Roger Wilmut
Encyclopedia
Roger Wilmut is a British writer and compiler of books on British comedy. Wilmut attended Warwick School
, and began his 'day job' as studio technician for the BBC on leaving school in 1961. Wilmut claims to have drifted into a career as a writer "by accident".
Wilmut's books include The Goon Show
Companion, Tony Hancock
: Artiste, From Fringe to Flying Circus (a history of Oxbridge comedy in the sixties and seventies) and Didn't You Kill My Mother-in-law (a history of the 1980s alternative Comedy
movement in the UK).
His enthusiasm for the Goons led to the first of these books. In 1974, with the help of friends Tim Smith and Peter Copeland, he revised a list of the series' episodes supplied by the BBC, and his own earlier research, into a "much more complete typewritten list". He then sent it to Robson Books, who showed an interest. While writing the accompanying text he was "approached by the late Jimmy Grafton, who had been involved with the Goons in their early days, and had helped to get the show on the air. He suggested combining his memoirs with my book, and this is what happened, with the book being published in 1976 under the title The Goon Show Companion."
Wilmut was then signed by the agent Roger Hancock, who then commissioned him to "write a similar book about Tony Hancock
", his elder brother. The result was 1978's Tony Hancock - 'Artiste, the book for which he conducted his first interviews. Whilst considering a book on Monty Python's Flying Circus
, Roger Hancock suggested that he cover "the entire generation of comedy which arose from Oxford and Cambridge Universities after 1961". The result was From Fringe to Flying Circus.
It wasn't until 1985 that Wilmut's next book appeared, a history of theatrical variety, titled Kindly Leave The Stage. Over seventy people were interviewed for the project, with Wilmut remarking he thought he "ought to do the interviews as soon as possible in view of the age of the people involved."
In 1989 he produced Didn't You Kill My Mother-in-Law?, a history of British alternative comedy
. The book was originally the idea of Peter Rosengard, a life insurance salesman who had helped start this comedy movement by opening The Comedy Store
in London in 1979. Like Jimmy Grafton with The Goon Show Companion, the book was part memoir (this time Rosengard's), and part history of the subject by Wilmut.
Other books by Wilmut are The Illustrated Hancock, and his compiling and editing of No More Curried Eggs For Me and Son of Curried Eggs (both anthologies of scripts for the likes of Yes Minister
, The Goon Show
and Rutland Weekend Television
). He has also text edited the scripts for The Complete Beyond The Fringe
and the Monty Python's Flying Circus complete script collection Just The Words (both volumes 1 and 2).
He says of his time writing comedy books, "it was, on the whole, fun to do and well worth doing - particularly when you consider that all I was trying to do in the first place was type out a list of just one radio show."
The Guardian
had From Fringe to Flying Circus and Didn't You Kill My Mother-In-Law in its "top 10 books about comedians".
He is nowadays an avid collector of gramophone records and currently runs a podcast on the subject titled The Sound of 78s.
Warwick School
Warwick School is an independent school with boarding facilities for boys in Warwick, England, and is reputed to be the third-oldest surviving school in the country after King's School, Canterbury and St Peter's School, York; and the oldest boy's school in England...
, and began his 'day job' as studio technician for the BBC on leaving school in 1961. Wilmut claims to have drifted into a career as a writer "by accident".
Wilmut's books include The Goon Show
The Goon Show
The Goon Show was a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme...
Companion, Tony Hancock
Tony Hancock
Anthony John "Tony" Hancock was an English actor and comedian.-Early life and career:Hancock was born in Southam Road, Hall Green, Birmingham, England, but from the age of three was brought up in Bournemouth, where his father, John Hancock, who ran the Railway Hotel in...
: Artiste, From Fringe to Flying Circus (a history of Oxbridge comedy in the sixties and seventies) and Didn't You Kill My Mother-in-law (a history of the 1980s alternative Comedy
Alternative comedy
Alternative comedy is a term that originated in the 1980s for a style of comedy that makes a conscious break with the mainstream comedic style of an era, and typically avoids relying on a standardised structure of a sequence of jokes with punch lines. Patton Oswalt defines it as "comedy where the...
movement in the UK).
His enthusiasm for the Goons led to the first of these books. In 1974, with the help of friends Tim Smith and Peter Copeland, he revised a list of the series' episodes supplied by the BBC, and his own earlier research, into a "much more complete typewritten list". He then sent it to Robson Books, who showed an interest. While writing the accompanying text he was "approached by the late Jimmy Grafton, who had been involved with the Goons in their early days, and had helped to get the show on the air. He suggested combining his memoirs with my book, and this is what happened, with the book being published in 1976 under the title The Goon Show Companion."
Wilmut was then signed by the agent Roger Hancock, who then commissioned him to "write a similar book about Tony Hancock
Tony Hancock
Anthony John "Tony" Hancock was an English actor and comedian.-Early life and career:Hancock was born in Southam Road, Hall Green, Birmingham, England, but from the age of three was brought up in Bournemouth, where his father, John Hancock, who ran the Railway Hotel in...
", his elder brother. The result was 1978's Tony Hancock - 'Artiste, the book for which he conducted his first interviews. Whilst considering a book on Monty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python’s Flying Circus is a BBC TV sketch comedy series. The shows were composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines...
, Roger Hancock suggested that he cover "the entire generation of comedy which arose from Oxford and Cambridge Universities after 1961". The result was From Fringe to Flying Circus.
It wasn't until 1985 that Wilmut's next book appeared, a history of theatrical variety, titled Kindly Leave The Stage. Over seventy people were interviewed for the project, with Wilmut remarking he thought he "ought to do the interviews as soon as possible in view of the age of the people involved."
In 1989 he produced Didn't You Kill My Mother-in-Law?, a history of British alternative comedy
Alternative comedy
Alternative comedy is a term that originated in the 1980s for a style of comedy that makes a conscious break with the mainstream comedic style of an era, and typically avoids relying on a standardised structure of a sequence of jokes with punch lines. Patton Oswalt defines it as "comedy where the...
. The book was originally the idea of Peter Rosengard, a life insurance salesman who had helped start this comedy movement by opening The Comedy Store
The Comedy Store, London
The Comedy Store is a comedy club located in Soho, London, England, opened in 1979 by Don Ward and Peter Rosengard.It was named after The Comedy Store club in the United States, which Rosengard had visited the previous year...
in London in 1979. Like Jimmy Grafton with The Goon Show Companion, the book was part memoir (this time Rosengard's), and part history of the subject by Wilmut.
Other books by Wilmut are The Illustrated Hancock, and his compiling and editing of No More Curried Eggs For Me and Son of Curried Eggs (both anthologies of scripts for the likes of Yes Minister
Yes Minister
Yes Minister is a satirical British sitcom written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn that was first transmitted by BBC Television between 1980–1982 and 1984, split over three seven-episode series. The sequel, Yes, Prime Minister, ran from 1986 to 1988. In total there were 38 episodes—of which all but...
, The Goon Show
The Goon Show
The Goon Show was a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme...
and Rutland Weekend Television
Rutland Weekend Television
Rutland Weekend Television was a television sketch show on BBC2, written by Eric Idle with music by Neil Innes. Two series, the first consisting of six episodes, the second of seven, were broadcast, in 1975 and 1976. A Christmas special also aired on Boxing Day 1975.It was Idle's first television...
). He has also text edited the scripts for The Complete Beyond The Fringe
Beyond the Fringe
Beyond the Fringe was a British comedy stage revue written and performed by Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Alan Bennett, and Jonathan Miller. It played in London's West End and then on New York's Broadway in the early 1960s, and is widely regarded as seminal to the rise of satire in 1960s Britain.-The...
and the Monty Python's Flying Circus complete script collection Just The Words (both volumes 1 and 2).
He says of his time writing comedy books, "it was, on the whole, fun to do and well worth doing - particularly when you consider that all I was trying to do in the first place was type out a list of just one radio show."
The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
had From Fringe to Flying Circus and Didn't You Kill My Mother-In-Law in its "top 10 books about comedians".
He is nowadays an avid collector of gramophone records and currently runs a podcast on the subject titled The Sound of 78s.