<
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/jul/27/bill-oddie-the-comedy-legend-tragically-undervalued-by-the-bbc>
"Bill Oddie, who has died aged 85, had two separate, substantial TV presences –
as a comedy actor and an ornithologist. Both roles brought him fame but also
pain. The peak of the former career was 76 episodes from 1970-82 of
The
Goodies, which he co-wrote and co-starred in with Graeme Garden and Tim
Brooke-Taylor. They played an eccentric trio of investigators and fixers who
rode into action on a three-seater bicycle called a “trandem”.
As a birdwatcher, his onscreen zenith was
Springwatch, which he initially
co-hosted with Kate Humble, from 2005. It began a BBC Two natural history
franchise marking the change of seasons, its success leading to wintry,
autumnal and summery spin-offs. Binoculars lowered to show eyes awed or
enthused, and Oddie became TV’s signature birdwatcher.
Born in Rochdale, he came early to both comedy and ornithology. He was a
teenager when his sightings first appeared in the annual report of the West
Midland Bird Club. In his early 20s, he appeared in the West End and on
Broadway in transfers of the Cambridge University revue in which he first
worked professionally with Brooke-Taylor and Garden, who is now the only
survivor of the three. Oddie wrote the music for the revue and then
The
Goodies, who released five spin-off singles in 1974-75, spending a combined 38
weeks in the pop charts, with
Funky Gibbon, an anthropomorphic jungle dance
number, reaching four in the Top 10."
RIP,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
