Observational comedy is a style of humor based on making remarks about commonplace aspects of everyday life. It is the most common type of humor used in stand up comedy.

The humor is based on the premise of "It's funny because it's true."

References

External links

Making Sense of Humour in the Workplace

BBC H2G2 Article on Observational Comedy Acts

Category:Comedy genres

sv:Observationshumor

name	Stewart Lee
birth date	April 05, 1968
birth place	Wellington, Shropshire, England
nationality	British
known for	''Fist of Fun'' (1993–1995)''This Morning with Richard Not Judy'' (1998–1999)''Jerry Springer: The Opera'' (2001–2005)''90's Comedian'' (2005–2006)''41st Best Stand Up Ever!'' (2007–2008)''Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle'' (2009–)
occupation	Stand-up comedian, Writer
spouse	Bridget Christie (?-present)
children	Son
website	}}

Stewart Lee (born 5 April 1968) is an English stand-up comedian, writer and director known for being one half of the 1990s comedy duo Lee and Herring, and for co-writing and directing the critically acclaimed and controversial stage show ''Jerry Springer - The Opera''. In a review of the comedy of the previous decade, a 2009 article in ''The Times'' referred to Lee as "the comedian's comedian, and for good reason" and named him "face of the decade".

His stand-up features frequent use of "repetition, call-backs, nonchalant delivery and deconstruction".

Background

Lee was born in Wellington, Shropshire. He was adopted as a child and grew up in Solihull in the West Midlands. He attended private school Solihull School, on a scholarship. He is married to fellow comic Bridget Christie, with whom he has two children. He is a supporter of the British Humanist Association and an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society.

Career

Early career: ''Lee and Herring'' and ''Fist of Fun''

While studying English at St Edmund Hall, Oxford in the 1980s, he wrote and performed comedy in a revue group called "The Seven Raymonds" with Richard Herring, Emma Kennedy, Michael Cosgrave, Richard Canning and Tim Richardson, but did not perform in the well-known Oxford Revue, though he did write for and direct the 1989 Revue. Having moved to London and begun performing stand up comedy after university, he rose to greater prominence in 1990, winning the prestigious Hackney Empire New Act of the Year competition. With Richard Herring, Lee wrote material for BBC Radio 4's ''On the Hour'' (1991), which was anchored by Chris Morris and was notable for the first appearance of Steve Coogan's celebrated character, Alan Partridge, for which Lee and Herring wrote much early material. After a disagreement with the rest of the cast, Lee & Herring did not remain with the group when ''On The Hour'' moved to television as ''The Day Today'' and their material was excised from an official release of the radio show in the mid-'90s (though a 2008 CD release would see it re-instated). In 1992, Lee was briefly part of the team writing the first Robin Askwith "Confessions of..." movie for 15 years. However due to financial problems the movie was scrapped and his script has never seen light of day.

In 1992 and 1993, he and Herring wrote and performed ''Lionel Nimrod's Inexplicable World'' for BBC Radio 4, before moving to BBC Radio 1, for one series of ''Fist of Fun'' (1993). This was followed by three series entitled, simply, ''Lee and Herring''. These shows mixed sketches with live links and music, in a format that Radio 1 seemed to favour at the time. (Other classic examples of such include shows by Chris Morris, Armando Iannucci, and Simon Munnery in his guise as "Alan Parker: Urban Warrior".) ''Fist of Fun'' moved to television for two BBC Two series, and was followed in 1998 by ''This Morning with Richard Not Judy'', which featured material in a similar vein, but was notable for being broadcast live in a Sunday morning slot. A change in BBC management after the second series of the latter effectively brought his partnership with Herring to an end but the two comedians still share a similarity of humour.

Throughout the late nineties he continued performing solo stand-up (something that has always been a mainstay of his career – even whilst in the double act with Herring) and has collaborated with, amongst others, Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding of ''The Mighty Boosh''. Indeed, though they had worked together in the past, the first seeds of the Boosh were sown whilst working as part of Lee's Edinburgh show ''King Dong vs Moby Dick'' in which Barratt and Fielding played a giant penis and a whale, respectively. Lee returned the favour by going on to direct their 1999 Edinburgh show, Arctic Boosh, which remains the template of all their live work.

Career 2000–04: Quitting stand-up

In 2001, Lee published his first novel, ''The Perfect Fool''. It was republished in 2008. In the same year he performed ''Pea Green Boat'', a stand-up show which revolved around the deconstruction of the Edward Lear poem ''The Owl and the Pussycat'' and a tale of his own broken toilet. This would later be condensed to focus mainly on the poem itself, and a 15 minute version aired on Radio 4. In 2007, Go Faster Stripe released a 25-minute edit on CD & 10" Vinyl.

During late 2000 and early 2001, Lee "gradually, incrementally and without any fanfare – or even much thought – gave up being a stand-up comedian". 2001 was the first year since 1987 that he did not perform at the Edinburgh Fringe. Whilst Lee found himself gradually performing less and less standup and moving away from the stage, he continued his directorial duties on television. Two pilots were made for Channel 4, ''Cluub Zarathrustra'' and ''Head Farm'', but neither was developed into a series. The former, however, would feature all the ingredients that would later appear in ''Attention Scum'', a BBC2 series fronted by Simon Munnery's ''League Against Tedium'' character, which also featured the likes of Kevin Eldon, Johnny Vegas and Roger Mann, as well as Richard Thomas and opera singer Lori Lixenberg, in their guise as "Kombat Opera".

At the 2003 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Lee directed Johnny Vegas's first DVD, ''Who's Ready For Ice Cream?'', a move away from the traditional "stand-up comic releases a DVD" format, involving a plot in which Vegas loses his comedy "mojo" and has to track it down via a journey of personal discovery. The DVD also features footage of Vegas' actual standup set as additional extras.

In 2004, Lee returned to stand-up comedy with the show ''Standup Comedian'', which earned him a "Tap Water Award" in Edinburgh and was released on DVD in October 2005. This features extra footage of performances from his earlier career on Five's "Comedy Network". This show was toured extensively throughout the UK, Australia and USA. Reviewing the comedy of the decade, Dominic Maxwell in ''The Times'' wrote of Lee's 2004 return to stand-up that it was "one of the boldest, smartest, most technically assured hours of stand-up I've ever seen".

2005: ''Jerry Springer The Opera'' and ''90s Comedian''

In January 2005, ''Jerry Springer - The Opera'', a satirical musical/opera based upon ''The Jerry Springer Show'', was broadcast on BBC Two, following a highly successful West End run for several years, and as a prelude to the show's UK Tour. Christian Voice led a number of protest groups who claimed that the show was blasphemous and highly offensive. In particular, they were angered by the portrayal of Jesus Christ. Disputes arose, with supporters claiming that most of the protesters had neither seen the show nor knew of its actual content. Others supported the right to freedom of speech. Several Christian groups protested at some of the venues used during the UK Tour. The show was broadcast with a record number of complaints prior to its transmission. In total, the BBC received 55,000 complaints. A private court case brought by Christian Voice against Lee and others involved with the production for blasphemy was rejected by a Magistrates' Court.

In 2005, Lee tackled the subject of the religious hatred he experienced after the broadcast of ''Jerry Springer – The Opera'' in his stand-up show, ''90s Comedian''. This show has earned him some of the best reviews of his career, largely due to the un-checked vitriol he unleashes in the latter half of the set, "taking no prisoners" in his attempt to display what he claimed was the lunacy of sacred cows.

A recording was made in Cardiff in March 2006. This was filmed by a group of amateur enthusiasts who were disappointed that there was no distribution deal in place because of the commercial failure of the ''Standup Comedian'' DVD and the controversial nature of the new show's material. These "enthusiastic amateurs" became GoFasterStripe and, having set themselves up in order to film the show, have gone on to film the works of many other "non-mainstream" comedians, including sets from Tony Law (Lee's support act on the 2009 ''If You Prefer A Milder Comedian, Please Ask For One'' tour), Simon Munnery (whose BBC television comedy series -''Attention Scum'' - was directed by Lee) and several by Lee's former partner Richard Herring.

''Jerry Springer – The Opera'' opened at Carnegie Hall in New York in 2008, starring Harvey Keitel as Springer. It has since been performed across the United States, Canada and Australia.

2006: ''What Would Judas Do?''

Many assumed Lee would bring a new hour of stand up to Edinburgh in 2006 to consolidate his "comeback" success, but he did not. Implying that it might have happened under different circumstances, he commented at the time on his website that, "I assumed I was going to be working out 6 half hours of stand-up for a TV project but it fell through". However, he did visit the festival in capacity of director with a production of the Eric Bogosian play ''Talk Radio'' with a cast which included Phil Nichol, Mike McShane, Will Adamsdale, Stephen K Amos and Tony Law.

In 2006, in addition to his directorial contribution to Talk Radio, he gigged regularly and appeared on television and radio, in – amongst others – Armando Iannucci's, ''Time Trumpet'', as a version of himself thirty years in the future looking back and commentating on the present day. The show ran on BBC2 between August & 6 September 2006. Also in August, Lee presented a programme in the Five series ''Don't Get Me Started''. The documentary discussed the issues of blasphemy, free speech, religious censorship and the rise in protests from religious groups over perceived attacks on their faith. This was of course of some interest to Lee, especially considering his experience in the ''Jerry Springer -The Opera'' controversy (see above). The programme was renamed from ''New Puritans'' to ''Stewart Lee Says What's So Bad About Blasphemy?'' without Lee's knowledge.

He separated from his long standing management company, Avalon, after a promised BBC series fell through (and because of a loss of trust resulting in part from incidents such as the retitling of the blasphemy documentary), and appeared on the BBC Radio 4 quiz ''Quote Unquote'', ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' and on ''Have I Got News for You'', purportedly to pay for his wedding.

In October, he presented a forty year tribute to ''Star Trek'' on BBC Radio 2, and in November, presented ''White Face, Dark Heart'', two programmes on Radio 4 about clowns, during which he fulfilled a ten-year desire to witness the rituals of New Mexico's sacred clowns. These shows are available to download on his official website.

He curated a CD for the Sonic Arts Network called ''The Topography of Chance''. Lee explored different artists, writers and musician’s experiments with randomness and chance and brought together an eclectic mix of artists including tracks by; Simon Munnery, Arthur Smith, The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players, Evan Parker, Derek Bailey, Jem Finer, Kombat Opera, Jon Rose and more.

2007: ''Stewart Lee – 41st Best Stand Up Ever!''

January saw Lee open his show ''What Would Judas Do'' in double bill with Mark Ravenhill's ''Product: World Remix'' at London's Bush Theatre. He announced at the time that he was also writing – with Tony Law a sitcom pilot about the god Thor, for BBC Two, and script-editing another pilot, a sitcom about the Brontë sisters. In February, he organised a tribute to cult comedian Ted Chippington entitled "Tedstock" at London's Bloomsbury Theatre. This was designed, in part, to raise money to fund a CD release of Chippington's work – which was available to buy on the night, "Walking Down The Road". The show included a one-off performance from Lee and Herring, along with fellow Ted fans Simon Munnery, The Nightingales, Phill Jupitus, Josie Long and Stephen Carlin.

Lee's first new stand up show since "90s Comedian" was developed over the first half of 2007, originally to be named ''March Of The Mallards'' (a title parodying that of the film, ''March of the Penguins''), it would be renamed before its full debut at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival of that year, and subsequent Autumn tour. This was because, in March 2007, Lee was named 41st best stand-up of all time in a Channel 4 survey listing the "100 best standups". In this poll, he beat Dave Allen, George Carlin, Steve Martin, Robin Williams and Tommy Cooper. Channel 4 did not reveal exactly how the voting was conducted, but 150,000 members of the public were polled, as were an undisclosed number of experts.

In the light of this result Lee renamed his Summer 2007 stand-up show 'Stewart Lee – 41st Best Stand Up Ever!' as he felt it was "both arrogant and humble". During the show he joked that since Bernard Manning (who had been placed above him in the poll) had died since the Channel 4 poll had first aired, he felt he should be moved up to Number 40. Another project, "Johnson & Boswell, Late But Live", written by Lee & performed by comics Simon Munnery and Miles Jupp played throughout the festival at the Traverse Theatre before embarking upon a tour of Scotland.

July 2007, Lee appeared on the Channel 4 panel game, ''8 out of 10 Cats'', which he has since described as "the worst professional experience of my life". July 2007 also saw the premiere of ''Interiors'', a site-specific theatre piece co-written with Johnny Vegas, at the Manchester International Festival.

2008

2008 began, as 2007 had ended, with the continuing tour of "41st Best Standup". It became Lee's longest tour to date, and was filmed at the Glasgow Stand for DVD release by Real Talent in April (the DVD hit stores in July).

Lee also co wrote 'Poets' Tree' with close friend & collaborator, the actor Kevin Eldon. This was a BBC Radio 4 series that was aired in April 2008, based on Paul Hamilton, Eldon's arrogant poet alter-ego.

At the Edinburgh Festival in 2008 Lee performed potential material for his recently announced BBC2 series, ''Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle'', in a work in progress show at The Stand, billed as ''Scrambled Egg''. Over the three weeks of the festival, Lee worked on a large quantity of new material, and updated old favourites for possible inclusion in the show, which began filming the following November. A follow up to Johnson & Boswell also aired, again featuring Munnery & Jupp. ''Elizabeth & Raleigh, Late But Live'' was featured at the festival before touring the country in the autumn. In November, Lee began filming for his 2009 TV show, and on the 16th November, reunited with Herring another one off performance of their old double act at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith during one of the gigs Richard Herring curated there. They were joined by Paul Putner in character as the Curious Orange. With initial filming out of the way, ''Scrambled Egg'' was reprised at London's Hen & Chickens Theatre in December to fully polish the stand up sections of the forthcoming TV project ahead of filming in January 2009.

2009: ''Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle'' and ''If You Prefer a Milder Comedian, Please Ask for One''

''Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle'', a new six part comedy series featuring standup and sketches, began a six episode run on 16 March 2009. The executive producer was Armando Iannucci and the script editor was Chris Morris. The first episode received positive reviews from The Independent and The ''Daily Mirror''. The show received a negative review in ''Time Out'', written by Lee himself, in which he described himself as "fat" and his performance as "positively Neanderthal, suggesting a jungle-dwelling pygmy, struggling to coax notes out of a clarinet that has fallen from a passing aircraft". ''The Guardian'' named ''Comedy Vehicle'' as one of its top ten television highlights of 2009, commenting that it "was the kind of TV that makes you feel like you're not the only one wondering how we came to be surrounded by so much unquestioned mediocrity". One of the show's few negative reviews came in the ''Sunday Mercury'', which stated: "His whole tone is one of complete, smug condescension". Lee subsequently used this line to advertise his next stand-up tour. Lee frequently uses negative reviews on his posters in order to put off potential audience members who are unlikely to be fans of his comedy style.

The first episode was watched by approximately 1 million viewers, though the figure rose by 25% when BBC iPlayer viewings were factored in and, uncharacteristically, viewing figures rose over the series. The series was the BBC's second most downloaded broadcast during its run. In May 2010, the series was nominated for a BAFTA TV Award for best comedy programme.

Lee also had a show at the 2009 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, named ''Stewart Lee: If You Prefer a Milder Comedian, Please Ask for One'' in which he performed his own version of the song "Galway Girl". In the Galway stage of this show Sharon Shannon performed the song with Lee. In December 2009 Lee was beaten to the title of Best Live Stand-Up by the comedian Michael McIntyre at the British Comedy Awards ceremony.

Lee caused controversy on his ''If You Prefer a Milder Comedian'' tour with a joke about ''Top Gear'' presenter Richard Hammond. Referring to Hammond's accident while filming in 2006, in which he was almost killed, Lee joked, "I wish he had been decapitated and that his head had rolled off in front of his wife". and, having been doorstepped by a ''Mail'' journalist, Lee replied "It's a joke, just like on Top Gear when they do their jokes". Lee subsequently explained the joke:

In an ''Observer'' interview, Sean O'Hagan says of the Hammond joke that Lee "operates out in that dangerous hinterland between moral provocation and outright offence, often adopting, as in this instance, the tactics of those he targets in order to highlight their hypocrisy". in aid of the Motor Neurone Disease Association. On the 9th of February, Armando Iannucci, the executive producer of the first series of ''Comedy Vehicle'', announced that there would be a second series of the show. On 10 April an updated version of ''The 100 Greatest Stand-Ups'' was broadcast on Channel 4, in which Lee was declared the 12th best stand-up comedian. The May Day weekend saw Lee curating a programme of free jazz at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival, at the invitation of festival director Tony Dudley-Evans.

Lee's second book, ''How I Escaped My Certain Fate: The Life and Deaths of a Stand-Up Comedian'', was published by Faber and Faber on 5 August 2010. The book features annotated transcripts of Lee's ''Stand-Up Comedian'', '''90s Comedian'' and ''41st Best Stand-Up Ever'' shows and has received positive reviews. It is dedicated to Ted Chippington.

Lee's 2010 Edinburgh Fringe show is entitled ''Vegetable Stew''. Prior to the start of the festival, Lee wrote an e-mail to the publicist of the Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Awards, copying in other comedians, in response to the announcement of a poll to find the public's favourite act from 30 years of the award, which was previously known as the Perrier Award. Lee wrote:

Think about the logic of it for a moment. Who among those you are asking to vote has even heard of Frank Chickens, who for all anyone under 30 knows may be the best act on the list? It is not possible for the outcome of this vote to have any credibility.

As result of his e-mail going viral with the encouragement of Richard Herring and Robin Ince, Frank Chickens took the lead in the poll. During the polling, Lee wrote that: "In my e-mail I chose at random Frank Chicken, the Japanese female performance art duo, as an example of possibly worthy winners who would not get a look-in under this illogical and unfair voting system, and the Twitter world has adopted them as a cause". He stated that it was never his intention to influence the vote, "but they are now leading the field, and it appears we should embrace them. If Frank Chickens become Comedy Gods then Foster's will have been helped to actually sponsor some actual art, and fans of Foster's all over the whole world will be made aware of that wonderful, indefinable, mischievous, playful thing we call the Spirit Of The Fringe!". Frank Chickens went on to win the public vote.

As a result of the Frank Chickens incident, Lee was awarded the Malcolm Hardee Cunning Stunt award for best publicity stunt at the Fringe. The award's organisers stated: "The fact that Stewart did not intend to unleash publicity does not negate his success".

In addition to his main Edinburgh show, on 18 August Lee headlined a one-night variety show, ''Silver Stewbilee'', to launch ''How I Escaped My Certain Fate''. The show included performances by Simon Munnery as Alan Parker: Urban Warrior, Bridget Christie, Kevin Eldon, Paul Putner, Frank Chickens and Franz Ferdinand.

On 15 September 2010, Lee, along with 54 other public figures, signed an open letter published in ''The Guardian'', stating their opposition to Pope Benedict XVI's state visit to the UK.

Music journalism

Lee has written music reviews for a number of outlets including, since 1995, the ''Sunday Times''. Through the early 2000s, he became a regular presenter on, and patron of, Resonance FM 104.4.

He is noted for his diverse musical taste. Asked in 2003 what his current music favourites were, he stated "Most of my favourites are still going like The Fall, Giant Sand and Calexico. I listen to a lot of jazz, 60s and folk music but I really like Ms. Dynamite, and The Streets". He once said that the only band he liked that anyone else has heard of was R.E.M.. His debut novel, ''The Perfect Fool'', includes an 'audio bibliography' – a list of recommended listening. This mentions that it was his love of the band Giant Sand that first attracted him to visit the American South West.

Selected works

Books

''Fist of Fun'' (with Richard Herring; non-fiction) BBC Books, 1995. ISBN 0563371854; ISBN 978-0563371854

''The Perfect Fool'' (novel) Fourth Estate, 2001. ISBN 1841153656; ISBN 978-1841153650

''Sit-Down Comedy'' (contributor to anthology, ed Malcolm Hardee & John Fleming) Ebury Press/Random House, 2003. ISBN 0091889243; ISBN 978-0091889241

''More Trees to Climb'' by Ben Moor (foreword)

''Death To Trad Rock'' by John Robb (foreword) Cherry Red

''The Wire Primers: A Guide to Modern Music'' (chapter on The Fall)

''How I Escaped My Certain Fate - The Life and Deaths of a Stand-Up Comedian'' Faber & Faber 2010 ISBN 0571254802

DVDs

''Stand Up Comedian'' [2005] (2|entertain) - Live at Glasgow's The Stand Comedy Club

''90s Comedian'' [2006] (Go Faster Stripe) - Live at Cardiff's Chapter Arts Centre

''41st Best Stand Up Ever'' [2008] (Real Talent) - Live at Glasgow's The Stand Comedy Club

''Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle'' [2009] (2|entertain) - Live at London's Arts Depot

''If You Prefer A Milder Comedian Please Ask For One'' [2010] [Comedy Central] - Live at Glasgow's Citizens Theatre

CDs

''90s Comedian'' [2007] (Go Faster Stripe, digital-only release)

''Pea Green Boat'' [2007] (Go Faster Stripe, also 10" vinyl)

''41st Best Stand Up Ever'' [2008] (Real Talent)

''What Would Judas Do?'' [2009] (Go Faster Stripe, 3-CD box set)

'The Jazz Cellar Tape" [2011] (Go Faster Stripe, CD)

References

External links

Official website

Stewart Lee biography at Debi Allen Associates

Unofficial Lee and Herring website

Category:1968 births Category:Alumni of St Edmund Hall, Oxford Category:British atheists Category:British humanists Category:British radio writers Category:English comedians Category:English stand-up comedians Category:English film directors Category:English people of Scottish descent Category:English television actors Category:Living people Category:Old Silhillians Category:People from Wellington, Shropshire

Category:Comedians from Birmingham, West Midlands

birth name	Michael Thomas Green
birth date	July 30, 1971
birth place	Pembroke, Ontario, Canada
occupation	Actor, comedian, rapper
yearsactive	1992–present
spouse	Drew Barrymore (2001–2002) }}

Michael Thomas "Tom" Green (born July 30, 1971) is a Canadian actor, rapper, writer, comedian, talk show host and media personality. Best-known for his shock humour brand of comedy, Green found mainstream prominence via his MTV television show ''The Tom Green Show''. Green was also in the public eye for his short-lived marriage to actress Drew Barrymore, and for his roles in such films as ''Freddy Got Fingered'', ''Road Trip'', ''Stealing Harvard'' and ''Charlie's Angels''.

In June 2003, Green had the chance to guest-host the ''Late Show with David Letterman'' which led to him hosting his own late-night talk show on MTV entitled ''The New Tom Green Show''. Since 2006, he has hosted his internet talk show ''Tom Green's House Tonight'' from his living room and, as of January 2010, has started performing stand-up comedy.

Early life

Green was born in Pembroke, Ontario, the son of Mary Jane, a communications consultant, and Richard Green, a computer systems analyst and retired army captain. He grew up on a Canadian Army base near Pembroke, Ontario and later lived in Gloucester, Ontario (now part of the City of Ottawa) where he attended Colonel By Secondary School. Green studied television broadcasting at Algonquin College and graduated in 1994.

Early work (1986–1998)

Stand-up comedy

At age 15, Green started performing stand-up comedy at local clubs, most notably at Yuk Yuk's comedy club.

Radio

While attending Algonquin College, Green hosted an overnight call-in show on the University of Ottawa's campus radio station, CHUO. The show, originally a rap music show entitled ''The Rap Show'', was followed by an electronic music show hosted by Glenn Humplik. Through the proximity of their shows, Tom and Glenn met and became friends, based on a common love of zany antics. Tom's radio show soon shifted formats to a call-in show (upon the discovery of how to operate the studio's call-in lines) and the two joined forces to host ''The Midnight Caller Show''. The basic format of The Midnight Caller was to have listeners call-in with Tom and Glenn making fun of them (or "razzing" them) and soon after hanging-up on them. The show's novelty and originality made it an underground hit in the Ottawa area.

Rapper

In the early 1990s, Green had a short-lived career as a rapper in a group called Organized Rhyme under the alias "MC Bones". His fellow MCs include "Pin the Chameleon". The single "Check The O.R." was nominated for a Juno Award in 1993 for Best Rap Recording and won the MuchVibe Best Rap Video award in 1992.

In 1998, ''Not The Green Tom Show'' was released by Green's alter-ego MC Face. The theme of the album revolves around MC Face, a pugnacious and foul-mouthed rapper who is constantly angry with and taking verbal jabs at Tom Green, his square producer who brings on some of his buddies from ''The Tom Green Show''.

''The Tom Green Show''

Green soon had his own non-paid television show on public-access television on cable TV. The first incarnation of ''The Tom Green Show'' aired from September 1994 until 1996 as a one-hour no commercial public cable access program on Rogers Television 22 in the Ottawa region airing 50 episodes in two seasons. ''The Tom Green Show'' was a variety show format, where he would have guests visit the studio and bands play before a live audience. He also had taped segments that typically consisted of stunts played by Green on unsuspecting people. A number of them involved Green's parents, Richard and Mary Jane, who consistently appeared unamused and occasionally angered by Tom's antics. In October 1996, ''The Tom Green Show'' aired one time as a pilot on CBC. The show was later picked up in Canada by The Comedy Network in 1997 and aired 26 episodes over the course of two seasons.

Rise to mainstream (1999–2003)

MTV and ''The Tom Green Show''

''The Tom Green Show'' was then picked up by MTV in January 1999, where he gained popularity in the United States and worldwide. The format of the MTV version of the show was similar to his original show; it was hosted by Green and co-hosted by two of his long-time friends, Glenn Humplik, who occupied the couch, and Phil Giroux, who sat behind a window at the back of the set and became known as "the guy in the window" usually drinking cups of coffee. Derek Harvie, who co-wrote the show with Green, occasionally appeared in the segments. Many of the sketches were targeted at his parents, both of whom appear to be unimpressed and embarrassed by their son's antics.

''The Tom Green Show'' was renowned for Green's version of shock humour. Some of Green's most notable skits include pretending to "hump" a dead moose (also referenced by rapper Eminem in ''The Real Slim Shady''), having an X-rated lesbian scene painted on his father's car (labeled the "Slut Mobile"), drinking milk by sucking on a cow's teat, and putting a cow head in his parents' bed while they slept because his father was a fan of ''The Godfather'' films. Green also hung his own unauthorized piece of art in the National Gallery of Canada (which remained untouched for days) with the added twist of later coming back and vandalizing it to the horror of onlooking patrons.

In a segment, Green went to the press conference of ''Grey Owl'' where he serenaded and kissed Pierce Brosnan. Brosnan, thinking Green was a journalist, advised him not to give up his day job. Green also did many segments humiliating his co-host and longtime friend Glenn Humplik; even after the pair had become well-known, Humplik continued working at his phone company job, fearing that his entertainment career might not last. Green teased him about this often and once gave out Humplik's office phone number on the air.

Green eventually wrote a song called "Lonely Swedish (The Bum Bum Song)", which he composed during MTV's Spring Break while doing a show on a cruise ship. After airing the music video on his show and appealing to his audience to request it, the song became an instant number one hit on ''Total Request Live'' and was also referred to in Eminem's song The Real Slim Shady. He quickly called for the video to be retired because "it's not fair to 98 Degrees." Later, in his autobiography, he revealed that MTV had pressured him to do so in order to maintain the image that ''Total Request Live'' was, in fact, a live request show (the next week's episodes had been pre-taped on location, and the producers of the show were completely unaware of "The Bum Bum Song" at the time).

Green's increasing fame made it harder for him to ambush people during man-on-the-street segments, leading him to target mostly senior citizens and non-English speakers. After he was diagnosed with testicular cancer in March 2000, he stopped production on his TV show, but he continued to appear on the channel via reruns and other promotional materials. Green's popularity during this time led to him gracing the cover of the June 8, 2000 issue of ''Rolling Stone'' magazine.

Testicular cancer and hiatus from MTV

In early 2000, Tom Green was diagnosed with, and successfully treated for testicular cancer. In 2001, Green wrote, directed and starred in a one-hour MTV television special entitled ''The Tom Green Cancer Special'' which documented the time leading up to his surgery and also included graphic footage of his own surgery. The episode received wide critical acclaim for revealing a vulnerable, human side of an otherwise juvenile television personality.

Although it was Green's cancer that caused ''The Tom Green Show'' to cease production, a frequent rumor says that the show was cancelled because of an alleged segment where Green shows up at a bar mitzvah, or another Jewish event, dressed as Adolf Hitler. Green, however, has repeatedly denied that such a segment exists, and there is no evidence to suggest that such an event occurred. He mentions the rumor in his 2004 autobiography, ''Hollywood Causes Cancer'', stating that it apparently started when some Boston teenagers were caught videotaping themselves performing a similar stunt and when asked by security, they used the name "Tom Green." Green says, "I would never do a mean-spirited, anti-Semitic joke like that - it's both abhorrent and not funny. To this day I still get asked about it, and it's annoying. So again, for the record, it didn't happen. There is nobody on this planet that has ever seen this bit on tape because it does not exist. If it did exist, it would have certainly reared its ugly, hateful head on the Internet by now. But it won't, because it doesn't exist. I've never put on a Hitler costume. In fact, I've never even been to a Bar Mitzvah."

Film career

Green's fame soon netted him roles in several Hollywood movies, including ''Road Trip'', ''Charlie's Angels'', ''Freddy Got Fingered'' (which he also wrote and directed), and ''Stealing Harvard.'' Green continued the trend of his brand of comedy in ''Road Trip'' in a notable scene where he put a mouse in his mouth. In ''Freddy Got Fingered'', some controversial scenes involved his character swinging a newborn baby around his head by its umbilical cord as well as other scenes involving animals and animal genitalia.

''Freddy Got Fingered'' "won" in five categories at the 2001 Golden Raspberry Awards, given to the worst movies of the year. Green appeared at the ceremony to accept his awards, making him the first performer to do so in the award's twenty-year history, and the second recipient to do so following director Paul Verhoeven for ''Showgirls'' in 1995. Green arrived at the awards ceremony in a white Cadillac, wearing a tuxedo and rolled out his own red carpet. After accepting the awards, Green stated "When we set out to make this film we wanted to win a Razzie, so this is a dream come true for me". While onstage, he began to play the harmonica and did not stop until he was physically dragged off.

Marriage to Drew Barrymore and ''Saturday Night Live''

In July 2000, Tom Green became engaged to actress Drew Barrymore. Green and Barrymore met after Barrymore, who was a fan of Green's show, asked Green to appear in ''Charlie's Angels'', which Barrymore starred in and produced. Green and Barrymore married on July 7, 2001. Barrymore also appeared in her then-fiance's infamous 2001 film ''Freddy Got Fingered''.

During the build up to their wedding Green and Barrymore frequently joked with the media about when and where they were going to wed. The most notable incident came on November 18, 2000, when Green hosted the American television show ''Saturday Night Live''. During the monologue, Green brought Barrymore on stage and teased the audience about the couple marrying at the end of the episode. Ultimately, the stage was set for a wedding before Barrymore, in the end, got "cold feet" and left Green alone to end the show. The SNL incident initially left viewers and the media confused about whether the couple had actually planned to marry on live TV, or were simply staging a publicity stunt. Eventually, Green also went on ''The Tonight Show'' to toy with the public once again, this time claiming that his bride might be pregnant.

On February 18, 2001, there was a house fire at the residence shared by Green and Barrymore. Their dog Flossie woke them around 3:30 a.m. when she barked and "literally banged on their bedroom door." Firefighters estimated damage at $700,000 in the two-story, 3,500 square foot (325 m²) home located north of Beverly Hills at 9500 Cherokee Lane. The incident was soon spoofed on ''Saturday Night Live'' with guest host Katie Holmes playing Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon playing Tom Green. On October 13, 2001, Barrymore hosted ''Saturday Night Live'' and Tom Green appeared in the audience wearing a gas mask.

Barrymore and Green filed for divorce on December 17, 2001, citing irreconcilable differences. Their divorce became official on October 15, 2002.

Return to MTV and ''The New Tom Green Show''

In 2002, Green starred in and directed a one-hour MTV special called ''The Tom Green Subway Monkey Hour'', where he tormented strangers in Japan. During 2002, Green also started his own production company called ''Bob Green Films''; he starred in and was executive producer for a half-hour special entitled ''The Skateboard Show'' on The WB.

In mid-2003, after Green guest-hosted ''The Late Show with David Letterman'', MTV gave him his own late-night talk show called ''The New Tom Green Show''. The critically acclaimed show lasted several months and the show consisted of a traditional monologue, segments, followed by interviews with guests. Green in numerous interviews has stated that David Letterman was one of his early influences.

A notable incident included Jesse James Dupree, the frontman of the Southern rock band Jackyl, when he made the ill-advised decision to take a chainsaw to Green's new desk on the show. The unplanned stunt clearly irritated Green and he made no attempt to hide his displeasure. He eventually began his planned musical performance (himself on drums and Dupree on guitar) but continued to verbally spar with Dupree for a short period before abandoning the drums mid-song in apparent disgust and walking off stage. Later on in the evening, he again insulted the band by holding up Jackyl's most recent album and advising viewers to "check it out if you like music that was cool fifteen years ago" and then proceeded to smash it with a hammer.

The show was eventually cancelled by MTV eleven weeks after its premiere due to MTV deciding that wasn't the direction they wanted to go in. In Green's book ''Hollywood Causes Cancer'', he stated that the show, "was very expensive to produce and not really the type of show that MTV has been traditionally known for." Reports indicate that ratings and viewers for the show averaged 889,000 viewers on the first week and then averaged 255,000 viewers on the last week for the reruns, which may have been the main reason for cancellation.

Post-MTV (2004–present)

Autobiography

On October 12, 2004, Green released his autobiography ''Hollywood Causes Cancer: The Tom Green Story'' which discussed in detail his Hollywood career, short-lived marriage to Drew Barrymore, and his experience dealing with testicular cancer.

Rap career

Name	Tom Green
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Michael Thomas Green
Alias	MC FaceMC Bones
Birth date	July 30, 1971
Origin	Pembroke, Ontario, Canada
Genre	Hip-hop
Occupation	Actor, comedian, rapper, talk show host
Years active	1992–present
Label	Ceiling Fan RecordsVik Recordings
Associated acts	Organized Rhyme }}

In 2005, Green returned to rap and started the group, ''The Keepin' it Real Crew'', featuring DJ EZ Mike of the Dust Brothers, where they did two Canadian live tours (June 2005 and January 2006). On December 6, 2005, Green released his second solo album in Canada entitled ''Prepare For Impact'', which included a bonus DVD featuring footage from his live tour. The album was also co-produced by Mike Simpson of the Dust Brothers. The album included comedic tracks (such as "My Bum Is On Ya Lips" and "I'm an Idiot") as well as serious tracks where he rapped about his Hollywood career.

He has performed with Too Short, Flava Flav, Grand Buffet, Mickey Avalon, People Under the Stairs, Xzibit, and other popular rap artists on his ''Tom Green Live'' show. In January 2008, a second solo rap album titled ''Basement Jams'' was released in download-only format on his website.

In March 2009, on ''Last Call with Carson Daly,'' Tom played a sample of his new song "It's Been A Long Time Coming." On his website, Green has stated intentions of releasing a new rap album in 2010 and talks about working with music producer Detail. In a February 2010 interview, Green mentioned an upcoming song entitled "Other Side Of The World" and stated that he was developing a television show following the progress of his first major American rap album. On a November 2010 answer to a fan question in the Forum section of tomgreen.com, Green said, "Expect some singles in the future. The album is dead, sadly."

In July 2011, Green recorded and posted a 2011 remix of "Check The O.R." and re-united Organized Rhyme at the Just For Laughs festival in Montreal.

More mainstream

In recent years, Green has tried to put some of his more controversial material behind him and become a more mainstream entertainer. During the Leno era of the Tonight Show, Green was a recurring contributor to ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno''; he has done many segments where he travels across America looking for "interesting people", typically bringing the most colourful person with him back to the studio. In these segments, the focus is more on the odd behavior of the interviewees, with Green generally playing the straight man.

In 2003, Green visited troops in Kosovo on a USO tour. He visited troops in the Persian Gulf on a 2004 tour. In early 2006, Green appeared in several commercials for the Canadian Cable Public Affairs Channel promoting both ''The Channel'' and encouraging voters to participate in the forthcoming federal elections, which took place on January 23, 2006.

On August 3, 2006, Green appeared on ''America's Got Talent''. He rode a skateboard through a flaming hoop, appeared to be on fire for a few seconds, and was put out with extinguishers. It was confirmed on the August 3 episode of ''Tom Green Live'' that it was a stunt man, not Green, that did the stunt.

Green has hosted a variety of special events, including the 2005 Canada's Walk of Fame induction ceremony, the Canadian Live 8 concert, and the 2005 CASBY Awards. In November 2008, Green hosted an environmental game show on the Discovery Planet Green television network titled ''Go For The Green!''.

Green has made several appearances as a celebrity contestant on the ABC reality game show ''Wanna Bet?'', including the show's premiere episode in July 2008. He was also a contestant on the 2009 season of ''The Celebrity Apprentice''. Throughout the season, each celebrity raised money for a charity of their choice; Green selected the "Butch Walts and Donald Skinner Urologic Cancer Research Foundation." He was fired by Donald Trump on the third episode, while acting as project manager, primarily due to waking up late on the day of the task - he had been out drinking with Dennis Rodman the night before. On August 4, 2009, Green made an appearance on the American version of ''Hell's Kitchen'' as a celebrity guest diner. In late 2009 and early 2010, he appeared on the first two seasons of ''For the Love of Ray J'' to judge the contestants on the show. On that show, Green has been credited for coining the popular catchphrase, "She smashed the homie."

From October - December 2010, Green did weekly podcasts interviewing guests at Kevin Smith's SModcastle.

Return to film

Green attempted to build his teen and child audience with more wholesome material. In 2005, he starred in a children's TV movie, ''Bob the Butler'', and made guest appearances on various kid's shows. Since then, Green has been starring in low-profile independent films such as the 2008 movies ''Shred'' and ''Freezer Burn: The Invasion of Laxdale''.

In February 2010, Green announced that he had finished editing an independent film titled ''Prankstar'', which he also starred in, wrote and directed. On a November 2010 answer to a fan question in the Forum section of tomgreen.com, Green stated that the film was going to be released sometime in 2011 as he has "just made a deal with a big time distributer so it's gonna be cool."

''Tomgreen.com: The Channel'' (2006–2011)

On June 5, 2006, ManiaTV.com announced they had formed a partnership with Green to host a live talk show from his own living room in the Hollywood Hills overlooking the San Fernando Valley. The first show aired live on June 15, 2006 at 11 pm EST, was originally called ''Tom Green Live!'', and was airing Mondays through Thursdays. In January 2008, shortly after Green's split from ManiaTV, the show was renamed ''Tom Green's House Tonight''. The shows are broadcast live at TomGreen.com. A pared-down version was later broadcast on The Comedy Network and various local channels in the United States, until Green stopped syndicating the show to television. On a 2009 blog, Green noted that he stopped his show from syndication on television due to dissatisfaction with his lack of creative control. He continues to broadcast the show from his website. Green later started a monthly subscription service that allowed subscribers to have full access to all the videos on his website.

Due to lack of an established term, Green often refers to his live streaming broadcast as "Web-o-Vision." He also jokingly says he is broadcasting to "The National Internet", despite the show having a worldwide audience. Green often refers to his show as, "The highest rated, longest running, and only talk show on the Internet."

From Green's website, ''Tom Green's House Tonight'' typically aired live on weeknights at 10 pm EST, although shows can begin at any time during the day and night. The shows were then archived on his website. The format of the show often includes Green taking live telephone calls and Skype video calls where viewers around the world are able to chat with Green and his guests. Green would often be a victim of prank calls due to the live nature of the show and would sometimes voice his frustration with the callers. On top of the live web show, Green has added many video segments from his past as well as present.

As host of the show, Green often plays the straight man while interviewing guests. There have been hundreds of shows with many notable guests including stars such as Adam Carolla, Val Kilmer, Thora Birch, Pamela Anderson, hip-hop artists Blackalicious and Xzibit, skateboarder Tony Hawk, former ''TRL'' host and talk show host Carson Daly, guitarist Dave Navarro, actor Crispin Glover, Digg.com founder Kevin Rose, comedic musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, as well as comedians Neil Hamburger, Andrew Dice Clay, Joe Rogan, and Andy Dick. The longest standard format show, in which Green interviewed Steve-O, ran for 3.5 hours and ended with Green drunk and Steve-O heavily intoxicated.

When Green does not have guests, he has done many unconventional shows such as playing the saxophone for an hour, having a week dedicated to performing karaoke, or updating the viewers about ''The Channel'' while taking telephone and Skype calls.

On his website, Green has talked about the substantial costs of continuing the online show and that ''The Channel'' may be gone in mid 2011 if it is not profitable by then. In 2011, Green ended the subscription service on his website and stated that his live show is on hiatus.

Stand-up comedy (2010–present)

On numerous interviews, Green has stated that he started doing stand-up comedy at the age of 15 but stopped after he started his public-access television show. Green said that going back to stand-up comedy was something he always wanted to do.

In September 2009, Green performed several stand-up comedy shows in Los Angeles, and later appeared at a MySpace secret stand-up event in New York. On November 10, 2009, he announced his first ever world stand-up comedy tour and as of January 2010, has been touring the world going to countries such as Canada, the United States, England, and Australia.

The format of Green's act is traditional stand-up comedy which includes rap performances. He voices his thoughts on social media, technology, his disliking of Facebook, and also talks about his career in show business. He often takes time to meet with people in the audience afterwards. In October 2010, he performed in Belleville, Ontario at the Empire Theatre with his parents and brother in attendance. Green dressed in a Belleville Bulls Jersey donated by a local movie studio he had visited earlier that day. He discussed the city's recent ordeal involving the sentencing of disgraced CFB Trenton Base Commander Russell Williams, stating that he hoped Williams "was having an awesome weekend".

On August 13, 2010, after being invited, Green performed stand-up comedy at the Gathering of the Juggalos. He was later involved in attempting to calm the audience down after Tila Tequila had rocks, excrement and urine thrown at her during her performance at the same event. In subsequent interviews, Green said he successfully calmed the audience down for ten minutes, but things got worse when he left the stage. Tequila continued performing for an additional twenty minutes and eventually suffered facial injuries after being struck in the face by a rock.

Personal life

Tom Green was married to actress Drew Barrymore from July 7, 2001 to October 15, 2002. Green filed for divorce in December 2001. In 2010 interviews, Green has stated that he has not seen Barrymore since the divorce.

In March 2006, Green broke two ribs in Costa Rica when a large wave swept him off of an outcrop where he had been fishing and onto rocks below. In 2009, as a contestant for The Celebrity Apprentice, Green played to benefit the ''Butch Walts and Donald Skinner Urologic Cancer Research Foundation''. On an episode of ''Tom Green's House Tonight'', he stated that he would not be alive today had it not been for Donald Skinner.

Tom Green resides in Los Angeles, California along with his two Siberian Huskies Annie and Steve (both female) and his Green-winged Macaw Rex Murphy.

Filmography

{|class="wikitable" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes |- |rowspan=2|1998 |''The Chicken Tree (film)|The Chicken Tree'' |Bus Driver | |- |''Clutch'' |Computer Gimp | |- |1999 |''Superstar'' |Dylan Schmultz-Plutzker | |- |rowspan=2|2000 |''Road Trip'' |Barry Manilow | |- |''Charlie's Angels'' |Chad | |- |2001 |''Freddy Got Fingered'' |Gord Brody |Razzie Award for Worst ActorRazzie Award for Worst Screen Couple (with any animal he abuses)Razzie Award for Worst ScreenplayRazzie Award for Worst Director |- |2002 |''Stealing Harvard'' |Walter P. 'Duff' Duffy | |- |2003 |''Grind'' |Colorado Skate Shop Owner | |- |2005 |''Bob the Butler'' |Bob Tree | |- |rowspan=4|2008 |''Legacy'' |Det. Stras | |- |''Shred'' |Kingsley | |- |''Freezer Burn: The Invasion of Laxdale'' |Bill Swanson | |- |''The 1 Second Film'' |Himself | |- |rowspan=3|2009 |''Division III'' |Referee | |- |''Sweet Baby Jesus'' |Joe | |- |''Shred 2'' |Kingsley | |- |rowspan=1|2011 |''Prankstar'' |Himself | |- |}

Discography

Albums

!Year	!Albums
1992
1998	''Not The Green Tom Show'' (as MC Face)
2005	''Prepare For Impact''
2008	''Basement Jams''

Singles and music videos

Year	Artist	Music Videos
1992	Organized Rhyme	"Check The O.R."
1992	Organized Rhyme	"Luv 1"
1999	Tom Green	"Lonely Swedish (The Bum Bum Song)"
2005	Tom Green	"Teachers Suck"

References

External links

TomGreen.com: The Channel

Category:1971 births Category:Living people Category:Algonquin College alumni Category:Canadian bloggers Category:Canadian comedy musicians Category:Canadian expatriate actors in the United States Category:Canadian film actors Category:Canadian rappers Category:Canadian television comedians Category:Canadian television talk show hosts Category:Contestants on American game shows Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from Ottawa Category:People from Pembroke, Ontario Category:Pranksters Category:Testicular cancer survivors Category:The Apprentice (U.S. TV series) contestants Category:Canadian stand-up comedians

bg:Том Грийн da:Tom Green de:Tom Green es:Tom Green fr:Tom Green id:Tom Green it:Tom Green (attore) nl:Tom Green ja:トム・グリーン no:Tom Green pl:Tom Green pt:Tom Green ru:Грин, Том simple:Tom Green sl:Tom Green fi:Tom Green sv:Tom Green uk:Том Грін

Armando Giovanni Iannucci (; born 28 November 1963) is a Scottish-Italian comedian, satirist, writer, director, performer and radio producer. Born in Glasgow, he studied at Oxford University and left graduate work on a PhD about John Milton to pursue a career in comedy.

Rising quickly through BBC Scotland and BBC Radio 4, his early work with Chris Morris on the radio series ''On the Hour'' was transferred to television as ''The Day Today''. A character from this series, Alan Partridge, went on to feature in a number of Iannucci's television and radio programmes including ''Knowing Me, Knowing You'' and ''I'm Alan Partridge''. In the meantime, Iannucci also fronted the satirical ''Armistice'' review shows and in 2001 created his most personal work, ''The Armando Iannucci Shows'' for Channel 4.

Moving back to the BBC in 2005, Iannucci created the political sitcom ''The Thick of It'' as well as the spoof documentary ''Time Trumpet'' in 2006. Winning funding from the UK Film Council, he directed a critically acclaimed feature film ''In the Loop'' featuring characters from ''The Thick of It'' in 2009. As a result of these works, he has been being described by ''The Daily Telegraph'' as "the hardman of political satire". Other works during this period include a operetta libretto, ''Skin Deep'' and his radio series ''Charm Offensive''. He is currently working on a U.S. political satire for HBO called ''Veep''.

Early life

Iannucci's father, also called Armando, is from Naples, Italy, and his mother is from Glasgow, Scotland, where Iannucci was born. His father, who came to Scotland in 1950, ran a pizza factory. Armando has two brothers and a sister. Iannucci was educated at St Peter's Primary School, St. Aloysius' College, Glasgow and University College, Oxford, where he read English literature gaining an MA in 1986. In his teens he thought seriously about becoming a Roman Catholic priest. He abandoned graduate work on 17th-century religious language with particular reference to Milton's ''Paradise Lost'', to pursue his career in comedy.

Career

1990s

After making several programmes at BBC Scotland in the early 1990s such as ''No' The Archie McPherson Show'', he moved to BBC Radio in London, making radio shows including ''Armando Iannucci'' for BBC Radio 1, which featured a number of comedians he was to collaborate with for many years, including David Schneider, Peter Baynham, Steve Coogan and Rebecca Front.

Iannucci first received widespread fame as the producer for ''On the Hour'' on Radio 4, which soon transferred to television as ''The Day Today''. He received critical acclaim for both his own talents as a writer and a producer, and for first bringing together such comics as Chris Morris, Richard Herring, Stewart Lee, Peter Baynham and Steve Coogan. The members of this group went on to work on separate projects and create a new comedy "wave" pre-New Labour: Morris went on to create ''Brass Eye'', ''Blue Jam'' and the ''Chris Morris Music Show''; Stewart Lee and Richard Herring created ''Fist of Fun'' and ''This Morning with Richard Not Judy''.

Baynham was closely involved with both Morris's and Lee & Herring's work — simultaneously at one point. Lee would go on to co-write the controversial ''Jerry Springer — The Opera'', but perhaps the most famous "alumnus" of this group is Steve Coogan's character Alan Partridge, who first appeared in ''On the Hour'', and has featured in multiple spin-off series. Between 1995 and 1999, Iannucci produced and hosted ''The Saturday Night Armistice''.

2000s

In 2000, he created two pilot episodes for Channel 4, which became ''The Armando Iannucci Shows''. This was an eight-part series for Channel 4 broadcast in 2001, written with Andy Riley and Kevin Cecil. The series consisted of Iannucci pondering pseudo-philosophical and jocular ideas and fantasies inbetween surreal sketches. Iannucci has been quoted as saying it is the comedy series he is most proud of making. He told ''The Metro'' in April 2007 "''The Armando Iannucci Show'' on Channel 4 came out around 9/11, so it was overlooked for good reasons. People had other things on their minds. But that was the closest to me expressing my comic outlook on life."

After championing ''Yes Minister'' on the BBC's ''Britain's Best Sitcom'', Iannucci devised, directed and was chief writer of ''The Thick of It'', a political satire-cum-farce for BBC Four. It starred Chris Langham as an incompetent cabinet minister being manipulated by a cynical Press Officer, played by Peter Capaldi and based on Tony Blair's former Press Secretary Alastair Campbell. The series was broadcast in two-parts in 2005 before an expanded cast starred in two specials and a "third" series.

Based on a format he had used in ''Clinton: His Struggle with Dirt'' in 1996 and ''2004: The Stupid Version'', in mid-2006, his spoof documentary series ''Time Trumpet'' was shown on BBC 2. The series looked back on past events through highly edited clips and "celebrity" interviews, looking back on the present and near-future from the year 2031. One episode, featuring fictional terrorist attacks on London and the assassination of Tony Blair, was postponed and edited in August 2006 amid the terrorism scares in British airports at that time. Jane Thynne, writing in ''The Independent'', accused the BBC of lacking backbone.

Other work

Despite his involvement in many facets of British comedy as a producer, writer and performer, Iannucci has remained relatively unknown amongst the British public. His non-television projects include ''Smokehammer'', a web-based project with Chris Morris, a book in 1997 entitled ''Facts and Fancies'', compiling some articles from his newspaper columns, which was turned into a BBC Radio 4 series. A little-known radio series called ''Scraps With Iannucci'' followed late in 1998, in which Iannucci used his tape-fiddling skills to present a review of the year.

He has appeared on Radio 3 talking about classical music, one of his passions and collaborated with composer David Sawer on ''Skin Deep'', an operetta, which was premiered by Opera North on 16 January 2009. He has also presented three programmes for BBC Radio 3, including ''Mobiles Off!'', a 20-minute segment on classical concert-going etiquette.

He directed the latest series of Post Office adverts, featuring the actors John Henshaw, Rory Jennings and Di Botcher alongside guest stars such as Joan Collins, Bill Oddie and Westlife.

Film directing

In January 2009, his first feature film ''In the Loop'', in the style of ''The Thick of It'', was premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. It was the first cinema film to be directed by Iannucci, after his contribution to ''Tube Tales'' in 1999. The film has been applauded by critics, both in Britain and the US, and was nominated for the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar in 2009. The film secured the eighth highest placing in the UK box office in its opening week – despite its relatively insignificant screening numbers. According to the British Film Institute screenonline, Iannucci had previously failed to secure funding for a historical comedy film in 2003.

Iannucci used his BBC press pass to enter the US State Department headquarters whilst researching the film, saying how he just turned up and claimed to be "here for the 12.30". Iannucci spent an hour inside taking photographs which were used for the film's set designs.

Recognition

Iannucci has won two Sony Radio Awards and three British Comedy Awards. In 2003, he was listed in ''The Observer'' as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. He was also subject of a 2006 edition of ''The South Bank Show''.

In January 2006 he took the post of News International Visiting Professor of Broadcast Media at the University of Oxford, where he has delivered a series of four lectures under the title "British Comedy — Dead Or Alive?".

In June 2011, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters by the University of Glasgow to recognise his contribution to film and television.

Personal life and politics

In 1990, he married Rachael Jones, whom he met when she designed the lighting for his one-man show at Oxford. They have two sons and one daughter and currently live in Buckinghamshire.

In the 2010 general election he supported the Liberal Democrats, stating: "I'll be voting Lib Dem this election because they represent the best chance in a lifetime to make lasting and fair change to how the UK is governed." Since the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition of 2010 was established, however, he has expressed doubts over his continued support for the party, saying he is 'wavering' on many issues and has admitted to 'queasiness' over the Coalition's economic measures. He has expressed an interest in targeting the Liberal Democrats in the next series of ''The Thick Of It'', just as the first three targeted what he perceived as the failings within the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

Iannucci describes Woody Allen as his "all-time comedy hero".

Filmography

Television

''The Day Today'' (BBC 2 — creator, co-writer, producer plus occasional appearances. The Day Today was the TV adaptation of ''On The Hour'')

''The Saturday Night Armistice'' (writer, producer, presenter etc. - later ''The Friday Night Armistice'')

''Knowing Me, Knowing You... with Alan Partridge'' (co-writer, producer, co-creator)

''I'm Alan Partridge'' (co-writer, producer, director)

''The Armando Iannucci Shows'' (writer, performer, director)

''Clinton: His Struggle with Dirt'' (writer, director)

''Gash'' (writer, presenter)

''Have I Got News For You'', four times as a panelist on 23 April 2004, 4 May 2007, 20 May 2010 and 27 May 2011.

''The Thick of It'' (writer, director)

''2004: The Stupid Version'' (Presenter, co-writer, director)

''Time Trumpet'' (writer, presenter, director)

''Comics Britannia'' (narrator)

''Paradise Lost'' (presenter and writer)

''Lab Rats'' (executive producer)

''Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle'' (executive producer, plus appears in "Comedy Extra" segments on red button)

''Channel 4's 2010 Alternative Election'' (guest)

''Veep'' (writer, director, producer) ''Armando Iannucci on Dickens'' (writer, presenter)

Radio

''On the Hour'' (BBC Radio 4 — creator, co-writer, producer)

''No' The Archie McPherson Show'' (BBC Radio Scotland — presenter, writer, producer)

''Armando Iannucci'' (BBC Radio 1 — writer, presenter, producer)

''The News Quiz'' (BBC Radio 4 — producer, also appeared as guest)

''Quote... Unquote'' (BBC Radio 4 — producer)

''Loose Talk'' (producer)

''The Mary Whitehouse Experience'' (producer)

''The 99p Challenge'' on BBC Radio 4.

''Armando Iannucci's Charm Offensive'' on BBC Radio 4

''Lionel Nimrod's Inexplicable World'' as various characters.

''Desert Island Discs - BBC Radio 4'' as a guest. Armando reveals how as a youngster he rebelled against his parents' "Classical Music listening ways" by playing Wagner.

''Scraps With Iannucci'' a BBC Radio 4 series from 1998.

''Week Ending'' (BBC Radio 4 — producer)

''The Unbelievable Truth'' (BBC Radio 4- guest)

Film

''Tube Tales'' - "Mouth" (1999)

''In the Loop'' (2009)

Bibliography

Print

''Alan Partridge: Every Ruddy Word'' by Steve Coogan, Peter Baynham, Armando Iannucci, Patrick Marber (Michael Joseph, 2003) ISBN 0-7181-4678-6

''Facts and Fancies'' (Michael Joseph, 1997) ISBN 0-7181-3951-8

Weekly newspaper column in The Observer

''The Audacity of Hype: Bewilderment, Sleaze and Other Tales of the 21st Century'' (Little Brown, 2009) ISBN 978-1-4087-0197-3

Audiobooks

''Facts and Fancies'' (BBC Audiobooks, 1998) ISBN 0-563-55756-7

''I'm Alan Partridge: Knowing Me, Knowing Yule'' (BBC Audiobooks, 1998) ISBN 0-563-55763-X

''Knowing Me, Knowing You...: With Alan Partridge: Complete Series'' (BBC Audiobooks, 1995) CD ISBN 0-563-38896-X, cassette ISBN 0-563-38891-9

References

External links

Armando Iannucci on Twitter

Profile at the ''BBC''

Column archive at ''The Guardian''

Armando Iannucci Interview, ''New Statesman'', March 2010

Armando Iannucci interview, LeftLion Magazine

*

Category:1963 births Category:People educated at St Aloysius' College, Glasgow Category:Alumni of the University of Glasgow Category:Alumni of University College, Oxford Category:BBC people Category:BBC radio producers Category:The Guardian journalists Category:Living people Category:People from Glasgow Category:Scottish columnists Category:Scottish comedians Category:Scottish people of Italian descent Category:Scottish radio actors Category:Scottish radio producers Category:Scottish radio writers Category:Scottish Roman Catholics Category:Scottish television actors Category:Scottish television producers Category:Scottish television writers

fr:Armando Iannucci it:Armando Iannucci la:Armandus Iannucci no:Armando Iannucci

name	Andrew Dice Clay
pseudonym	"Dice," "Diceman"
birth name	Andrew Clay Silverstein
birth date	September 29, 1957
birth place	Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
religious beliefs	Jewish
medium	Stand-up, television, film
nationality	United States
active	1978 – present
genre	Character comedy, black comedy, satire, insult comedy
subjects	human sexuality, sexism, Racism|
spouse	Kathleen Swanson (1984–1986) (divorced)Kathleen Monica (1992–2002) (divorced) 2 childrenValerie Vasquez (2010–present)
notable work	''The Day the Laughter Died''Ford Fairlane in ''The Adventures of Ford Fairlane''
website	andrewdiceclay.com
{{infobox comedian awards |child	yes | awardtitle1 Razzie Award | award1 Worst Actor1991 "The Adventures of Ford Fairlane" }}

}} Andrew Dice Clay (born Andrew Clay Silverstein; September 29, 1957) is an American comedian and actor.

Clay is known for playing the lead role in the film ''The Adventures of Ford Fairlane''.

Clay has been in several movies and has put out many stand-up albums, including the triple-album ''Filth''. He is the only comedian in history to sell out Madison Square Garden two nights in a row, a feat he accomplished in 1990. The performance was later released on the album and concert film ''Dice Rules''.

Clay is currently guest-starring on the HBO comedy-drama series Entourage as himself.

Early life

Clay was born in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, the son of Doris and Fred Silverstein, who worked in real estate sales. Clay was doing impressions and entertaining his family in the living room by the time he was 5. He was a fairly proficient drummer at James Madison High School, and played bar mitzvahs and casual dates as "Clay Silvers."

Career

In 1978, he auditioned at Pips, a local comedy club in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, doing comedic impressions, then headlined there the following week as "Andrew Clay." His act at the time included an impression of John Travolta in ''Grease'' and Jerry Lewis as ''The Nutty Professor''. Clay graduated to the major Manhattan comedy clubs, including Budd Friedman's The Improv, Catch a Rising Star and Dangerfield's. His move to Los Angeles came in 1980. He was "adopted" there by Mitzi Shore, owner of the famed Comedy Store. His work at the Store led to sitcom appearances on ''M*A*S*H'' and ''Diff'rent Strokes''. He later landed roles in movies such as ''Making the Grade'' (1984) and ''Pretty in Pink'' (1986).

He had a regular role on ''Crime Story'' from 1986 – 1988. He eventually turned from acting to pursue a career in stand-up comedy, focusing on the character "Dice" from ''Making the Grade''. His big break came in 1988 when he did a seven-minute set at Dangerfield's during the Rodney Dangerfield special "Nothing Goes Right." It was there that he met his agent Dennis Arfa and later got his first HBO special.

Later works

Clay retreated from the media spotlight for several years. 1995 saw him try to reclaim his fame with the broadcast of the HBO special ''Assume the Position.'' Although a great success for Clay and the network, the special failed to reignite Clay's career.

In 1998, Clay released the triple-live album "Filth" via the Internet. Soon afterward, Clay aligned himself with New York City-based talk program ''The Opie and Anthony Show''.

To coincide with the release of 2000's "Face Down, Ass Up," Opie and Anthony teamed up with Clay to allow him to perform at Madison Square Garden.

In 2005, Clay signed a deal with Sirius to produce and broadcast his own show, ''Out of the Cage''.

In 2007, he attempted a comeback with the reality TV series ''Dice: Undisputed'' on VH1, which lasted seven episodes.

He appeared as a part of NBC's ''The Celebrity Apprentice 2'' and was the first celebrity to be fired, after he openly entertained the idea of quitting while in Donald Trump's presence. On ''The Howard Stern Show'', Clay stated that the show was edited to exclude situations where Trump treated Clay poorly based on his comic treatment of women rather than his accomplishments. Throughout the season, each celebrity was raising money for a charity of their choice; Clay had selected StandUp For Kids.

In July 2011, Clay was featured in the eighth and final season of Entourage as Johnny Drama's co-star in the fictional program "Johnny's Bananas".

Controversy

Clay is known for a style of comedy that has sparked controversy and much media coverage. He is loved by some and reviled by others, who feel that his act is crude, misogynistic, racist, homophobic and degrading. Clay has been widely opposed by women's rights groups and he has been banned from many radio and television shows for his explicit language and socially and politically charged humor. MTV banned him for life in 1989 for reciting what he called "adult nursery rhymes" during the annual Video Music Awards ceremony (September 6, 1989). The next year, when he was invited to guest host the weekly comedy TV show, Saturday Night Live, cast member Nora Dunn declared her refusal to ever appear on the same broadcast as Clay and did not participate in the episode of his guest appearance (May 12). Invited musical guest Sinéad O'Connor also boycotted Clay's appearance.

Personal life

In 2002, he divorced his wife and focused in part on raising his two sons. One of his sons, Max, has since followed his father into stand-up comedy.

Discography

''ADC: The Mixtape That Hates You'', 1988

''Dice'', 1990

''The Day the Laughter Died'', 1990

''Dice Rules'', 1991

''40 Too Long'', 1992

''The Day the Laughter Died, Part II'', 1993

No Apologies (Video), 1993

''Filth'', 1999

''Face Down, Ass Up'', 2000

Filmography

''M*A*S*H'', Cpl. Hrabosky in "Trick or Treatment" Episode (1982)

''Diff'rent Strokes'', recurring character, named Larry, in Willis and Kimberly's high school (1982–83)

''Wacko'' (1982)

''Night Patrol'' (1984)

''Making the Grade'' (1984)

''Private Resort'' (1985) Starring Johnny Depp

''Pretty in Pink'' (1986)

''Amazon Women on the Moon'' (1987)

''Casual Sex?'' (1988)

''Crime Story'' (1986–1988)

''The Adventures of Ford Fairlane'' (1990)

''Dice Rules'' (1991)

''Brainsmasher... A Love Story'' (1993)

''No Contest'' (1994)

''Bless This House'' (1995)

''National Lampoon's Favorite Deadly Sins'' (1995)

''Hitz'' (1997)

''Foolish'' (1999)

''My 5 Wives'' (2000)

''One Night at McCool's'' (2001)

''Dice Undisputed'' (2007)

''''Entourage'''' (2011)

References

External links

Rotten.com: Andrew Dice Clay biography

Category:1957 births Category:American film actors Category:American stand-up comedians Category:American television actors Category:Living people Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from Brooklyn Category:The Apprentice (U.S. TV series) contestants

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