Bob Grant was a good friend of mine and I first worked with him in 1984. His talent was incredibly underrated. A joyous man to be with socially and a great intellect. Sorely missed.
That is very sad. I wished he'd got the help he obviously needed. Not sure I should comment further, but I remember reading about him in the paper after he'd made an attempt on his life, and the account in the paper said that people close to him were trying to find him some more acting work. The trouble is that acting is a very precarious profession and only a small minority of actors go on to make lifelong acting careers. Maybe there ought to be some kind of employment agency to help actors who are struggling to find roles? I read that Joanne Ridley (who starred in "Me And My Girl) became a cocktail waitress and finally a yoga teacher after the roles dried up, and Stefan Dennis (Paul Robinson from "Neighbours") trained as a chef and often works in kitchens in Melbourne when there's no work for his character in the soap.
Michael Robbins timing and facial expression was simply brilliant. The put downs on Anna Karen were so funny. They were both in my opinion the true stars in the show.
I agree, a great set of actors one and all, but If forced to pick a favourite I think I would plump for Michael Robbins too. His facial expressions, as you say, was comedy gold.
I grew up as a kid in 1980's UK and On the Buses was a favourite in our house on re-runs. I rewatched a few episodes recently, and it most definitely brought out nostalgia feels of a far much more innocent time, for all of us.
I absolutely love ‘on the buses ‘ . I still watch it a few times a very week. They don’t make great tv like this anymore , shows that really do make you laugh out loud ❤
Still watch these shows often and fondly including are you veih served, anyone else under forty that watch these shows these days? They will all be missed and appreciated 😢
I only found this show On the Busses about 3 months ago and fell in love with it. I'm sad that I never knew about it before but I guess it's better late than never!
I saw Reg Varney/Bob Grant and Stephen Lewis on an open top bus once, when London still did the Easter parades, They were wearing their bus uniforms, smiling and waving at the crowd. That was a great day!!, but sadly not done anymore😞, thanks for sharing👍....................
Well before my time been born in 77 but I loved it when I saw it one day and now at 45 I have all the series on dvd plus the extras that they did! Favourite character for me was Reg Varney! (Egg Sarnie) lol
Thank you. I love them all but, Bye Bye Blakey, Foggy Night, the Nurse, and of course the feature film Mutiny on the buses were classics. The jokes around the baby, little Arthur, were fabulous. I enjoy them as much now as I did the first and probably the 100th time around! Best wishes to you.
You say it aired between 1969 and 1973. I used to watch it as a kid, and intriguingly, just 4 years had a big impact on people's viewing. I was at school and everyone seemed to enjoy and become affected by this comedy. It seemed to last a lot longer than that. Such is the magic of a good story.
Yep comedy and memories from an England most of us don’t recognise anymore today ☹️ Glad a lot of us here have these wonderful memories of comedy shows like this 🙂
@@FactsVerseUK truthfully mate not any particular show but really good funny stuff on top of just the good stuff. Fond of holiday film in Prestatyn, Rhuddlan, St Asaph etc cos live in area and knew a young girl getting off the bus when in pontins. Worked there on prize bingo in very early 80s. Badly in need of demolition now.
@@FactsVerseUK foggy night. the one where they get stuck in fog on the bus and have to stay overnight til the fog clears. peanuts chucked in Blakey's mouth. olive goes for a pee and gets scared of a cow. the cow pops its head through the bus doors. arguing over a packet crisps that they nicked off Blakey. mum knitting and Arthur asleep and then trying to read the other half of the newspaper that olive is using to cover up with as the heating don't work on the bus...best episode for me
So many brilliant actors who have passed They've gone for ever,They leave us with sadness only for us all too laugh at the great laughs they have given us over the years of on The bus's,,On The bus's will always be one of the great shows ever shown on our Tv sets....
Yeh I cried it was Horrible how she died. The last cast member from on the Busses, Now there all gone. so sad. Maybe they will make a remake in heaven you never know.
I loved the show I used to watch it with my late father we laughed all the way through I loved Olive and Stan although they were all brilliant actors RIP to the legends 🙏🙏👏👏👏👏👏👏
My father is a musician, and when I was a kid Dad toured extensively on the club circuit here in Australia with many visiting British comedians of that period. I got to meet some of them, and one was Reg Varney. Dad brought him to our house for dinner one night. He was very friendly, totally unpretentious, and was a naturally funny man. He fell asleep on our couch watching a movie with us, lol. I also got to meet Harry Secombe, Jimmy Edwards, Warren Mitchell, Benny Hill and Spike Milligan (who was living in Australia by then). Varney and Secombe were the most memorable for me. Both were warm, grounded guys, and a great laugh to be around.
Hey did Reg tell you he could play the piano. Oh he was good. I have him on DVD on the Extras Bonus Footage, He comes out as Liberarce And plays Boogie Woogie. I was Gob Smacked, He blew me away. I never even knew he could play till i saw it. I brought all the DVD's when they First came out in the mid 2000nds. That's when i saw him play. he was Brilliant. He was a dark horse.
@@Markus_Andrew This is as good as meeting a cast member, This is AWSOME, Ime talking to someone that met some of them actually talked to them, And if that wasn't enough, Had Reg Varney over for dinner. WAW what are the chances of that happening, That's well cool my friend. Benny hill OMG Mind blown, Harry Secombe, & Warren Mitchel, That's Fantastic i love what a story, Well i don't know if i can even begin to top that mate, But i dated Babs Beverley's daughter from the Beverley sisters, And met all her family and friend, one of the nicest family's you could ever want to meet, I met Englebert once, And i went out with a woman that was really good friends with Steve Davis, And almost met Joe Longthorne to, But i did see him live and sat on the front roe, And he said Hi to me did a hand circle and did the Joe longthorne wink, Witch I'll never Forget, And he sent me A copy of his Last Album he did, And signed it for me. And that's my brush with fame my friend, I love your story mate It's Amazing. Something that will stay with us forever buddy.
I watched this series with my parents in the 70s when i was little. So sad that all the stars from this show are all gone now "R.I.P" As are my mum and dad...
@@FactsVerseUK that's tough as most episodes I have not rewatched in decades, but one that I can remember that stands out, is the one where the bus company issues the staff new uniforms and stan and Jack go for a pint as usual, after work but in the new uninforms and a couple attractive women In the bar mistake stan and Jack for airline pilots, and the guys go along and pretend they are indeed pilots, as the women seem to be attract to men who are licenced aviators, but as usual thing go all wrong....
@@phoenixman8569 that was a good episode. My favourites are when they brew the beer at home which is like firewater, and the foggy night when they get stuck in the countryside overnight.
Anna Karen was actually a model and had to be made down to play Olive.... Funny that Steven Lewis ended up on Last of the Summer Wine, as most old actors seemed to end up there...... Micheal Robbins was a nice fella and lived his last years in Lingfield where he was well known and liked...
My mother was a clippie back in the 1950's and On The Buses reminded her of the time she worked on the buses and said it was well researched and could relate to many scenes in the series. She became a £10 pom in 1965 and emigrated to Australia with my father. She made frequent trips back to England throughout the years and past away in Australia aged 88 yrs in 2010.
I'm Australian and remember this show from my childhood. When the series and movies were released on DVD I bought them and have watched every episode many times. I guess Stephen Lewis was the most prolific of the actors playing in TV roles into old age. He was meant to be a bit character but that all changed when his character became one of the favourites. My favourite character was Arthur. He died quite young sadly
Arthur made the show. It wasn’t the same when he left. In some of the episodes you can tell that Arthur was almost in laughter while trying to play it in character.
@@peterm1826 I agree! I think Arthur was easily the funniest character. I think he was at his best in the movie- Holiday on the Buses, especially when he made Olive go into the filthy river to fetch the luggage.
I'll never forget the episode when Olive and Arthur were in bed and Olive had a large jar of pickled onions and when she dropped one in the bed and then thinking she had found it, Arthur says that happens to be the knot in my pyjamas. 😂
@@carriered4715 she always got ridiculed for being the frumpy housewife but Olive wasn’t as frumpy as was portrayed, let’s say she also had a proper woman’s figure.
@@JustJamie1983 When Olive was pregnant and says the baby is kicking, Arthur retorted "It's probably the baby playing football with all those pickled onions you've been eating"
When Olive was pregnant and says the baby is kicking, Arthur retorted "It's probably the baby playing football with all those pickled onions you've been eating"
I had an afintity with On The Buses, it was at this time I was a conductor on London Transport and I learned to drive at Chiswick Training Centre. So I also went around the skin patch that Stan did, it was easy. I was even told there that you could not tip an RT Bus over, (the forerunner to the Routemaster), however by loading the top deck with sandbags our instructors managed to do it, much to the Managers Chagrin. When I watch the show, I recognise some of there antics as the same sort that we used to get up to. (Snooker was a great way to pass the time). The show was really true to life. If you could get out of work you would. As a conductor my second driver would make sure that if we broke down it be furthest away from any assistance that we needed, and always on the First Half, we never broke down on the second, except just once. However we made a lot of overtime that day. Watching the show now brings back those memories. After a break while I became an entertainer. After a few years I then got a job driving a London Underground Train and it was just as much fun. I even got a few comendations for my actions, such as suicides and accidents. I am now back in entertainment as a Disc Jockey on Dover Community Radio, which is local but also online, apparently I have been heard both in Canada and Australia, so very local. If you can find me, I am called Biro D and I am on four times a week at Prime Time. I enjoyed your comments. Thankyou for bringing all my memories back. (Oh yes, I was also a Warners Green Coat, which is the entertainment staff, and it was at one of our camps where they filmed Hi De Hi). When I got married my wife and I went there for a holiday, which was just one week before filming began on the afore mentioned show. Every week we would have a topsy turvey competion for the campers which was where all the men could dress as women and visa versa. So when I was at Dovercourt I entered as a pregnant woman, and gave birth to twins on the dance floor. My twist was that the first was a baby doll, but the second was a Womble, from the Television Show of the same name. So as you can see, I followed two Television Shows, or did they follow me? If you like music please give me a listen, I could also give you a mention on air if you would like me to. Brian Walton, Live in Dover. Gateway to everywhere else!!!
I adore this show. The backdrops of Britain as seen in the films is an incredible reminder of my childhood and what the country was like back then. For me, Anna (Olive) is my favourite character. Her role was a less intelligent and somewhat slobbish sister but honestly I could see past all that - she was a hot woman! Thanks for making this video. I didn't know about their lives and deaths after the work ended.
If anyone wants an authentic glimpse into working class life in the late 60s/early 70s, this is the place to look. The brilliant ensemble cast perfectly captured the time and place, (southern England). I had the immense pleasure of meeting Doris Hare in the mid 70s and in real life, she bore very little resemblance to "mum". Warms my heart just seeing photos from the show.
Reg Varney was an underated actor. His appearance as a washed up comedian in holiday camp drama, The Best Pair of Legs in the Business was so poignant, I have never forgotten it.
Fabulous show. Love it. My favourites were the feature films, especially 'holiday on the buses'. It reminded me of the seaside camp holidays, I had as a child. Very happy memories. Bless them all. Oh butler, you've made my day.
OH i ate you Battler, Get on that Bass. Yeh i agree Holiday on the Busses was AWSOME. When the toilet explodes, Oh LOL funny till your tummy hurts. Nowt like that on telly today my friend.
A wonderful show with a great ensemble cast,watched on NZ TV during the 70s and akways enjoyed it,felt very sad about the death of Bob Grant,he was never given a chance to show his true talent as an actor and writer outside the show-RIP to Bob and all the cast fir the joy they all gave us Auckland New Zealand 2023
I'm a huge fan, watched the show during my childhood and still now. My parents were older (40 and 47) when I was born so, being fans of the show when it first came out, they introduced me to it
Steptoe and Son was also a fantastic sitcom shown before and during the time On the Buses was broadcast.Both depicted the inner city working class but Steptoe and Son i think appealed also to a more broader TV audience
@@culturedivined True. Only Fools and Horses was actually voted the best ever. Fawlty Towers was high up too. Personally, I'd put Rising Damp above Steptoe & Son, which I never liked.
Watched the later episodes as a kid in the 70s (my older brother was a bus driver and I spent many happy weekends travelling on his routes) then watched them again many times as an adult online. Brilliant comedy with great dialogue, fantastic actors and so many memorable story lines.
My favourite characters were Arthur & Blakey - the laughs were plenty but these two had, by far, the best facial expressions. I still watch the three movies regularly & the repeats when shown and I still laugh in the same places
My mother was conductress on the buses back in the 1950's and although she migrated to Australia in the early 60's I sent her a DVD boxed set of every single episode produced. She absolutely loved it and the antics and behaviour took her back to the 1950's. She always told me that the show had been well researched.
Barry Rudge. Was your mother a conductress on those "trolley buses" during the sixties? I still remember those "trolley buses" in the early sixties when I was about 2 and 3 years old in Fulham, where I lived at the time.
@@EtonieE25 It's possible we could have passed each other on that steep staircase in the trolley bus. But I was probably too busy eating sweets to have noticed the world around me. I remember Fulham was a lovely place when I was growing up there. Bishop's Park, the outdoor stage (I saw that stage get built), tennis courts, outdoor bowling, sand pit, duck pond, bird aviaries and more. Sometimes I just wish I could turn back the clock.
@@redblade8160 Yes clean and beautiful and as Mary Hopkins used to say….. 🎼 Those were the days my friend 🎼 I tell the grandkids l was like 10 years old and went EVERYWHERE on my own across London and 4 of us even cycled to Box Hill in Surrey on our own at 10 yrs old! No muggins, no stabbings, no peedies and if someone ever tried to accost us we knew a complete stranger would come to our aid in a flash. A time of respect for others and their property, unlike the unruly awful country the UK is fast becoming today ☹️ Glad we experienced the old days and l feel so sad for the upcoming generations who think this era was just a dream
One thing that struck me about the show (which must be 50 years old now) was how strong the unions were back then. All Jack Harper had to do was walk out into the concourse and shout "Brothers," and Blakey would be brought to heel.
It will never be forgotten, It was timeless tv and we will never see talent like it ever again. That's when they knew how to make great sit coms. id'e gladly go back to those days. On the busses was the best.
The bus garage used was the Eastern National garage at Wood Green, you will see a glimpse of the 151,251 and 351 buses that ran from London to Southend, the good old days.
@@redblade8160 Thats a good question and I have no idea lol, but in some episodes you will see the numbers 151 and 251 in the background. I would have thought the cafe and other parts were filmed at Elstree studios
@@FactsVerseUK one of my favourites is when arthur and olive are on the bike with side car and the luggage goes into the river! lol gets me everytime lol. Second favourite is when butler is trying to have a secret date with a girl but it ends up being a family night in :D
Reg Varney was the first person in the whole world to use an ATM cash machine at Barclay's Bank in Enfield Town London UK. Because he lived there a nice part of Enfield called Whitewebs near the golf course.
@@FactsVerseUK I think Stephen Lewis starred in the soft porn comedy Adventures of a Plumber's Mate. The other star of On the Buses, Doris Hare starred in those other soft porn comedies The Confession series, though thankfully she didn't take her clothes off.
Yes. One thing I remember about him was that a weekly magazine of the period was doing a feature about Japanese whisky, which was new on our market then, and they used Stephen for their taste comparisons because they knew he was a whisky expert. They wanted to know whether or not he could tell the difference between Scotch whisky and Japanese in a blind taste comparison. Eventually he could (once he'd tasted a couple of Japanese ones and got acquainted with the taste), but he got a couple wrong to start with. And I agree, his performances were very funny.
I loved all on the buses characters. Ive got very fond memories of watching the series and films many times over the years. Lovid it ❤ May they all RIP xx
A really nice vid ! As for my favourite character within the On The Buses shows - Well all of them. A perfect cast team who all played as one and made the series and movies so very enjoyable and funny to watch. Life seemed so simple back in On The Buses days.😂
I'm not old enough to remember this when it first came out but found it late at night on ITV3 or 4, I loved it, I'd love to see a remake/revive, sad they are all gone now
They were gonna make a remake but i don't think they could find the actors to play the parts. I mean where would you find another Buttler, Or Arthur. Or olive. I do a very good Blakey i have the bus hat and Clip board wig And the voice, His voice was Amazing. So funny, He only had to speak and you were in stitches. So YEH if there looking for a Blakey then Ill do it. Came on Battler Get on that Bass, Oh i ate you Battler ate ya.
I remember as a teenager, my brother and I went to see them live in 1986 in Vancouver, we watched British TV growing up (dad's British), and it was great, though we accidentally left during intermission, we had no clue there was another half.
I loved all of them and I still watch it now they were AMAZING and I'm really sad 😔 they are no longer with us. They are sadly missed but will Always remain in our hearts ❤
I really enjoyed watching on the buses with my Mum and Dad they were all brilliant . I love pommy comedy nothing beats it ❤😂❤😂😅 We don't get enough of it on TV today
I love them all - their unique talents and acting skills blended perfectly into the on-screen characters in this series - although I never knew any of them personally, they are all loved and cherished.
It said in the video that he had a licence, but wasn't allowed to drive the buses due to insurance problems. If he couldn't drive them on set, he couldn't on public roads.
Apparently ’Olive’ was a professional stripper early in her career and was stunning to look at. Isn’t it amazing how good makeup can be. It’s so sad that she passed away in that fire. A wonderful actress.
I loved On The Buses, it was absolutely hilarious 😂 😂 😂, My favourite characters were Stan, Jack, and Blakey!! 😀 😀 Hard to believe that all original cast members have all passed away 🙏 🙏 RIP, To all the cast members 🙏🙏 I 'ate you Butler!! 😂😂😂
The episode titled "The Cistern" had to be just about the best one. Michael Robbins as Arthur can be seen cracking up and trying to stifle his own laughter 😂
