The brilliance of Spike Milligan

Two sketches that capture the brilliance of comedian Spike Milligan.

In Monty Python's Life of Brian Spike appears in just one scene and says very little. But the scene is side-splittingly funny, arguably the funniest scene in the movie.

Spike plays a prophet ignored by the masses. (He is in the middle of the shot in the brown oufit). Watch his reactions to all that is going on around him. Just hilarious.

His appearance was completely unplanned. By chance, Milligan was visiting World War Two battlefields in  Tunisia, where Life of Brian was being made, and was invited to join the scene. After shooting the scene Milligan disappeared off set and could not be found for later scenes.

Here is another Spike Milligan classic- The Irish Olympics

The funniest man of all time: Spike Milligan- comedian,actor, write and poet

Spike Milligan, who I reckon was perhaps the funniest man of all time, was also a published poet. Yesterday I bought 2 "hard to find" collections of all his writings, including his poetry, from a second hand book shop. Here are a couple of his children's poems. I enjoy his wicked and weird sense of the ridiculous.

A Silly Poem
Said Hamlet to Ophelia
I'll draw a sketch of thee,
What kind of pencil shall I use
2B or not 2B?

On the Ning Nang Nong

On the Ning Nang Nong
Where the cows go Bong!
and the monkeys all say BOO!
There's a Nong Nang Ning
Where the trees go Ping!
And the tea pots jibber jabber joo.
On the Nong Ning Nang
All the mice go Clang
And you just can't catch 'em when they do!
So its Ning Nang Nong
Cows go Bong!
Nong Nang Ning
Tress go ping
Nong Ning Nang
The mice go Clang
What a noisy place to belong
is the Ning Nang Ning Nang Nong!!

The Bedside Milligan 1969

An Ear passed me
the other day
And silently
went on its way
I wonder who
that ear can be
And has it ever
heard of me?

Said the mother Tern
to her baby tern
Would you like a brother?

Said baby Tern
to mother Tern
Yes
One good Tern deserves another

copyright Spike Milligan