The Anonymous Widower

Tony Hancock and Guy the Gorilla

I’ve just watched a documentary on BBC2 called The Unknown Hancock.  Note that they used just Hancock, as he is one of the few people known by just his surname to most people.

One thing that he used to do was visit Guy the Gorilla in his cage in the London Zoo.  At the time Guy was kept by himself in an iron cage, which today would be considered unsuitable for great apes.  Despite this he was considered to be a gentle soul and not in the least bit dangerous.

I mention this because the documentary would have been watched intently by C, who was one of Tony Hancock‘s biggest fans.

By now she would be telling me this tale of one of her clients.

He was obviously not a nice man, as regularly he was sent to jail for a couple of years. On release, he would go straight round to the London Zoo and visit Guy in his cage and say something like.

Hello Guy!  I’m back out now.  But you’re still inside!

There probably has never been such an iconic animal in the London Zoo as Guy.

February 19, 2011 - Posted by AnonW | World | Animals, Entertainment, Humour, Prison