Kenny Lynch - RIP

[nino_savatte]

Great fan of Robeson btw

Top bloke. I always remember the conversation between my parents when he died.

Mum (a Scouser) "I see Paul Robeson's died"
Dad (an American) "He was a Communist"
Mum "That was no excuse to treat him the way they did".
Dad [complete silence]

 

[The39thStep]

He never got the iconic acclaim that the 60s civil rights leaders got precisely because he was a communist.

 

[nino_savatte]

Indeed. Yet the FBI still tried to claim MLK was a commie.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Indeed. Yet the FBI still tried to claim MLK was a commie.

He employed commies. And he spoke out against economic injustice, not just racism. That's more than enough for them.

 

[nino_savatte]

He employed commies. And he spoke out against economic injustice, not just racism. That's more than enough for them.

Quite and of course, the CPUSA took an early lead role in the fight against racism/apartheid in the US. For the FBI, it was conclusive proof of their 'evilness'.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Quite and of course, the CPUSA took an early lead role in the fight against racism/apartheid in the US. For the FBI, it was conclusive proof of their 'evilness'.

Different place, but same time: Doris Lessing says that in 1940s British Africa, the only political grouping (available to her at least) that was definitively non-racist (and anti-racist) was the communists.

 

[nino_savatte]

Different place, but same time: Doris Lessing says that in 1940s British Africa, the only political grouping (available to her at least) that was definitively non-racist (and anti-racist) was the communists.

Yep.

 

[butchersapron]

Different place, but same time: Doris Lessing says that in 1940s British Africa, the only political grouping that was definitively non-racist (and anti-racist) was the communists.

Yes and no, see their role in the Rand Revolt - they certainly had a lot of members or sympathisers in industry who weren't so keen on the parties adoption of formal anti-racism after that.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Don't know the history of that. I'll have a look. But I wasn't quite right in what I said above. Lessing says more than that - she says that the communists were the only group, political or otherwise, in British Africa in the 1940s (that she had access to) where not being racist could be taken as a given. In every other social setting, racist attitudes were expressed openly and unselfconsciously by racist white people.

 

[FNG]

He did a kind of poor Brit's version of Sammy Davis Junior for a while in the 70s, a bit of singing, songwriting, dancing, hanging out with the cool kids, being a lad.

It was a hugely difficult time for artists like him, the 70s were rife with stuff like On The Buses and Love Thy Neighbour talking about nig-nogs and jungles and winking about big cocks, etc - all in the name of cutting edge comedy.

Tbf, not got much of a musical pedigree. Mostly made a living as a cabaret/club artist I presume.

His part in "Curry and Chips" makes for uncomfortable viewing, his token part comes across as a way of shoehorning a few references to sambo's and coons into the script hiding behind a fig leaf of "them blacks is alright" sentimetality,they could have dispensed with Lynches part entirely if only they could have worked out a way to make milligan black as well as pakistani and irish (presumably to get the boot into a few mick jokes) perhaps if they had done one side of his blackface in tan and the other side in cherry red they could have explored the nuance of his character better.;

 

[The39thStep]

I think that Speight and Milligan need to bear the brunt of blame for that series,both had a hand in another dire ' comedy' The Melting Pot'

 

[FNG]

Meera Syals oft quoted remark about another of spieghts works til death do us part definitely applied equally if not more so to CAC and TMP.

 

[butchersapron]

Meera Syals oft quoted remark about another of spieghts works til death do us part definitely applied equally if not more so to CAC and TMP.

What was that FNG?

 

[Idris2002]

Yes and no, see their role in the Rand Revolt - they certainly had a lot of members or sympathisers in industry who weren't so keen on the parties adoption of formal anti-racism after that.

That's why the original "Communist Party of South Africa" was reconstituted as the "South African Communist Party" - to emphasise that dealing with the "peculiar institutions" of the emerging apartheid system was the main task.

And yeah "workers of the world unite and fight for a white south Africa" was an unfortunate slogan - and one quickly exposed by the state bombing the Rand from the air.

 

[Idris2002]

I think that Speight and Milligan need to bear the brunt of blame for that series,both had a hand in another dire ' comedy' The Melting Pot'

The last time I was in Freetown, I discovered that the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation still shows "Mind Your Language" on a regular basis.

Really.

 

[youngian]

Sha-La-La-La-Lee.

I remember him in that Hammer filum with Roy Castle.

Dr Terror's House of Horror. Also starred poptastic Alan Freeman who was billed above Donald Sutherland.

 

[youngian]

Top bloke. I always remember the conversation between my parents when he died.

Mum (a Scouser) "I see Paul Robeson's died"
Dad (an American) "He was a Communist"
Mum "That was no excuse to treat him the way they did".
Dad [complete silence]

Post Cold war I think there have been some moves in the US to reabilitate Robeson's reputation who at one time was one of the most reognisable Americans on the planet. He originally came to Europe to do a tour of elitist venues and foresaked them to do town halls and labour movement venues.

He was the first person to do a remote concert in the late 40s which was not by design. When the war started Robeson returned to the US vowed to South Wales he would return to do a concert to commerate the defeat to Facism. As the FBI had taken his passport and was under house arrest he did via a telephone link to a concert hall anyway.

 

[FNG]

What was that FNG?

paraphrasing wildly here but it was a long the lines of the playground bullying always being a little bit nastier the morning after it screened.

 

[nino_savatte]

Post Cold war I think there have been some moves in the US to reabilitate Robeson's reputation who at one time was one of the most reognisable Americans on the planet. He originally came to Europe to do a tour of elitist venues and foresaked them to do town halls and labour movement venues.

He was the first person to do a remote concert in the late 40s which was not by design. When the war started Robeson returned to the US vowed to South Wales he would return to do a concert to commerate the defeat to Facism. As the FBI had taken his passport and was under house arrest he did via a telephone link to a concert hall anyway.

If you go to Wales, it's amazing how many people have heard of Robeson. Even young people have heard of him. He's something of a Welsh national hero.

 

[butchersapron]

Last time i was over in Cardiff there was community group (i.e volunteers/spare time) putting on a play about him - that only happens if you're part of the popular local consciousness. Of course there's some back slapping involved in it, but why not?

 

[skyscraper101]

I’m up late watching Bullseye on Challenge and he just came on as the celebrity darts player.

Thought you’d all like to know.

 

[editor]

RIP Kenny

"Everything is funny to me, everything's musical to me, everything is readable to me," said Lynch, who had previously been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

"That's how I go through life and how I shall go for the next few weeks I've got left," he said in a recent interview for the 1000 Londoners project.

Actor and singer Kenny Lynch dies at 81

 

[blossie33]

oh...sorry to hear that
RIP Kenny

 

[blossie33]

Cool guy