I really enjoyed this interview. James Whale did a great job - good questions and allowing Spike Milligan to speak. As someone who suffers from mental health issues I found it to be a very interesting and informative discussion.
The best interview with Spike I have seen. Perhaps the only interview where you get a real sense of Spike's vulnerability and perhaps even a glimpse of the man who used comedy as a disguising shield. It is a great shame there weren't more serious interviews like this with Spike.
So honest….so real…good ol Spike shared his story and the pain he suffered….he was immensely brave…to share with us…that we can learn…and understand. Despite that…he still brings his wonderful humor in this interview too! 😄😊👍👍
Two of my favourite men from childhood. So glad they got on with each other. 20 minutes well spent. If you haven’t already, read his war memoirs. And James Whale is still on talk radio, week nights.m
depression is a cloud that follows u were ever u go but now and again your brain releases the happy chemicals all at once that you have built up from always being depressed.
ive always enjoyed being witty in a serious conversation , i love pretty colourful things . .writing hopefull happy poetry and songs .it all comes from the dark world we live in
I think Spike respected James more than any other interviewer. He was given the chance to speak honestly about himself, rather than just being booked to do a comic turn, as has so often happened.
I used to enjoy James Whales tv program many years ago. This interview with Spike was the most in depth one I had ever seen. Everyone skirted around the subject of his depression? Even Parkinson never asked the range of questioned posed here. Well done.
Yet, with Graham Chapman everyone was all to eager to know about the extent and depths of his alcoholism. There's a strange kind of imbalance with the media, they seem to think reality is only worth acknowledging when fantasy/entertainment can be made from it
This is an incredible conversation between Spike and James. Respect to James for being so gentle with Spike. It is an interview of course but it feels more like a conversation between the two. Spike seems so relaxed with James.
I did not think I could admire this man more than I do, but this interview has cemented Spike as one of my greatest inspirations and hero. Thank you Spike.
I don't think of Spike being "Difficult", more like a rebellious Comedic Genius. I would have just have liked the opportunity to thank him personally for all the entertainment he has given me ( and millions of others ) over the years, rather than the anonymous usual of watching tv or by buying his books. I remember whilst commuting and reading "Adolf Hitler, my part in his downfall", that i laughed out loud several times and people then looked at me as if i was out on day release. It was worth it for the laughs.
I can see the same ( & similar ) triggers that push me over the edge at times, & quite often sleep is my saviour----lots of it. A very incitefull interview.
A fascinating interview by James Whale which gives us a rare insight into Spike Milligan, his struggle with manic depression and the treatment he has found, great interview.
Such an enlightening video into the great man. As someone who runs from the black dog himself, I empathise fully with what he's describing. So sad.. Thank you Spike...
I wonder if he would still have felt lonely if he had realized how loved he was by vast numbers of people. He asks, genuinely not knowing, "Am I the consummate artist?" when recalling being able to make people laugh while in the middle of a serious depressive bout. The answer is, of course, "Yes, you are indeed the consummate artist." Being unique must take its toll, and all great artists are painfully sensitive, whether suffering from depression or not. Thank you, Spike, for the many years of cheering us all up with your inspired imagination, and for being who you are.
Spike Milligan's talent was never really seen for what it was. Spike raised the issue of shell shock/bomb happy/combat fatigue/post traumatic stress disorder, which affected him all his life. Meanwhile his mania also produced the comedy equivalent of the Beatles, the Goons.
This is a very good and informative..intetview....spike milligan...speaks honostly and frankkey...and james whale...is the ideal one to speak.to him....pretending .to catch the invisible..fly...he was a real person...and i personally can relate to that...mel..
Thanks for putting this up, James! I don't know how I missed it till now; great stuff. It must be great for radio and TV people to be able to put up their work like this.
My father has depression. My mother would mock him behind his back. "Oh, I'm depressed ... Catch yourself on !" she would say, eyes to heaven. He has never done anything to get help for it. Family holidays stopped when we were very little. No family meals. My parents will die soon enough. And myself and my siblings are strangers to one another as we never had a family life. They should never have been married.
Depression is when you hide and run away from facts and things that you should deal with in your life. Great stuff Spike, a true legend, rip man. ❤ Anyone reading this shit, remember there are people here,there and everywhere struggling....feel free to cry and shout for help....there is always someone that will help. Love to all. 👍👍❤
Well, what can one say. I've seen many Spike Milligan interviews but I think this is one of the best. You a actually seeing the real Spike, yes there were a few jokes thrown in but on the whole, it was him. I did know the part about the Goon Shows being a tremendous drain on him But Peter Sellers said that it was his most happiest time, clowning around with his best pals.
Spike has always been my favourite comedian. Here however he is seen in a more serious (but not self-pitying) guise and candidly delivers the best informal chat I've yet heard on the subject of depression. I speak as a one-time sufferer myself. This video should be viewed by all those who suffer from depression along with those who have regular contact with them. On a purely technical note: Oddly this pre-widescreen TV interview has a stereophonic soundtrack. (Maybe it was also broadcast on FM radio). Unfortunately, however, the left and right channels are reversed.
I think it comes from the fact that people who are performers and who have many devoted fans have often said that they still feel lonely. As you say, one wonders why, but of course a room full of fans isn't a personal relationship.
Maybe James has some experience of mental illness or did some research and thought it may open the door to a frank answer, which he got. Please don't take this as criticism because it is not that. I am depressive myself and this is probably the first question that I would ask along with despite that do you prefer your own company?
Ask me how long it took to find out what year this interview took place. I gave up after half-an-hour. Thanks for making lithium seem more appealing James!
3:07. the first of many awkward moments where james whale wasn't sure if milligan was joking. notice how the laugh turns into a cough when he realizes there was a bug flying around. how embarrassing, so you thought spike was waving at imaginary things? wow.
Spike - poor man. Gave so much but got back so little. Manic depression still misunderstood. A relative of mine became ill with this some years ago and my employer was as thick as pigsh*t about it. Horrendous.
Sad what he said, Prince Charles was and is a big fan, occasionally you'll hear a goon-like remark from him but it's getting harder and harder to slip them in.
James, I am currently putting together a permanent exhibition on Spike Milligan for my employers Central Coast Council NSW. The exhibition will be at Woy Woy Library and have a small theatrette on which to show Milligan related programmes. May we have permission to include your interview on an ongoing basis? I feel this is very important to show the whole man. Geoffrey Potter, Local History Librarian
I rarely watch RU-vid published video interviews from the beginning till the end either because the object of the interview is boring or the interviewer obnoxiously only interested in him/herself (or both). Spike Milligan was just such a nice and gentle human being that I was sorry that this interview ended after 20 minutes. The man has me in stitches every time. Never heard of the interviewer but he does a great job here as well, genuinely interested in the answers.
