3. Becoming A Comedy Icon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EfW9znJYjw Always interested in making people laugh, Tom Baker began to realise his dream of developing a comedy career after leaving Doctor Who. He was unforgettable as the legless Captain Rum in Blackadder II (presented as a video clip above) and was one of the most memorable guest hosts on Have I Got News For You. He also dominated an episode of Swiss Tony as a washed-up film director who was totally not Ken Russell. But a discussion of Tom's comedy ventures isn't complete without mentioning the off-the-wall brilliance of his narration on Little Britain. Which is now mentioned. Dedicated fans will know all this already but could well be unaware that Tom had an earlier comedy role opposite the one and only Eric Morecambe. This less successful outing occurred in 1984's The Passionate Pilgrim short film. By all accounts, it was far from being great art, proving that even the mightiest talent can fall short once in a while.
Mike Morgan
Contributor
Mike has lived in the UK, Japan and the USA. Currently, he is based in Iowa with his wife and 2 young children. After working for many years as a writer and editor for a large corporation, he is now a freelancer. He has been fortunate enough to contribute to many books on Doctor Who over the last 20 years and is now concentrating on original sci-fi & fantasy short stories, with recent sales including Flame Tree, Uffda, and The Martian Wave. Also, look for his contribution on Blake's 7 to "You and Who Else", a charity anthology to be released later this year.
You can find him on Tumblr at https://www.tumblr.com/blog/culttvmike
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