h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It's a bit difficult to know where to starts really. This'll probably sound like jottings but I hope to add more in the near future.

Founder of the Goons. Hugely influential. Led to Monty Python and then Hitch-Hiker's Guide and ultimately this website, if you follow my thinking. I'm sure DNA would agree to some degree or another. He'd probably contribute quite a good entry as well.

Author of a huge number of books (with illustations) including "Silly Verses for Children", which includes the nations favourite comic poem - I believe, may have to check, "Puckoon" (his first novel set during the separation of Ireland), "The Bible According to Spike Milligan" and seven war memoirs "Adolf: My Part in His Downfall", "'Rommel''Gunner Who?'", "Monty Something or Other (Can't remember the title)", "Mussolini: His Part in My Downfall", "Goodbye Soldier", "Where Have All the Bullets Gone?" and "Peace Work". He probably wrote the best war books I've ever read which may say a lot about my war readings but he told it from the point of view of someone who didn't really want to be there. Nothing noble. Often moving. He possibly showed what war was really like. And they include some great joks. Like the incident when training when they used a single shell for practice and had to stand around saying 'Bang!'. Some officer asking why he wasn't wearing a uniform to which he replied that there were unhealthy. The officer asked why and Spike answered that Jerries kept shooting at them. The books also cover his shell shock and depression, something that he suffered following the war as well.

He was born in India.

He once claimed that he hadn't had sex since he was 70.

When he recieved an award for his achievement in comedy, one of his fans, Prince Charles, sent him a congratualtory message. Spike famously called him "A crawling b*****d".

I'm sure there's much, much more. I'll keep you posted.

Hi Milligan will be missed
will it be posable for mr to borrow you info for a tribute show?

That should have read "grovelling b*****d" not crawling. Sorry

Could I have details of this tribute show?

Didn't he send Portsmouth into Room 101?

Oh, and then there was the film of 'Adolf Hitler - My Part in His Downfall', where he played his father (alongside Pat Coombs as his mother) - with Jim Dale playing the young Spike. Rather a good film, if I remember correctly.

Oh its just a local hosptal radio one but I thought it would be nice to do a Milligan tribute.

Spike insisted that his name meant "small-tonsured one" in Gaelic.

He became an Irish citizen in 1960 after being classified as staeless in immigration law.

(I won't do all the Goons stuff as I think there's quite good entry on it somewhere)

In 1992 he was awarded an honorary CBE.

In 2001 he was given an honorary knighthood. This is amusing as after he called Prince Charles a grovelling b*****d he faxed him saying: "I suppose a knighthood is out of the question?".

Some quotes:

"Who wrote these legs?" (Puckoon)
Also from Puckoon: "The Milligan had suffered from his legs terribly during the war in Italy. While his mind was full of great eroisms under shell fire, his legs were carrying the idea, at speed, in the opposite direction. The Battery Major had not understood.
"'Gunner Milligan? You have been acting like a coward.'
'No sir, not true. I'm a hero wid coward's legs, I'm a hero from the waist up.'"

From Adolf Hitler: My part in His Downfall: "The RTO gave me a travel warrant, a white feather and a picture marked 'This is your enemy.' I checked every compartment, but he wasn't on the train."

I'm sure there's more but lets not flood the market.

Are you allowed to mention people dying on hospital radio? I know Stairway to Heaven supposed to be banned.

well I thik so we play some banned songs anyway (thaey requet them)

Have you seen the advetisment for the new BBc Series the Trench? The could put the Quote

"To make people like each other you`ve got to put them in a hole in the ground and shoot at them....." Spike -On War

Fits dosent it?