Bob Monkhouse

Bob Monkhouse was a British comedian, actor, and celebrity, arguably best remembered as the host of a number of popular game shows like "Celebrity Squares," "Family Fortunes," and "The Golden Shot." His career kick-started in post-World War II Britain working in radio with Denis Goodwin on a show called "Calling All Forces." It was during this time that Monkhouse wrote material for visiting comedians, including his hero Bob Hope. Although his passion was for stand-up comedy and nightclub performances, in the 1950s he hosted a number of variety shows for television, such as "Val Parnell's Sunday Night at the Library Palladium" and the English version of game show "What's My Line?, to name just a few. One of his major successes was hosting "The Golden Shot" game show in the late 1960s, although scandal rocked the program and Monkhouse in 1972 when he was accused of having taken a bribe, resulting in his termination. Another scandal hit him in the late 1970s when he was accused of importing a film illegally into the country for his private movie collection. In 1983, he hosted his own talk show, "The Bob Monkhouse Show," which aired for three years. As the alternative comedy boom hit big in the 1980s, older comedians were routinely shoved aside for being old fashioned, but Monkhouse was still respected by many of the edgier comics. Even though his best years as a performer were long behind him, Monkhouse was still working just weeks before his death in 2003.