Spike Milligan

Spike Milligan

Milligan, c. 1990
Born
Terence Alan Milligan

(1918-04-16)16 April 1918
Died27 February 2002(2002-02-27) (aged 83)
Resting placeSt Thomas's Church, Winchelsea, East Sussex, England
Occupations
  • Comedian
  • writer
  • musician
  • poet
  • playwright
  • actor
Years active1951–2002
Spouses
  • June Marlow
    (m. 1952; div. 1960)
  • Patricia Ridgeway
    (m. 1962; died 1978)
  • Shelagh Sinclair
    (m. 1983)
Children6
Military career
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Years of service1940–1945
RankLance bombardier
UnitRoyal Artillery
Battles/warsSecond World War

Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan KBE (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish[a] comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright and actor. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Colonial India, where he spent his childhood before relocating in 1931 to England, where he lived and worked for the majority of his life. Disliking his first name, he began to call himself "Spike" after hearing the band Spike Jones and his City Slickers on Radio Luxembourg.[1][2]

Milligan was the co-creator, main writer, and a principal cast member of the British radio comedy programme The Goon Show, performing a range of roles including the characters Eccles and Minnie Bannister. He was the earliest-born and last surviving member of the Goons. He took his success with The Goon Show into television with Q5, a surreal sketch show credited as a major influence on the members of Monty Python's Flying Circus.

He wrote and edited many books, including Puckoon (1963) and a seven-volume autobiographical account of his time serving during the Second World War, beginning with Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall (1971). He also wrote comical verse, with much of his poetry written for children, including Silly Verse for Kids (1959).


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ "Spike becomes an Irish Citizen". The Life and Legacy of Spike Milligan (website). Hatchling Production Pty Ltd (Australia). Archived from the original on 23 November 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  2. ^ "Spike Milligan dies at 83". The Guardian. 27 February 2002. Retrieved 23 November 2015.