About the Author

Spike Milligan was born in 1918 to a British military family in the Raj. Young Spike fought the Nazis in Europe before being invalided out. After the war, he wrote and performed throughout the '50s in The Goon Show, with Peter Sellers and Harry Secombe. In the '60s he had success as a stage and film actor. Frail but still active into his Eighties, his one-man shows were always sell-out events. In 1992 he was made an honorary CBE, and in 2000 and 2001 he received two Lifetime Achievement Awards: for writing and for comedy. Spike Milligan died in 2002. Alexander Games was comedy critic of the Evening Standard for six years and is the author of Pete & Dud: An Illustrated Biography and Backing into the Limelight: The Biography of Alan Bennett.

Reviews

'Wonderful anthology. A superbly sustained piece of comedy. Like so mush else in this collection, these excerpts inspire a return to the source.' Chris Power, The Times 'The most comprehensive compendium of the troubled genius' work. This volume spans his entire career...making this a testament to one of our most absurdly talented comedians. Poignant, nonsensical and hilarious. The Essential Spike Milligan is a more than appropriate epitaph.' Ben Arnold, Jockey Slut