Bob Block (slapstick scriptwriter) RIP (clip)

[BillShipton]

Not being a reader of the Daily Mail myself, I am grateful to the landlady of my local for handing me a page from one of last week's issues featuring a letter from the daughter of scriptwriter Bob Block who died in April aged 89. Bob wrote for dozens of top British comics in his 40 year career but will be best remembered by people my age for writing just about every slapstick kids TV show in the 60s and 70s.

He was most famous for Rentaghost which ran for nine years but the more mature (or should that be immature?) of you will also recall Robert's Robots, Pardon My Genie (with Roy Barraclough), Clive Dunn's Grandad and the Ken Dodd and the Diddymen series. All were full of his trademark physical comedy but in my view his work on the early Crackerjack (Leslie Crowther, Peter Glaze and Michael Aspel era) was his finest and certainly one of my inspirations. Almost every week there was a messy slapstick sketch of some sort and being the early days of colour TV (not that we had it!), multi-coloured slosh and pies flew. And Bob Block was the sole sketch writer on the show so came up with the lot! Even as a child his name on the credits or in the Radio Times meant it would be worth watching. And barely a day went by without a Bob Block slapstick sketch on TV.

Bob Block retired in 1986 and his daughter wants the BBC to show a tribute to him and his work hence her letter to the Mail. This is sadly somewhat unlikely however his family have started a website commemorating him bob-block-scriptwriter.co.uk.

Rest in pies, Bob!

PS It would be nice if he came back as a ghost to haunt the BBC until they ran the tribute. All together now, "If your mansion house needs haunting just call Rentaghost...."

[BillShipton]

Found this on Youtube to prove my point. Mr Block's work and a female pie hit so good even WAMTEC saved it!!



And I had forgotten Roy Barraclough's character was called Mr Cobbledick!

[Wamprincess]

I loved Rentaghost, Witch Hazel, Dobin and Mr Claypole! My butler tells me there was a character called Fred Mumford in it too who looked like the bloke from the Little Britain fat fighters sketches and he had a side kick who loomed like Jon Pertwee but I don't remember either of them. Anyone else?

[Splattella]

I knew he'd written Rentaghost but had no idea he'd done so much else. Crackerjack has more to answer for in my warped development than almost anything else! I'm obviously Bob Block's devil child!

PS Jan Hunt from Crackerjack seemed to have a lot of falling into water or getting engulfed in foam reserved for her.

[mr angry]

Yes, a sad loss. To me that is the essence of what Splosh is all about. Imagine the sketch from you tube on this thread but, instead of middle aged blokes, sexy, glamorous, smartly dressed girls!

On the subject of Crackerjack, I do remember it but only as a kid. My watching of kids programmes \more or less stopped when I started secondary school at the age of 11 in September '71. I didnt get home until about five o clock ish then by which time most of them had finished. From memory, there used to be a couple of quite attractive girls on it in the late 60s/1970 ish period, along with Leslie Crowther and Peter Glaze and there was a fair bit of mess.

Can anyone shed a little more light?

[BillShipton]

I can remember Christine Holmes taking a few pies during that period and, of course, Jan Hunt became a regular.

[Trouso]

I loved Rentaghost, Witch Hazel, Dobin and Mr Claypole! My butler tells me there was a character called Fred Mumford in it too who looked like the bloke from the Little Britain fat fighters sketches and he had a side kick who loomed like Jon Pertwee but I don't remember either of them. Anyone else?

Being a bit younger, too (38 in my case) I don't remember these characters either (according to Wikipedia, the actor who played Mumford died in 1979). When I watched it (from about this time on) A character called Mr Meaker took over. Couldn't hear singer Mika on the radio in recent years without thinking of Rentaghost.

Crackerjack was presented by Stu Francis by the time I watched it (79-83), with occasional appearances by Glaze in sketches, presumably still written by Block. I remember it still being quite messy at times with games involving dunking faces in treacle and a 'gunge' tank type arrangement (when it was still called 'sludge'), although women rarely got it (apart from Sarah Greene).