History Creator / MichaelBentine

He starred in several films and had a career as novelist, writer and stand-up comedian and raconteur. His lifelong interest in the paranormal generated two best-selling biographical books ''Doors of the Mind'' and ''The Door Marked Summer''. On a slightly darker side, he was also connected to British Intelligence notables, and had strongly right-wing libertarian views. He feuded with Creator/TheBBC which he considered dangerously left-wing, and [[UnPerson claimed they destroyed his TV series out of pique and to punish him by cutting off overseas sales and residuals]].

This hiccup sorted out, a defective inoculation left him near dead and destroyed his eyesight, rendering him ineligible for pilot or aircrew service. The subsequent near-death experience awakened an interest in paranormal investigation which would be part of his life until death. He was an occasional contributor to ''Magazine/ForteanTimes'' and wrote a series of books on his involvement with the paranormal.

Comedian, actor and author '''Michael Bentine''' CBE (born Michael James Bentin, January 26th 1922 -- November 26th 1996) led a truly extraordinary life. Born in Watford to an English mother and UsefulNotes/{{Peru}}vian father, and brought up in Folkestone, Kent, he attended Eton alongside contemporaries such as [[Series/TheAvengers1960s Patrick Macnee]]. He attempted to enlist in the Royal Air Force in 1939 but was refused because of his "alien" parentage. [[note]]Nobody knew which way the South American countries were likely to go and Peru was thought too sympathetic to Germany[[/note]]. But nobody told the recruiting authority this, and Bentine went on tour with a theatre company, thinking his services were not required, only to discover he had been listed as a deserter by another part of the military bureaucracy. In his own words, during a [[Creator/WilliamShakespeare Shakespeare]] performance he became the first deserter for four hundred years to be arrested by military police whilst wearing tights, codpiece and doublet.

This hiccup sorted out, a defective inoculation left him near dead and destroyed his eyesight, rendering him ineligible for pilot or aircrew service. The subsequent NDE awakened an interest in paranormal investigation which would be part of his life until death. He was an occasional contributor to ''Magazine/ForteanTimes'' and wrote a series of books on his involvement with the paranormal.

Comedian, actor and author '''Michael Bentine''' CBE (born Michael James Bentin, January 26th 1922 -- November 26th 1996) led a truly extraordinary life. Born in Watford to an English mother and [[Usefulnotes/{{Peru}} Peruvian]] father, and brought up in Folkestone, Kent, he attended Eton alongside contemporaries such as [[Series/TheAvengers Patrick Macnee]]. He attempted to enlist in the Royal Air Force in 1939 but was refused because of his "alien" parentage. [[note]]Nobody knew which way the South American countries were likely to go and Peru was thought too sympathetic to Germany[[/note]]. But nobody told the recruiting authority this, and Bentine went on tour with a theatre company, thinking his services were not required, only to discover he had been listed as a deserter by another part of the military bureaucracy. In his own words, during a [[Creator/WilliamShakespeare Shakespeare]] performance he became the first deserter for four hundred years to be arrested by military police whilst wearing tights, codpiece and doublet.

Comedian, actor and author '''Michael Bentine''' CBE (January 26th 1922 -- November 26th 1996) led a truly extraordinary life. Born in Watford to an English mother and [[Usefulnotes/{{Peru}} Peruvian]] father, and brought up in Folkestone, Kent, he attended Eton alongside contemporaries such as [[Series/TheAvengers Patrick Macnee]]. He attempted to enlist in the Royal Air Force in 1939 but was refused because of his "alien" parentage. [[note]]Nobody knew which way the South American countries were likely to go and Peru was thought too sympathetic to Germany[[/note]]. But nobody told the recruiting authority this, and Bentine went on tour with a theatre company, thinking his services were not required, only to discover he had been listed as a deserter by another part of the military bureaucracy. In his own words, during a [[Creator/WilliamShakespeare Shakespeare]] performance he became the first deserter for four hundred years to be arrested by military police whilst wearing tights, codpiece and doublet.

->''(On creativity) "I see things happen in my mind before they happen. I thought everybody did."

He starred in several films and had a career as novelist, writer and stand-up comedian and raconteur. His lifelong interest in the paranormal generated two best-selling biographical books ''Doors of the Mind'' and ''The Door Marked Summer''. On a slightly darker side, he was also connected to British Intelligence notables, and had strongly right-wing libertarian views. He feuded with Creator/TheBBC which he considered dangerously left-wing, and claimed they destroyed his TV series out of pique and to punish him by cutting off overseas sales and residuals.

This hiccup sorted out, a defective inoculation left him near dead and destroyed his eyesight, rendering him ineligible for pilot or aircrew service. The subsequent NDE awakened an interest in paranormal investigation which would be part of his life until death.

Comedian, actor and author '''Michael Bentine''' CBE (January 26th 1922 -- November 26th 1996) led a truly extraordinary life. Born in Watford to an English mother and [[Usefulnotes/{{Peru}}/Peruvian]] father, and brought up in Folkestone, Kent, he attended Eton alongside contemporaries such as [[Series/TheAvengers Patrick Macnee]]. He attempted to enlist in the Royal Air Force in 1939 but was refused because of his "alien" parentage. [[note]]Nobody knew which way the South American countries were likely to go and Peru was thought too sympathetic to Germany[[/note]]. But nobody told the recruiting authority this, and Bentine went on tour with a theatre company, thinking his services were not required, only to discover he had been listed as a deserter by another part of the military bureaucracy. In his own words, during a [[Creator/WilliamShakespeare Shakespeare]] performance he became the first deserter for four hundred years to be arrested by military police whilst wearing tights, codpiece and doublet.

Comedian, actor and author '''Michael Bentine''' CBE (January 26th 1922 -- November 26th 1996) led a truly extraordinary life. Born in Watford to an English mother and Peruvian father, and brought up in Folkestone, Kent, he attended Eton alongside contemporaries such as [[Series/TheAvengers Patrick Macnee]]. He attempted to enlist in the Royal Air Force in 1939 but was refused because of his "alien" parentage. [[note]]Nobody knew which way the South American countries were likely to go and Peru was thought too sympathetic to Germany[[/note]]. But nobody told the recruiting authority this, and Bentine went on tour with a theatre company, thinking his services were not required, only to discover he had been listed as a deserter by another part of the military bureaucracy. In his own words, during a [[Creator/WilliamShakespeare Shakespeare]] performance he became the first deserter for four hundred years to be arrested by military police whilst wearing tights, codpiece and doublet.

Comedian, actor and author '''Michael Bentine''' CBE (January 26th 1922 -- November 26th 1996) led a truly extraordinary life. Born in Watford to an English mother and Peruvian father, and brought up in Folkestone, Kent, he attended Eton alongside contemporaries such as [[Series/TheAvengers Patrick Macnee]]. He attempted to enlist in the Royal Air Force in 1939 but was refused because of his "alien" parentage. [[note]]Nobody knew which way the South American countries were likely to go and Peru was thought too sympathetic to Germany[[/note]]. But nobody told the recruiting authority this, and Bentine went on tour with a theatre company, thinking his services were not required, only to discover he had been listed as a deserter by another part of the military bureaucracy. In his own words, during a {{Shakespeare}} performance he became the first deserter for four hundred years to be arrested by military police whilst wearing tights, codpiece and doublet.

This hiccup sorted out, a defective inoculation left him near dead and destroyed his eyesight, rendering him ineligible for pilot or aircrew service. The subsequent NDE awakened an interest in paranormal investigation which would be part of his life until death.

Serving in the RAF as an intelligence officer, he cheated death several more times, leading to a conviction that he was being kept alive to achieve ''something''. After the war, he drifted into showbusiness, following the well-worn path to the Windmill Theatre, London, where he met Creator/SpikeMilligan, Creator/PeterSellers, and Creator/HarrySecombe, among many others. Four men who all had their tales to tell about the inanities of the military bureaucracy hit it off, and ''Radio/TheGoonShow'' was born. Bentine did not remain with the Goons for very long, and accounts vary as to the manner of his leaving. He went on to forge an independent career in TV, with visual comedy series such as ''It's A Square World'' and ''Series/MichaelBentinesPottyTime'', shows claimed to have influenced the visual aspects of ''MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' and ''Series/TheGoodies''.

He starred in several films and had a career as novelist, writer and stand-up comedian and raconteur. His lifelong interest in the paranormal generated two best-selling biographical books ''Doors of the Mind'' and ''The Door Marked Summer''. On a slightly darker side, he was also connected to British Intelligence notables, and had strongly right-wing libertarian views. He feuded with the Creator/{{BBC}} which he considered dangerously left-wing, and claimed they destroyed his TV series out of pique and to punish him by cutting off overseas sales and residuals.

----
!!Oop-La! Tropes manipulated in the Marvellous Flea Circus, often thousands of times heavier than the fleas themselves, include:

* UsefulNotes/{{Peru}} Bentine was a Peruvian citizen through his father and never forgot this side of his ancestry, which was important to him.
* RacistGrandma: Bentine was touring the USA in the 1950's. In a local TV station in Alabama, he was on the bill along with the oldest woman in the state, who while frail and over 100, came across as a classic "southern belle" of refined manners and gentle speech. As Bentine noted, appearances deceive. Invited to take over the piano and sing some of the old Southern hymns, she began with that Alabama classic ''Kill all the niggers for Jesus''.
* ScrewedByTheNetwork: his allegation that the BBC made him into an UnPerson for not playing ball and allowing his TV shows to be used for satirical political content, which ran contrary to his right-wing libertarian beliefs.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The early series of ''TheGoonShow'' had four people (the regular three plus Michael Bentine), and were written as multiple short sketches rather than the extended if incoherent stories featuring a CommediaDellArteTroupe of madmen that became the show's typical structure later in its life.
* Magazine/ForteanTimes; Bentine contibuted on a range of topics, including spiritualism, survival after death, and the concept of spirit guides.

* ThePeteBest: Bentine was this to ''Radio/TheGoonShow'', his role only lasting from 1950-1952, and his contribution is often overlooked.

* RomanAClef: The popular Goon show character of Bluebottle began with a really eccentric and physically odd-looking Scoutmaster who Bentine encountered in London. Discovering the scoutmaster had a ''truly'' unique voice, Bentine grabbed his friend Creator/PeterSellers by the arm and said "You have ''got'' to meet this man!" After the encounter, Bentine said to Sellers "Look. I can't do that voice. ''You can.'' There's your Bluebottle!" The rest became radio history. Even when invited to a Goon Show recording, the life-model for the character still did not twig who Bluebottle was based on, and complimented Sellers on creating such a funny character who could not ''possibly'' exist in real life.

Comedian, actor and author Michael Bentine (1922 - 1996) led a truly extraordinary life. Born in Watford to an English mother and Peruvian father, and brought up in Folkestone, Kent, he attended Eton alongside contemporaries such as [[Series/TheAvengers Patrick Macnee]]. He attempted to enlist in the Royal Air Force in 1939 but was refused because of his "alien" parentage. [[note]]Nobody knew which way the South American countries were likely to go and Peru was thought too sympathetic to Germany[[/note]]. But nobody told the recruiting authority this, and Bentine went on tour with a theatre company, thinking his services were not required, only to discover he had been listed as a deserter by another part of the military bureaucracy. In his own words, during a {{Shakespeare}} performance he became the first deserter for four hundred years to be arrested by military police whilst wearing tights, codpiece and doublet.

Serving in the RAF as an intelligence officer, he cheated death several more times, leading to a conviction that he was being kept alive to achieve ''something''. After the war, he drifted into showbusiness, following the well-worn path to the Windmill Theatre, London, where he met Creator/SpikeMilligan, Creator/PeterSellers, and Creator/HarrySecombe, among many others. Four men who all had their tales to tell about the inanities of the military bureaucracy hit it off, and ''Radio/TheGoonShow'' was born. Bentine did not remain with the Goons for very long, and accounts vary as to the manner of his leaving. He went on to forge an independent career in TV, with visual comedy series such as ''It's A Square World'' and ''Potty Time'', shows claimed to have influenced the visual aspects of ''MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' and ''Series/TheGoodies''.

Comedian, actor and author Michael Bentine (1922 - 1996) led a truly extraordinary life. Born in Watford to an English mother and Peruvian father, and brought up in Folkestone, Kent, he attended Eton alongside contemporaries such as [[Series/TheAvengers Patrick McNee]]. He attempted to enlist in the Royal Air Force in 1939 but was refused because of his "alien" parentage. [[note]]Nobody knew which way the South American countries were likely to go and Peru was thought too sympathetic to Germany[[/note]]. But nobody told the recruiting authority this, and Bentine went on tour with a theatre company, thinking his services were not required, only to discover he had been listed as a deserter by another part of the military bureaucracy. In his own words, during a {{Shakespeare}} performance he became the first deserter for four hundred years to be arrested by military police whilst wearing tights, codpiece and doublet.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: * The early productions of ''TheGoonShow'' had four people (the regular three plus Creator/MichaelBentine), and were written as multiple short sketches rather than the extended if incoherent stories featuring a CommediaDellArteTroupe of madmen that became the show's typical structure later in its life.

* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness: * The early productions of ''TheGoonShow'' had four people (the regular three plus Creator/MichaelBentine), and were written as multiple short sketches rather than the extended if incoherent stories featuring a CommediaDellArteTroupe of madmen that became the show's typical structure later in its life.

He starred in several films and had a career as novelist, writer and stand-up comedian and raconteur. His lifelong interest in the paranormal generated two best-selling biographical books ''Doors of the Mind'' and ''The Door Marked Summer''. On a slightly darker side, he was also connected to British Intelligence notables, and had strongly right-wing libertarian views. He feuded with the BBC which he considered dangerously left-wing, and claimed they destroyed his TV series out of pique and to punish him by cutting off overseas sales and residuals.

* ScrewedByTheNetwork: his allegation that the BBC made him into a NonPerson for not playing ball and allowing his TV shows to be used for satirical political content which ran contrary to his right-wing libertarian beliefs.