can’t help but wonder what he would make of all these tributes to him, I’m sure he would think of us all as goons. So long Mr. Ning Nang Nong.
Laurence Elijah, France

When I was but a shaver, my dad (who served with Spike in the artillery) and my uncle (who did not) would set up a scratchy pirate tape of the Goon Show on a sadly decrepit tape machine and sit writhing in helpless laughter for hours while I sat dumbstruck. Years later I sat in a similar state watching Monty Python, and finally realized the debt owed to the Goons, and the King of the Goons in particular. RIP, Spike, you’ll never be forgotten.
Laurence H, Canada

Spike and the Goons will forever have a place in my heart. Sometimes they were the only thing that could guarantee a smile on my face. I met Spike at a book signing a few years ago and was sorry to see how frail he looked. As I met him I said, “Hello Spike, how’re you doing, mate?” His reply was “How am I doing what, mate?” That was Spike all right. I’ll treasure the memories and recordings, and the books that now bear Spike’s very own signature. Thanks for all you’ve given us buddy, we’re in your debt forever. Demand that second opinion!
Noel Jones, England

I’ve held Spike up as a role model for years. I was diagnosed with Manic Depression when I was 21 and ever since I’ve worked on the premise that if Spike can be as funny, as brilliant and as unique as he is, then so can I! An inspiration through good times and bad – I’ll miss him.
H, UK

He hated people who only thought of him as a Goon.

Philip Cass, UAE

They have deaded him!
I had the great fortune to interview Spike many years ago when I was a young reporter on the Rockhampton Morning Bulletin in Australia. I was only supposed to spend half an hour with him, but he asked me if I knew where he could get a good cup of tea and a lamington, so I took him down to a place on the banks of the Fitzroy and we sat for hours talking about God, whales and how much he hated people who only thought of him as a Goon. After he had complained at length about autograph hunters, I said: “So you won’t mind signing my copy of Small Dreams of a Scorpion, then?” And he did! My favourite memory of his time in Rockhampton – apart from a very funny stage show – was when he met the mayor, who began: “Mr Milligan, I’ve always been a great fan of the British..” To which Spike replied: “Well, I’m Irish, and we blow the buggers up!” Lux aerternum, Spike.
Philip Cass, United Arab Emirates

Our fondest memory is seeing Spike live in Bristol – he did one scene all on his own and the only words he uttered were “Oh dear” over and over again – the whole theatre were rocking in the aisles. God bless you Spike and sleep well old soldier.
John & Kathy Spiers, England

Brings a lump to the throat this news. The man is responsible for many side-splitting, tears streaming, stomach aching bouts of laughter. An incredibly funny man, who will never be forgotten.
Keith Ellis, England

I once met Spike briefly at a book signing… he had a presence that was amazing… he signed my book… looked up at me and said… “I wish my name wasn’t so bloody long!”. Milligan has been an inspiration and a hero and I am sad to hear of his passing. All there is to say is: “He was the Famous Eccles!”
John Homer, England

Everything stopped (including homework) when the Goons were on.

Trevor Armstrong, Canada

The Goon Show shaped my generation’s sense of humour and was the seed for what became the best radio and comedy in the world. Everything stopped (including homework) when the Goons were on, although Mother thought they were “disgusting”. It’s so sad that we have lost Spike Milligan, the last of the Goons, but the legacy lives on. I will play some of my Goon tapes tonight and over the next few weeks. I’ll turn up the volume so that Spike and the others can hear them.
Trevor Armstrong, Canada

I was one of the 1950s generation that grew up listening to The Goon Show on a very crackly and hissy wireless. The zany humour was the highlight of the week and for the following week school lessons were punctuated by our imitations of Eccles, Bluebottle, Neddy etc. Spike Milligan had the genius to present fantasy comedy to the world in a way that appealed to children and grown ups alike. Spike’s genius lives on in the shows and he will never be forgotten by those his humour touched.
Dr Courtnay Sayer, UK

Proof of his talent lies in the fact that Spike’s wit resonates as much with younger people as it does with the generation who grew up listening to the original broadcasts of the Goon Show. My granddad, my dad and myself will miss all miss him very much.
Tracy Lee, UK

He never had to stoop to crudity, smut or innuendo

Nick Roberts, UK

Spike Milligan will be sorely missed by all those who loved his individual and eccentric style. Comedians of today would do well to learn a lesson from this master, he never had to stoop to rudity, crudity, smut or innuendo to entertain his audience. Heartfelt condolences to all his family and friends.
Nick Roberts, UK

I have 5 teenagers in my home who have all been raised on tapes and CDs of the Goon Show. Often there are hilarious moments when one or other or all of them will go into some part of inverse logic from a script. As long as that keeps happening in homes all over the world Spikes legacy will never die. For me the funniest moment was when Milligoon was being interviewed with Jerry Lewis on an E. Andrews talk Show. Not to be outdone Lewis was telling a funny story of his own. At the end of his story he said that he “had never been so insulted”. Whereupon Spike quick as a flash said “Oh come now sir you must have been – with a face like that!”…….Keep giving them hell Spike wherever you are!!
SP, England

If it wasn’t for the number of days in between, Spike and I would have shared the same birthday. I saw him perform for two and a half hours in the Lyric theatre three years ago. At the end he asked for questions: I asked “What was the best day of your life?” and he replied “The day I was born”. I also quite liked his animal rights attitude. Sometimes Milligan took his crusades to almost unbelievable lengths. In 1986, he was thrown out of Harrods when he tried to stuff 28lb of spaghetti down the mouth of the food hall manager. “I told him it might give him some idea of how a goose feels being force-fed maize to make pate de fois gras. Everyone looked stunned and their faces fell.” RIP Spike – at least Harry doesn’t have to sing at your funeral – I know this was worrying you….
Dominic Hill, UK

Spike’s book “Puckoon” is the only book I’ve ever read which made me laugh out loud so much and often my wife banned me from reading it in bed. The man was a genius and I shall sorely miss his immense talent.
Tony Fielding-Raby, UK

Milligan’s humour required no apprenticeship

Dave Barter, UK

As a child I spent hours listening to my father’s Goon show records. I grew up reading his novels and memoirs and laugh as much at the age of 35 as I did when 10 years old. Milligan’s humour required no apprenticeship – he truly made countless generations laugh
Dave Barter, UK

Today is a sad day. I read Spike’s war memoirs when I was growing up (and have re-read them many times since), they are still the funniest books by far I have ever read, and very poignant in parts too…inspirational. People often refer to genius, I believe in Spike’s case it is truly warranted. Peace Spike. And Thank You.

Andy Cossey, UK

My life was changed forever when I read “Adolf Hitler…” aged 13. His war memoirs are, by turns, hilarious and utterly heart-rending. They convey in a way no other books do, the reality of war, the training, camaraderie, boredom, high-jinks, fear, loss and shattered minds and bodies left at the end. In my opinion the six (or seven) books in his “trilogy” are the finest war memoirs ever written.
Chae Strathie, Scotland

My wife once asked Spike how long he had been in India. He replied “five foot ten and a half inches”! God Bless, you lovely man.
Gordon Stead, UK

The world seems a less humorous place today, Moriarty.

Colin Chyc, UK

The world seems a less humorous place today, Moriarty. One of my most vivid memories of Sir Milligan’s TV moments, was shown in the early eighties on the Beeb. A sepia photo of a Victorian-esque Spike, appeared on the screen with a mournful commentary about his sad passing, (my father and myself both looked at each other, jaws dropped, sad and dumbstruck) eventually the photo comes to life as Spike says his new series will be starting shortly. Dark… but very funny stuff…… If only your image and voice had done the same again today when I first heard through the web….. Thanks, Eccles for so many laughs.
Colin Chyc, UK

We have lost a great man, who brought smiles to all our faces, one of the funniest men of comedy. He touched so many hearts and was loved to many. A man of great character, identity, charisma and knowledge. We will miss him so much. Peace be with you.
David Singh-Roath, United Kingdom

I am very sorry to hear that Spike Milligan has died. A brilliant mind, a kindly man, and very funny. Puckoon is the funniest book I have ever read. And for me he was the star in The Life of Brian. Do you remember the scene? May the peace of the Lord be always with you. And say hi to my mum.
Charles O., USA

Goodbye dear old King of gentle madness. There will be a huge black hole where you have been. Even your own epitaph raised a smile. “There, I told you I was ill!” RIP but not until you’ve had a corking reunion with the gang! xx
Juliet, Cornwall

Great idiot and a great loss.
Ken Stanway, England

I saw Spike live on stage about 20 years ago. I have always maintained that his performance was the funniest thing I have ever seen. His fast delivery never gave you time to catch your breath. Tremendous. The best!
Simon Roberts, England

Spike appeared to me to be a man extremely in tune with the human race which he showed so clearly through his natural, crazy humour. He never lost touch with the childishness which people seem to forget they have. I only hope that there are many others like him. My thoughts are with his family who must miss him greatly & be so proud of him.
Kate Nash, England

My dad introduced me to Spike’s memoirs and the Goons in 1989. Spike has been a huge influence in my life and will continue to be so. Thank you Sir.
Geoff Topping, UK

The humour he invented for the Goons was refreshingly anarchic

B. Whitfield, UK

I have never been moved to send an internet tribute to anyone, but Spike Milligan, being an exceptional human being, deserves to be the exception.

At a time when Britain was dull and strait-laced, the humour he invented for the Goons was refreshingly anarchic and inspirational. I am only one of millions fortunate enough to have grown up appreciating Spike’s brilliance and watching it evolve. Utterly original and bravely pioneering, his work is even more astounding in the light of his dreadful inner torment. Yet Spike could even laugh at the devils which plagued him, as his series of war books prove. They are yet another example of his skill with words and concepts. Spike Milligan was surprising, sometimes inflammatory but consistently and infectiously funny.
B. Whitfield, UK

To lose any of the following, the most original comedy writer, a great poet, or wonderful novelists is sad. To lose them all together in one man is a tragedy. The Goons reunion is complete. RIP Spine Milligram
Brendan Johnson, UK

Very sad to learn that Spike passed away. Pardon my English, it is not perfect, I still would like to express the joy and comfort Spike and his crazy ways of setting the Human Mind for Humour even abroad. For many, many years I adored the, at that time, tapes of the Goons. Loved his Limericks and also books like Hitler, and my part in his downfall. Q was regretfully never on Dutch TV. Now in modern days and thanks to your BBC shop, I obtained last year the complete collection of the Goons. My most famous scene ? Napolions Piano, finally found in Ze Louvre…but they had to saw the poles off, off the piano to get it through the door… The sound of sawing follows. 1,2,3,4, four poles? Isnt that strange for a piano? In the backgound Eccles remarks : Hey, I keep falling down. He’res to you Spike, for keeping me on my feet the last 40 years, Sane in an Insane World.
Jos van der Woensel, The Netherlands

Certainly this is the death of a great British institution, but I must confess I never found him to be the least bit funny. But, like a lot of aging comedians – he could never live up to the reputation that had arisen around him.
Emrys, UK

My favourite Milligan story: Private Eye called him a dirty little Irish pervert. He sued for libel on the grounds that he wasn’t Irish. I think he was awarded one halfpenny damages.
Andrew Clifton, Saudi Arabia

Spike was serious, sad, completely original, honest, perceptive and human
Mark, UK

Spike was serious, sad, completely original, honest, perceptive and human. I nearly wet myself in a chemistry lesson one afternoon in 1972 while sneakily reading Puckoon under the lab bench, and got it in the neck. He made me cry with laughter. He was never afraid to speak his mind, we loved him for it, and he got away with it. Everything shrank a little bit today.
Mark, UK

He never lost his appeal and never will. His beautiful absurdity transcends any generation gap. My whole family will miss you!
Steve Pine, England

What a reunion there will be in heaven tonight. I can picture it now – Sellars, Secombe, Bentine, all saying to Spike: “What kept you?”
S Lloyd, UK

He changed the way I see the world. He could make reality break into small pieces and come back together again, only funnier. I shall miss him.
Theodore Tsecouras, Athens, Greece

Genius and legend are words that are almost always thrown into any tributes on days like these, but Spike is probably the only person truly fitting their real description. He will always be missed but never forgotten.
Simon, England

The funniest man there has ever been

Vince Lee, UK

I am upset that Sir Spike is dead. It is like losing a relative. The funniest man there has ever been. He fought for our laughs. He fought for our hearts. He fought for our King and yet he will never be called Sir Spike.
Vince Lee, UK

I’m saddened to hear of Spike’s death but so grateful for all the wonderful things he has left behind. I was fortunate enough to meet him on a few occasions during my time at the BBC in the 80s. I had been a fan ever since the Goons, which I listened to during Sunday lunch as a child (thanks Mum!). He listened patiently to my “fan-babble” with a wry smile. Bon voyage Spike, and don’t forget to write. You were truly one of a kind.
Lance, USA

I never met Spike Milligan in person. But through reading, listening to and watching his various works, I have experienced much joy and laughter. I have found the inspiration of the things that make me laugh today. I have also developed a sense of the absurd. Farewell Milligan, your legacy still shines.
Rob W, UK

What can I say that has not already been said? Spike was a rare talent that can never be replaced. The younger generation will never know what they missed. When he was in his prime he was the best. Wherever he has gone now, I am sure he will already have them in hysterics.
Barrie Lindsey, England

One of the most original and funny men I have ever seen. Even in old age, he never lost his sharp wit and always seemed to have an answer that you didn’t expect. Goodbye Spike. You will be missed.
Neil, England

I met Spike in the 1970s when I was working at Claude Gill Bookshop in London and he came for a book signing. While I was daydreaming on the cash register after the rush had gone, I heard this cackle of laughter behind me and felt something tickling my back. I turned round to see Spike signing my back where my jumper had ridden up and he was laughing with glee! A total loony, truly unique. There will never be anyone to take his place. Thanks for all the laughs Spike.
Lesley Levenson, England

We’ve lost a real one-off

Oliver, UK

Spike lived near my parents on the side of the hill facing the sea near Rye. It is an unpretentious house, not grand in any way but having this wonderful uninterrupted view across the valley towards Winchelsea. That was Spike, unpretentious just pure originality. In this world, we need his particular brand of wit more than ever – we’ve lost a real one-off.
Oliver, UK

Dear Spike – you made us laugh, you made us cry, you made us think. Your three-fold legacy will run and run. You also gave us the world’s most impossible sound effect – man being hit over the head with a sock full of custard.
Paul Walker, UK

I still remember seeing Spike Milligan and Woody Allen together on the Eamon Andrews show. Woody was asked for an interesting story and began slowly, “I stubbed my toe once..” Like lightning Spike interjected with, “I never knew you smoked it!” The audience collapsed with laughter while Woody struggled to come to terms with the English idiom.
Mark, UK

He gave much to the local community

David White, Australia

Spike will be missed by all who he touched with his zany brand of madness. For many years he lived at his parents’ place at “Woy Woy” 80 kms north of Sydney which was in his own words “the world’s only above-ground cemetery”. He gave much to the local community and they have created a special library in his honour. Now all the Goons are in heaven one suspects they will cook up some adventure to return to earth to lighten us all up once more!
David White, Australia

I met Spike Milligan in 1973 when I was 11. We’d been to see him perform and after the show, my brother and I rushed to the stage door to get his autograph. He welcomed us into his dressing room, sat us down, and wrote and drew pictures on our programmes. I’ll always remember his kindness to two little kids. What a great man he was!
Miranda, UK

I had the good fortune to see Spike perform live, during his 80th year celebrations. He had the audience hysterical with laughter and without exception they adored him. This is how I’ll remember Spike. A very funny man, who will live in the memories of future generations. God bless you Spike.
Susan Morgan, Northern Ireland

I wrote to Spike when I was at university asking him whether he’d agree to be our music society’s honorary patron – and he did. He had a fabulously agile mind and a tremendous ear for language. Thanks, Spike.
Stuart, England

A sad loss of a great and talented man. I remember a story that my father told me when he was a bobby in London back in the 50´s. Walking the beat down one of the less known streets of the West End, he came across Spike sat on the roof of a parked car watching the world go by. When I asked my father what he did, he replied – for Spike was already a legend then – what can you do with a man like that, he was Spike Milligan, I just carried on by. Wonderful.
John Wilkinson, Spain

The entertainment industry and the world will miss him
David Lee, UK

I had the honour to present Spike in pantomime at Tunbridge Wells some years ago. A true genius of comedy and a gentleman of the theatre. The entertainment industry and the world will miss him.
David Lee, UK

One of my favourite Spike Milligan moments was when he was being interviewed by Jonathan Ross and Spike looking very old and frail was rambling along about absolute nonsense, as he does, when Jonathan asked him, “Spike…what are you on?” He replied without even missing a beat, “About 40 words minute” Maybe the phrase should read ‘Sharp as a Spike’. Thank you for all the laughter you have given and will still give the world. You will be missed but never forgotten.
Stephen McCarrey, Scotland

The best comment I heard about Spike was in an interview given by Harry Secombe about the Goons. At one stage Harry said, ” Oh, we were all in the slipstream of Spike’s genius really”. God bless my friend! They’ll all be there fawning at your funeral so you’ll have the last laugh!!
Andrew Richards, England

Spike Milligan, who died February 27 aged 83, was the single most important figure of post-war British comedy. His radio scripts for The Goon Show, his television series Q, his novels and war memoirs have been cited as an influence by practically every significant innovator in comedy over the last four decades. Though virtually unknown across the Atlantic, contemporary performers as varied as Eddie Izzard and Robin Williams have acknowledged that his legacy not only influenced them, but also inspired their own development.

Terence Alan (‘Spike’) Milligan was born of an Irish father and English mother in India in 1918. His first 16 years were spent under the waning days of British colonial rule in India. As an Irishman Spike’s father, a captain in the Royal Artillery, was himself a colonial subject (all of Ireland being then under British rule).

The legacy of British colonialism on Milligan should not be underestimated. Although the family returned to England in 1933 (after a brief spell in Burma), Spike retained the sensibility of an outsider, an iconoclast and a rebel. (He remained one literally. With the establishment of the Irish Republic the British government rescinded the British passports given to children of Irish-born British citizens. Milligan found himself classed as stateless, and took Irish citizenship, although he continued to live in England).

Though by no means politically articulate, his experiences of colonialism instilled in him a loathing for the hypocrisy of authority and the routine absurdity of officialdom. Speaking of The Goon Show he said, “I wasn’t consciously aware of it, but I had had enough of the British empire. The Goons gave me a chance to knock people my father and I had to call ‘Sir’. Colonels. Chaps … with educated voices who were really bloody scoundrels.”

Living in south London and working in a factory, Spike was already looking to a career in entertainment. A talented musician, he played the guitar, ukulele and trumpet. He was listening to jazz from the United States (a passion that stayed with him for life, as anyone who ever heard him discuss Miles Davis will testify). He was also looking to the latest in Hollywood comedy. He spoke later of the frustration he felt when people asked him to explain why he liked the Marx Brothers more than much of the contemporary British comedy.

Out of the rugged music hall of the early years of the century, British comedy was already well on its way towards becoming a staid and safe variety theatre. The wildly anarchic chaos created by the Marx Brothers at their best was a breath of fresh air, and their contempt for authority figures struck a chord with Milligan. This was also true for many of Milligan’s near contemporaries. Morecambe and Wise, for example, incorporated more than merely Groucho’s stoop into their routines, as they became the most popular comedians on television. But Spike always took his inspiration in a more anarchic direction. Not for him the celebrity-studded Christmas specials. His preferred vehicle was a full-frontal assault on the “commonsense” view of the world that places him in a tradition of “nonsense” and surreal humour with a pedigree stretching back to Edward Lear.

Beyond this, however, what changed Spike and gave a particularly acerbic quality to his comic vision was his experience during the Second World War. Milligan did his basic training as a gunner at the south coast resort of Bexhill, where he encountered more of the useless bureaucracy that was to be his favourite target for the rest of his life. In the first volume of his war memoirs, Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall (1972), he described his journey in a way that encapsulates his vision of the world:

“The RTO gave me a travel warrant, a white feather and a picture of Hitler marked ‘This is your enemy’. I checked every compartment, but he wasn’t on the train.”

On a tour of duty that took him to north Africa and Italy, Milligan began organising concerts and performances through the forces’ entertainment service, ENSA. His sense of the ridiculous was already struggling for expression. It was an absurdity teetering on the tragic—he was severely shell-shocked by a bombardment that almost killed him—and it cemented the uneasy combination of pessimism and compassion which was to define his work.

Returning to London after the war, he ran into his old army pal, Harry Secombe, then working as a stand-up comic. He had met Secombe in Africa. A field gun had bounced past his tent, followed some minutes later by Secombe asking, “Anybody seen my gun?” They started socialising with Peter Sellers, taking it in turns to entertain each other. This was the origin of The Goon Show.

At a time when radio comedy in Britain was often extremely mannered and driven by catchphrases, The Goon Show was a huge leap. There had been other imaginative radio comedy before, but nothing as complete and sustained as the Goons. Plundering the BBC effects resources and music libraries, as well as having two brilliant comedy voices in Sellers and Milligan, The Goon Show created a world that was recognisably opposed to the petty bureaucracy of government, the BBC, and indeed much of the existing state of the planet.

Milligan said in 1995: “Peter Sellers and I saw ourselves as comic Bolsheviks … We wanted to destroy all that had come before and to create something new.” There is some hyperbole in this, but the leap of imagination was certainly enormous. Here were villains selling fire insurance on the English Channel, prison exchanges that involved sailing Dartmoor prison out into the Atlantic, plans to blow up guerrillas with exploding pianos, and a wave of terror created by a batter-pudding hurler.

Eccles (Milligan) was bumblingly stupid in the face of adversity, while Grytpype-Thynne (Sellers) was exactly the sort of penniless aristocratic con-man who epitomised the last days of the Raj. At the time The Goon Show had a staggeringly new logic. Looked at in the light of Milligan’s war memoirs, it seems almost documentary-like in its examination of the decline of the old social mores and pretensions in the postwar era: (“That’s a nice tie Eccles.” “Yer, it’s a Cambridge tie.” “I didn’t know you’d been to Cambridge. What did you do there?” “I bought a tie”).

Milligan was to be diagnosed as suffering from manic depression. The stress of producing the high standard of 26 shows a year for nine years took its toll on him. His method of working was very intensive. A few other writers assisted him, but he wrote most of the script and took responsibility for the end product. He suffered repeated breakdowns, and was hospitalised several times. Milligan himself saw the intensity of his commitment as having contributed to the success of the show: “I’d had a terrible nervous breakdown—two, three, four, five nervous breakdowns, one after the other. The Goon Show did it. That’s why they were so good.” Monty Python’s Michael Palin has commented, “It was more important to him to work that way, and thus preserve his individuality and independence, than to compromise and become a paler version of Spike Milligan.”

He was to spend the rest of his life coping with bouts of profound depression. He had also acquired a reputation for being “difficult”, which was to dog him for the rest of his life. He had to solicit work. Bernard Miles, an actor-manager who had appeared on The Goon Show, took him into the theatre. Perhaps the most Milliganesque of his theatrical performances was in an adaptation of Ivan Goncharov’s Oblomov. Departing quickly from the text, and indeed the plot, Milligan effectively reworked the show so drastically that it was retitled Son of Oblomov for its highly successful tour. At the same time, and exemplifying his combination of humour and despair, he co-wrote a comedy set after the third world war, The Bed-Sitting Room, which later became a film of the same name.

Spike initially resisted a move to television, arguing that it did not give him the same freedom as radio. When he did make the move, with the various Q series, he was to prove just as inventive, just as determined to stretch the boundaries of the form, as he had been on radio. The quality may have been more variable, as was inevitable with a show of sketches rather than one hanging from even the most tenuous of narrative threads, but he was still producing work that was funnier and more extreme than anybody else. John Cleese has spoken of seeing Q4 and realising that Spike had already gone further than Monty Python had been planning.

With Q Spike continued to challenge the accepted comedic. His sketches often had no finish or punch-line, ending with the cast heading towards the camera intoning, “What are we going to do now?” or simply merging into another completely unrelated skit. He never lost the sense of anarchic spontaneity that characterised his work. The refusal to compromise continued throughout his career (no mean feat in itself) and led him into repeated conflicts with the media authorities. He harboured a justifiable grudge against the BBC for never repeating the Q series, although they continue to make money out of the highly lucrative Goon Show reissues.

Spike started producing his highly successful war memoirs in 1972. The best of them (Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall, and Rommel? Gunner Who?) capture brilliantly his bitter laughter at the meaninglessness of the war, and also the absolute cruelty and horror of the suffering he saw. He produced books—memoirs, children’s books, poetry, and novels—with the same manic intensity he brought to his performance.

It is this, I think, which is the key to his popularity. He never let up in his pursuit of the absurd. When he was no longer being commissioned to make his own programmes, he became a staple of the talk show circuit. Whereas other comics sometimes ended up there through the frittering away of their talent (Peter Cook), Spike remained true to his own vision. He remained unpredictable.

Some comics have spoken of Milligan’s enjoyment of his own comedy, but this is not quite the case. What made him laugh in the anecdotes he told, in the verbal barrages he constructed, was not a smug pleasure at his own cleverness. It was, rather, his continuing bafflement at the absurdity of the world. Later in life Groucho Marx stopped doing puns, which he came to think of as an unsophisticated form of wit. Spike, on the other hand, delighted in what he called the “minefield” of the English language.

It was this which drove him into the wonderful silliness of his children’s verse ( On the Ning Nang Nong was recently voted Britain’s favourite comic poem), but also kept him tilting headlong at more serious targets almost in the manner of Flann O’Brien. Puckoon, his best novel, begins with the madness of drawing the border for the partition of Ireland. It was his sensitivity that drove him to compassion, and also to his splendidly irrational rage. It was not in any way politically articulated, hence the wild range of causes both progressive and reactionary—his support for green issues, for example, included advocacy of compulsory birth control in the undeveloped countries—he championed with great passion. His campaigns were almost always conducted in a way that would only occur to him. Protesting against cruelty to geese in the production of paté de foie gras, he attempted to chain the delicatessen buyer of Harrods down and force-feed him spaghetti.

When Spike described himself as a clown, he was technically accurate but there is a deeper significance to his work. He was a clown because he saw no other way of representing the foolishness of the world as he saw it. His clowning was humane and compassionate precisely because of the inhumanity and unreasonableness he was railing against. It did not change in intensity because he did not believe that the world had fundamentally changed. When Harry Secombe, for example, had become a presenter of religious programmes, Spike was making a guest appearance in Monty Python’s Life of Brian. Even though Prince Charles, an enthusiastic fan of the Goons, adopted Spike, Spike nevertheless proclaimed his republican sympathies openly and described Charles, with some affection, as a “groveling little bastard”.

Spike Milligan was only feted on his own terms. It is this single-minded pursuit of his own path that marks him out as a major artist who will be so sorely missed.

Greg Dyke, BBC Director-General, said: “Spike Milligan was a comic genius. As the writing brains behind The Goon Show, he was the founder of modern comedy.”

Jenny Abramsky, Director of BBC Radio & Music: “He was a genius. One of the critical people who put radio comedy on the map. He was unmatched anywhere.”

Alan Yentob, Director of BBC Drama and Entertainment: “Spike Milligan was a comic genius. His imagination knew no boundaries. He was the soul of the Goons and the inspiration for generations of writers and performers from Monty Python to A League of Gentlemen. To the very end he maintained his capacity to charm, to fascinate and infuriate. Spike was unique.”

Jon Plowman, BBC Head of Comedy Entertainment: “It is very sad. He was one of the true greats whose influence can be seen in a huge amount of comedy we do today.”

Rupert Gavin, Chief Executive, BBC Worldwide, said: “Spike Milligan was an extraordinary and unique comic talent, that will be sorely missed by millions of appreciative viewers and listeners all around the world.”