Benny and the She-Hulk
Bio[]
The She-Hulk is a green-skinned superhuman female from England. Not much is known about her identity or past or how she obtained her powers. In her true form, she looks like a normal brunette young lady, but when she gets angry or upset, she transforms into into a large green-skinned woman with incredible strength.
In her true form and identity, the young woman is heading on an errand in town (possibly Little Dimpton or Teddington). Near the Meteorological Office, four women (Sue Bond, Alison Bell, Abigail Higgins and Camilla Blair) are approached by a flasher (Bob Todd). They drive him off with a rating. On another street, three women (Penny Kendall, Beverly Kaye and Bella Emberg) stand dressed in their best clothes. Nearby, a graffiti artist (Benny Hill) is caught posting anti-police propaganda by two officers (Henry McGee and Bob Todd) and forced to change his message.
At the local bus stop, the brunette ingenue is forced to change places after an old man (Jack Wright) knocks his pipe on her apple basket and blows his pipe tobacco all over the sleeve of her t-shirt. Briefly irritated, she moves around another man (Henry McGee) who takes one of the apples from her basket. She's likely only mildly annoyed when she moves around the old man and gets pinched by him. She slaps him, but she's unaware the pinch came from another man (Benny Hill) with a fake arm and hidden opening in his coat.
Still struggling to hold back her anger, she's suddenly surprised by the old man and the pincher using their umbrella handles to lift her skirt. Her anger is getting harder to control as other men (Roger Finch, Bob Todd, Sue Upton, Louise English and unidentified) hurry over and start making kissing noises at her. Unable to hold back her anger, her bust size starts getting larger, adding more letters to the name on her shirt. As the harassment gets worse, she keeps transforming, becoming seven feet tall with green skin. Her angry alter ego rips off her torn t-shirt and skirt. Covered in just a black bustier, she rips up the sign for the bus stop, bends it in half, snaps their umbrellas into two pieces and tries squeezing the life out of her harassers, but they just laugh at her attempts to scare them. She even tries attacking them with a long whip. Unfortunately, all this "violence" only turns them on more and she flees down the street and through the park, her harassers chasing after her and trying to get closer to her.
Trivia[]
Clare Smalley with Bob Todd and Benny Hill
- The She-Hulk was played by Clare Smalley (her human form) and Allison Bell (her superhuman form).
- The She-Hulk was a spoof of the American TV series "The Incredible Hulk" TV series that ran from 1977 to 1982.
- Blooper: Although Jackie blows burnt tobacco all over Clare's sleeve, in the next shot, it's completely clean.
- The alternating names on Clare Smalley's t-shirt are reportedly Benny's homage to several Welsh towns with nearly identical names.
- Blooper: When Clare starts transforming, one can easily see the hidden creases covering up the extra letters.
- Blooper: When Clare starts transforming, her bust size gets bigger, and her t-shirt changes names, but they're inconsistent. It changes from "Ludo" to "Ladudo," actually "resets," then changes from "Ladudno" to "Landudno."
- Two of the "men" around her are actually Louise English and Sue Upton in fake mustaches. The other by-standers are unrevealed.
- Blooper: In her transformed state, the character is wearing thigh-high boots. In her normal state, she's wearing regular shoes.
- Clare Smalley possibly plays one of the extra men far left in the crowd scene, but this is unconfirmed.
- According to an urban legend, Stan Lee created the Marvel Universe She-Hulk to keep from losing the rights to Benny Hill. In actuality, the reason behind the character's creation had to do with the success of "The Incredible Hulk" TV series. Marvel was afraid the success of the show might lead to a female version of the Hulk as had been done with "The Six Million Dollar Man," and Stan Lee and Marvel decided to publish their own version of such a character to hold on to the rights. The Marvel Comics version appeared in February 1980; Benny Hill's version actually appeared a year later in February 1981 while the American TV series was still popular.
- Some resources erroneously identify Louise English or Jane Leeves in Clare Smalley's role. This would be because of their popularity in the series and a lack of Angel identification into the Late 1990s.
- This sketch possibly rates as one of the most remembered sketches in the series.
