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Born Alfred Hawthorn Hill (January 21, 1924/1925 -
April 20, 1992), Benny Hill was a prolific
comedian British actor. In
fact, he was one of the most universally
recognized British comedians. He worked
compulsively and had only a few friends, although
colleagues who knew him closely insist that he was
never lonely, but was content with his own
company. He never married, although he did propose
to two women, one the daughter of a British
writer, and was rejected by both. He never owned
his own home, nor even a car, instead preferring
to rent a small flat in Teddington, a convenient
walking distance to the Teddington Studios where
he filmed the one-off one-hour episodes of his
television programme, The Benny Hill Show.

==Career==

As a boy, Hill liked appearing in school
productions and credited his favourite childhood
actor Charlie Chaplin as the inspiration for his
becoming a star. After leaving school, he worked
variously as a milkman, bridge operator, driver
and drummer, before he finally got a foot in the
door of the entertainment industry by becoming an
assistant stage manager.

During World War II, Hill worked in working men's
clubs, revues and end-of-the-pier shows all over
Britain. For the stage he changed his first name
to "Benny", in homage to his favourite comedian
Jack Benny. Between the end of the war and the
dawn of television, he worked as a radio
performer. An early believer in television, his
first appearance over the airwaves was in 1949 in
a show called Hi There. He continued to work on
and off until his career took off with The Benny
Hill Show in 1955 on BBC Television.
 
The Benny Hill Show featured him in innumerable
short sketches (along with Henry McGee, Carol
Cleveland, and others) portraying a leering,
lecherous, never-quite-succeeding, yet charming
protagonist. He was very versatile and appeared in
many different costumes. Slapstick and double
entendre were his hallmark.  He used
Fast_motion|sped up film aka
"Fast_motion|Undercranking" and sight gags to
create what he called "live animation" and he
masterfully employed techniques like mime and
parody. He was also a skilled composer and singer
of patter songs. His shows were seen in over 100
countries.  The theme song, Yakety Sax, which has
gained a particular cult following on its own, was
written by Boots Randolph.

In 1969, his show moved to ITV, where it remained
until cancellation, with an erratic schedule of
one hour specials. The show was first broadcast in
the United States in January 1979 and screened
there with a series of re-edited half hour
programmes culled from the ITV specials.  The US
versions of his show have far less risqué
material than the shows which were aired in the
UK. The show was awarded the "Special Prize of the
City of Montreux" at the "Rose d'Or" festival in
1984.

The Benny Hill Show (1969-1989) is in syndication
and is available on videotape in the United
States|US. The syndicated version consists of 111
half-hour episodes, re-edited from the original
hour-long specials made by Thames Television and
screened on Britain's ITV network three or four
times a year. Half-hour edits also appeared on
ITV, although the contents may be different from
the syndicated US versions. In 1989 Thames dropped
Hill because his material was no longer considered
political correctness|politically correct. He
later recorded some shows for US television.  The
Benny Hill show is currently airing in one hour
portions (not corresponding to the original
hour-long format), twice nightly on BBC America
(Dish Network channel 135)

Perhaps ironically, there is far less material
currently available in the UK, although in 2005
the Thames specials began to appear uncut on DVD
region code|Region 2 DVD sets, each representing
one year and entitled The Benny Hill Annual.

His audio recordings include "Gather In The
Mushrooms" (1961), "Transistor Radio
(audio)|Transistor Radio" (1961), "Harvest of
Love" (1963), "Ernie (The Fastest Milkman In The
West)" (1971), among many others.

His film credits include parts in nine films
including Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying
Machines (1965), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968),
in which he played the relatively straight role of
the Toymaker, and The Italian Job (1969).

He also appeared in the video of the song
"Anything She Does" by the band Genesis
(band)|Genesis.

Here is an example of his doggerel:

:Roses are reddish
:Violets are bluish
:If it weren't for Christmas
:We'd all be Jewish.

He was left-handed.
He was a relative of the Australian actress and
singer Holly Valance.

==Death==

Hill's health began declining in the early 1990s.
Weighing 108 kg (238 lb, or exactly 17 stones) at
1.79 m (5 feet, 10½ inches) tall, he
suffered heart problems related to his obesity. On
February 11 1992, doctors told him that he needed
to lose 13 kg (28 lb), and recommended a heart
bypass. He declined, and was diagnosed a week
later with renal failure. Hill passed away "on or
about April 20", alone in his flat, at the age of
68 (or 67 - some sources give Hill's year of birth
as 1925). The cause of death was listed as
coronary thrombosis. Following a foul smell,
neighbours found his body on April 24 sitting in
an armchair. (His death closely coincided with
that of another British comedy icon, Frankie
Howerd, who died on April 19.)

Hill's will (law)|will had left his estimated
£10 million (Pound Sterling|GBP) estate to
his late parents. Next in line were his brother
and sister, Leonard and Diana, neither of whom he
had enjoyed the closest of relationships with and
both of whom were also deceased. This left his
seven nieces and nephews, amongst whom the
money—approximately £7.5
million—was divided. A note was found among
his belongings assigning huge sums of money to his
close friends Sue Upton, Louise English, Henry
McGee, Bob Todd and Dennis Kirkland, but because
it was neither signed nor witnessed, the note had
no legal standing.