Paul Merton's Silent Clowns - Season 1

Paul Merton profiles Buster Keaton, without whose influence Paul might never have become a comedian himself.

As a 13-year-old, Paul saw Keaton's masterpiece The General at the Academy Cinema in London's Oxford Street, thus beginning a lifetime's fascination. Paul also reveals a Buster Keaton joke that was lost for 75 years.

Paul Merton profiles some of the great stars of silent comedy. This edition explores the unique humour of Charlie Chaplin, the man who made more people laugh than anyone else in history. As a Londoner, Paul isparticularly fascinated by Chaplin's cockney roots and how this shaped both his comedy and the look of his Hollywood films. With the aid of new film technology, Paul also reveals some glorious Chaplin comic business that has literally been obscured for decades.

Paul Merton profiles some of the great stars of silent comedy. This edition focuses on Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, whose huge popularity today is due to the fact that they made the most successful transitionto the talkies of any of the silent clowns. But it was in their less well-known silent films that the duo developed their distinctive style and trademark sense of comic timing.

Paul Merton profiles some of the great stars of silent comedy. This edition explores how Harold Lloyd pulled off his celebrated stunts and also tells the story of how a man of modest natural talents managed the journey from theatrical extra to comedy superstar.