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Comedian Bob Monkhouse's 'comeback' in cancer campaign ad
Last updated at 10:23am on 12.06.07Comedian Bob Monkhouse is making a comeback from beyond the grave to appear in a TV campaign about the disease that killed him.
The star died from prostate cancer aged 75 in 2003.
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From beyond the grave: Bob Monkhouse appears in Prostate Cancer Research's new campaign
Now, thanks to computer wizardry, he can be seen in an ad for Prostate Cancer Research's Give A Few Bob campaign. The ad-makers took archive footage of Monkhouse and blended it with shots of a body double taken in a graveyard in Surrey.
The script is spoken by a soundalike and begins with Monkhouse saying: "Just when you thought it was safe to turn on your TV again, here I am. Gosh, four years already, doesn't time fly."
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The entertainer died of prostate cancer himself in 2003, aged 75
He goes on to tell one of his favourite gags: "I wanted to die like my father, quietly, in his sleep - not screaming and terrified like his passengers."
And he says: "What killed me kills one man per hour in Britain. That's even more than my wife's cooking. Let's face it, as a comedian, I died many deaths. Prostate cancer, I don't recommend."
Monkhouse's widow Jackie, 70, told The Sun: "When I was approached about the Give A Few Bob campaign I felt it would be a great honour for my husband.
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The ad-makers took archive footage of Monkhouse and blended it with shots of a body double taken in a graveyard in Surrey
"Bob would love this ad. It's funny but has a serious message about the threat of prostate cancer.
"They've done a fabulous job bringing my Bob back - although there's a bulge in the lapel of his jacket he wouldn't have stood for. I have the original upstairs and it fitted him like a glove."
The campaign aims to raise donations for research into the disease.
The ad agency came up with the idea after seeing the Radio 2 promotional film in which Elvis Presley appeared on stage with the Sugababes and Noel Gallagher.
Reader views (1)
Here's a sample of the latest views published.
Wow! Amazing! I'm certain Bob would have loved this one. He certainly has had the last laugh! I have seen a number of attempts at doing this sort of thing but this is by far the most brilliantly edited piece of work I have ever seen. The only dodgy bit is where they reverse the sequence when Bob is 'recalling' his father driving the bus. I hope this brings in a long of money to those doing research on prostate cancer which is a particularly nasty an virulent form of the disease. My congratulations to the whole team who have made this mini-masterpiece.
- Garry Banniste, Dublin, Ireland
