Who was the famous old man from "The Benny Hill Show" (4 photos + 1 video)

In "The Benny Hill Show", in addition to Benny Hill himself, there were many other prominent characters. These are "Hill's angels" - charming girls with long legs and a graceful figure who wore short skirts, and, of course, Jackie Wright is a funny little bald old man with a wrinkled face.





Jackie, real name John Wright, was born in Northern Ireland, in a large family in 1905. Being small and frail at 1.5 meters, John always amused his peers with his appearance and habits.

When he grew up, he got a job as an auto mechanic, and At the same time, he learned to play the trombone and tap dance. In the 1920s years he went to the USA, where he went to work on the assembly line cars. However, the crisis of 1929 forced John to return to his homeland, where he began to play the trombone and perform as a comedian in the music hall. Those times, Wright had already developed a bald head, so he ironically called himself "Bald bomb".

In the 1960s, already at a fairly respectable age, Jackie starred in several episodes of the British series "Z Cars", where he was noted by Benny Hill, already known for his own show. Very soon after starting work on the Benny show, John changed his name to Jackie. This character has become a real gem of the show. Thanks to its external mind and plastic, Jackie masterfully played, causing laughter from the audience thanks to the accelerated playback of the show. They called him "Little Jackie."



Shot from the show

Jackie, like Benny, was lonely and unhappy in his personal life, shy of women and failed in relationships. Despite the fact that both were very wealthy, they led a rather modest lifestyle and Benny and Jackies were considered mean. Comedians were very close friends and often chatting outside of filming.

Hill and Wright both liked to eat well and eat a lot. But Wright, unlike Hill, did not gain weight. Jackie was a heavy smoker. It was said that he usually appeared on the site with a cigarette in one hand and pack of chips in another. At the same time, he was a teetotaller.

In the late 1970s, the show was shown in the US, and Wright formed a club of American fans. He began to act offers from across the ocean, but the actor was already too old for a career in USA.





In 1978, Jackie Wright decided to retire, but sat out home for only a month. He toiled with boredom, so he returned to the show and again put his bald head under Hill's flip flops.

Wright starred on The Benny Hill Show until 1983 allowed. And then he fell on the street, broke his leg and ribs. After recovering, he soon fell again and dislocated his hip. Then more stomach surgery. This resulted in excruciating pain. Despite forced to stop filming, Jackie continued to receive royalties for television episodes with his participation - Hill used old footage from funny old man in the new releases. After leaving television, he returned to his native Belfast, where he was cared for by his younger sister. Jackie Wright died in hospital in 1989. He was 84 years old. Hill so commented on the death of a friend and show partner:

It was a wonderful mouse. Words cannot express how sad I am without him.



Benny Hill survived his friend by only three years and died in 1992 alone in his rented apartment, his body was discovered a few days after death. Besides the Benny Hill show, Jackie Wright has also starred in Z Cars and comedy shows. "Angels", "Golden Shot", "School of Sex", "Adam Adamant Lives", "The Show Dick Emery", "The Basil Brush Show", "Theatre 625", "Three for All".