The third in the series Ray Of Sunshine,dedicated to the comedy characters who contributed to the great British sitcom. The characters are listed in no particular order, just as I think of them.........but they all brightened our lives.
Ray Of Sunshine # 3 MAJOR GOWEN
There were four main characters in that great sitcom Fawlty Towers. They were of course Basil and his wife Sybil, Polly, and Spanish waiter Manuel. Story lines generally revolved around the hotel guests and each episode brought a new clientele.However there were three people who were permanent residents; two old ladies, Miss Gatsby and Miss Tibbs, and the wonderfully eccentric Major Gowen. Only twelve episodes of this hugely acclaimed comedy were ever made and the Major appeared in them all. His contributions were relatively small in terms of screen time, but in the course of the two series he became established as a much loved character. Sometimes he was involved in the main story and sometimes simply as a foil to Mr Fawlty, who you suspect rather liked him.
The Major was essentially an old English gentleman, always immaculately attired and well spoken. He had an air of pomposity about him.He was ending his days on the English Riviera, Torquay, not in luxury, but certainly without a care in the world. His favourite area of the Hotel was the bar where he was often seen with his pre-dinner drink. Basil referred to him on one occasion,though not to his face, as a 'drunken old sod '. But presumably he was a good customer for the Fawlties. The amazing thing of course was the Major's total oblivion to all that was happening around him. Bad service, awful food, rude management, and even a dead body on one occasion and it all passed the Major by. He was a befuddled, bemused, absent minded character at the best of times. Add to this the suspicion that the Major was also often just a little bit tipsy and there was little wonder that he was never in tune with the lunacy of the Fawlty Towers Hotel.
The Major was an old soldier and had an enormous dis-like of foreigners and Germans in particular. He was an old colonial who loved his daily newspaper. 'Have the papers arrived yet Fawlty?' he would ask at breakfast time (they never had arrived) followed by 'Why do we bother Fawlty?' after he had read them. He was often critical of working Britain and the strikes that disrupted the economy. His other loves were cricket (he would give Basil snippets of information though he never seemed much bothered) and women (the Major sometimes reminisced about old lovers). These two topics led to one of the Major's most famous lines. He was telling Fawlty about a woman he once loved - ' I took her to see India. At the Oval' !
The other guests coming and going from Fawlty Towers were a mixed bunch. But few matched the eccentricity of the Major. He was doddering and blank featured. Basil tried to get him to understand but normally gave up. Viewers loved the interplay between the pair and generally shared Basil's frustration. The three most remembered incidents involving the Major were from the episodes 'Communication Problems' ( a farcical show in which he is entrusted to look after Basil's winnings from a bet on the horses and gets totally confused), 'The Germans' ( where he thinks a moose is conversing with him though actually it is Manuel out of shot behind the reception), and 'Basil The Rat' (with the Major, shot gun under arm, returning to his military background though this time in pursuit of vermin ! ).
The private world of Major Gowen was a great one. It is safe to assume that his days were long and trouble free, that he was comfortably off, and had no worries beyond the latest score in the Test match. Any nastiness from Basil fell entirely on stony ground because the Major was was in a permanent state of confusion. He was only ever sharp minded when the conversation involved the past. In 'Waldorf Salad', an irate American guest can't get his food and declares arrogantly ' What I'm suggesting is that this is the crummiest, shoddiest, worst run hotel in the whole of Western Europe'. To which the Major angrily replied: No! No I won't have that. There's a place in Eastbourne..........'
Major Gowen was a dear old gentleman. I would have bought him a drink any day.
The character of Major Gowen was created by John Cleese and Connie Booth. He was played by Ballard Berkeley who made his stage debut in 1928 and was a popular actor in the West End and New York. His other notable TV role was in Fresh Fields and he was also in the radio classic, The Archers. Ballard Berkeley died in 1988 aged 84.
Ray Of Sunshine #4 will be Wesley Pegden
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