Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1489656
maltatoday | SUNDAY •8 JANUARY 2023 8 INTERVIEW Raphael Vassallo rvassallo@mediatoday.com.mt 'Speaking with a smile' The title of Jo Caruana's com- memorative book - "You've been watching" - is a (no doubt intentional) reference to the 1970s British comedy-series, 'Are You Being Served?' Else- where, your repertoire seems replete with various other TV references from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s: including Italian comedy (eg, Fantozzi); and even Japanese anime (Gol- drake, etc). Basically, these are all a legacy of the rich pop-cul- tural diversity, that our gener- ation was exposed to back in the day. How much of your own stage-persona would you say was actually shaped by those early television influences? First of all: I'm really glad you asked that question… because not many people ever mention this. But in this respect, at least: we must be among the luckiest generations to have ever lived! I mean… we had this whole melting-pot of incredible cultur- al influences, right there in our own sitting-rooms; and not only did we get to watch Japanese car- toons dubbed into Italian – and, later, American cartoons that were remakes of Japanese ani- me (like 'Guardians of Space', in the 1980s) - but we also watched them with our own unique Mal- tese sensibility… with its Arab roots; and with the massive in- fluence of the British era. Not so much now, perhaps. But back then? Absolutely… In the 1970s and 1980s, for in- stance, TVM would show all the latest British comedy – 'Fawlty Towers', 'The Two Ronnies', and so on – extending to 'The Black Adder' in the 1990s. And then, when VHS came in, we finally got to watch Monty Python (because those films weren't allowed to be shown at cinemas, when they first came out.) And to me, in the 1990s: dis- covering Monty Python was an absolute revelation. I remember renting a video called 'The Quest For the Holy Grail', and thinking to myself: "I'm not sure, ta. I don't know any of these comedians… wait, isn't that the guy from Fawl- ty Towers?" And then, suddenly, this whole world of Monty Python opened up to me: around twenty years after everywhere else in the world… So yes: undeniably, it was a mas- sive influence on me, personally. And also, I would say, on other members of Comedy Knights: Pia, certainly; and of course, Alan Montanaro: who is known for doing all the 'goose-stepping', 'legs-in-the-air' stuff we associate with John Cleese… I, on the other hand, am some- times told that I remind people of either Eric Morecambe, or Ron- nie Barker, or a combination of the two… That's high praise, indeed… Yes, it is! Absolutely. But when I deliver a line, and give the au- dience a characteristic 'blank stare'… that's something I got directly from Ronnie Barker. But then, I also have a bit of the 'Fan- tozzi' in me: the sort of 'gorm- less' facial expression he puts on, whenever something goes wrong… And even some of those Japa- nese cartoons found their way in- to the mix. The way, for instance, that 'Ataru'… Hang on: you mean 'Ataru Moruboshi'? That's right: from "Lamu: La Ragazza Dallo Spazio"… Crikey, that brings back memo- ries… Hux? But remember how Ataru would sometimes commit a faux- pas, around his girlfriend… and suddenly goes 'DGNGNG!' [Em- ulating 'electrocution' effect]? And you get this cartoony shot of him, stunned, with one leg up in the air, and snot dripping out of his nose? Obviously, I don't do EXACT- LY the same thing, on stage: but it's all undeniably part of what shaped the way I generally act. And there's a lot more I could add the list. Bud Spencer and Terence Hill were another mas- sive, MASSIVE influence. And so, too, was Benny Hill – though he's maybe not so 'fashionable', nowadays. But what Benny Hill excelled at - like so many oth- er British comedians - was his sense of 'self-deprecation'. That's something I picked up from him, and others, too. Then, there was the American influence: when I watched 'Air- plane', at the age of around 11… and later, 'The Naked Gun' … it was like: 'Wow! A whole new world of comedy just opened up, before me…' But on top of all these inter- national influences, I was also interested in the Maltese come- dians: Johnny Catania; Joe Izzo; and especially, Charles Clews. I would listen to Maltese radio comedy shows a lot; and because I lived in Gwardamanga at the time, I sometimes went to the Radju Malta studios, to attend a recording of shows like 'Saqsieni Ghoxrin'… On the subject of the late Charles Clews: when I inter- viewed Toni Sant, he told me that Clews' own main influenc- es included the likes of 'Laurel and Hardy'… Yes, that's another thing. Back in the 1980s, TVM would still show Laurel and Hardy films on Sundays… and even Harold Lloyd shorts, every day of the week! So in a sense, you can extend the in- fluences all the way back to the 1920s and 1930s, if you like… This brings me to another ques- tion: this cultural 'melting pot' you have so evocatively de- scribed, arguably doesn't exist anymore. Younger generations will not instantly recognize names such as 'Benny Hill' or 'Bud Spencer'– and even less, I would imagine, 'Eric Mor- cambe', or 'Ataru Moruboshi'. Are you concerned that those influences may be 'lost', on a growing segment of Maltese audiences? In the case of Comedy Knights: not really, no. Because while Pia and myself – and also Alan, obvi- ously; and even Jo Caruana, who (while being one of the youngest of the group) is half-British – were all brought up on a diet of classic British comedy, and other shared influences… the same is not really true for all the others. Wesley Ellul, for instance, is Maltese-Canadian; Marc Ca- bourdin is half-French; so they have influences of their own. Chris Dingli and Steve Hili are both heavily influenced by British comedy: but more by the recent 'stand-up' phase, than by 1970s TV. And our youngest member is James Ryder: who's a Tic-Toc As Comedy Knights celebrates its 10th anniversary, veteran comedian/radio presenter COLIN FITZ looks back at his own formative, comedic inf luences (some of which may actually surprise you…)