![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() |
![]() |
You are in: Entertainment: TV and Radio | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() |
![]() |
Sunday, 31 March, 2002, 15:35 GMT 16:35 UK
Comedian Barry Took dies
![]() Took helped write radio comedy Round the Horne
Comedian and scriptwriter Barry Took has died aged 73.
Took, who helped create classic radio comedy Round the Horne, had been suffering from cancer and died in his sleep at a nursing home in London.
He died in the early hours of Easter Sunday, according to his youngest daughter, Elinor Holbrook. Took, also responsible for bringing the Monty Python team to the BBC, recently said: "There are people worse off than me. I've had a very long run. I'm fine really. I'm just old." He will be remembered with fondness for his sense of humour, Mrs Holbrook, 33, said.
He died at 0550 BST, she said, remembering her father by saying: "He was always funny, he had a great sense of humour." He was described as one of the pioneers of radio comedy by people in the industry on Sunday. "He was a great comedy scriptwriter who will be indelibly linked to classic hits like Round the Horne and Take It From Here," according to Alan Yentob, director of drama, entertainment and children's programmes at the BBC.
"It is one of the few really dated radio shows that doesn't date," he told BBC Radio 4's The World this Weekend. "It still makes people laugh - younger people who weren't acquainted with it first time round. It is just so surreal." Cryer also credited Took with developing new comedy acts like Monty Python. "He was like an elder statesman to the younger breed who were around at the time. He was very good at putting people together and getting something going," he said. Took started his career as a stand-up comedian, but soon formed a writing partnership with Marty Feldman, who he had met while performing at a variety show at the old York Empire.
It starred Kenneth Horne and Kenneth Williams. Took also wrote a number of other radio shows, later moving to television with comedies including Bootsie and Snudge, which starred Alfie Bass and Bill Fraser. He became the voice of viewers when presenting TV's Points of View, and chaired BBC Radio 4's The News Quiz. In it, he kept the panel in order and the show proved such a success that it provided the basis for TV's Have I Got News For You? Took is survived by three other children - Mrs Holbrook's half-brothers Barry, 50, and David, 40, and her half-sister Susan, 46. |
![]() |
See also:
![]() Internet links:
![]() The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Top TV and Radio stories now:
![]() ![]() Links to more TV and Radio stories are at the foot of the page.
![]() |
![]() |
Links to more TV and Radio stories
|
![]() |
![]() |
^^ Back to top News Front Page | World | UK | UK Politics | Business | Sci/Tech | Health | Education | Entertainment | Talking Point | In Depth | AudioVideo ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To BBC Sport>> | To BBC Weather>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © MMIII | News Sources | Privacy |