Til Death Us Do Part

Til Death Us Do Part (also known as Till Death Us do Part)1 was a BBC television sitcom series written by Johnny Speight that ran from 1966 until 1975. The programme starred Warren Mitchell as the racist East End misogynist (and Rudyard Kipling lookalike) Alf Garnett. Also appearing in the series were Dandy Nichols as Alf's long-suffering wife, Else, Una Stubbs as Rita, his daughter and Anthony Booth as Mike, his layabout son-in-law, whose socialist leanings were the cue for many of Alf's more offensive outbursts. The series was remade in the United States as the enormously successful sitcom All in the Family (1971-1979) and in Germany (1973 - 1976) as Ein Herz und eine Seele ("One Heart and One Soul"). There was even a version in Israel, where the Alf character would spout bigoted remarks about the Arabs.

Related Topics:
BBC - Television - Sitcom - Johnny Speight - 1966 - 1975 - Warren Mitchell - East End - Rudyard Kipling - Alf Garnett - Dandy Nichols - Una Stubbs - Anthony Booth - United States - All in the Family - Germany - 1973 - 1976 - Ein Herz und eine Seele

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It became an instant hit, presumably because, although a comedy, in the context of its time it did deal with aspects of working-class life comparatively realistically. It addressed racial and political issues at a particularly difficult time in British society. The attitude of those who made the programme was that Alf's views were so clearly unacceptable that they were risible, but some viewers considered the series an uncomfortable and disturbing series to watch. Some were simply oblivious to the fact that Johnny Speight was satirising racist attitudes. Ironically, some racists and reactionaries enjoyed watching the show - and missed the point that Alf's opinions were offensive. Ultimately, the fact that Mitchell imbued the character of Alf Garnett with an earthy charm despite his repugnant opinions served to humanise Alf and make him a likeable character. In the opinion of one idiosyncratic TV critic, Clive James, "Alf wasn't half as repulsive as his socialist son-in-law". According to interviews he gave, such interpretations disappointed Speight.

Related Topics:
Working-class - Clive James

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The show captured a key aspect of Britain in the 1960s - the widening generation gap. Alf (and to a lesser degree his wife) represented the old guard, the traditional attitudes of the older generation. Alf's battles with his left-wing son-in-law were not just ideological but also generational and cultural. His son-in-law and daughter (who was a dutiful supporter of her husband rather than an active protagonist) represented the younger generation. They saw the positive aspects of the new era. Sexual mores, fashions, music etc. The very same things were anathema to Alf - and indicative of everything that was wrong with the younger generation and the liberal attitudes they embraced.

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Alf was the archetypal working-class Conservative. The two subjects that excited him most were football and politics. He used language that was not considered acceptable for broadcasting on television in the 1960s. He often referred to racial minorities as "coons" and similar terms. He normally referred to his son-in-law as a "randy Scouse git" (Randy Scouse Git as a phrase caught the ear of Micky Dolenz of The Monkees - who co-opted it as the title of the group's next UK single - though their UK record label re-titled it "Alternate Title") and to his wife as a "silly old moo" (a substitute for "cow" which was originally vetoed by the BBC's censors). Controversially, the show was one of the earliest mainstream programmes to feature the swear word "bloody". The show was one of several held up by self-appointed public moralist Mary Whitehouse as an example of the BBC's immorality.

Related Topics:
Conservative - 1960s - Coons - Scouse - The Monkees - Swear word - Bloody - Mary Whitehouse

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In a classic demonstration of Johnny Speight's satirical skills - on learning that Mary Whitehouse was a critic of the show - Speight created an episode where Alf Garnett was seen to be a big fan of Mary Whitehouse! He was seen proudly reading her current book. "What are you reading?" his son-in-law asks. When he relates that it's Mary Whitehouse - his son-in-law sniggers. Alf's rejoinder is priceless: "She's concerned for the bleedin' moral welfare of the nation!" he insists. Speight was able to assert that the support for Mary Whitehouse's self-styled "Clean-Up TV" campaign was synonymous with the attitudes of loud bigots such as Alf Garnett.

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Ultimately "silly old moo" became a comic catch phrase. Another phrase he used was "it stands to reason", usually before making some patently unreasonable or illogical comment. Alf was an admirer of Enoch Powell, a Conservative politician notorious for his opposition to immigration into the United Kingdom. Alf was also a fanatical supporter of West Ham United (a football team based in the East End) and was known to make derogatory remarks about "the Jews up at Spurs" (referring to Tottenham Hotspur, a North London soccer team with a sizable Jewish following). This was a playful touch by Speight knowing that in real life Mitchell was both Jewish and a supporter of that team. In interviews, Johnny Speight explained that he had originally based the character of Alf on his father, an East End docker who was staunchly reactionary and held such attitudes to black people. Speight made clear that he deeply regretted that his father held such attitudes - beliefs that Speight regarded as reprehensible. Speight saw the show in part as a way of ridiculing such views and dealing with his complex feelings about his father.

Related Topics:
Catch phrase - Enoch Powell - Conservative - West Ham United - Tottenham Hotspur - Jewish

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In a fascinating footnote to the series, in real life actor Anthony Booth fathered a daughter Cherie Booth who later married British Labour Party politician Tony Blair - making Anthony Booth the father-in-law of a prime minister.

Related Topics:
Cherie Booth - Tony Blair

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Toward the end of the series Dandy Nichols fell ill and was unable to attend the live-audience recordings. The problem was solved by having her pre-record her lines which were then skilfully edited into the show. Eventually even this was too much of a strain, and so in a later episode Else was seen leaving for Australia, much to Alf's dismay.

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In the early 1980s the ITV company Central picked up the series and made about 6 episodes under the title Till Death. Although the cast and writer remained the same the series never took off.

Related Topics:
1980s - ITV - Central

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In the late 1980s Alf Garnett returned to the BBC for In Sickness and in Health. This took Alf and Else (who was now in a wheelchair) onwards into old age, and some of Alf's more extreme opinions were found to have mellowed. Una Stubbs made some guest appearances but Anthony Booth apparently wasn't interested in reprising his role. After the first series Dandy Nichols died, and so subsequent episodes showed Alf having to deal with the greatest loss of his life - Else's pension.

Related Topics:
1980s - In Sickness and in Health

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Warren Mitchell has also appeared solo on stage and TV as Alf Garnett, dispensing Alf's usual homespun reactionary philosophy and singing old music hall songs. One show was called It Stands To Reason - The Thoughts Of Chairman Alf; one reviewer concluded that "Speight and Mitchell are to be congratulated for understanding so well the mind of a man who they hate".

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A number of indifferent feature films were made based on the series - Til Death Us Do Part (1969) and The Alf Garnett Saga (1972). The first of these dealt with the Garnett's being moved from their East End slum to the New town of Hemel Hempstead, and the adjustments and changes that brought on the family. While unremarkable as a film, it does give a fascinating glimpse of British life at the time.

Related Topics:
1969 - 1972 - New town - Hemel Hempstead

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