I must admit, Bob did used to grate on me a bit - I thought his style was perhaps a little
too
old - I'd heard it all before. However, I was shocked this morning when I heard he'd passed away because i didn't even know he was suffering from cancer..it feels like there's a big void left in his place now.
At least he passed peacefully in his sleep. Rest in peace, Bob.
Although best known as an entertainer, Bob was much more than that. When still very young, he was drawing cartoons for assorted comics, including a British ripoff of Superman called "Tornado" - he even produced his own comic for a time. DC Thomson in Dundee hired him to draw the PANSY POTTER strip in The Beano, which he did for some time, as well as working as a journalist.
Some years ago, we did a radio programme together on the history of comic art, he was a true delight to work with, and thoroughly professional. Although his career path took him into comedy - first as a scriptwriter, with Denis Goodwin and then as a television double-act with his co-writer, he was an accomplished straight actor, but never stopped drawing - his producer Paul Stewart-Laing used to say "Don't stand too close to Monkhouse or he'll draw on you!"
His collection of silent movies was legendary, and led to his company - Mitchell Monkhouse Associates - making a seried MAD MOVIES for ITV back in the late 1960s.
He was one of the last true professional entertainers of his generation and will be greatly missed.