A Show Called Fred
A Show Called Fred is a sketch comedy series best known for being an early television work by Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan, then both regular performers on the BBC Home Service as two-thirds of the cast of The Goon Show. Directed by Richard Lester, it starred Sellers, Milligan, Valentine Dyall, Kenneth Connor and Graham Stark – principal contributors it shared with The Idiot Weekly, Price 2d, a comedy show which had finished only a month before. Its five 30 minute episodes were made by Associated-Rediffusion for ITV and broadcast only in the London area. It was predominantly a sketch comedy, attempting to translate the audio antics of The Goon Show into visual antics in bizarre and often surreal comedy sketches. Jazz harmonica player Max Geldray had a music segment in the show, reprising his role from The Goon Show, and Canadian star Patti Lewis had a singing spot. Performers including Mario Fabrizi, Ernest Clark, Patricia Driscoll, Jon Jon Keefe, Jennifer Lautrec and John Vyvyan had roles over the show's run. Contemporary celebrities such as Hans and Lotte Hass were parodied. There were a few taboos, with sketches showing people in various states of undress, cameramen, behind the scenes workers