Eccles (character)

For other meanings of the name, see Eccles

Eccles is the name of a comedy character, created and performed by Spike Milligan, from the 1950s United Kingdom radio comedy series The Goon Show.

Eccles was one of the show's secondary characters, but like his counterpart Bluebottle (portrayed by Peter Sellers), Eccles became extremely popular and he is regarded (rather like Kramer from Seinfeld) as epitomising the show's humour.

Milligan visualised Eccles as a tall, lanky, amiable, well-meaning, but incredibly stupid teenager who usually found himself involved — usually alsongside Bluebottle — in one of the nefarious schemes created by arch-villain Hercules Gritpype-Thynne.

The Eccles character and his distinctive voicing was strongly influenced by Milligan's childhood love for the classic Walt Disney cartoons and specifically Disney's anthropomorphic buffoon dog character Goofy.