Bob Todd

Infobox actor
bgcolour =
name = Bob Todd


imagesize =
caption = Todd on "The Benny Hill Show" (1971)
birthname =
birthdate = 15 December 1921
location = Faversham, Kent, England
deathdate = death date and age|1992|10|11|1921|12|15|df=y
deathplace = Sussex, England
occupation = Actor
spouse = Monica Todd
awards =

Bob Todd (born Brian Todd; 15 December 1921 in Faversham, Kent – died 21 October 1992 in Sussex) was an English comedy actor, mostly known for appearing as a straight man in the sketch shows of Benny Hill and Spike Milligan. For many years he lived in Tunbridge Wells, Kent and died six months after Benny Hill died.

Career

One of the great stooges of television comedy, Todd was best known for his lugubrious expression and talent for slapstick, and was known to fellow comedians by the nickname "Silly Todd".

Before working in television, Todd trained to be a dentist, before wartime service as a an RAF navigator in World War II. He had ambitions of becoming a farmer - making money from cattle breeding, whilst working as a manager at London Airport. The farming business, once began, failed and almost made him bankrupt, so at the age of 42 he found himself looking for a new career. Meeting scriptwriters Ray Galton and Alan Simpson in a pub, he bluffed them into believing that he was in fact an actor and ended up with the part of a policeman in the Sid James comedy series "Citizen James" in 1963. He consequently stooged in "The Dick Emery Show" and "The Mike and Bernie Winters Show" amongst others, before joining "The Benny Hill Show" in 1969. He stayed with the programme, on and off, which consistently topped the TV ratings, until Thames Television axed the show twenty years later.

Todd gained a reputation for drunkenness while working on 'The Benny Hill Show'. He once failed to turn up for a London Palladium show after a 'drinking episode', and eventually found himself in a Dublin hospital five days later. After this was reported in the media, Hill had Todd dropped from the show. Producer Dennis Kirkland persuaded Hill to rescind the decision, saying Todd brought much to the show and his drinking rarely affected his work.

Todd's only starring role was in his own 1972 series "In for a Penny" although he did appear in the Jimmy Jewel series "Funny Man" and in the film by Eric Sykes, 'Rhubarb' in 1970, as well as making guest appearances on shows by Jim Davidson and Allan Stewart and Spike Milligan's "Q9". He was also seen in cinema films, including "Carry On Doctor" and "The Return of the Musketeers".

Todd was referenced in the 1985 Half Man Half Biscuit song "99% of Gargoyles Look Like Bob Todd".

Todd and his wife, Monica, had one daughter and two sons. He died at the age of 70.

External links

*imdb name|id=0865121|name=Bob Todd
* [http://www.runstop.de/bennysplace/btodd.html Benny's Place tribute to Bob Todd]