Tony Hancock : what kind of fool? : the definitive biography

"One of Britain's most innovative comedians and arguably its most popular, Hancock united the nation in laughter with Hancock's Half Hour, the show that established the situation comedy. But behind Hancock's success lurked a tendency to self-destruction that would compromise his later years." "In this first full appraisal of both his life and work, Fisher sheds new light on Hancock's fall from grace, examining with sensitivity what went wrong and questioning whether his suicide was inevitable." "Tony Hancock: The Definitive Biography will redefine the Hancock legacy, reaffirming Hancock's body of work on stage, radio and television as unsurpassed by a single British comedian."--BOOK JACKET. Read more... Abstract: Regarded as the best radio and TV comic of his era, Tony Hancock was a man whose star burned brightly in the eyes and ears of millions before his untimely death in 1968. Now, forty years on, critically acclaimed biographer John Fisher brings the first fully authorised account of his life. Read more... Content: Preface: 'Remembered laughter' -- 1. The Image of Hancock -- 2. 'You'll go far, my son' -- 3. 'Remember Gibraltar?' -- 4. 'It's not easy, is it?' -- 5. Radio Waves -- 6. Hancock's Radio Half Hour -- 7. 'Going through the card' -- 8. Hancock's Television Half Hour -- 9. Face to Face and About-face -- 10. 'And then there were three...' -- 11. Matters of Loyalty -- 12. 'Thumbs down and into the crocodile pit' -- 13. 'The limbo is calling...' -- 14. '...Your star will be falling' -- 15. 'Too many times' -- 16. 'What was he really like?' -- Epilogue: 'Funny and sad'. Tony Hancock was regarded as the best radio and television comic of his era and the founder of the British sitcom. A man whose star burned brightly in the eyes and ears of millions before his untimely death. This is the first fully authorized account of his life.