BARRY TOOKBarry Tookdied at a north London nursing home after a long battle with cancer, on 31 March, 2002, at the age of 73 andwas a much-loved British comedian, writer and television presenter.Probably best known for hosting TV’s ‘Points of View’, he also helped create the classic radio comedy ‘Round the Horne’ and played a pivotal role in bringing the Monty Python team to the BBC.Peers have described him as “one of the funniest men in Britain”, a great scriptwriter whose infectious enthusiasm and sense of humour won over generations.“I don’t like comedians very much because I don’t like neurotic people,” the bespectacled comedian once commented. “I think they should go and get cured. I’m mad too but I’m as cured as I can get.”Barry Took was born on 19 June, 1928, in Muswell Hill, north London. After leaving school at 15, he spent some time working as an office boy and cinema projectionist, before finally going on to serve in the Royal Air Force during 1946.There, he was regularly involved in entertainment programs as producer of the station concert party and, on returning to civilian life later that decade, became determined to forge a career in showbiz.After attending acting classes at Toynbee Hall, Mr Took found early success as a comedian in various working men’s clubs. However, it was not until the 1950s that he made his full-time professional debut and it was there, at Hulme Hippodrome, that his comic talents caught the eye of Canadian talent scout Carroll Levis, who quickly made him compere of the touring revue ‘Show Stoppers’.Stints on the radio soon followed, including ‘Pertwee’s Progress’ and ‘Midday Music Hall’, while 1956 saw the rising star appear alongside Ron Moody in the immensely successful West End revue ‘For Amusement Only’.In 1957 he joined Associated Scripts, an agency for comedy writers, and formed a partnership with comedian Marty Feldman. Together, they became the main writers on BBC radio’s ‘Round the Horne’, as well as scripting ‘We’re In Business’ and acts for Frankie Howard, the latter of which paid 20 pounds between them.The pair later moved on to television comedy with Granada’s first great success, ‘The Army Game’ in 1958 and spin-off series ‘Bootsie and Snudge’ two years later.‘Marty’, Marty Feldman’s 1968 first full-starring series, saw Mr Took join writing forces with many members of the future Monty Python team, including John Cleese and Graham Chapman, all of whom he would later come to help bring together as ‘Monty Python’s Flying Circus’ in his role as comedy advisor to the BBC in 1969.He was made Head of Light Entertainment at London Weekend Television in 1970, helping to give Kenny Everett his first glimpse of the spotlight and ‘The Goodies’ their big break, while in 1975 he created the BAFTA-award winning literacy programme ‘On the Move’.His longest run, however, came with BBC TV’s ‘Points of View’ from 1979 to 1987. Later life saw him write film reviews for Punch magazine and appear on popular radio panel shows.His 1990 autobiography, ‘A Point of View’, recalls how, during his early years as a stand-up comedian, he once did 12 shows in the city of Wolverhampton without raising a single laugh.As a youthful assistant projectionist at London’s Gaumont Palace, he reportedly made his mark by showing Walt Disney’s ‘Three Caballeros’ upside down.It was Mr Took who suggested the town of Holmfirth in West Yorkshire as the setting for ‘Last of the Summer Wine’ to the show’s producer James Gilbert.Both of his two marriages ended in divorce.
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