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Spike Milligan was such a comedic colossus, bringing so much
laughter to so many people, that it's almost impossible to think
ill of him. His well-documented depression only added to the
romance, fuelling his image as the archetypal tortured genius
and unhappy clown.
But behind the impish smile was a truly impossible figure,
at least according to this hefty new biography. Here was a man
who would turn on his colleagues with murderous intent, an unapologetic
racist, a serial philanderer, a sanctimonious hypocrite and a
vain, self-absorbed misanthrope with a heavy persecution complex.
His mental condition stemmed from his insufferable nature,
rather than vice-versa, biographer Humphrey Carpenter suggests,
arguing that Spike's symptoms were those of split personality,
rather than of manic depression - and that some of his antisocial
behaviour was as much an act as an illness.
Unhindered by his lack of qualifications, the author goes
in for a fair dose of such pop psychology. Spike's brilliantly
unique outlook on life is variously explained by: his pining
for the childhood innocence of India; the lack of a father figure;
the fact he was an only child until the age of seven and spent
the rest of his life trying to recapture that undivided attention;
and his lack of formal education. Good theories, all, if entirely
unverifiable.
At one point, Carpenter talks about radio psychiatrist Anthony
Clare, who long-studied Spike's mental state. He writes: "If
Clare felt that Spike's depressions were not like other people's
- that they were chiefly a manifestation of anger rather than
sadness, and were more like a schizophrenic's episodes of paranoid
delusion, than the low period in the cycle of manic depression
- then he said nothing about it." On the other hand, perhaps
Clare didn't mention this because he thought nothing of the sort
- after all, he only had expert training and close knowledge
of the patient to go on.
It isn't surprising that Carpenter seeks to find new angles,
as Spike's long and productive life has already been analysed
and retold through countless books, many by Milligan himself.
When it comes to his war years, especially, it is impossible
to better Spike's sublime seven volumes of war memoirs, with
their funny, poignant, and honest tales straight from the horse's
mouth.
Carpenter- whose previous work includes the rigorous history
of Sixties comedy That Was Satire That Was - draws on plenty
of other, acknowledged, sources, most notably Pauline Scudamore's
comprehensive, if comparatively hagiographic, 1985
biography. Perhaps unsurprisingly, another biographer refused
permission to quote him, telling Carpenter to go away and 'write
his own book and not draw on anyone else's'. Meanwhile, Spike's
long-suffering friend and agent Norma Farnes is currently finishing
her first-hand
account, but she did have the good grace to allow Carpenter
to use whatever of Spike's material he unearthed.
But while the backbone of this book might be little more than
a 'cuttings job', it is a remarkably thorough one, raiding a
myriad of sources to form a detailed picture of Spike though
his life. Carpenter has done his own research, too, and added
plenty of flesh to the skeleton.
There are, however, plenty of apocryphal stories, especially
from Spike's earlier years, which prove impossible to verify
- such as the origin of the word Goons or the nickname Spike.
Spike himself took liberties with the facts when he spoke or
wrote of his life, as Carpenter often proves - except, that is,
in his war volumes, which Milligan ensured were meticulously
accurate.
One of the incidents Carpenter casts doubt on is Milligan's
well-publicised 1952 attempt to kill Goon Show co-star Peter
Sellers, who was living in the same block of flats. Spike snatched
a potato knife and smashed through his neighbour's glass front
door shouting: "I've come to kill Peter Sellers."
The incident, widely held to be the point of Spike's first
breakdown, is not disputed - but the fact he used a blunt knife,
referred to Sellers in the third person, and only harmed himself
leads the author to conclude this was, at least in part, play
acting.
But there is no doubt Spike's fury could erupt violently.
When his play The Bed Sitting Room was playing in the West End
in 1964, he threatened to kill co-star Graham Stark, the book
reveals. He called his wife at home, saying "Tell your husband
that if he comes to the theatre tonight I will shoot him."
She was left in no doubt he was serious, even though Spike managed
to convince the police he wasn't.
This may be strange behaviour from a man who declared himself
a pacifist, but nothing comparde to a 1974 case in which Spike
- like the Tony Martin of his day - shot a 16-year-old in his
back garden after a spate of vandalism. But it was only with
an air-rifle, and 'Gunner Milligan' was given a conditional discharge
after admitting causing actual bodily harm.
Other unpleasant aspects of Spike's character aren't glossed
over either, especially his racism. "I grew up believing
that these people, white people, were superior to everyone else"
he said when he was nearly 80.
His Q5 series in 1969 contained a number of racist gags, with
overt references to "wogs" and Jews, and in the same
year even The Sun was aghast at the line, uttered by a 'browned-up'
Spike in the Johnny Speight-written Curry and Chips: "I
leave Pakistan because there are too many wog. I came to England
and there are still too many wog."
Spike even refused to take the oath of allegiance to become
a British citizen, despite Prince Charles's nagging, because
he didn't want to be lumped in with the "Pakistanis and
Jamaicans", and felt that his time in the Army was proof
enough of his dedication to the Crown.
Stubborn doesn't even begin to describe Spike's pig-headedness.
He couldn't take criticism - going "totally berserk"
at any perceived plight, and couldn't bear to share the credit
with others, as evidenced by his shoddy treatment of the Goon
Show co-writers, whose contribution he has successfully erased
from history.
The self-obsession sometimes passed over to the bizarre, such
as the time he wrote to Prime Minister Harold Wilson complaining
of a burst ballpoint pen that ruined his shirt.
Spike was also vehemently opposed to population growth, though
that didn't stop him spreading his own seed, fathering four legitimate
and two illegitimate children.
The products of Spike's affairs have been hailed as revelations
in some advance publicity about this biography, but they are
nothing new - as the reproduction of a 1991 newspaper front
page proves.
Carpenter did, however, "after financial terms had been
agreed" secure an interview with the illigitimate son, James,
and his mother Margaret - though the result tells us more about
this pair than it does Spike.
His family are, apparently, still battling over Spike's estate.
But his real legacy is his body of work - and whatever your feelings
towards this most unlikeable man after reading this comprehensive
tome, that will always remain untarnished.
Steve Bennett
Augsut 4, 2003
- Spike Milligan: The Biography is published by Hodder and
Stoughton on August 4 for £20. Click below to buy from
Amazon at £14.
 To buy from
Amazon.co.uk
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