The Best Of Hancock -

Classics from the television series

by Ray Galton & Alan Simpson

Includes the following 10 BBCtv scripts:

The Economy Drive | The Two Murderers | Twelve Angry Men | The Big Night | The Cold | The Missing Page | The Poison Pen Letters | The Radio Ham | The Lift | The Blood Donor

for this books Introduction

Hancock's Last Stand - The Series That Never Was

by Edward Joffe

with a foreword by June Whitfield

'What I have written is not an intellectual assessment of the Hancock psyche. I am not qualified to do that. It is merely the story of a great talent's last months on earth, with personal opinions from people who were there at the time or knew him, plus warts and all observations of a man in turmoil - a man battling with alcoholism. I hope this document will provide a clearer picture and perhaps a better understanding of a people's Pagliaccio, one of the finest entertainers Britain has ever produced.' Edward Joffe

Black boards / Silver inscribed spine

for a brief review by John Sealey

When the Wind Changed - The Life and Death of Tony Hancock

by Cliff Goodwin

This work tells the story of Tony Hancock, one of Britain's top comedians. Despite his success he was racked by doubt and insecurity, haunted by irrational obsessions, a chronic alcoholic and temperamental to the point of collapse. This book details his complex and troubled life. Aggressive, possessive, untidy, vague, unreliable, drunken, seedy, overweight, a survivor of endless breakdowns, Tony Hancock was a complex character. His ruthless and often shabby ingratitude alienated many of his closest friends and left his two wives battered and broken. He also felt his own identity was being swallowed up in the fictional persona of Antony Aloysius St John Hancock, the pompous buffoon of 23 Railway Cuttings, East Cheam. Tony Hancock committed suicide in Sydney, Australia, in June 1968. He was just 44 years old.

Black boards / Gold inscribed spine

for this books Introduction & Foreword

Fifty Years of Hancock's Half-Hour

by Richard Webber

with a foreword by Ray Galton & Alan Simpson

1954 marked the beginning of a radio series that was to change British comedy forever.
Only two years later the first of 63 television scripts had been screened and Hancock's Half-Hour became the yardstick against which all subsequent British sitcoms have since been measured.
Tony Hancock's genius along with outstanding scripts penned by the writers Galton and Simpson made for a remarkable combination and, more than 30 years after Hancock's death, the shows continue to enjoy enormous widespread appeal.
Until now, no book has ever been written about the series. Fifty Years of Hancock's Half-Hour will, for the first time, tell the full story of how the idea for the show was originally conceived; with behind-the-scenes stories from Hancock's fellow cast and crew members and the reasons behind why the show came to an end in 1961.
With a foreword by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson and including previously unheard scripts, along with numerous photographs - many of which have never been published before - Fifty Years of Hancock's Half-Hour is the definitive companion to Britain's best-loved comedy classic.

Black boards / Gold inscribed spine