Going back who-knows-how-long there was the British Musical Hall. Sort of their Vaudeville. Variety acts including comics. The comics told the same jokes over and over and over. The Benny Hill Show was a throwback to that style of show.
So most of the jokes were indeed unbelievably old and familiar to the UK audience.
Now, as to why so many people like unoriginal humor … I have no flooping clue.
Note that Americans are not immune to this, to wit “Everybody Loves Raymond” type shows.
Oh man, this was exactly my life as a teen except adding a little pot to the mix also.
My friends and I thought this was the funniest show ever, and the hotties didn’t hurt either.
The 70’s were a very strange time for me.
A modern interpretation on the Benny Hill style of comedy, courtesy of That Mitchell and Webb Look:
The thing that struck me about Benny Hill and even Monty Python was how any skit done in drag is apparently ipso facto funny. American comedy uses a lot of drag humor, but not nearly to the extent as British. I swear that they couldn’t get through an entire show without one bit in drag.
Always remember, The Benny Hill Show were 80 minute specials, produced by, well, I dunno exactly, presumably by Benny Hill at Thames Studios, for release on UK TV every 9 months or so. The half hour shows we see in the US are bastardized mish-mashes of episodes. They weren’t at all ashamed, in the '80’s, of cutting up the shows any old way, even cutting skits in half, and showing the parts on different days.
Of course, as a kid, I couldn’t get enough of Hill’s angels, and the naughty skits revolving around torn skirts, up-skirts, etc. But nowadays, I am appreciating his songs and jokes more.
I thought I’d never see his complete shows, since his estate is so messy. But I have seen DVD’s for sale lately, comprising much of his shows. So someday, when I hear of a definitive collection: complete, as shown in the UK, not US mish-mash cut, subtitled (hey sorry Brit dopers, I need it sometimes), I’ll buy them. Some things are out now, but not ready for me to purchase just yet.
Sorry, missed edit window, I meant close captioned, not subtitled.
Benny Hill: The master of the single entendre.
It seems that nothing can be funnier to the British than a man wearing women’s clothing. Did you know that Ernest Shackleton brought women’s clothing to antartica so the men could have a proper Christmas show? Because god forbid your ship gets stuck in and then crushed by the ice, and you have to shoot your favorite dog and cross the Antartic ocean in a rowboat – at least your Christmas panto wasn’t ruined by a lack of men in drag.
Also, in response to a previous post: anything set to “Yakety Sax” is automatically hilarious (as long as it is also sped up frame speed).
That was funny.
Ask my wife. She made me take it off as my ring tone. 
Benny Hill was always fun, and not even always in a girls-in-lingerie kind of way.
The old guy got slapped a lot. 
-Joe
No. That was Henry Gibson on the Rowan and Martin Laugh In.
We’re just letting that one go?
“Benny Hill” and “New York” makes me think of this.
I agree with Kim o the Concrete Jungle. Never found Chaplin very funny - occasional funny bits, but the rest is over-acting, not much comedy.
Chaplin has a few funny bits that still hold up, but even in his own day he liked to wallow in pathos. For still funny silent comedy you need to look at Buster Keaton.
I wonder if Benny Hill occupies somewhat the same niche on British TV that Hee Haw does on American TV.
Damn, I came in here to say this. If there is nothing else Benny Hill has contributed, this fact alone justifies the show’s existence.
20-some years ago a friend from the UK told me that the Benny Hill Show was aimed at the same demographic in his country that was served by Sha-Na-Na’s show in the US. You did know that Sha-Na-Na once had a syndicated show, didn’t you?
Personally, I prefered Dave Allen At Large to Benny Hill.
So is it wrong to give out a few chuckles during The Great Dictator?