- Son of Fred
infobox television
show_name = Son of Fred
format =Comedy
runtime = 30 minutes per episode
Writer =Spike Milligan
starring =Peter Sellers Spike Milligan Valentine Dyall Kenneth Connor Graham Stark Patti Lewis Max Geldray John Vyvyan Mario Fabrizi
country =United Kingdom
network =BBC-1
first_aired =September 17 , 1956
last_aired =November 5 , 1956
num_episodes = 8"Son of Fred" was the successor series to "
The Idiot Weekly, Price 2d " and "A Show Called Fred ". It was made byAssociated-Rediffusion and broadcast only in theLondon area,Midlands andNorthern England .It was the third and final in a series of
sketch comedy shows attempting to translate the humour of theGoon Show to television.Spike Milligan concentrated on writing and only made small walk on appearances, leaving the lead acting toPeter Sellers . The series was produced and directed byRichard Lester .Impact on comedy and culture
The minimalist format, with little or no scenery and few props, sketches without any real purpose or punch line, and mixing live action and short animations directly influenced the format of
Monty Python's Flying Circus . [Terry Jones , quoted in "From Fringe to Flying Circus" — 'Celebrating a Unique Generation of Comedy 1960–1980' — Roger Wilmut, Eyre Methuen Ltd, 1980.] The unconventional format was revived inSpike Milligan 's Q series.A half hour special "Best of Fred" was broadcast on
September 18 ,1963 combining surviving sketches from "A Show Called Fred " and "Son of Fred".The 1997 convention of the
Goon Show Preservation Society was billed as "Son of a Weekend Called Fred".Footnotes
External links
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/s/sonoffred_7775930.shtml BBC Comedy Guide - Son of Fred]
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