26
When Harry Met...
Bob Monk house
Harry Borden looks back on two shoots with the
popular comedian, entertainer and game show host
Harry’s first shoot with Bob was at Bob’s large house in Leighton Buzzard
ALL PICTURES © HARRY BORDEN
I
n one week in
February 2002, I was
commissioned to do
portrait shoots with
the comedian and entertainer
Bob Monkhouse by two
separate publications. The
fi rst, at Bob’s house in Leighton
Buzzard, Bedfordshire, was
for the Mail’s Night and Day
magazine. The second, four
days later, was shot in the very
diff erent environment of a
London studio.
I’ve now lost the negatives
for the fi rst shoot, though I
have the scanned image fi les.
In the pre-digital era,
negatives often went missing
and I was doing so many jobs
I often didn’t notice they were
gone until years afterwards. I
have other photographers’
negatives that were mistakenly
sent to me in that period.
Possibly the negs from the fi rst
shoot were never returned to
me, or were sent to another
photographer. That doesn’t
happen now.Both shoots were part of a
publicity drive for a special TV
autobiography Bob had written
and performed in, Bob
Monkhouse on Bob Monkhouse.
It was widely known that he
had been ill for some time, but
what hadn’t been revealed was
that he had terminal cancer.
He died in December the
following year, aged 75.
Bob had enjoyed a long
career in show business,
starting out as a comedy actor
and later combining a career as
a stand-up comedian with his
role as host of game shows such
as The Golden Shot and Family
Fortunes. These shows were
watched by millions every
week. He was a trueprofessional, renowned for
being very serious about the
craft of comedy. Unlike some
comics of his generation, he
was enthusiastic about younger
comics and they in turn
respected him as both a writer
and performer.Professional to the end
His professionalism extended
to having his portrait taken. I
remember going to his house,
amusingly called ‘Claridges’,
which was an impressive
17th-century house. I was given
a warm welcome by him and
his wife Jackie, who brought us
cups of tea during the shoot.
Bob was quite dapper and very
conventionally good-looking.
He got ready for the shoot in a
dressing room, a bit like one
you’d fi nd in a theatre.
On both shoots Bob had his
own hair and make-up people
and that grooming went on for
at least an hour before he was
ready to be photographed.
Looking at the pictures now, I
remember waiting around for
every hair to be put in place.
We did shots both inside the
house and in the garden and he
was happy to do whatever I
requested. He had a very
expressive face, so was really
good to photograph: it was like
shooting fi sh in a barrel.
Although superfi cially he was
all charm and repartee, there
was also noticeable
vulnerability and self-
awareness about him.
That self-awareness shows in
the pictures because he was
quite happy to look ridiculous
or to act up and play a role for
the camera. The fact that the
initial shoot was at his home
says quite a lot. He wasn’t
guarded or putting on a shtick.
The second shoot took place
in Red Earth Studios in
London EC1. It had a big
skylight that let in beautiful
light and created its own
atmosphere. Most of the shots‘He had a very
expressive face,
good to photograph:
it was like shooting
fi sh in a barrel’