Count Arthur Strong is an absolute joy. One evening I had the good fortune to channel hop into the episode with the riot going on outside Bulent's. By the time it was over I was helpless with laughter and hooked.
Count Arthur's assault on the humdrum reminds me of so many eccentrics it has been my honour to encounter in life, not least my mother. His intermittent transitions into my what passes for received pronunciation capture with excruciating accuracy the sound of English speakers of a bygone era "getting on their high horse". The Count raises the idiosyncratic to an art form. His appearance on TV was enhanced (if such a thing were possible) by a splendid cast (oh, please, let them all be real) not least Rory Kinnear.
I'm 55 and the Count is by far the best comedy character I have had the pleasure of watching and listening to,and that includes Steve Coogans many brilliant and cleverly observed characters...
I once saw Count Arthur square up to a drunk and rather belligerent Nicholas Parsons in a carpark in Colchester. It was pretty impressive. There was tank top damage and Parsons’s Jammie Dodgers got trampled on but the way Arthur chewed a match after the fight made me want to join a gang
It's not that well known but whilst Count Arthur did not get the James Bond part he was shortlisted for the Ernst Blofeld role. "Oh yes, that part was tailor made for me", said Arthur. "I'm a dab hand at sitting in leather chairs". It's just a shame that I can't stand bloomin' cats. For some reason they keep getting under my soddin' feet. And, it's nigh on impossible to get the cat hairs out of the lap of your trousers. Why he couldn't have had a pet goldfish instead is beyond me". Such a loss to the British secret service, I really do.
I think Arthur didn't get either part because his confidence took a big hit when Peter O'Toole got the part of Lawrence of Arabia. Arthur was always David Leans first choice. But Arthur took the wrong bus to the auditions..went to Elstree instead of Pinewood. And ended up playing a triffid in "The Day of the Triffid"...Which coincidentally took all day to film. The following day he got a phone call from Cubby telling him that O'Toole had got the part.. "Oh buggar it and I wasted my time doing that bloody weedkiller advert" said a furious Arthur before slamming the phone down. - extract from his biography...from what I recall, which is what I recall, not what his biography entitled "what I recall" recalled cause I don't think his biography is called that..from what I recall.
I do believe that you are right. " My God," said Arthur, "I can't live on bloody kebabs everyday and sleeping on friends cushions, strewn across their living room floor. Who's going to pay money for a cinema ticket to watch this "Laurence of Belgravia". I'd be better of taking up my roll in Doctor Chicago. You couldn't make it up!
@@malp78 -It was a very tough time for Arthur during that period . He missed out on a number of leading parts, most notably "My Fair Lady" in 1964. When Arthur who'd memorIsed all the songs.. in particular " If I could talk to the animals" which he sang at the audition, failed to win him the part. - again from his biography from what I recall...etc,etc
I wonder what other auditions Count Arthur has attended in the past? Surely he'll have been up for parts against Olivier, Clint Eastwood ('do you feel lucky, punk?'), Michael Caine, Bob Hoskins in 'The Long Good Friday' ..... He'd have been quite a different Popeye Doyle from Gene Hackman, I imagine. His audio memoirs would be a fascinating listen.
I think he is better just listened to and imagine the characters, knowing what a still shot of him looks like, and the general theme of the character, and a few, more engineered video pieces are OK. As stand up still good just listening to it, but not so good watching as well. Did not like the TV series due to the visuals.
Well, they didn’t recommission his TV show, although they did run it for 3 series. The TV show wasn’t actually very good, certainly not a patch on the radio show. The radio show is still going (albeit in the form of “specials” that come out around Christmas - the last one was last year, 2021). I think you’ll find that the BBC will happily screen anything that gets good viewing figures. To suggest they only favour Oxbridge or “woke” material is a nice sound bite but it’s basically bollocks. Mrs.Browns Boys? Hardly Oxbridge and “woke” was it…..
When Craig retires at end of year Bond ,sadly there going woke feminist ,but Bond should of retired a while back ,but they should make Arthur Bond as it would be far more fun than that English fellow
