Born in Birmingham, and raised in Bournemouth, Hancock started his comedy career during the war in the Ralph Reader Gang Show. After the war, he made appearances on a number of radio shows, and gained national recognition in Educating Archie. In 1954 the BBC gave him his own show, Hancock's Half Hour.
The show ran for seven years, and he was also given a TV show of the same name. These shows featured a single 30-minute sketch on varying themes, the most memorable being The Blood Donor.
In 1956, he starred in the first of two series of The Tony Hancock Show on ITV. In addition, Hancock made five films between 1954 and 1966. His two starring roles were in The Rebel, and The Punch and Judy Man.
Always riddled with self-doubt, alcoholism became a serious issue during the 1960's, and Hancock struggled to get regular work, often as the result of his unreliability. His personal life wasn't going too well either, and he divorced his first wife in 1965, remarrying later that year. His second wife later attempted suicide, but survived, and the couple were divorced in June 1968. Hancock was, by now, living in Sydney, Australia.
On 24 June, 1968, Tony Hancock was found dead in his apartment. He had died from an overdose of vodka and amylo-barbitone tablets.
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