Mr. Bean

Some of the biggest laughs come without a single word. First airing on British TV on New Year's Day 1990 and later embraced by PBS viewers in the United States, "Mr. Bean" follows in the tradition of the great silent clowns. Created by Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis, the sketches rely on little dialogue and plenty of ingenious physical comedy, giving the character a universal, multigenerational appeal that crosses every language barrier. Resourceful, mischievous and occasionally malevolent, Bean is the inner child incarnate, acting on all the impulses polite society normally keeps in check. Atkinson has described him as essentially a 9-year-old boy - short on worldly experience but surprisingly clever at solving whatever problems come his way. Those problems include not knowing a single answer on an exam, discreetly disposing of a revolting restaurant meal, changing into his swimsuit at the beach without removing his trousers first and, most memorably, getting a turkey stuck on his head, a classic bit later revisited in the 1997 feature film. American audiences may also know Atkinson as the nervous minister in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and the voice of Zazu in "The Lion King." British comedy fans treasure him as a founding member of "Not the Nine O'Clock News" and the star of "Blackadder." But Bean remains his crowning creation. Sometimes the simplest ideas are the ones that travel furthest.