British comedian, writer, actor, television presenter and game show host, Bob Monkhouse began his adult career as a scriptwriter and performer on radio. Along with another scriptwriter and actor Denis Goodwin, he wrote gags for various comedians like Arthur Askey, Jimmy Edwards, Ted Ray, Max Miller and Bob Hope. Around the same time, he made his television debut and appeared in an episode each of television series ‘New to You’ (1948), ‘Showcase’ (1952) and ‘Why?’ (1953). In 1952, he made his film debut in the role of a hairdresser in the drama film ‘Secret People’.
In 1954, Bob Monkhouse and Denis Goodwin landed their own television sketch comedy show titled ‘Fast and Loose’ which became hugely successful. It ran for 2 series till 1955. Together they went on to work in the television movie ‘Television's Christmas Party’ (1954), the television sitcom ‘My Pal Bob’ (1957-58) and later in another TV sitcom ‘The Big Noise’ (1964). The two also hosted ‘Do You Trust Your Wife?’ in 1956 which was Bob Monkhouse’s first ever quiz show. The 1950s also saw him hosting TV shows like ‘Val Parnell's Sunday Night at the London Palladium’ (1956-1957) and ‘For Love or Money’ (1959-1960) and serving as the panellist on the TV series ‘What's My Line’ (1954-1963). Additionally, he acted in a couple of films which were ‘Carry on Sergeant’ (1958) and ‘Dentist in the Chair’ (1960).
In 1960-1961, Bob Monkhouse hosted the British version of the popular American hidden camera reality television series ‘Candid Camera’. After this, he went on to present/host a number of other television series including ‘Mad Movies’ (1966), ‘The London Palladium Show’ (1966-1967), ‘Carnival Time’ (1967) and ‘The Golden Shot’ (1967-1975). The last of these, a game show, was one of his most successful shows. He hosted the show in its first 3 seasons (July 1967-January 1972) and then returned to host it in its final 6th season (July 1974-April 1975). Other game/quiz/talent shows followed and increased his popularity. These included ‘Celebrity Squares’ (1975-79; 1993-97), ‘Family Fortunes’ (1980-1983), ‘Bob's Full House’ (1984-1990), ‘Bob Says Opportunity Knocks’ (1987-1989), ‘The $64, 000 Question’ (1990-1993), ‘Bob's Your Uncle’ (1991-1992), ‘Gagtag’ (1994-1996), ‘The National Lottery Live’ (1996-1997) and ‘Wipeout’ (1998-2003). Apart from gameshows, Bob Monkhouse continued to perform and present television comedy shows too. Some of the most popular comedy shows include ‘I'm Bob, He's Dickie’ (1977), ‘Bonkers!’ (1979), ‘The Bob Monkhouse Show’ (1983-1986), ‘Bob Monkhouse on the Spot’ (1995-1996) and ‘What a Performance!’ (1997-2000).
His acting career progressed simultaneously and he acted in films like ‘A Weekend with Lulu’ (1961, role: Fred Scrutton), ‘Dentist on the Job’ (1961, role: David Cookson), ‘Maid for Murder’ (1962, role: Francis Oberon), ‘The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom’ (1968, role: Dr. Taylor) and ‘Simon, Simon’ (1970, role: Photographer). On television, he played the roles of Solly Gold in 'Theatre 625' (1965), Jerry Janus/Stephen Watson in 'Thirty-Minute Theatre' (1965-1966), Baretta in 'The Informer' (1966), John Harper in ‘Blackmail’ (1966), Q.P.Jakes in ‘Half Hour Story’ (1967), George Gosling in ‘Galton and Simpson Comedy’ (1969), Sidney Barnes in 'Take Three Girls' (1971), Giles in 'All or Nothing at All' (1993), Ray in ‘The Upper Hand’ (1995), Sylvester Le Fley in 'Jonathan Creek' (1998) and Ambassador Howard in 'Big Bad World' (2001). In most of these TV series, he acted in a single episode. His acting credits also include television movies ‘Alice Through the Looking Box’ (1960), ‘The Bob Monkhouse Offensive’ (1973) and ‘Charles Dickens' World of Christmas’ (1974) as well as voice roles in animated sci-fi puppet film ‘Thunderbirds Are Go’ (1966), the animated comedy series ‘Rex the Runt’ (1998) and animated skitcom television show ‘Aaagh! It's the Mr Hell Show’ (2001-2002). The last of these was his final work as an actor.
Bob Monkhouse, as a writer, was involved in the scripting and writing of several of the above-mentioned shows. Some of these are ‘Fast and Loose’ (10 episodes), ‘My Pal Bob’ (10 episodes), ‘Bob Monkhouse on the Spot’ (12 episodes), ‘The Bob Monkhouse Show’ (special material - 7 episodes), ‘Mad Movies’ (17 episodes), ‘The Big Noise’ (6 episodes) and ‘The Bob Monkhouse Offensive’.
