that wrote two of the greats.
Sad news that the remaining half of one of the great comedy writing duos, Ray Galton, has died aged 88.
I could basically just copy & paste my post from a little over 18 months ago when his partner in comedy Alan Simpson passed away. They may not have written together since Simpson retired from the business in 1978 but they will forever be Galton & Simpson, mainly because of two of the greatest sitcoms ever made.
“Hancock’s Half Hour”, from 1954 to 1961 and “Steptoe And Son” from 1962 to 1974.
Two series that were pioneering in British comedy. As I said in that previous post… “Spike Milligan is one godfather of British comedy, of the surreal, out of this world comedy. Galton & Simpson were the godfathers of the real world comedy. The sitcom.”
Hancock is still the best thing that BBC is currently broadcasting, it’s on Radio 4 extra every Monday, and Steptoe is about to get another run on the Drama channel I believe.
It’s amazing to think that Galton and Simpson were 88 and 87 when they dies because it shows how young they were when they penned both of these classics. Classic that have survived through their lives and now beyond. Sad to think that someone who wrote such sharp comedy as this should be struck with dementia.