The Royal Mail has issued a series of stamps commemorating ten British comedy greats.
Who’s missing – Rowan Atkinson, Ken Dodd for example – and who’s lucky to be included – perhaps Lenny Henry?
Comedy Greats Stamps
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It’s a good choice – looking back, they may not have always been the funniest but they all opened doors for others to follow.
T’is indeed an excellent choice, but my first thought was ‘no Rik Mayall?’
Tommy Cooper.
No Hancock? Mystifying.
Or Joyce Grenfell.
All highly subjective of course.
I suspect the choice of comedians is driven by the intended market. Most people under 30 probably won’t give a stuff about stamps. Many under 20 will have never used one! Do people under 50 collect stamps? That leaves the over 50’s but more likely the over 60’s as the target. Even then, the inclusion of Lenny Henry at the expense of, say Tommy Cooper, is suspect and possibly “Political correctness gone mad!” ….. and why no Barry Cryer?
Eddie Izzard? Bill Bailey? Having said which, all that lot have made me laugh. A lot.
Stone me, they deserve a punch up the bracket!
Good selection I reckon. Nice to see Norman Wisdom doing his Lee Evans face on one.
Yes the absence of Tommy Cooper and Hancock but inclusion of French and Saunders and Lenny Henry is a mystery.
Lenny Henry is a weak link, but he was a trail blazer. But I never found Norman Wisdom funny either. Hancock is the great omission for me, and I think it might have been Beyond the Fringe or just Peter Cook, rather than Pete n Dud, but that is a tricky choice.
I don’t think you can underestimate the importance of Lenny Henry.
Sure, he hasn’t been funny for 30 years but Laurier Cunningham (RIP), Brendan Batson and Cyrille Regis wouldn’t be as good thirty years down the track.
Have more of an issue with French and Saunders. Why are they there? Neither trailblazers or funny. Tracey Ullman, Pam Ayres or Faith Brown would’ve been more appropriate?
Now……where’s Manning??