From here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Hancock comes the bio that says most of it.

He was born in Hall Green, Birmingham, England, but brought up in Bournemouth from the age of 3 where his father, John Hancock, who ran the 'Railway Hotel' in Holdenhurst Road, worked as a comedian and entertainer. After his father's death in 1934, Tony and his brothers lived with their mother and stepfather at a small hotel then known as The Durlston Court (now renamed The Quality Hotel). He was educated at a boarding school at Durlston in Swanage and Bradfield College, Berkshire. He left school at the age of fifteen. In 1942 he joined the RAF Regiment and following a failed audition for ENSA (Entertainments National Service Association) ended up with The Ralph Reader Gang Show. Following the war he received regular radio work in shows such as Workers' Playtime and Variety Bandbox. In 1951 he gained a part in Educating Archie, where he played the tutor and foil to the nominal star, a ventriloquist's dummy. This brought him wider recognition and a catchphrase used frequently in the show; 'flippin' kids'. The same year, he made regular appearances on the BBC Television's popular light entertainment show Kaleidoscope. In 1954 he was given his own BBC radio show: Hancock's Half Hour.

I vividly remember the TV show he used to do based on his radio show, and the one called the 'Blood Donor' makes me laugh to think about right now.

Unfortunately he became very depressed, and could never see why people found him so funny. He committed suicide in 1968 and in his note he write, 'things just went wrong too many times'