Bluebottle (character)
Bluebottle is a comedy character from
Bluebottle is an adenoidal squeaky-voiced
Bluebottle is also prone to humorous misnaming of characters, including himself. For example, he has referred to himself as "Blunebottle" and "Blatbottle" on occasion. Other characters are often misnamed as well, including "Count Morinanty" for
According to the 1976 book The Goon Show Companion, Bluebottle was originally known as Ernie Splutmuscle.[1] In the third series episode "The Man Who Never Was", he was cast in a small role. Seagoon strides across the ceiling of his club, hurling members to the floor. He bumps into Splutmuscle:
Splutmuscle: No, do not hurl me to the floor.
Seagoon: Are you a member?
Splutmuscle: No, I'm a Bluebottle.
Seagoon: What's that you're reading?
Splutmuscle: A fly-paper.
Four shows later, in the episode "The Greatest Mountain in the World", the script refers to "Peter (Bluebottle)".
Early in season 5, Bluebottle would enter with a direct appeal to the audience: "Enter Bluebottle, waits for audience applause. Not a sausage". As the character became more popular, he would actually earn the applause that he sought, which he would acknowledge with a grateful, "Oh! Sausinges!" In later seasons, no request or response was needed: Bluebottle's entry into the show would generate a loud, sustained applause by itself.
Bluebottle was often killed, or "deaded", during the course of an episode. This would be punctuated by a lamentation such as, "You rotten swine, you! You have deaded me!" After a while, the character began to anticipate this fate, noting at the appearance of a dangerous prop that "the dreaded deading" is approaching. Bluebottle's "deading" became so regular that at the close of the season 6 episode "The Fear of Wages", he asks Wallace Greenslade to make a special announcement "that I have not been deaded this week".
Origin
Bluebottle was based on Ruxton Hayward, a Scoutmaster Sellers once met. In an interview with Michael Parkinson, Sellers described trying to keep a straight face while talking with a large red-bearded Scout leader who nevertheless spoke in a falsetto voice and had an ingratiating manner. The identity of the individual was later revealed in The Goons,[2] one of several books featuring memoirs and scripts from The Goon Show.
Cultural references
- The character "Pierre" in the Victor and Hugo) was voiced by David Jasonwith a voice almost identical to Bluebottle's.
- Pink Panther movies in character as Bluebottle in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers.
- Marvin, the Paranoid Androidthat said: "Nothing. Not an electronic sausage." Adams often acknowledged having been influenced by the Goons.
- You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)" in a voice similar to that of Bluebottle.
References
- ^ The Goon Show Companion, Roger Wilmut and Jimmy Grafton. 1976, Robson Books Ltd, Bolsover. pp 91.
- ISBN 1-85227-679-7