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I first became a fan of the late, great, Kenny Everett when I was around five or six, arguably too young to truly understand his unique brand of comedy. The television was on one evening, when a cartoon suddenly appeared. As with most kids I loved cartoons at that age, and assumed they were all intended for kids, so I couldn’t understand why it was on at night when the children’s programmes had finished long ago.
The cartoon in question was an episode of Captain Kremmen, which was an animated science fiction sketch shown as part of the Kenny Everett Video Show, Kenny’s first TV series which was shown in the late seventies on ITV. Captain Kremmen was an intergalactic space hero, and was a character originally created by Kenny for his radio shows, which is of course where he first found fame.
From then on I plagued my parents to let me watch more of this cartoon, they eventually gave in, and to their surprise I even sat glued to the non-cartoon parts of the show where this strange bearded man pulled funny faces and did odd things. I was hooked, even if I didn’t really understand what was going on.
In 1981 Kenny had jumped channels from ITV to the BBC, or the Beeb as he used to call it. I’m not sure if he invented this nickname or not, but he certainly used to use it a lot. Kenny went on to make five series of The Kenny Everett Television Show, and it is this show that I will always remember Kenny for most. Well, that and his appearances on Blankety Blank!
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If you haven’t already heard, the great British actor Edward Woodward passed away on the 16th November, aged 79.
Doesn’t look too bad for a sixty year old, does he? The little yellow bear with black ears that we all know as Sooty has been around since the 1950’s, meaning he’s entertained at least three generations of kids. This has put him in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest running children’s TV show, although the format and name of his TV programmes has changed a fair bit over the years.
Patrick Swayze, star of films such as 
I am sorry to have to report the death of John Hughes, one of the most successful film directors, producers and writers of the 1980’s. He suffered a heart attack on 6th August 2009 whilst visiting his family in New York, and passed away at the age of just 59.
You surely can’t have failed to have heard by now that pop legend Michael Jackson died of a heart attack yesterday afternoon, aged 50. Whilst he may have courted controversy quite frequently there is no denying that he leaves a massive legacy to the music industry, and can be rightly compared to such legends as Elvis Presley and John Lennon.
Good old madcap Johnny Ball. I can’t think of another childrens TV presenter who could manage to get kids so enthused about school work as he could. He would bound on to the screen with limitless energy, dashing about demonstrating scientific principals and relating historical tales all with a massive grin fixed firmly to his face. He was like a child in a sweet shop, who’d just be told they could eat anything they wanted.
You just don’t seem to see many ventriloquists on TV any more, do you? The main reason for this I suppose is the complete lack of variety TV shows, where you’d be entertained by a plethora of different acts including singers, comedians and magicians. A really popular ventriloquist could even be given their own primetime TV show, but I think those days are well and truly gone!
