Benny Hill: British Comedy That Americans Embraced

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British Comedian and Writer Benny Hill Being chased by his 'Hill's Angels' in the famous closing sequence of 'The Benny Hill Show'. (Photoshot/Getty Images)

On The Benny Hill Show, Benny Hill gave Americans -- and the world -- a form of British comedy that was slapstick and cheeky. The Benny Hill Show aired for over 30 years on British TV, and for over a decade was a syndicated hit in the U.S. Full of double-entendres, silly buffoonish characters, iconic chase scenes and endless mugging by the lovable Hill, The Benny Hill Show was as English as tea and crumpets. It stood apart from Monty Python -- which featured absurdist sketches about German philosophers and the Spanish Inquisition -- in that viewers didn't need an Oxford education to get the jokes. Hill's broad comedy about dim-witted characters (always played by Hill himself) made him one of the most popular comedy performers in the world.