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4 unusual facts about Johnny Bassett


Beyond the Fringe

John Bassett, Wadham College, Oxford graduate and assistant to Ponsonby, recommended jazz band mate and rising cabaret talent Dudley Moore, who in turn recommended Alan Bennett, who had been a hit at Edinburgh a few years before.

Johnny Bassett

The band performed always on Saturday evenings and usually throughout the week in the Union cellars (a part of the Oxford Union buildings and grounds, which had just been opened by Michael Heseltine, at that time the Union President).

In fact, he had already written for producer Michael Codron some sketches for a revue called, 'Pieces of Eight' and had followed that up by writing an entire revue called 'One over the Eight'.

The ice was finally broken when Moore did an imitation of Groucho Marx in the restaurant where they met.



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