Spike Milligan
Biography
Spike Milligan worked as a comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright, and actor, and co-created the radio comedy The Goon Show, writing many of its scripts and voicing characters such as Eccles, Minnie Bannister, and Count Jim Moriarty. Born in British India, he moved to England in 1931 and later brought his surreal style to television with Q5, an influence on Monty Python's Flying Circus. On stage he played Ben Gunn in Treasure Island at the Mermaid Theatre and turned the comedy Oblomov into a West End hit through improvisation. He co-wrote the play The Bedsitting Room, which was made into a 1969 film, and he played a village priest in Ken Russell's The Devils. Milligan also published the novel Puckoon, a seven-volume war memoir sequence beginning with Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall (1971), and nonsense verse for children. He received the British Comedy Awards' Lifetime Achievement Award in 1994 and was made an honorary KBE in 2001.
83years old at death
- Born Ahilyanagar
- Died Rye
- Star sign: AriesThe sign runs March 21 to April 19
- Terence Alan Milligan (birth name)Also credited as Terence Alan Patrick Seán Milligan and Terence Alan Patrick Sean Milligan
Movie Career
- Films
- 10
- Career span
- 14 years1969 to 1983
Genres
First and latest
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About the name
Because he did not like his first name, Milligan started calling himself "Spike" after he heard Spike Jones and his City Slickers on Radio Luxembourg.
Own stunts
Milligan was entirely self taught on the drums, guitar and trumpet, and he also had perfect pitch. He could croon like Bing Crosby and won a competition.
A first
Milligan was the youngest contributor to Charles Allen's 1975 book Plain Tales from the Raj, describing his life in India under British rule.
A first
In a nationwide poll in 1998, Milligan's poem "On the Ning Nang Nong" was chosen as the UK's favorite comic poem, beating other nonsense poets such as Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear.
Spike Milligan movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Most often with
Richard Lester directed two of these films. Roy Kinnear appears in four of them, more than any other actor. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Roy Kinnear's page
John Cleese's page
Peter Sellers's page
Raquel Welch's page
Peter Cook's page
Marty Feldman's page
All films by Richard Lester
Awards
Three awards and honors.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other honors | |||
| Chortle Awards | Won | ||
| Commander of the Order of the British Empire | Won | ||
| Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire | Won | ||
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.