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Mr Bean travels well because it's universal humour requiring no translation. Has done well in British consciousness for a single 15 episode series too. For slightly related reasons, Norman Wisdom became absolutely massive in the Eastern Bloc because his apolitical slapstick could be portrayed as "struggling against capitalism" :D

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Rowan Atkinson is such a comic genius. Look at what he can do with a piano key: https://youtu.be/CwzjlmBLfrQ

I think that was the highlight of the opening ceremony. Would be interesting to know if Rowan Atkinson was involved in developing the bit (not so much the video clip but the single note business was well conceived).

I remember The Benny Hill Show was hugely popular outside of the UK too although I suspect it's declined now as it's very much a product of its time.

Saw this a lot in Asia during the late 80s, never understood the hate for it, most of the jokes are on the old white men and he was a real gentleman in real life.

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