American stand-up who became a UK star in the 1980s

Kelly Monteith, the US comedian who became a British star in the early 1980s, has died at the age of 80.

He is thought to have been the first American stand-up to have been given his own BBC TV series, with his self-titled show running from 1979 to 1984.

In February 2021, he suffered two massive strokes which robbed him of much of his ability to speak. His ex-wife Caroline spent two months with him at Cedar Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, gradually helping him recover some speech, and later moved him into their family home to take care of him.

Monteith’s death was reported today by The Anglophlile Channel, an LA production company which worked with him. Founder Marlise Boland tweeted: ‘Our hearts are broken as we process the sad news of the loss of our dear friend @Kellymonteith

‘Kelly was such an integral part of our lives in so many ways. He was more than a friend, he was family. A great talent in the world of comedy @BBC and worldwide.’

The Anglophlile Channel produced the YouTube series Kelly Monteith's BBC Memories, in which he offered a commentary on the show which made his name, and Brit Flix, in which Monteith and Marlise’s husband Paul reviewed classic British movies.

Emerging from the US stand-up circuit of the 1970s, where he performed 40 times on NBC's The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Monteith landed a short-lived variety show on CBS in 1976 entitled The Kelly Monteith Show. 

However, it was in Britain where he made his name, landing his own show after successful guest appearances on talk shows, most notably Des O'Connor Tonight. Kelly Monteith – which mixed stand-up and sketches, breaking the fourth wall by showing Monteith addressing the audience about the scenes he performed. His first monologue voiced concerns about how he would fare with a British audience.

‘Very well’ was the answer, as the show, which  was co-written by Neil Shand and also starred Gabrielle Drake as Monteith’s wife Suzanne, ran for six seasons and won the Silver Rose at the Montreux Television Festival.

Here’s a scene:

Monteith was also a regular on entertainment shows such as  Blankety Blank, performed at the 1983 Royal Variety Performance, and his one-man show toured the country – including West End performances at the Ambassadors Theatre.

The Anglophlile Channel statement said: ‘His time in England was very special to Monteith. During his time there he met his future wife Caroline. The couple have two children.’

Monteith also hosted the short-lived hidden camera show The Hit Squad in the US and in 1984 released the stand-up album Lettuce Be Cool.

However he disappeared from prominence almost as suddenly as he achieved it, although continued to perform stand-up in clubs and on cruise ships until lockdown.

Among those paying tribute today were Still Game’s Sanjeev Kohli, who said: ‘Sad news about Kelly Monteith. Funny, personable & (like Dave Allen) way ahead of his time. Judging from the reaction on here he was a bigger influence than he ever knew.’

Stand-up Bennett Arron said:  ‘A few years ago I said in an interview that, along with Morecambe and Wise, Tommy Cooper and my father, he was one of my favourite comedians. He heard about it, got in contact and thanked me. It's sad that many won't know of him.’

Fellow comic Nick Pettigrew added: 'RIP Kelly Monteith. Prototype of Garry Shandling, Seinfeld, etc. and obviously influenced by George Carlin. Way ahead of his time but not seen as such because he made his innovation mainstream. Loved him as a kid.'

And comedy producer Steve Doherty added: ‘This is sad news - I loved Kelly Monteith, when I was a kid. He had a series buried away on BBC2, midweek, mid-evening. A sort of a stand-up/sitcom cross-over before we had cross-overs.’

In response to those saying how influential Monteith was, Marlise Bolland tweeted this image: 

You are so correct that Kelly was a great influence to those that came after him and was never acknowledged as such. I love sharing this photo in particular.... Thank you for posting about #KellyMonteith pic.twitter.com/efEb0xMKmT

— Marlise Boland (@MarliseBoland) January 2, 2023

Published: 2 Jan 2023