A new biography of much-loved comedian Spike Milligan, who lived and died in Sussex, casts him as an embittered philanderer filled with hatred and violence.

A generation of radio listeners laughed its collective socks off at the shenanigans of the Goons.

Peter Sellers' and Michael Bentine's hysterical voices, Harry Secombe's Pickwickian joviality and Spike Milligan's madcap humour produced some of the most original and influential comedy of modern times.

Milligan was credited as the brains behind the show's nine-year success and was warmly embraced by the public as a troubled but loveable genius.

But a new book reveals the clown who created laughs for millions was a bitter, angry man with an enormous capacity for hatred, violence, racism and philandering.

The star, who lived near Rye, alienated his colleagues, insulted his fans and took more than one wounding swipe at his best-known admirer, the Prince of Wales. He was jealous of his co-stars, prone to unprovoked, caustic attacks and was notoriously unpredictable.

He was a serial womaniser and had two illegitimate children by different women while married to his second wife.

Among Milligan's many fans was author Humphrey Carpenter who, as a boy, listened avidly to the Goons and hung on Spike's every word. But in researching his book Spike Milligan The Biography, many of his illusions were shattered.

Carpenter said: "There were aspects of his life I found dispiriting. One is accustomed to hearing that old cliche about the sad clown but Spike wasn't sad - he was angry."

Carpenter said Milligan's rudeness and unpredictable anger spilled over into every area of his life and could erupt into murderous rages.

He twice threatened to kill his co-stars, including Sellers. The pair lived in neighbouring flats and, in a fit of rage, Milligan smashed through Sellers' glass door, screaming: "I have come to kill Peter Sellers". As it turned out, Milligan was armed only with a potato peeler.

He also threatened to shoot Graham Stark, his co-star and rival in the West End play The Bedsitting Room.

Milligan had many spells in psychiatric care. He complained of noises in his head and disturbing hallucinations.

He was once charged with causing actual bodily harm after shooting a 15-year-old intruder in his garden.

And, famously, during the British Comedy Awards, when a glowing tribute from the Prince was read out, Spike retorted: "Oh, the grovelling little bastard'. He went on to poke fun at the Prince at another awards ceremony with a gag involving a sperm bank.

Carpenter said Milligan could not cope with any form of rejection. After being heckled during a live show, Milligan shouted at the audience 'You hate me, don't you? I hope you all get bombed.' He stamped on his trumpet, stormed off and was found in his dressing room. He had a noose around his neck.

Of several apparent attempts at suicide, Carpenter believes only one was genuine.

"After the collapse of his first marriage he took an overdose."

Despite these regular and vicious outbursts, Milligan could be as passionate, sensitive and gentle as he was comically inspired. He was devoted to his children and would spend hours playing games, like writing fairy letters which he hid under stones in the garden for the children to find.

He also adopted causes he believed in, opposing cruelty to animals, nuclear weapons and the destruction of the environment.

Milligan smashed through a gallery window in protest at the planned killing of 60 catfish. Hatred of piped music led him to vandalise a radio station lift.

He once tried to force 28 pounds of spaghetti into the mouth of the Harrods food hall manager to demonstrate how a goose feels when being force fed to make pate de foie gras.

He also detested smoking and frequently raced up to celebrities like Stephen Fry, knocking the cigarette out of their mouths saying: "There. Saved your life!"

Milligan's adult life was blighted by crippling manic depression. His explanation was that it began after being shell-shocked during the Second World War.

Carpenter argues that it may have started much earlier.

Milligan was an only child until he was seven when his brother Desmond arrived in the colonial home. In a bid to retain his mother's attention, the young Spike started playacting.

Carpenter argues he was so wounded, he never really grew up.

He also believes Milligan used his depression strategically.

"Where does depression stop and just being miserable start? Depression is very nasty but sometimes one's patience does get stretched by self-pity. And Spike got worse with age."

Carpenter never met Milligan and when he wrote to him a year before his death to ask if he would co-operate with his book, he received no reply.

"But I don't think there is anything I was burning to ask him. He wore his heart on his sleeve. His unpleasantness and aggressiveness were right on the surface."

Milligan's unstable personality cost him life-long friends, like his services pal Harry Edgington, who is credited as the inspiration for the (Edge) Ying Tong song.

Later in his life, Milligan moved out of London to Sussex.

Carpenter said: "He wasn't the type to go marching over the Downs but he did involve himself with the rugby club in Rye and some local causes."

In writing the book, Carpenter worried he was wrecking people's image of their hero.

He said: "I may have made things worse but you have to be honest about these things. In some ways I would rather not have written it but I have a living to make and a curiosity to satisfy."

And as he says in his book: "I was a Goon fan and I still am; indeed I think that, at their best, the Goons are funnier than anything else in the history of comedy; and when I say 'the Goons', I am really talking about Spike's scripts."

Milligan, who died in February last year aged 83, is buried at St Thomas' Church, Winchelsea. His grave remains unmarked amid rumours of a rift between branches of his family.

Spike Milligan, The Biography, is out today, published by Hodder & Stoughton, priced £20.