'Allo, 'Allo!; The War Diaries of René Artois
John Davis London: BBC Books, 1989. Third Printing. Hardcover. 22 cm. Approximately 150 pages Illustrations. Based on the BBC television series, this very funny book takes the form of René Artois' diary, recounting his exploits as a cafe owner and member of the resistance in occupied France during WWII. The television scripts were written by David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd. Gordon Fitzgerald Kaye (7 April 1941 – 23 January 2017), known professionally as Gorden Kaye, was an English actor and singer, best known for playing womanizing café owner René Artois in the television comedy series 'Allo 'Allo!. In 1982, David Croft sent Kaye the script for the pilot episode of 'Allo 'Allo! inviting him to play the central character of René Artois. He accepted and appeared in all 84 episodes (the main series ran from 1984, two years after the pilot, until 1992) and 1,200 performances of the stage version. Kaye was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1986 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at the curtain call of the West End stage version of 'Allo 'Allo! at the Prince of Wales Theatre. Kaye returned as René Artois in a 2007 one-off television revival of 'Allo 'Allo! and in a stage show in Brisbane, Australia, at the Twelfth Night Theatre in June and July, alongside Sue Hodge as Mimi Labonq and Guy Siner as Lieutenant Gruber. 'Allo 'Allo! is a British sitcom television series created by David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd, starring Gorden Kaye, and originally broadcast on BBC One. The sitcom focuses on the life of a café owner in the French town of Nouvion, during the German occupation of France in the Second World War, who has to deal with problems caused by a dishonest German officer, a local French Resistance leader, a stolen painting, and a pair of trapped British airmen, while concealing from his wife the secret affairs he is having with his waitresses. Croft and Lloyd devised the concept as a parody of BBC wartime drama Secret Army, and initially launched the programme with a pilot on 30 December 1982. The sitcom was eventually commissioned following the success of the pilot, and ran for nine series between 7 September 1984 until its conclusion on 14 December 1992. Both Lloyd and Croft wrote the scripts for the first six series, while the remainder were handled by Lloyd and Paul Adam. Much like previous sitcoms created by Croft and Lloyd, the programme employed notable elements such as memorable catchphrases and ending credits, cultural clichés, physical humor and visual gags. However, 'Allo 'Allo! differed from these other sitcoms by featuring overarching plotlines rather than simple stand-alone stories, and the device of having actors speaking English but with theatrical foreign accents to distinguish each character's nationality. The sitcom proved popular with viewers and drew respectable ratings during its broadcast, with its success leading to it receiving stage show reproductions. A special entitled The Return of 'Allo 'Allo!, aired on 22 March 2007, featured a number of cast members returning to reprise their original roles to perform in a special story after the conclusion of the programme, alongside a documentary about the sitcom including a highlight reel of episodes, and interviews with the cast, production team and fans. Condition: very good.
Keywords: WWII, France, Satire, Nazis, Humor, Television Scripts, Comedy, Art Works, Gestapo
ISBN: 0563206888
[Book #20056]
Price: $35.00