Comedy Legends, 2018
Comedy Legends was a SKY arts documentary series. First aired in 2018, SKY swiftly announced a second series for broadcast in 2020, before we had even seen series one.
The series was presented by legendary comic and writer Barry Cryer. Series One comprised eight episodes as originally Kenny Everett and Phyllis Diller were to be included, but were carried over into series two that ran to twelve episodes. However whilst series two did indeed run to twelve episodes Kenny Everett failed to appear on those featured.
Sadly Barry Cryer passed away in 2022, but not before his Comedy legends series had ran to 4 series and 40 episodes.
Summary
Barry Cryer pays his own tribute to some of the heroes of comedy, from both here in the UK and the USA, he has worked with during his long career. Alongside Barry are contributions from fellow comedians, including: Tony Hawks, Steve Punt and The Times Comedy Critic: Stephen Armstrong.
Each episode celebrates one artist and includes highlights from their comedy careers.
Clips
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Featured Artists
series one
Tommy Cooper
Frankie Howerd
Joan Rivers
Ronnie Barker
Bob Hope
Jack Benny
George Burns
Morecambe and Wise
series two
The Marx Brothers
Lily Tomlin
Richard Pryor
Madelaine Kahn
Steve Martin
John Cleese
Phyllis Diller
Lucille Ball
Terry Thomas
Sid James
Billy Connolly
Peter Sellers
series three
Charlie Chaplain
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Norman Wisdom
Kenneth Williams
Chevy Chase
John Candy
Bob Newhart
Eric Sykes
Alistair Sim
Leslie Phillips
series four
Eddie Murphy
Hattie Jacques
Billy Crystal
Joyce Grenfell
Goldie Hawn
Laurel and Hardy
Dan Ackroyd
Will Ferrell
Tina Fey
Tim Allen
Presented By
Barry Cryer
Additional Contributions
Tim-Brooke-Taylor
Steve Punt
Clive Anderson
Stephen Armstrong
Tony Hawks
Neil Norman
Jo Caulfield
Details
Channel: Sky Arts
Written By: William Simpson
Original Transmission Dates: 10th October 2018 – 7th October 2021