14 Facts About Bob Todd

Brian Todd, known professionally as Bob Todd, was an English comedy actor, mostly known for appearing as a straight man in the sketch shows of Benny Hill and Spike Milligan.

One of the great stooges of television comedy, Todd was best known for his lugubrious expression and talent for slapstick, and was known to fellow comedians by the nickname 'Silly Todd'.

Bob Todd appeared as several characters in Milligan and John Antrobus' stage play The Bed-Sitting Room, which opened at the Mermaid Theatre on 31 January 1963.

Bob Todd stayed with the programme, on and off, until Thames Television ended the show twenty-one years later.

Bob Todd was a regular on the 1971 The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine, appearing in 13 of the 14 episodes.

Bob Todd gained a reputation for drunkenness while working on The Benny Hill Show.

Bob Todd once failed to turn up for a London Palladium show after a drinking episode, and found himself in a Dublin hospital five days later.

Producer Dennis Kirkland persuaded Hill to rescind the decision, saying that Bob Todd brought much to the show and his drinking rarely affected his work.

Bob Todd's only starring role was as Dan the lavatory attendant in his own 1972 series In for a Penny, although he did appear in the Jimmy Jewel series Funny Man.

Bob Todd appeared in Sykes's film Rhubarb Rhubarb in 1980, as well as making guest appearances on shows by Jim Davidson and Allan Stewart and Spike Milligan's Q9.

Bob Todd was seen in cinema films, including Carry On Again Doctor, The Return of the Musketeers, and Mutiny on the Buses.

Bob Todd appeared in the 1980s series of The Sooty Show playing the part of The Black Hand, in the adventure film The Case of the Black Hand.

Bob Todd appeared in Gabrielle and the Doodleman as Merlin as well as an Ugly Sister with Windsor Davies in 1984.

Bob Todd died at home at the age of 70 in the village of Burwash, Sussex, from myocardial hypertrophy.