I was really saddened this morning to hear that Eric Sykes has just passed away, aged 86.  He was one of the great British comedians, writing The Goon Show scripts with (and sometimes without) Spike Milligan, contributing to other radio comedies such as Hancock's Half Hour, etc.  But his most brilliant work was on TV and one of my favourite comedy sketches was The Plank ... pure comedic genius. 

Oh no, that is sad news. Thanks for letting us know Tardis.

Sad week, Andy Griffith's gone too.

I bought the DVD of The Plank recently, what a classic!  Sykes was one of the many now gone who will never be replaced.  That era seems gone forever.

The full 45-minutes of The Plank can be viewed on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2RoudtrVv8

Eric Sykes & Andy Griffith, both in the same week. Makes you think dunnit.

The full 45-minutes of The Plank can be viewed on youtube:

This must be the origin of the planking craze. Don't hear much about that these days fortunately.

The Plank was great, but i think I  remember him best with Hattie Jacques in Sykes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcbWPxXAYa8&feature=related

The Plank was great, but i think I remember him best with Hattie Jacques in Sykes.

I agree that the comedic partnership between Eric Sykes and Hattie Jacques was extremely funny and enjoyable. Interestingly, in the original version of The Plank (made in 1967 and co-starring Tommy Cooper), Hattie Jacques had a cameo role, as the married woman looking down on the street from the upstairs window.

I've just finished watching an old Eric Sykes interview on the internet.  Eric explained that, although there was a basic plot, the scenes of the 1967 version of The Plank  were just made up as the camera rolled.  That is pure comic genius.

Of course, the later version (1979) copied everything that was in the 1967 version, down to all the actor's movements and body language.

Earle Qaeda at July 5, 2012 at 12:14 AM

Eric Sykes & Andy Griffith, both in the same week. Makes you think dunnit.

Its called aging Earle, an unfortunate design flaw in homosapiens. 

Unless you're a Time Lord it affects all of us.

Unless you're a Time Lord it affects all of us.

It probably affects Time Lords too, eventually (if they have run out of regenerations).

Back on the topic of Eric Sykes.  One of his daughters was interviewed on UK TV recently.  She showed the TV audience an old framed photo, probably from the late 1800s, that her father had on a book case in his office.  Thinking it was a photo of his grandparents or great-grandparents on their wedding day, visitors often commented on the close family resemblance to Eric.  Eric never let on to his guests that he had found the framed photo in a second-hand store, thought it was a nice photo and frame, so bought it.  The couple in the photo were complete strangers whose identity Eric didn't know, but he always went along with his guests belief that they were Eric's ancestors.  Always the comedian!

Miss Pat at July 4, 2012 at 10:45 PM

I only just watched The Plank again last year and was completely surprised at how much it still made me laugh. Good that he lived to a ripe old age and good that he left a brilliant legacy. I hope the BBC have the decency to put together a quality rememberance show (and that we get it here).

I hope so too Miss Pat.

The BBC aired a TV drama about Hattie Jacques, appropriately called "Hattie" in 2011.  It received rave reviews, including one from her son who said it was a startingly accurate portrayal of his mother's life.   I hope this makes it onto the ABC too.

Didn't Eric Sykes also have a hand in "the Chain" about people moving house?  Not as good as the Plank, of course, but v funny...Sad he's gone.....

lol79 at July 6, 2012 at 12:44 AM

Didn't Eric Sykes also have a hand in "the Chain" about people moving house?  Not as good as the Plank, of course, but v funny...Sad he's gone.....

Not sure about that lol79.  Someone else can probably help there.  I've just copied and pasted the titles to episodes from "Sykes and A ..."  comedy series that starred Eric Sykes and Hattie Jacques:

Series One (1960)

1."Sykes and a Telephone" (29 January 1960)

2."Sykes and a Burglary" (5 February 1960)

3."Sykes and a New Car" (12 February 1960)

4."Sykes and an Uncle" (19 February 1960)

5."Sykes and a Lodger" (26 February 1960)

The entire series is missing from the BBC Archives.

[edit] Series Two (1960)

1."Sykes and a Movie Camera" (11 August 1960)

2."Sykes and a Library Book" (18 August 1960)

3."Sykes and a Holiday" (25 August 1960)

4."Sykes and an Egg" (1 September 1960)

5."Sykes and a Brave Deed" (8 September 1960)

6."Sykes and a Cheque Book" (15 September 1960)

Only 'Sykes and a Holiday' still exists in the BBC Archives; the rest of this series is missing.

[edit] Series Three (1961)

1."Sykes and a Window" (4 January 1961)

2."Sykes and a Salesman" (11 January 1961)

3."Sykes and a Fancy Dress" (18 January 1961)

4."Sykes and a Bath" (25 January 1961)

5."Sykes and a Marriage" (1 February 1961)

6."Sykes and an Ankle" (8 February 1961)

Episodes 1, 3 and 5 are missing from the BBC Archives.

[edit] Series Four (1961)

1."Sykes and a Mission" (14 April 1961)

2."Sykes and a Stranger" (21 April 1961)

3."Sykes and a Cat" (28 April 1961)

4."Sykes and a Bandage" (5 May 1961)

5."Sykes and a Suspicion" (12 May 1961)

6."Sykes and a Surprise" (19 May 1961)

Episodes 1, 4, 5 and 6 are missing from the BBC Archives.

[edit] Series Five (1962)

1."Sykes and a Gamble" (30 January 1962)

2."Sykes and a Job" (6 February 1962)

3."Sykes and a Boat" (13 February 1962)

4."Sykes and a Journey" (20 February 1962)

5."Sykes and an Elephant" (27 February 1962)

6."Sykes and a Rolls" (6 March 1962)

7."Sykes and a Haunting" (13 March 1962)

8."Sykes and a Dream" (20 March 1962)

All the episodes of this series still exist in the BBC Archives.

[edit] Short Special (1962)

"Sykes and his Sister" (part of Christmas Night with the Stars; 25 December 1962). This edition of Christmas Night with the Stars also included shorts from Steptoe and Son and The Rag Trade (missing)

[edit] Series Six (1963)

1."Sykes and a Fog" (21 February 1963)

2."Sykes and a Phobia" (28 February 1963)

3."Sykes and a Camping Trip" (7 March 1963)

4."Sykes and a Picture" (14 March 1963)

5."Sykes and a Mouse" (21 March 1963)

6."Sykes and a Walk" (28 March 1963)

7."Sykes and a Referee" (4 April 1963)

8."Sykes and a Pub" (11 April 1963)

Episodes 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 and 8 are missing from the BBC Archives.

[edit] Series Seven (1964)

1."Sykes and a Box" (25 February 1964)

2."Sykes and a Plank" (3 March 1964)

3."Sykes and a Search" (10 March 1964)

4."Sykes and a Following" (17 March 1964)

5."Sykes and a Menace" (24 March 1964)

6."Sykes and a Log Cabin" (31 March 1964)

7."Sykes and a Band" (7 April 1964)

Episodes 3, 5 and 7 are missing from the BBC Archives.

[edit] Series Eight (1964)

1."Sykes and Two Birthdays" (30 October 1964)

2."Sykes and a Hypnotist" (6 November 1964)

3."Sykes and a Protest" (13 November 1964)

4."Sykes and a Bird" (20 November 1964)

5."Sykes and a War" (27 November 1964)

6."Sykes and a Cold" (4 December 1964)

Episodes 1, 3 and 4 are missing from the BBC Archives.

[edit] Series Nine (1965)

1."Sykes and a Mountain" (5 October 1965)

2."Sykes and a Deb" (12 October 1965)

3."Sykes and a Business" (19 October 1965)

4."Sykes and a Golfer" (26 October 1965)

5."Sykes and a Big Brother" (2 November 1965)

6."Sykes and a Uniform" (9 November 1965)

7."Sykes and a Nest Egg" (16 November 1965)

Episodes 1, 2, 3, 5 and 7 are missing from the BBC Archives.

In the 1970s, Eric Sykes had another successful TV comedy series called "Sykes".  This was after the death of Hattie Jacques.  I'll paste the episode list in the next message.

The "Sykes" episodes:

Series one (1972)

1."Burglary" (14 September 1972)

2."Uncle" (21 September 1972)

3."Walk" (28 September 1972)

4."Menace" (5 October 1972)

5."Boat" (12 October 1972)

6."Stranger" (19 October 1972)

7."Football" (26 October 1972)

8."Job" (2 November 1972)

9."Ankle" (9 November 1972)

10."Mouse" (16 November 1972)

11."Dream" (23 November 1972)

12."Marriage" (30 November 1972)

13."Cat" (7 December 1972)

14."Journey" (14 December 1972) (This episode only exists as a b/w telerecording.)

15."Lodger" (21 December 1972)

16."Cafe" (28 December 1972)

[edit] Series two (1973)

1."An Engagement" (10 September 1973)

2."Bus" (17 September 1973)

3."Spy Ring (24 September 1973)

4."Golf" (1 October 1973)

5."Rolls" (8 October 1973)

6."Peeping Tom" (15 October 1973)

7."Fancy Dress" (22 October 1973)

8."Window Smasher" (29 October 1973)

9."Gamble" (5 November 1973)

10."Uniform" (12 November 1973)

11."Bird" (19 November 1973)

12."Protest" (26 November 1973)

13."Salesman" (3 December 1973)

14."Haunting" (10 December 1973)

15."Nest Egg" (17 December 1973)

[edit] Series three (1974)

1."The Stolen Bentley" (17 October 1974)

2."Holiday In Bogsea" (24 October 1974)

3."The Pub" (31 October 1974)

4."The Band" (7 November 1974)

5."Two Birthdays" (14 November 1974)

6."A Bandage" (21 November 1974)

7."Log Cabin" (28 November 1974)

8."The Fog" (5 December 1974)

[edit] Series four (1975)

1."Commercial" (24 October 1975)

2."Ski-ing" (31 October 1975)

3."Caravan" (7 November 1975)

4."Reporter" (14 November 1975)

5."Marriage" (28 November 1975)

6."Night Out" (5 December 1975)

7."Christmas Party" (12 December 1975)

[edit] Series five (1976)

1."Home Movies" (11 November 1976)

2."Fishing" (18 November 1976)

3."Lodgers" (25 November 1976)

4."Holiday Camp" (2 December 1976)

5."Inventions" (9 December 1976)

6."Flashback" (16 December 1976)

7."Squatters" (23 December 1976)

8."Bath" (30 December 1976)

[edit] Christmas special (1977)

"Sykes at Christmas" (22 December 1977)

[edit] Series six (1978)

1."The Hypnotist" (4 January 1978)

2."Picket Line" (11 January 1978)

3."Football Match" (18 January 1978)

4."Decorating" (25 January 1978)

5."End of the World" (1 February 1978)

6."Television Film" (8 February 1978)

[edit] Series seven (1979)

1."The Drop Out" (5 October 1979)

2."Fanny-By-Gaslight" (12 October 1979)

3."The Stay-At-Home Holiday" (19 October 1979)

4."Bad Medicine" (26 October 1979)

5."The Insurance Money" (2 November 1979)

6."Six Million Dollar Sykes" (9 November 1979)

7."The BBC Honours Sykes" (16 November 1979)

thanks for the comprehensive list, co-incidentally, "Hattie" is being repeated on UKTV this week......

I have a lovely book by Graham McCann - spike & co - it succeeds in bringing to life inside the house of fun with milligan, sykes, galton & simpson. a great read. Eric was a very funny original darling man.

Tardis001 at July 5, 2012 at 7:19 PM

Miss Pat at July 4, 2012 at 10:45 PM

I only just watched The Plank again last year and was completely surprised at how much it still made me laugh. Good that he lived to a ripe old age and good that he left a brilliant legacy. I hope the BBC have the decency to put together a quality rememberance show (and that we get it here).

I hope so too Miss Pat.

 

The BBC aired a TV drama about Hattie Jacques, appropriately called "Hattie" in 2011.  It received rave reviews, including one from her son who said it was a startingly accurate portrayal of his mother's life.   I hope this makes it onto the ABC too.

Featuring Ruth Jones and the delectable Aidan Turner as her manipulative, demanding  "toy boy".

Found it OK but not as good as some of the reviews make out.

Ruth is always good in whatever part she plays though.

I agree, Ruth Jones is outstanding....