Coordinates	28°36′36″N77°13′48″N
birth name	Sean Patrick Duke
birth date	February 25, 1971
birth place	Santa Monica, California, U.S.
alma mater	UCLA
occupation	Actor, director, producer, voice actor
years active	1981–present
spouse
website	http://www.seanastin.com/ }}

Sean Astin (born February 25, 1971) is an American film actor, director, voice artist, and producer better known for his film roles as Mikey Walsh in ''The Goonies'', the title character of ''Rudy'', and Samwise Gamgee in the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy. In television, he appeared as Lynn McGill in the fifth season of ''24''. Most recently, he provided the voice for the title character in Disney's ''Special Agent Oso''. Astin also served as campaign manager for his friend, Democratic entertainment industry businessman Dan Adler in California's 36th congressional district special election, 2011.

Early life and education

Astin was born Sean Patrick Duke in Santa Monica, California, the son of actress Patty Duke. At the time, it was reported that Desi Arnaz, Jr. was his biological father. In 1994, Astin discovered his father was Michael Tell, a music promoter and writer, and publisher of the newspaper ''The Las Vegas Israelite''.

Tell's marriage to Patty Duke was annulled shortly before her marriage in 1972 to actor John Astin, who adopted Sean. In 1973, Duke gave birth to Astin's half-brother Mackenzie Astin, who also became an actor. Although Patty Duke and John Astin divorced in 1985, Sean Astin has written that he has always considered John his "real" father.

He attended the Crossroads High School for the Arts and master classes at the Stella Adler Conservatory in Los Angeles. Astin graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in History and English (American literature and culture). An alumnus of Los Angeles Valley College, he serves on the school's Board of Directors of the Patrons Association and the Arts Council.

Career

Early career

Astin's first acting role was in a 1981 television movie titled ''Please Don't Hit Me, Mom'', in which he played a child with an abusive mother (portrayed by his real-life mother Patty Duke). He made his film debut at age 14 as Mikey in ''The Goonies'' (1985).

Following ''The Goonies'', Astin appeared in several more films, including the Disney made-for-TV movie, ''The B.R.A.T. Patrol'', opposite Nia Long, Tim Thomerson and Brian Keith; ''Like Father Like Son'' (1987); ''The War of the Roses'' (1989); the World War II film ''Memphis Belle'' (1990); ''Toy Soldiers'' (1991); ''Encino Man'' (1992); and the college football biopic ''Rudy'' (1993), about the life-changing struggles and rewards of the titular character, Daniel Ruettiger.

In 1994, Astin directed and co-produced (with his wife, Christine Astin) the short film ''Kangaroo Court'', which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Live Action Short Film. Astin continued to appear in films throughout the 1990s, including the Showtime science fiction film ''Harrison Bergeron'' (1995), the Gulf War film ''Courage Under Fire'' (1996), and the Warren Beatty political satire ''Bulworth'' (1998).

''Lord of the Rings''

In the early 2000s, Astin experienced a career breakthrough with his role as Samwise Gamgee in Peter Jackson's ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy, released in 2001, 2002 and 2003. Along with the many awards bestowed upon the trilogy, particularly its final installment ''The Return of the King'' (winner of eleven Academy Awards, including Best Picture), Astin received many award nominations for his own performance in ''Return of the King'', taking home the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor and awards from the Las Vegas Film Critics Society, the Seattle Film Critics, the Utah Film Critics Association, and the Phoenix Film Critics Society. As an ensemble, the ''Return of the King'' cast received awards from the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures and the Screen Actors Guild.

He and other cast members became very close and very good friends through the filming process. He became particularly good friends with Elijah Wood.

Astin's daughter, Alexandra, can be seen in Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. She plays his onscreen daughter, Elanor Gamgee, that runs out to him as he returns from saying goodbye to Frodo and Gandalf.

While working on ''Lord of the Rings'', Astin persuaded a number of fellow cast and crew members, including director Peter Jackson, to assist him in making his second short film, ''The Long and Short of It''. The film takes place on a street in Wellington, New Zealand. ''The Long and Short of It'' premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival and appears on the DVD for ''The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'', along with a "making of" video.

In 2004, Astin released ''There and Back Again'' (ISBN 0-312-33146-0), a memoir (co-written with Joe Layden) of his film career with emphasis on his experiences with the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy. The title is derived from the subtitle of ''The Hobbit'', by ''Lord of the Rings'' author J. R. R. Tolkien; the title also appears in the film ''Fellowship of the Ring'' and ''Return of the King''.

Post - Lord of the Rings Career

Since ''Lord of the Rings'', Astin has continued to work in film and television. His film roles have included the Adam Sandler comedies ''50 First Dates'' and ''Click''.

In television, Astin guest-starred as Lynn McGill throughout the fifth season of the Fox drama ''24''. He also appeared in the made-for-TV films ''Hercules'' and ''The Colour of Magic'' and in episodes of ''Monk'', ''Las Vegas'', ''My Name is Earl'' (in which he parodied his 1993 film ''Rudy'' with co-stars Charles S. Dutton and Chelcie Ross), and ''Law & Order'', among other shows. He directed a 2003 episode of the TV series ''Angel'', titled "Soulless". He played the enigmatic Mr. Smith on the second season of the Showtime series ''Jeremiah''.

Astin's career has also expanded to include voice-over roles. He narrated the American version of the Animal Planet series ''Meerkat Manor'', and voices the title character in the animated Disney Channel series ''Special Agent Oso''. His other voice work includes ''Balto III: Wings of Change'' and the video game ''Kingdom Hearts''.

In 2010, he joined the Stella Adler Los Angeles Theatre Collective acting company. He and his wife, Christine, are making a movie based on Lois Lowry's Newbery Medal-winning novel ''Number the Stars''.

Astin portrays the role of Matthew in ''The Truth & Life Dramatized audio New Testament Bible'', a 22-hour, celebrity-voiced, fully-dramatized audio version of the New Testament, which uses the RSV-CE.

Personal life

Astin married Christine Harrell on July 11, 1992. They have three daughters: Alexandra (born November 27, 1996), Elizabeth (born August 6, 2002), and Isabella (born July 22, 2005), all with the middle name Louise. His wife held the Miss Indiana Teen USA title in 1984.

Astin has a tattoo on his ankle of the word "nine" written with the Tengwar script, commemorating his ''Lord of the Rings'' involvement and his character's membership in the Fellowship of the Ring. Of the other Fellowship actors (Elijah Wood, Sean Bean, Billy Boyd, Ian McKellen, Dominic Monaghan, Viggo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom, and John Rhys-Davies), all have the same tattoo except Rhys-Davies.

During the 2004 United States presidential election, Astin backed Senator John Kerry and participated in Kerry's campaign rally in Portland, Oregon, as the opening speaker. In the 2008 presidential election, Astin lent his support to Senator Hillary Clinton and made multiple campaign appearances on her behalf, including joining Clinton's daughter Chelsea Clinton at some stops.

Astin is a vegetarian. He attended Catholic school and also practiced Buddhism for a time (his mother is Catholic and his biological father, Michael Tell, is Jewish).

Filmography

+ Film
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1985	''''	Mikey Walsh	Young Artist Award
		Clarence
''White Water Summer''	Alan
	''''	17's Josh
	Duncan McDermott
1990		Sergeant Richard "Rascal" Moore
		William Tepper
	Michael
	''Where the Day Takes You''	Greg
''Encino Man''	Dave Morgan
1993		Daniel Ruettiger
1994		Izzy Singer
	''''	Andrew
	Harrison Bergeron
1996	''Courage Under Fire''	Patella
		Mike
''Bulworth''	Gary
		Ralph
	Bob
	''Dish Dogs''	Morgan
''''	Bo Pomerantz
	Matt Foster
''''	Schwartz
2001	''''	Samwise Gamgee
2002	''''	Samwise Gamgee
2003	''''	Samwise Gamgee	Saturn Award for Best Supporting ActorLVFCS Award for Best Supporting ActorMTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Team (shared with Elijah Wood and ''Gollum''/Andy Serkis)NBR Award for Best Acting by an EnsemblePFCS Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting RoleSAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion PictureSFCA Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated—CFCA Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated—OFCS Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated—PFCS Award for Best Ensemble Acting
	''Balto III: Wings of Change''	Kodi	Voice
''Elvis Has Left the Building''	Aaron
''50 First Dates''	Doug Whitmore
		Matthews
''Bigger Than the Sky''	Ken Zorbell
	Stuart Conway
''Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School''	Kip Kipling
	Martin Jarrett
	Randall
''Thanks to Gravity''	Coach Amal
	''What Love Is''	George
''Asterix and the Vikings''	Justforkix
	Bill
2007	''''	Kent Stock
	''Forever Strong''	Marcus
	Furi (voice)
2009	''Stay Cool''	Big Girl
2010	''The Witches of Oz''	Frack

+ Television
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1981	''Please Don't Hit Me, Mom''	Brian Reynolds	Appeared with his mother, Patty Duke, who also played his mother
1986	''''	Leonard Kinsey
		Director
	Mister Smith	Directed season 2 episode: "The Face in the Mirror"
	''Meerkat Manor''	Narrator	U.S.; Seasons 1–3
2006		Lynn McGill	10 episodes
	''Masters of Science Fiction''	Charlie Kramer	''Watchbird''
	Paul Buchanan
''My Name Is Earl''	Salesman
	''Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic''	Twoflower	United Kingdom
''Law & Order''	Pastor Hensley
2009	''Special Agent Oso''	Agent Oso	voice
2012			Voice

References

External links

Category:1971 births Category:Actors from California Category:American child actors Category:American child models Category:American film actors Category:American film directors Category:American film producers Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American television actors Category:American vegetarians Category:American voice actors Category:Living people Category:Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:People from Santa Monica, California Category:University of California, Los Angeles alumni

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Coordinates	28°36′36″N77°13′48″N
name	Dominic Monaghan
birth name	Dominic Bernard Patrick Luke Monaghan
birth date	December 08, 1976
birth place	Berlin, Germany
occupation	Actor
years active	1996–present
website	}}

Dominic Bernard Patrick Luke Monaghan (; born 8 December 1976) is an English actor. He has received international attention from playing Merry in Peter Jackson's adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'' and for his role as Charlie Pace on the television show ''Lost''. He also had the main role in the radio comedy series, ''Stockport, So Good They Named It Once''.

Early life

Monaghan was born in Berlin, Germany, to British parents: Maureen, a nurse, and Austin Monaghan, a science teacher. Monaghan's family lived in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart, and Münster, moving about every four years. When he was about 11 years old, his family moved from Germany to Heaton Moor in Stockport, Greater Manchester. Monaghan's first language is English, but he also speaks some German and is well known for his ability to impersonate others and replicate accents. Bernard is his maternal grandfather's name, and Patrick his paternal grandfather's name. He chose Luke as his confirmation name after Luke Skywalker from ''Star Wars'', his favourite movie, which was also one of his inspirations for becoming an actor. He attended St Anne's Roman Catholic High School (where his uncle taught and later became head teacher) and Aquinas College, where he studied English literature, drama and geography.

Career

Although Dominic held many occupations when he was younger, he always wanted to be an actor. After his second year at St. Anne's, Monaghan became a regular in school plays such as ''Oliver Twist'', ''A Christmas Carol'', and ''Bugsy Malone'' before joining Manchester Youth Theatre. There, he was scouted for ''Hetty Wainthropp Investigates'', on which he played Hetty's under-aged sidekick, Geoffrey Shawcross, for four seasons. He made his feature film debut as Russian sailor Sasha in TV film ''Hostile Waters''.

Monaghan later starred in the Lord of the Rings trilogy as Meriadoc Brandybuck, for which he achieved widespread fame and recognition.

Monaghan narrated ''Ringers: Lord of the Fans'', a documentary about ''Lord of the Rings'' fandom. He also provided the narration for The Discovery Channel's documentary ''Devil's Bible'' in 2008. He also appeared in Soldiers of Fortune alongside Sean Bean and Christian Slater.

He was a regular cast member on the hit ABC series ''Lost '' playing a drug addict-rock star named Charlie Pace, until Charlie's death at the end of the third season. He continued to guest star on the show occasionally thereafter. Monaghan originally auditioned for the role of Sawyer. While not landing the role, he impressed the producers. The role of Charlie was then changed from an old, washed up rocker from the 80s, to a young one-hit wonder in order to accommodate Monaghan's age.

In 2009, Monaghan starred in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

On 15 July 2009 it was confirmed that he would join the cast of ABC Studios' science fiction television series ''FlashForward'' as the character Simon. The series premiered on 24 September 2009. It was canceled after its first season. On 18 March 2010 Monaghan was spotted at the Universal Sheraton filming a short called ''Gloria''. It was part of a program called REESES Puff's Extraordinary Cinema (Where the teens replace the pros). He played the part of Caleb Reese. In 2010, Megan Fox and Monaghan made an appearance as a couple in an abusive relationship in the music video for rapper Eminem's song "Love the Way You Lie". Scenes include the celebrities on top of a liquor store. Fox and Monaghan also filmed inside the store and "at a seedy dive bar next door" to the store.

Personal life

Monaghan is a nature lover, and has been active in the planting of trees, cacti, and the pod-seeds of mature hedge-row bushes. He owns a small forest in India, and has worked with the animal rights group PETA. Monaghan has a great love for insects and reptiles that he developed during his childhood, and has kept an assortment of pets, including a leaf-mantis named Gizmo, a Black Widow spider named Witchitar and an albino snake named Blink.

An avid outdoorsman, Dominic enjoys activities such as surfing, kayaking, snowboarding, football, basketball, and hiking. He has also stated that he likes hunting for insects and reptiles outdoors. He learned karate as a child, practices yoga, and often goes to the gym for strength and weight training. He is a long time supporter and fan of Manchester United.

Dominic loves to play various games, and has hosted game nights for fellow cast members in the past. He is also fond of working the New York Times crossword puzzle.

On his right arm he has a tattoo of the English word "nine" written in Quenya-mode Tengwar, a reference to his involvement in the ''Lord of the Rings'' and the fact that his character was one of the nine members of the Fellowship of the Ring. Seven other cast members and one of the stunt doubles (John Rhys-Davies' stunt double) also got matching tattoos during the film's production, at Dominic's instigation. Below that tattoo is another that reads, "Life imitates art", an Oscar Wilde quote. On his left arm is a tattoo, "Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see.", a line from The Beatles' "Strawberry Fields Forever". He also has two stars tattooed on his left foot, one black, and one white. In 2010, Monaghan got two more tattoos, one on the upper side of the back ("Love you take is equal to the love you make", taken from the song "The End" by The Beatles). The other, done by Kat Von D on the television show LA Ink, is located on his lower right arm ("Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter", a quote from Yoda).

He resides in the Los Angeles, California area. In 2008 Monaghan held a photographic exhibit in Los Angeles in which he sold prints of his own works. A portion of the proceeds from the exhibit were given to an orangutan rescue organization.

Past relationships include his ''Lost'' co-star Evangeline Lilly from 2004 to 2009.

In June 2008 Monaghan traveled to Argentina with Lilly to film the pilot of the American version of ''CQC'', (a successful television programme in less than ten countries).

He has long been working on a script with ''LOTR'' co-star and good friend Billy Boyd. Dominic provided the inspiration for the naming of Boyd's band Beecake after he sent his friend a picture of a cake covered in bees.

Filmography

Films

! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1997		Sasha	Television film
2001	''The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring''	Meriadoc Brandybuck
2002	''The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers''	Meriadoc Brandybuck
2003	''The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King''	Meriadoc Brandybuck	Screen Actors Guild Award win
2003	''An Insomniac's Nightmare''	Jack
2004		Goat
2004	''The Purifiers''	Sol
2005	''Ringers: Lord of the Fans''	Narrator
2005	''Shooting Livien''	Owen Scott
2008	''I Sell The Dead''	Arthur Blake
2009	''X-Men Origins: Wolverine''
2010	''Soldiers of Fortune''	Sid	''post-production''
2011	''Pet''	Seth	''in production''
2011	''The Day''	Rick

Television

! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1996–1998	''Hetty Wainthropp Investigates''	Geoffrey Shawcross	Main cast member.
2000	''This Is Personal: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper''	Jimmy Furey
2000	''Monsignor Renard''	Etienne Pierre Rollinger
2004–2010		Charlie Pace	Main cast member 2004 - 2007Recurring special guest star 2008 and 2010.Screen Actors Guild Award win; 65 episodes
2008	''MADtv''	Himself	Aired April 26, 2008
2008		Himself	June 23, 2008. In CQC Argentina with Evangeline Lilly
2009		Tyler Martin	One episode - Chuck Versus the Third Dimension
2009–2010		Dr. Simon Campos	Main cast member
2010	''LA Ink''	Himself	Guest appearance
2010	''Top Gear (U.S. TV series)''	Himself	Big Star in a Small CarLap Time 1:45.3

Music videos

! Year	! Artist	! Title	Notes
2010	Eminem featuring Rihanna	"Love the Way You Lie"	With Megan Fox

References

External links

Dominic Monaghan interview

Dominic Monaghan - The cool Briton (Unofficial Website)

Category:1976 births Category:English film actors Category:English television actors Category:Living people Category:People from Berlin Category:People from Stockport Category:English expatriates in the United States Category:English expatriates in Canada Category:Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Screen Actors Guild Award winners

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Coordinates	28°36′36″N77°13′48″N
Name	Sala Baker
Birth date	September 22, 1976
Birth place	Wellington, New Zealand }}

Sala Baker (born September 22, 1976) is an actor and stuntman from Wellington, New Zealand. He was married to Stefany June Baclaan on April 11, 2010 in Hollywood. Originally hired as one of several stunt performers for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, he ended up landing the part of Sauron. In addition, he also played several Orcs, a Gondorian, and one of the Rohirrim. Outside of the trilogy, Baker has performed in ''The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' and two ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' movies.

Baker was also a part of the miscellaneous crew in the making of ''The Last Samurai'' in 2003.

Filmography

Stunts

''The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'' (2001): Stunts

''The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'' (2002): Stunt Performer

''The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' (2003): Stunts (uncredited)

''Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl'' (2003): Stunts

''The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' (2005): Stunts

''Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest'' (2006): Stunt Native

''Eragon'' (2006): Stunts

''Epic Movie'' (2007): Stunts

''Deadliest Warrior'' (2009): Weapons Demonstration

''The A-Team'' (2010): Stunts

Actor

''The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'' (2001): Sauron

''The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'' (2002): Lugdush

''The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' (2003): Sauron, Murgash

''Potheads: The Movie'' (2005): Grim

''F8'' (2006): Bouncer

''Prison Break'' (TV series) (2007): Prisoner

''Regular Show'' (TV series) (2011): Wereskunk / Bryan

Miscellaneous crew

''The Last Samurai'' (2003): Location Manager: Split Unit

''The Long and Short of It'' (2003): Traffic Controller/Grip

''Deadliest Warrior: Shaolin Monk vs Māori Warrior'' (tv) (2009): Himself, demonstrating Māori weapons

External links

Official website

Category:1976 births Category:Living people Category:New Zealand film actors Category:New Zealand stunt performers

de:Sala Baker fr:Sala Baker no:Sala Baker fi:Sala Baker sv:Sala Baker

Coordinates	28°36′36″N77°13′48″N
name	Billy Connolly
birth name	William Connolly, Jr.
birth date	November 24, 1942
birth place	Anderston, Glasgow, Scotland , United Kingdom
medium	Stand-up, television, film, music
nationality	Scottish
active	1965–present
genre	Observational comedy, Musical comedy
subject	Everyday life, sex, religion, old age, Scottish culture
influences	Chic Murray
influenced	Eddie Izzard, Craig Ferguson, Ross Noble
spouse	Iris Pressagh (1969–1985) (divorced)Pamela Stephenson (1989–present)
website	BillyConnolly.com

}} William "Billy" Connolly, Jr., CBE (born 24 November 1942) is a British comedian, musician, presenter and actor born in Scotland. He is sometimes known, especially in his native Scotland, by the nickname ''The Big Yin'' (The Big One). His first trade, in the early 1960s, was as a welder (specifically a boilermaker) in the Glasgow shipyards, but he gave it up towards the end of the decade to pursue a career as a folk singer in the Humblebums and subsequently as a soloist. In the early 1970s he made the transition from folk-singer with a comedic persona to full-fledged comedian, a role in which he continues. He also became an actor, and has appeared in such films as ''Indecent Proposal'' (1993); ''Mrs. Brown'' (1997), for which he was nominated for a BAFTA; ''The Boondock Saints'' (1999); ''The Man Who Sued God'' (2001); ''Water'' (1985); ''The Last Samurai'' (2003); ''Timeline'' (2003); ''Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events'' (2004); ''Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties'' (2006); and ''The X-Files: I Want to Believe'' (2008). Connolly reprised his role as Noah "Il Duce" MacManus in ''Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day''. Connolly appears as the King of Lilliput in the 2010 remake of ''Gulliver′s Travels''.

Early life

Connolly was born at 69 Dover Street ("on the linoleum, three floors up" "at six o'clock in the evening") in Anderston, Glasgow, to William Connolly and his wife Mary (McLean) Connolly, a hospital cafeteria worker. Connolly's grandfather was an Irish immigrant. In 1946, when he was barely four years old, Connolly's mother abandoned her children when his father was still away in the army. Connolly and his sister, Florence, were cared for by two aunts, Margaret and Mona Connolly, his father's sisters. His biography, written by wife Pamela Stephenson, documented years of physical and sexual abuse by his father, which began when he was ten and lasted until he was about fifteen.

"Twice in my life, two birds have flown in and made a huge difference," explained Connolly in 1996. When he was seven, the Connolly family went to Rothesay on holiday. He was sent to get some milk and bread rolls. On his way back with his hands full, a bird landed on his head. Connolly immediately thought God had called him and "nearly had a coronary". "It was a jackdaw, and I didn't know you could teach jackdaws to speak. But I was walking along, and this thing landed on my head and said hello. I nearly passed away. I learned subsequently that it was a tame bird, and we became friends and I got used to the idea: the bird would land on me and I was quite happy. My life had changed forever." Connolly said the second "bird" was Brett Whiteley, an Australian artist he met through Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits in the 1980s.

Between the ages of fourteen and twenty, Connolly was brought up in a tenement in the Anderston district of Glasgow. He later lived in Partick. Connolly still supports football club Partick Thistle. Connolly has wryly observed that many people think that the name of the club is "Patrick Thistle nil".

He attended St. Peter's Primary School in Glasgow and St. Gerard's Secondary School in Govan. At age 12, Connolly decided he wanted to become a comedian but did not think he fitted the mould, feeling he needed to become more "windswept and interesting". At 15, he left school with two engineering qualifications, one collected by mistake which belonged to a boy named Connell.

Connolly was a year too young to work in the shipyards. He became a delivery boy until he was sixteen, when he was deemed overqualified (due to his J1 and J2 certificates) to become an engineer. Instead, he worked as a boilermaker at Alexander Stephen and Sons Shipyard in Linthouse.

Connolly also joined the Territorial Army Reserve 15th (Scottish) Battalion, The Parachute Regiment (15 PARA). He later commemorated his experiences in the song "Weekend Soldier").

Career

Origin of "The Big Yin"

Connolly's ''The Big Yin'' nickname was first used during his adolescent years to differentiate between himself and his father. "My father was a very strong man. Broad and strong. He had an 18½-inch neck collar. Huge, like a bull. He was "Big Billy" and I was "Wee Billy". And then I got bigger than him, and the whole thing got out of control. And then I became ''The Big Yin'' in Scotland. So, we'd go into the pub and someone would say, 'Billy Connolly was in.' 'Oh, Big Billy or Wee Billy?' 'The Big Yin.' 'Oh, Wee Billy.' If you were a stranger, you'd think, 'What are these people talking about?'"

1960s

In 1966, after he had completed a five-year apprenticeship as a boilermaker, Connolly accepted a ten-week job building an oil platform in Nigeria. Upon his return to Scotland, he worked at John Brown & Company, but focused increasingly on being a folk singer.

Connolly's career as a folk singer led to him forming a folk-pop duo called The Humblebums with Tam Harvey. After recording one album, Harvey left the partnership and was replaced by future rock star Gerry Rafferty. Connolly’s time with Rafferty possibly influenced his future comedy as years later he would recall how Rafferty’s expert prank telephone calls, made while waiting to go on stage, used to make him "scream" with laughter. The Connolly-Rafferty version of The Humblebums recorded two more albums for independent record label Transatlantic Records. The albums were not big commercial successes but enjoyed cult status and critical acclaim. Connolly's contributions were primarily straightforward pop-folk with quirky and whimsical lyrics, but he had not especially focused on comedy at this point.

In 1970, the Humblebums broke up, with Rafferty going on to record a solo album: ''Can I Have My Money Back'' (1971). Connolly returned to being a folk singer. His live performances featured folk songs with humorous introductions that became increasingly long in duration.

The head of Transatlantic Records, Nat Joseph, who had signed The Humblebums and had nurtured their career, was concerned that Connolly find a way to develop a distinctive solo career just as his former bandmate, Gerry Rafferty, was doing. Joseph saw several of Connolly's performances and noted his comedic skills. Joseph had successfully nurtured the recording career of another Scottish folk entertainer, Hamish Imlach, and saw potential in Connolly following a similar path. He suggested to Connolly that he drop the folk-singing and focus primarily on becoming a comedian. It was a life-changing suggestion.

1970s

In 1972, Joseph produced Connolly's first solo album, ''Billy Connolly Live!'', a mixture of comedic songs and short monologues that hinted at what was to follow. In late 1973, Joseph produced the breakthrough album that propelled Connolly to British stardom. Recorded at a small venue, The Tudor Hotel in Airdrie, the record was a double album titled ''Solo Concert''. Releasing a live double-album by a comedian who was virtually unknown (except to a cult audience in Glasgow) was an unusual gambit by Joseph but his faith in Connolly's talent was justified. Joseph and his marketing team, which included publicist Martin Lewis, successfully promoted the album to chart success on its release in 1974. It featured one of Connolly's most famous comedy routines: "The Crucifixion", in which he likens Christ's Last Supper to a drunken night out in Glasgow. The recording was banned by many radio stations at the time. Building on his cult Scottish following, they broke Connolly throughout the UK – an unusual development for a regional comedian.

In 1975, the rapidity and extent of Connolly's breakthrough was used to secure him a booking on Britain's premier TV talk show, the BBC's ''Parkinson''. Connolly made the most of the opportunity and told a bawdy joke about a man who had murdered his wife and buried her bottom-up so he'd have somewhere to park his bike. This ribald humour was unusually forthright on a primetime Saturday night on British television in the mid-1970s, and his appearance made a great impact. He became a good friend of the host, Michael Parkinson, and now holds the record for appearances on the programme, having been a guest on fifteen occasions. Referring to that debut appearance, he later said: "That programme changed my entire life." Parkinson, in the documentary ''Billy Connolly: Erect for 30 Years'', stated that people still remember Connolly telling the punchline to the 'bike joke' three decades after that TV appearance. When asked about the material, Connolly stated, "Yes, it was incredibly edgy for its time. My manager, on the way over, warned me not to do it, but it was a great joke and the interview was going so well, I thought, 'Oh, fuck that!!' I don't know where I got the courage in those days, but Michael did put confidence in me." Connolly's UK success spread to other English-speaking countries: Australia, New Zealand and Canada. However, his broad Scottish accent and British cultural references made success in the US improbable.

His increased profile led to contact with other individuals, including musicians such as Elton John. John at that time was trying to assist British performers whom he personally liked to achieve success in the US (he had released records in the US by veteran British pop singer Cliff Richard on his own Rocket Records label.) John tried to give Connolly a boost in America by using him as the opening act on his 1976 US tour. But the well-intentioned gesture was a failure. Elton John's American fans had no interest in being warmed-up by an unknown comedic performer – especially a Scotsman whose accent they found incomprehensible. "In Washington, some guy threw a pipe and it hit me right between my eyes", he told Michael Parkinson two years later. "It wasn't my audience. They made me feel about as welcome as a fart in a spacesuit."

Connolly continued to grow in popularity in the UK. In 1975 he signed with Polydor Records. Connolly continued to release live albums and he also recorded several comedic songs that enjoyed commercial success as novelty singles including parodies of Tammy Wynette's song "D.I.V.O.R.C.E." (which he performed on ''Top of the Pops'' in December 1975) and the Village People's "In the Navy" (titled "In the Brownies").

In 1979, Connolly was invited by producer Martin Lewis to join the cast of ''The Secret Policeman's Ball'', the third in the series of the ''Secret Policeman's Ball'' fundraising shows for Amnesty International. Connolly was the first comedic performer in the series who was not an alumnus of the ''Oxbridge'' school of middle-class university-educated entertainers and he made the most of his appearance. His performance was considered to be one of the highlights of the show's comedy album (released by Island Records in December 1979) and feature film (released by ITC Films in 1980). Appearing in the company of long-established talents such as John Cleese and Peter Cook helped elevate the perception of Connolly as one of Britain's leading comedic talents. Lewis also teamed Connolly with Cleese and Cook to appear in the television commercial for the album.

1980s

In 1981, John Cleese and Martin Lewis invited Connolly to appear in that year's Amnesty show, ''The Secret Policeman's Other Ball''. Connolly's performance was again reported as one of the highlights of the show and he was prominently featured in the subsequent comedy album (Springtime!/Island Records 1981) and UK film (UIP 1982). The commercial success of the special US version of ''The Secret Policeman's Other Ball'' film (Miramax Films 1982) introduced Connolly to a wider American audience, who were attracted to the film because of the presence of Monty Python members. His on-screen presence alongside these performers – who were already familiar to Anglophile comedy buffs – helped lay down a marker for Connolly's eventual return to the US in his own right eight years later.

In 1985, he divorced Iris Pressagh, his wife of sixteen years (they had separated four years earlier after living together in Drymen). He was awarded custody of their two children. That same year, he performed ''An Audience with...'', which was videotaped at the South Bank Television Centre in front of a celebrity audience for ITV. The uncut, uncensored version was subsequently released on video. In July 1985 he performed at the Wembley leg of Live Aid, immediately preceding Elton John.

In 1986 he visited Mozambique to appear in a documentary for Comic Relief. He also featured in the charity's inaugural live stage show, both as a stand-up and portraying a willing 'victim' in his partner Pamela Stephenson's act of sawing a man in half to create two dwarves.

Connolly completed his first world tour in 1987, including six nights at the Royal Albert Hall in London, which was documented in the ''Billy and Albert'' video.

When the Fox Network aired ''Freedomfest: Nelson Mandela's 70th Birthday Celebration'' in 1988, Connolly was still virtually unknown in the States, but his performance drew attention, particularly from producers, and interest in him grew.

In 1988, Connolly's father died after a stroke, the eighth of his life. His mother died four years later of motor neurone disease. She was living in Dunoon at that point.

On 20 December 1989, in Fiji, Connolly married Pamela Stephenson, the New Zealand-born comedy actress he had met when making a cameo appearance on the BBC sketch show ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'', in which she was one of four regular performers. He had been living with her since 1981. "Marriage to Pam didn't change me, it saved me," he later said. "I was going to die. I was on a downwards spiral and enjoying every second of it. Not only was I dying, but I was looking forward to it."

In October 1989, Connolly shaved off his trademark shaggy beard for a film role and he remained clean-shaven for several years.

1990s

Although Connolly had performed in North America as early as the 1970s, and had appeared in several movies that played in American theatres, he nonetheless remained relatively unknown until 1990 when he was featured in the HBO special ''Whoopi Goldberg and Billy Connolly in Performance'', produced by New York's Brooklyn Academy of Music. Goldberg introduced Connolly, and his performance has been cited as the moment that officially launched his career in the States. Soon after, Connolly succeeded Howard Hesseman as the star of the sitcom ''Head of the Class'' for the 1990–1991 season, but the series was cancelled during his tenure.

Connolly joined Frank Bruno and Ozzy Osbourne when singing 'The War Song of the Urpneys' in The Dreamstone.

The following year, Connolly and Stephenson moved to Los Angeles, and the family won green cards in the Morrison Visa Lottery. In 1991, Connolly received his first (and, to date, only) leading television role as the star of ''Billy'', another sitcom and a spin-off of ''Head of the Class''. It lasted only a half-season.

On 4 June 1992, Connolly performed his 25th-anniversary concert in Glasgow. Parts of the show, and its build-up, were documented in ''The South Bank Show'', which aired later in the year.

Connolly was dealt a blow in 1993 when his close friend and fishing partner, Jimmy Kent, died.

In early January 1994, Connolly began a 40-date ''World Tour of Scotland'', which would be broadcast by the BBC later in the year as a six-part series. It was so well received that the BBC signed him up to do a similar tour two years later, this time in Australia. The eight-part series followed Connolly on his custom-made Harley Davidson trike.

Also in 1995, Connolly recorded a BBC special, entitled ''A Scot in the Arctic'', in which he spends a week by himself in the Arctic Circle.

In 1997, Connolly starred with Judi Dench in ''Mrs. Brown'', in which he played John Brown, the favoured Scottish servant of Queen Victoria. He was nominated for a BAFTA Award and a BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Actor, as well as a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance.

In 1998, Connolly's best friend, Danny Kyle, died. "He was me dearest, dearest, oldest friend," Connolly explained to an Australian audience on his ''Greatest Hits'' compilation, released in 2001.

In November 1998, Connolly was the subject of a two-hour retrospective entitled ''Billy Connolly: Erect for 30 Years'', which included tributes from Judi Dench, Sean Connery, Whoopi Goldberg, Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, and Eddie Izzard. The special was released on DVD in North America in 2004.

The following year, Connolly undertook a four-month, 59-date sellout tour of Australia and New Zealand. Later in the year, he completed a five-week, 25-date sellout run at London's Hammersmith Apollo. In 2000 he travelled to Canada for two weeks on a 13-date tour.

2000s

In 2000 Connolly starred in ''Beautiful Joe'' alongside Sharon Stone. The following year he completed the third in his "World Tour" BBC series, this time of ''England, Ireland and Wales'', which began in Dublin and ended in Plymouth. It was broadcast the following year.

Also in 2001, Pamela Stephenson's first biography of her husband, ''Billy'', was published. It outlines his career and life, including the sexual abuse by his father that lasted from his tenth to his fourteenth years. Much of the book is about Connolly the celebrity but the account of his early years provides a context for his humour and point of view. A follow-up, ''Bravemouth'', was published in 2003.

Connolly has also written several books, including ''Billy Connolly'' (late 1970s) and ''Gullible's Travels'' (early 1980s), both based upon his stage act, as well as books based upon some of his "World Tour" television series. He has stated that his comedy does not work on the printed page.

A fourth BBC series, ''World Tour of New Zealand'', was filmed in 2004 and aired that winter. Also in his 63rd year, Connolly performed two sold-out benefit concerts at the Oxford New Theatre in memory of Malcolm Kingsnorth, who for twenty-five years was Connolly's tour manager and sound engineer.

He has continued to be a much in demand character actor, appearing in several films such as ''White Oleander'' (2002), ''The Last Samurai'' (2003) and ''Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events'' (2004). He has also played an eclectic collection of leading roles in recent years, including a lawyer who undertakes a legal case of Biblical proportions in ''The Man Who Sued God'' (2001), and a young boy's pet zombie in ''Fido'' (2006).

In January 2005, Connolly came 8th in ''The Comedian's Comedian'', a poll voted for by fellow comedians and comedy insider and embarked on a major UK tour with 15 sold-out nights in Glasgow.

Also in 2005, Connolly and Stephenson announced, after fourteen years of living in Hollywood, they were returning to live in the former's native land. They purchased a yacht with the profits from their house-sale, and split the year between Malta and Candacraig House in Aberdeenshire.

Later in the year, Connolly topped an unscientific poll of "Britain's Favourite Comedian" conducted by TV network Five, placing him ahead of performers such as John Cleese, Ronnie Barker, Dawn French, and Peter Cook.

In 2006, Connolly revealed that he also has a house on the island of Gozo. He and his wife also have an apartment in New York City, near Union Square.

On 30 December 2007, Connolly escaped uninjured from a single-car accident on the A939 near the Scottish town of Ballater, Aberdeenshire.

In late February it was announced that Connolly would play ten shows in early April at the Post Street Theatre in San Francisco.

On 10 March 2008, tickets went on sale for Connolly's Irish tour, set to take place in May, June and July. He performed three shows in University Concert Hall, Limerick, ten shows at the Olympia Theatre, Dublin, five shows at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast and three shows at the Cork Opera House. They all sold out in a matter of hours. The tour also travelled to Kerry (two shows) and Mayo (two shows).

In October 2009 he played a tour of his homeland, and sold out everywhere, despite adding extra dates. He stated he was proud to have broken the computer system for Glasgow and Edinburgh, as they could not handle the rush for tickets. In Glasgow he was playing at SECC. The SECC was built near the site where his family had lived when he was a child.

In May 2011 Connolly suffered a broken rib and a gashed knee when his motor trike rolled on top of him while filming for the ITV travel documentary ''Billy Connolly's Route 66''. He returned to filming a week later.

Personal life

Connolly has been married to his second wife, comedian and psychologist Pamela Stephenson, since 1989. In the book ''Billy'', and in a December 2008 online interview, Connolly states he was sexually abused by his father between the ages of 10 and 15. He believes this was a result of the Catholic Church not allowing his father to divorce after his mother left the family. Due to this, Connolly has a "deep distrust and dislike of the Catholic church and any other organization that brainwashes people". In a 1999 interview with ''The Sunday Herald'' Connolly condemned the SNP as "racist" and the new Scottish parliament as a "joke".

Connolly has two siblings: an older sister, Florence, who is a retired school-teacher, and a younger brother, Michael; he has referred to both in his stand-up routines. He is also the father to five children: two from his first marriage and three from his second.

Controversy

Kenneth Bigley joke

In October 2004, during an 18-night stint at London's Hammersmith Apollo, Connolly was criticised for making jokes about the hostage Kenneth Bigley. Shortly after Connolly joked about the future killing of the hostage and touched on the subject of Bigley’s young Thai wife, Bigley was beheaded in Iraq. Connolly claims he was misquoted. He has declined to clarify what he actually said, claiming that the context was as important as the precise words used.

Support for charity

Connolly is a patron of the National Association for Bikers with a Disability.

Folk music

In 1965, together with Tam Harvey, Connolly started a group called the Humblebums. At their first gig, Connolly reportedly introduced them both to the audience by saying, "My name's Billy Connolly, and I'm humble. This is Tam Harvey, he's a bum." The band would later include Gerry Rafferty. After Harvey left the group, Connolly and Rafferty continued as a duo and the latter two of their three albums featured just that duo. Connolly sang, played five-string banjo, guitar and autoharp, and at live shows entertained the audience with his humorous introductions to the songs.

Frank Bruno and Billy Connolly provided lead vocals on The War Song of the Urpneys from The Dreamstone, although the version heard in the series was largely sung by composer Mike Batt.

In his ''World Tour of Scotland'', Connolly reveals that at a trailer show during the Edinburgh Festival, the Humblebums took to the stage just before the late Yehudi Menuhin.

The Humblebums broke up in 1971 and both Connolly and Rafferty went solo. Connolly's first solo album in 1972, ''Billy Connolly Live!'' on Transatlantic Records, featured him as a singer/songwriter.

His early albums were a mixture of comedy performances with comedic and serious musical interludes. Among his best known musical performances were "The Welly Boot Song", a parody of the Scottish folk song "The Wark O' The Weavers," which became his theme song for several years; "In the Brownies", a parody of the hit Village People song "In the Navy" (for which Connolly filmed a music video); "Two Little Boys in Blue", a tongue-in-cheek indictment of police brutality done to the tune of Rolf Harris' "Two Little Boys"; and the ballad "I Wish I Was in Glasgow," which Connolly would later perform in duet with Malcolm McDowell on a guest appearance on the 1990s American sitcom ''Pearl'' (which starred Rhea Perlman). He also performed the occasional Humblebums-era song such as "Oh, No!" as well as straightforward covers such as a version of Dolly Parton's "Coat of Many Colors," which was included on his ''Get Right Intae Him!'' album.

In November 1975, his spoof of the Tammy Wynette song "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" was a UK No. 1 single for one week. Wynette's original was about parents spelling out words of an impending marital split to avoid traumatising their young child. Connolly's spoof of the song played on the fact that many dog owners use the same tactic when they do not wish their pet to become upset about an impending trip to the vet. Connolly's song is about a couple whose marriage is ruined by a bad vet visit (spelling out "W-O-R-M" or "Q-U-A-R-A-N-T-I-N-E", for example.) His song "No Chance" was a parody of J. J. Barrie's cover of the song "No Charge".

In 1985 he sang the theme song to ''Super Gran'', which was released as a single and in 1996 he performed a cover of Ralph McTell's "'In the Dreamtime" as the theme to his ''World Tour of Australia''. By the late 1980s, Connolly had all but dropped the music from his act, though he still records the occasional musical performance, such as a 1980s recording of his composition "Sergeant, Where's Mine?" with The Dubliners. In 1998 he covered The Beatles' "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" on the George Martin tribute album, ''In My Life''. Most recently, he sang a song during the film ''Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events''. And in 1995 and 2005, he released two albums of instrumental performances ''Musical Tour of Scotland'' and ''Billy Connolly's Musical Tour of New Zealand'', respectively.

Connolly is among the artists featured on ''Banjoman'', a tribute to American folk musician Derroll Adams, released in 2002. He plays one song, "The Rock".

Stand-up comedy

It is as a stand-up comedian that Connolly is best known. His observational comedy is idiosyncratic and often off-the-cuff. He has outraged certain sectors of audiences, critics and the media with his free use of the word "fuck". He has made jokes relating to masturbation, blasphemy, defecation, flatulence, haemorrhoids, sex, his father's illness, his aunts' cruelty and, in the latter stages of his career, old age (specifically his experiences of growing old). In 2007 and again in 2010, he was voted the greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups.

Discography

A partial list of musical and comedic recordings:

1972 - ''Billy Connolly Live''

1974 - ''Cop Yer Whack for This''

1974 - ''Solo Concert''

1975 - ''Get Right Intae Him!

1975 - ''Words and Music''

1975 - ''The Big Yin''

1976 - ''Atlantic Bridge''

1977 - ''Billy Connolly''

1977 - ''Raw Meat for the Balcony!''

1978 - ''Anthology''

1979 - ''Riotous Assembly''

1981 - ''The Pick of Billy Connolly'' (compilation)

1983 - ''A Change is Good as Arrest''

1983 - ''In Concert''

1984 - ''Big Yin Double Helping'' (compilation)

1985 - ''An Audience With Billy Connolly''

1985 - ''Wreck on Tour''

1987 - ''Billy & Albert''

1991 - ''Live at the Odeon Hammersmith London''

1995 - ''Musical Tour of Scotland''

1999 - ''Comedy and Songs'' (compilation)

1999 - ''One Night Stand Down Under''

2002 - ''The Big Yin - Billy Connolly in Concert'' (compilation)

2003 - ''Transatlantic Years'' (compilation of material recorded between 1969 and 1974)

2005 - ''Billy Connolly's Musical Tour of New Zealand''

2007 - ''Live in Concert''

2010 - ''The Man'' Live in London, recorded January 2010

The above list does not include at least two albums recorded with the Humblebums prior to 1972, and only includes a sampling of the many reissues and compilations released over the years.

Playwright

Connolly has written three plays:

''An' Me Wi' A Bad Leg Tae'' (1975)

''When Hair Was Long And Time Was Short'' (1977)

''Red Runner'' (1979)

Film actor

Connolly has often joked about the regularity of the deaths of the characters he portrays in movies. "If you want to see me in a movie, you have to hurry to the theatre, because I usually die in the first fifteen minutes. I'm never in the sequel." Connolly also claims to be the only man to ever die in a Muppet movie. Notable film appearances include ''Absolution'' (1978) with Richard Burton, and ''Mrs Brown'' (1997) with Judi Dench.

Filmography

Year

Title

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1975

Television Movies

*''Just Another Saturday'' as Paddy

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1976

''Connolly'' as Himself

Television Movies

*''The Elephants' Graveyard'' as Jody

Documentaries/Specials

*''Big Banana Feet'' as Himself

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1978

''Absolution as Blakey

*''Billy Connolly in Concert'' as Himself

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1980

''The Secret Policeman's Ball (1979)>The Secret Policeman's Ball'' as Himself

*''Worzel Gummidge: A Cup o' Tea an' a Slice o' Cake as Bogle McNeep

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1981

''Billy Connolly Bites Yer Bum!'' as Himself

Documentaries/Specials

Cambodia>Kampuchea'' as Himself

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1982

''The Secret Policeman's Other Ball'' as Himself

*''The Pick of Billy Connolly'' as Himself

Television Movies

*''Blue Money'' as Des

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1983

''Bullshot (film)>Bullshot'' as Hawkeye McGillicuddy

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1984

Television

*''Tickle on the Tum''

Television Movies

*''Weekend in Wallop'' as Himself

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1985

''Water (1985 film)>Water'' as Delgado

*''An Audience with Billy Connolly'' as Himself

Television

*''Supergran'' composer/singer of the theme song

Television Special

*''Live Aid'' as Himself

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1986

''To the North of Katmandu''

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1987

''The Hunting of the Snark (musical)>The Hunting of the Snark'' as The Bellman

*''Billy Connolly at the Royal Albert Hall'' as Himself

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1988

Documentaries/Specials

*''Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute'' as Himself

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1989

''The Return of the Musketeers'' as Caddie

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1990

''Whoopi Goldberg Presents Billy Connolly (HBO Standup Performance)'' as Himself

*''Crossing the Line'' (known in the UK as ''The Big Man'') as Frankie (for which he shaved off his trademark goatee)

Television

*''Head of the Class'' as Billy MacGregor (1990–1991)

Television Movies

*''Dreaming''

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1991

''Billy Connolly Live 1991'' as Himself

*''Pale Blue Scottish Person (HBO Standup Performance)'' as Himself

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1992

''25 B.C.: The Best of 25 Years of Billy Connolly'' as Himself

Television

Billy (1992 TV series)>Billy'' as Billy MacGregor

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1993

''Indecent Proposal'' as the Auction MC

Television Movies

*''Down Among the Big Boys'' as Jo Jo Donnelly

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1994

''Billy Connolly Live 1994'' as Himself

Television

*''World Tour of Scotland'' as Himself

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1995

''Pocahontas (1995 film)>Pocahontas'' as Ben (voice)

*''Two Bites of Billy Connolly'' as Himself

Documentaries/Specials

*''A Scot in the Arctic'' as Himself

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1996

''Muppet Treasure Island'' as Billy Bones

Television

*''Pearl'' guest star and composer of "I Wish I Was in Glasgow" (1983) in the episode "Billy"

*''Billy Connolly's World Tour of Australia'' as Himself

Video Games

*''Muppet Treasure Island'' as Billy Bones (voice)

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1997

''Beverly Hills Ninja'' as Japanese Antique Shop Proprietor

Mrs. Brown'' as John Brown (for which he was nominated for a British Academy of Film and Television Arts>BAFTA)

*''Paws as PC (voice)

*''Billy Connolly: Two Night Stand'' as Himself

Television Movies

*''Deacon Brodie'' as Deacon Brodie

Documentaries/Specials

*''Sean Connery, an Intimate Portrait'' as Himself

*''Sean Connery Close Up'' as Himself

*''Whatever Happened to... Clement and La Frenais?'' as Himself

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1998

''Still Crazy'' as Hughie

**also the composer of "Stealin'"

*''The Impostors'' as Mr. Sparks

*''Middleton's Changeling'' as Alibius

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1999

''Billy Connolly: One Night Stand Down Under''

*''The Boondock Saints'' as "Il Duce", A.K.A. Noah MacManus

*''The Debt Collector'' as Nickie Dryden

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2000

''An Everlasting Piece'' as Scalper

Beautiful Joe (film)>Beautiful Joe'' as Joe

Television Movies

*''Columbo: Murder with Too Many Notes'' as Findlay Crawford

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2001

''Gabriel and Me'' as Gabriel

*''The Man Who Sued God'' as Steve Myers

*''Who is Cletis Tout?'' as Dr. Savian

*''Billy Connolly Live: The Greatest Hits'' as Himself

Television Movies

Prince Charming (TV film)>Prince Charming'' as Hamish

*''Gentlemen's Relish'' as Kingdom Swann

Documentaries/Specials

*''Comic Relief: Say Pants to Poverty'' as Himself

*''Comic Relief Short Pants'' as Himself

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2002

''White Oleander (film)>White Oleander'' as Barry Kolker

*''Billy Connolly Live 2002'' as Himself

*''Billy Connolly's World Tour of England, Ireland and Wales'' as Himself

Documentaries/Specials

*''Ultimate Fights from the Movies'' as Frankie from ''Crossing the Line''

British Academy of Film and Television Arts>BAFTA Tribute'' as Himself

*''Judi Dench: A BAFTA Tribute'' as Himself

*''The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch''

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2003

''The Last Samurai'' as Sgt. Zebulon Gant

Timeline (film)>Timeline'' as Prof. E.A. Johnston

Documentaries/Specials

*''Billy Connolly: Erect for 30 Years'' as Himself

Julie Walters: A British Academy of Film and Television Arts>BAFTA Tribute'' as Himself

*''The Importance of Being Famous'' as Himself

*''Overnight'' as Himself

*''Comic Relief 2003: The Big Hair Do'' as Himself

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2004

''Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events'' as Uncle Monty

Television

*''Billy Connolly's World Tour of New Zealand'' as Himself

Documentaries/Specials

*''Comedy Central Presents: 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time'' as #73

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2005

DVD

*''Billy Connolly: Live in New York''

Documentaries

*''Ivor Cutler: Looking for Truth with a Pin'' as Himself

The Aristocrats (film)>The Aristocrats'' as Himself

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2006

''Open Season (film)>Open Season'' as McSquizzy

*''Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties'' as Lord Dargis

Fido (film)>Fido'' as Fido

DVD

*''Billy Connolly: The Essential Collection'' as Himself

Documentaries

Fuck (film)>Fuck'' as Himself

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2007

DVD

*''Billy Connolly Live: Was it Something I Said?'' as Himself

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2008

''The X-Files: I Want to Believe'' as Father Joseph "Joe" Crissman

DVD

* Billy Connolly: Journey to the Edge of the World

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2008

''Open Season 2'' as McSquizzy

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2009

Television

ITV1, also aired Seven Network>Channel Seven in Australia)

*''Good Sharma'' as Reverend Webster

DVD

*''The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day'' as Noah MacManus, A.K.A. "Il Duce"

align="center"

2010

''Gulliver's Travels (2010 film)>Gulliver's Travels'' as King of Lilliput

align="center"

2010

Television

* ''Ben 10: Ultimate Alien'' as Captain Glowbeard (1 episode)

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2011

''Open Season 3'' as McSquizzy

* ''The Ballad of Nessie'' as Narrator

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2012

''Brave (2012 film)>Brave'' as King Fergus

Television guest appearances

''The South Bank Show'' on 13 May 1979

''Aspel & Company'' in episode (#2.11), 23 March 1985

''Minder'' as Tick Tack in episode \"Fatal Impression\" (#7.3), 16 January 1989

''The South Bank Show'' on 4 October 1992

''Late Show with David Letterman'' on 18 November 1993

''Clive James'' in episode (#1.3), 6 March 1994

''Pearl'' as William 'Billy' Pynchon in episode \"Billy Returns\" (#1.22), 25 June 1997 and episode \"Billy\" (#1.4), 30 September 1996

''Veronica's Closet'' as Campbell in \"Veronica's Got a Secret\" (#1.11), 8 January 1998

''Tracey Takes On...'' as Rory Cassidy in episode \"Culture\" (#3.9), 1 March 1998

''3rd Rock from the Sun'' as Inspector Macaffery one episode \"Dial M for Dick\" (#5.4), 9 November 1999

''Rove Live'' on 23 October 2001

''The Late Late Show'' on 17 October 2003

''Tinseltown TV'' on 6 December 2003

''Parkinson'' in 1975 and on 2 January 1978; 3 April 1982; 23 January 1998; 17 December 1999; 20 October 2001; 18 October 2003; 4 September 2004; 16 December 2007

''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' on 14 December 2004

''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'' on 15 December 2004

''Last Call with Carson Daly'' on 22 December 2004

''Britain's Finest'' on episode \"Actresses\", 18 July 2005 and episode \"Actors\", 11 July 2005

''Real Time with Bill Maher'' on episode (#3.22), 28 October 2005

''Enough Rope'' on 20 February 2006

''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'' on 10 May 2006

''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' on 28 September 2006

''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' on 9 June 2007

''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' on 2 November 2009

''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' on 18 December 2010

Awards

Connolly was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree by the University of Glasgow on 11 July 2001.

In 2003, the BAFTA presented him with a Lifetime Achievement award. Also in 2003, he received a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.

On 4 July 2006, Connolly was awarded an honorary doctorate by Glasgow's Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) for his service to performing arts.

On 18 March 2007 and again on 11 April 2010, Connolly was named Number One in Channel 4's "100 Greatest Stand Ups".

On 22 July 2010, Connolly was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters (DLitt) by Nottingham Trent University

On 20 August 2010, Connolly was made a Freeman of Glasgow with the award of the Freedom of the City of Glasgow.

Bibliography

References

External links

Connolly's official website

A ''Guardian'' interview with Connolly from 2001

"Enough Rope" interview with Andrew Denton; 20 February 2006

Connolly's interview with ''The Guardian'', September 2001

"A laugh a minute? Life with Billy Connolly" - CNN.com

Category:1942 births Category:Boilermakers Category:British Parachute Regiment soldiers Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:Former Roman Catholics Category:Living people Category:People from Glasgow Category:Scottish banjoists Category:Scottish comedians Category:Scottish film actors Category:Scottish folk singers Category:Scottish people of Irish descent Category:Scottish stand-up comedians Category:Scottish television actors Category:Scottish voice actors

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