For a general description of performances for the monarch, see Royal Command Performance.

The Royal Variety Performance is a gala evening held annually in the United Kingdom, which is attended by senior members of the British Royal Family, usually the reigning monarch. In more recent years Queen Elizabeth II and The Prince of Wales have alternately attended the performance. The evening's performances showcase a variety of family entertainment, including comedy, singing, dance, magic and other speciality acts, with many of the performers and hosts being popular celebrities—a variety show. The event is organised on behalf of the Entertainment Artistes' Benevolent Fund of which Elizabeth II is patron. All proceeds are donated to the fund.

The performance is televised to the public and is considered by many to be a tradition of the Christmas season, being held late in November, or early in December. ITV is now the sole broadcaster, having shared that responsibility with the BBC from 1986 to 2010.^[1]

The performance is a New Year's tradition in Norway, where it is broadcast at 00:00 on 1 January. Several other European countries also broadcast the show.

Background[link]

The first performance, on 1 July 1912 was called the Royal Command Performance, and this name has persisted informally for the event. This was held in the Palace Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London, in the presence of King George V and Queen Mary. After correspondence with Sir Edward Moss the King said he would command a Royal Variety show in his Coronation Year 1911, provided the profits went to the Variety Artistes' Benevolent Fund, as the EABF was then known. It was planned to be in the Empire Theatre, Edinburgh, part of the vast Moss Empire group, but the building went on fire a month before the show. After the death of Sir Edward Moss, Alfred Butt was chosen and staged it in 1912. ^[2]. This was a lavish occasion, and his London Palace theatre was lavishly decorated, complete with some 3 million rose petals.

Top performers included Vesta Tilley, George Robey, David Devant, Anna Pavlova, Harry Lauder and Cecilia Loftus. The organisers did not invite Marie Lloyd, because of a professional dispute. Her act was considered too risque and her three public, unsuccessful marriages deemed her unfit to perform in front of royalty.^[3] She held a rival performance in a nearby theatre, which she advertised was "by command of the British public". The name of the event was changed to prevent possible royal embarrassment. The Royal Variety became an annual event at the suggestion of King George V from 1921.

From 1960 to 1975, ITV broadcast a recorded version of the show, switching to live broadcasts in 1976. From 1986 until 2010, production and broadcast of the show alternated each year between the BBC and ITV, with the BBC usually staging the show in a West End theatre, and ITV in regional theatres outside London. From 2011, ITV have exclusive rights to televise the show.^[1] The show has been frequently staged in the London Palladium theatre, and in the 1950s and 1960s a television show based on the same idea, called Sunday Night at the London Palladium and hosted by many entertainers, including Bruce Forsyth, ran for over 20 years.

Almost every conceivable sort of act has at one time or another been presented to the monarch at the Royal Command Performance, including The Beatles in 1963, The Supremes in 1968 and The Blue Man Group in 2005. At the Beatles' show on 4 November 1963, John Lennon delivered a line to the well-heeled audience which has passed into legend: "For our last number I'd like to ask your help: Will the people in the cheaper seats clap your hands? And the rest of you, if you'll just rattle your jewellery ..."

The money raised by the Royal Variety Performance provides most of the funding for Entertainment Artistes' Benevolent Fund and its home, Brinsworth House, a home for retired members of the entertainment profession and their dependants.

Performances[link]

After the first Royal Variety Performance on 1 July 1912 presented by Sir Alfred Butt, it was seven years before the next show, on 28 July 1919 held at the Coliseum Theatre presented this time by Sir Oswald Stoll. The orchestra was conducted by Edward Elgar. In 1921 it moved to The Hippodrome, and was held in November. It was the first time that the Royal Variety Performance became an annual event. In 1923 it moved to the Coliseum Theatre. Then after a gap in 1924, moved to the Alhambra Theatre in February 1925, where it remained in 1926, held on 27 May. It was the first Royal Variety Performance to broadcast, with the BBC providing live radio coverage.

In 1927 there was another move, this time to the Victoria Palace Theatre, with J. A. Webb the compère. Then 1928 show, on 13 December, was held at the Coliseum Theatre. The next show, on 22 May 1930, moved to the London Palladium with George Black and Val Parnell compèring. It was a start of seven successive years at the venue.

In 1935 the Royal Variety Performance was held in the Silver Jubilee year of King George V and Queen Mary. This was the last time King George V attended – he died three months later in January 1936.

There have been two Royal Scottish Variety Performances, both attended by Queen Elizabeth, and presented by Howard & Wyndham Ltd in Glasgow`s Alhambra Theatre, which Sir Alfred Butt had opened, in 1958 and 1963. ^[4].

[edit] Britain's Got Talent

Since 2007, one act of the Royal Variety show has been selected by the British public through the ITV1 television talent show Britain's Got Talent.

A public telephone vote decides the most popular act in each semi-final, which then progresses to the final, along with a second act chosen by the judges. The grand final is then broadcast live and all the acts perform again for the public vote.

Winners[link]

• 2007: Paul Potts – pop opera tenor
• 2008: George Sampson – street dancer
• 2009: Diversity – street dance group
• 2010: Spelbound - gymnastics squad
• 2011: Jai McDowall - singer
• 2012: Ashleigh and Pudsey - dog trick act

Venues[link]

There have been a total of 17 theatres that have staged the 81 Royal Variety Performances, and the 1912 Royal Command Performance. Out of the total of 82 shows, 75 have been in London theatres and seven in other cities and towns.

Where no town or city is noted in the theatre column in the following table, the venue is situated in London.

Royal Family[link]

A total of 13 members of the Royal Family have attended the 81 Royal Variety Performances, and the 1912 Royal Command Performance.

See also[link]

• Royal Command Performance

Further reading[link]

• Delfont, Bernard (November 1989). Curtain Up!: Story of the Royal Variety Performance. Robson Books Ltd. ISBN 0-86051-629-6. 
• Woodward, Christopher (3 April 2009). The London Palladium: The Story of the Theatre and Its Stars. Jeremy Mills Publishing. ISBN 1-906600-39-2. 

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Download Audio fragment 1964 show
• History of the Royal Variety Performances

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2011)

A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts (hence the name), especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère (master of ceremonies) or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling and ventriloquism. The variety format made its way from Victorian era stage to radio to television. Variety shows were a staple of anglophone television from its early days into the 1970s, and lasted into the 1980s. In several parts of the world, variety TV remains popular and widespread.

History[link]

The format is basically that of music hall in the United Kingdom (UK) or vaudeville in the United States (US).^[1] Variety in the UK evolved in theatres and music halls, and later in Working Men's Clubs. Most of the early top performers on British television and radio did an apprenticeship either in stage variety, or during World War II in Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA). In the UK, the ultimate accolade for a variety artist for decades was to be asked to do the annual Royal Command Performance at the London Palladium theatre, in front of the monarch.

In the United States, former vaudeville performers such as the Marx Brothers, George Burns and Gracie Allen, W. C. Fields, and Jack Benny moved to sound movies, then radio, and then television shows, including variety shows. In the 1960s, even a popular rock band such as The Beatles undertook this ritual of appearing on variety shows on TV. In the US, shows featuring Perry Como, Milton Berle, Jackie Gleason, Bob Hope and Dean Martin also helped to make the Golden Age of Television successful.

From 1948 to 1971, The Ed Sullivan Show was one of CBS's most popular television series. Using his no-nonsense approach, Ed Sullivan allowed many acts from several different mediums to get their "fifteen minutes of fame." Sullivan was also partially responsible for bringing Elvis Presley and The Beatles to U.S. prominence.

Sid Caesar pioneered the television variety show format with Your Show of Shows (1950–54) and Caesar's Hour (1954–57).^[2]

ABC-TV aired The Hollywood Palace, an hour-long show broadcast weekly (generally on Saturday night) from January 4, 1964 to February 7, 1970, where the Rolling Stones first appeared on American TV.

In the UK, The Good Old Days – which ran from 1953 to 1983 – featured modern artists performing dressed in late Victorian/Early Edwardian costume, either doing their own act or performing as a music hall artist of that period. The audience was also encouraged to dress in period costume in a similar fashion.

On television, variety reached its peak during the period of the 1960s and 1970s. With a turn of the television dial, viewers around the globe could variously have seen shows and occasional specials featuring Dinah Shore, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Perry Como, Andy Williams, Julie Andrews, The Carpenters, Olivia Newton-John, John Denver, John Davidson, Mac Davis, Bobby Goldsboro, Lynda Carter, Johnny Cash, Sonny and Cher, Bob Monkhouse, Carol Burnett, Rod Hull and Emu, Flip Wilson, Lawrence Welk, Glen Campbell, Donny & Marie Osmond, Barbara Mandrell, Judy Garland, The Captain & Tennille, The Jacksons, The Keane Brothers, Bobby Darin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Mary Tyler Moore, Dean Martin, Tony Orlando and Dawn, The Smothers Brothers, Danny Kaye, Des O'Connor, Buck and Roy, Roy Hudd, Billy Dainty, Max Wall or The Muppet Show. Even "The Brady Bunch" had a variety show. Variety shows were once as common on television as Westerns, courtroom dramas, suspense thrillers, sitcoms, or (in more modern times) reality shows.

During the 1960s and 1970s, there were also numerous one-time variety specials featuring stars such as Shirley MacLaine, Frank Sinatra, Diana Ross and Mitzi Gaynor, none of whom ever had a regular television series.

Contemporary U.S. variety shows[link]

Variety shows began to fade from popularity in the early 1970s, when research began to show that variety shows appealed to an older audience that was less appealing to advertisers; over the course of the so-called "rural purge", several of the early era variety shows were canceled, though newer ones (fewer in number nonetheless) continued to be created and aired for several years after. By the late 1970s, variety shows had mostly ended production, and by the early 1980s, the few new variety shows being produced were of remarkably poor quality (see, for instance, the infamous Pink Lady and Jeff), hastening the format's demise. Since Pink Lady, only a few traditional variety shows have been attempted on television programs: Dolly (starring Dolly Parton), which ran for 23 episodes on the ABC television network during the 1987–'88 season; a revival of The Carol Burnett Show, which aired on CBS for nine episodes in 1991; and the first incarnation of The Wayne Brady Show, which aired on ABC in August 2001.

By the 21st century, the variety show format had fallen out of fashion, due largely to changing tastes and the fracturing of media audiences (caused by the proliferation of cable and satellite television) that makes a multiple-genre variety show impractical. Even reruns of variety shows have generally not been particularly widespread; TV Land briefly aired some variety shows (namely The Ed Sullivan Show and The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour) upon its launch in 1996, but within a few years, those reruns stopped. Similarly, CMT held rights to Hee Haw but almost never aired any episodes (current rights holder RFD-TV has been more prominent in their airings of the show). A notable exception is The Lawrence Welk Show, which has aired continuously in reruns on the Public Broadcasting System since 1986. The Spanish language variety show Sabado Gigante, which began in 1962 and moved from Chile to the United States in 1986, continues to air and produce new episodes; it currently airs on Univision.

However, though the format had faded in popularity in prime time, it thrived in late night. The variety shows of this daypart eventually evolved into late-night talk shows, which combined variety entertainment with talk show elements (mainly celebrity interviews). (The Emmy Awards consider the two genres to be closely enough related that they issue the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series to either type of show.) Though only one network (NBC, with its The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and later Late Night with David Letterman) had a successful late-night talk show until 1992, the field greatly expanded beginning with Carson's retirement and the controversial selection of Jay Leno as Tonight's new host. Within ten years, all three of the "Big Three" networks, along with several cable outlets, had late night variety talk shows airing nightly. (NBC, in a cost-cutting move, attempted to bring Leno's show to prime time as The Jay Leno Show in 2009, but affiliates threatened to drop the program after local news ratings suffered, forcing him back to late night within four months of the prime time debut.) Sketch comedy series such as Saturday Night Live, Almost Live!, MADtv and SCTV also contain variety show elements, particularly musical performances and comedy sketches (though only the first of these remains on air as of 2010). The most obvious difference between shows such as Saturday Night Live and traditional variety shows is the lack of a single lead host (or hosts) and a large ensemble cast. SNL has used different guest hosts ever since its inception.

The variety show format also continues in the form of the telethon, which features several hours of variety entertainment. The Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon is one of the best known national telethons, and local telethons also still exist (one of the few times local stations produce non-news entertainment programming themselves). These, too, are losing popularity; over the course of 2011 and 2012 the Lewis telethon was cut from over 21 hours to three as a response to declining returns while Lewis himself was controversially removed from the telethon, and only a handful of long-established local telethons remain on air.

In 2004, ABC's The Nick and Jessica Variety Hour attempted to revive the prime-time variety hour as a special for today's generation. It was followed by Nick & Jessica's Family Christmas in early December of that year, though no further specials would be produced after that due to the couple's divorce. NBC's Rosie Live did not fare so well: the series' pilot episode aired the day before Thanksgiving 2008 and, after being panned by critics, would not be picked up. In December 2009, singer Carrie Underwood made her first attempt at a Christmas variety special on FOX. Fox's Osbournes Reloaded, a variety show featuring the family of rocker Ozzy Osbourne, and was canceled after only one episode had aired in 2009, after over two dozen affiliates refused to air the first episode of the show; the series had been slated for a six-episode run.

America's Got Talent, which has aired on NBC television in the United States since 2006, combines variety entertainment with reality television in an elimination contest, and has had success with the format, regularly ranking among the most watched summer series in the United States.^[3] The success of the show has spawned an international franchise. Other shows that have had varying degrees of success combining the two formats was Star Search, which had a run in the 1980s in syndication and a run on CBS in the early 2000s during the reality television boom, and The Gong Show, which reached its peak in the 1970s but has had occasional revivals since then.

Other countries[link]

Australia: The prime time variety show format was popular in the early decades of Australian television, spawning such series as In Melbourne Tonight, The Graham Kennedy Show, The Don Lane Show, and Hey Hey It's Saturday, which ran for 27 years. Recent prime time variety shows include the short lived Micallef Tonight and The Sideshow.

Chile: The Spanish-language variety show known as Sábados Gigantes (forerunner of the U.S. Sábado Gigante) began in 1962 with Don Francisco and lasted into the 1990s. His daughter, Vivianne Kreutzberger, currently hosts the program under the title Gigantes con Vivi, while Don Francisco has hosted the U.S. version since 1986.

Hong Kong:The first Chinese variety show to become a major success was Hong Kong's Enjoy Yourself Tonight, which first aired in 1967 and ran for 27 years. In Hong Kong, variety shows are often combined with elements of a cooking show or a talent competition but end in various results.

Mexico:Siempre en Domingo premiered in 1969 with Raúl Velasco hosting. It became Mexico's longest-running variety series, remaining on Televisa until 1998. Other long-running variety shows, most of which have been Televisa productions, have included La Carabina de Ambrosio, Anabel, Al Fin de Semana, Silvia y Enrique, La Parodia, Muevete and Desmadruga2. Most, if not all, of Televisa's variety shows have aired in other countries, including the Univision networks in the United States.

Taiwan: Another of today's variety shows in Asia is Taiwan's Variety Big Brother. East Asian variety programs are known for its constant use of sound effects, on-screen visuals and comedic bantering. Many of the shows are presented in a live-like presentation in a fast-paced setting, with scenes repeating or fast forwarded.

The most popular variety program in Taiwan is the long-running "Super Sunday", known for its fast-paced style and catchphrases. The second half of the program is more emotional with guests finally or attempting to reunite with another (either a celebrity or a friend) by re-enacting the moment (in a satirical manner) and then let co-star and singer Ah-Liang search for the specific person through various locations. It was succeeded by "Happy Sunday", a similar program hosted by the co-stars.

Another popular variety show in Taiwan is KangXi Lai Le, a talk show with variety show elements. The hosts and guests were associated with variety shows. Famous for its bantering, which were written before tapings.

South Korea: In South Korea the hugely popular Muhan Dojeon (Infinite Challenge), broadcast by MBC since 2005, is a new model of this, called "Real Variety Show". It combines comedy and variety scenes including unscripted stunts. Although many variety shows have existed in Korea long before the broadcast of Muhan Dojeon, this program has given a rise to a new page in the history of Korean variety shows by introducing unscripted stunts. As a result, other broadcasting channels such as KBS and SBS have followed its path and introduced programs such as Il Bak Ee Il (2 Days 1 Night) and Running Man. These types of Korean variety shows are grabbing foreign interest of countries such as Japan, China, Thailand, and even the United States bringing on a new type of the Korean wave globally.

Philippines: Variety shows are a huge part of daily life in the Philippines, with all of the major networks running their own variety shows usually during lunchtime and can be on the air for between one and a half hours to three hours. The most notable Philippine variety show is Eat Bulaga, which premiered in 1979 and has aired on RPN 9, ABS-CBN, and GMA Network in the succeeding years.

Venezuela: In Venezuela, the best known variety show is Súper Sábado Sensacional. Originally established in 1968 (as Sábado Espectacular) on Radio Caracas Television, the show moved to Venevision in 1970 and was renamed Sábado Sensacional. In 1990, "Súper" was added to the title, and is how the show is currently known today.

Many television specials continue to resemble the variety show format to this day.

See also[link]

• Variety, the Children's Charity, widely known as the Variety Club, a charity operated by variety performers
• Japanese variety show

References[link]

Michael McIntyre
McIntyre at the British Academy Television Awards 2009
Birth name	Michael Hazen James McIntyre
Born	(1976-02-21) 21 February 1976 (age 36) Merton, London, England
Medium	Stand-up, Television
Nationality	British
Years active	1999–present
Genres	Social satire Observational comedy
Influences	Woody Allen, Billy Connolly[1]
Spouse	Kitty McIntyre (m. 2003) «start: (2003)»"Marriage: Kitty McIntyre to Michael McIntyre" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Michael_McIntyre)
Notable works and roles	Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow Live at the Apollo
Website	http://www.michaelmcintyre.co.uk/

Michael Hazen James McIntyre (born 21 February 1976) is a British stand-up comedian. As well as his stand-up, he has performed on programmes such as Live at the Apollo and has his own programme, Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow.

McIntyre has released two stand-up DVDs; Live and Laughing in 2008 featured material from his first nationwide tour, while Michael McIntyre: Hello Wembley was released in November 2009 following a set at Wembley Arena. The former was the fastest selling debut stand-up DVD ever, and Hello Wembley is the fastest selling stand-up DVD in UK chart history, selling over a million copies.^[2] In 2009 McIntyre performed live to half a million people and won Best Live Stand-up at the British Comedy Awards.

In 2010, McIntyre released his autobiography, Life and Laughing: My Story, and also became the youngest-ever host of the Royal Variety Performance.^[3] He started as a judge on the fifth series of Britain's Got Talent in April 2011.^[4] He is to embark on his second nationwide tour in 2012.^[5]

Early life[link]

McIntyre was born in Merton, southwest London, and raised in Hampstead.^[6] McIntyre's parents were both in show business: his Canadian father, Ray Cameron (19 April 1938 – 27 December 1993), né Thomas Cameron McIntyre, was a writer on The Kenny Everett Television Show, and his Hungarian mother, Kati, was a dancer. McIntyre has some Eastern European Jewish heritage on his mother's side.^[7][8] His parents divorced when he was seven; both his parents remarried and went on to have other children with their new spouses. Ray Cameron relocated to Los Angeles, where he died of a heart attack in 1993, aged 55.

Education[link]

McIntyre went to Arnold House Prep School and then attended Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood for three years before transferring to local state school Woodhouse College for financial reasons.^[9] McIntyre later attended Edinburgh University for one year before dropping out to pursue a career in script writing.^[10] He has said that he cannot remember whether it was biology or chemistry that he studied while there.^[6][10]

Career[link]

Television and stage[link]

McIntyre has appeared three times on BBC One's Live at the Apollo and also on the Royal Variety Performance, in 2006, 2008 and 2010. While performing on stage in Wolverhampton in 2008, as he was running back onto stage for his encore, McIntyre tripped, fell over and dislocated his shoulder. Many of the audience believed this to be part of his act and started to laugh; only after his manager came on stage to assist did they realise it was real.^[11]

McIntyre's routine on We Are Most Amused, staged at the New Wimbledon Theatre on 12 November 2008 in aid of The Prince's Trust was televised. This comedy gala celebrated the 60th birthday of Prince Charles, and was performed in the presence of the Prince of Wales and his wife the Duchess of Cornwall.^{[citation needed]}

Among McIntyre's many comedy panel show appearances are Chris Moyles' Quiz Night, Mock the Week, 8 out of 10 Cats, Have I Got News for You, The Big Fat Quiz of the Year, Would I Lie To You?, and The Apprentice: You're Fired!. On 13 February 2009, he was a guest on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. On 21 February 2009, McIntyre appeared live as a guest judge alongside head judge Anton du Beke and fellow guest Emma Bunton in the first round of Let's Dance for Comic Relief. He appeared on the show again in the final on 14 March.

In 2009, McIntyre performed for an estimated total of 500,000 people on his first tour of the United Kingdom that included a record-breaking six nights at Wembley Arena and four at The O2 Arena. His second DVD, Hello Wembley, was another hit. 58 dates have been announced for his second tour in the autumn of 2012, at arenas in ten UK cities as well as Dublin.^[5]

From 6 June 2009, McIntyre began hosting Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow, aired on Saturday nights on BBC One. On 5 July 2009, McIntyre appeared on the BBC show Top Gear as the "star in a reasonably priced car", driving around the Top Gear test track in one minute and 48.7 seconds. During his lap of the track he almost rolled the car while going around the final corner.

In December 2009, McIntyre cancelled a stand-up show at short notice after discovering that he would be performing to debt collectors. He had revealed only weeks earlier how he had struggled with substantial debt only a few years before breaking through in to the mainstream. McIntyre stated that he would have gone against his principles by performing the show.^[12]

On 31 March 2010, McIntyre took part in Channel 4's Comedy Gala, a benefit show held in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital, filmed live at London's O2 Arena. Also in 2010 he appeared on the year's edition of The Big Fat Quiz of the Year, partnered with Alan Carr. The other participants were Richard Ayoade, Noel Fielding, Jonathan Ross and Ruth Jones.

On 14 December 2010, it was announced that McIntyre would join the Britain's Got Talent judges' panel in 2011, alongside David Hasselhoff and Amanda Holden.^[13]

On 18 March 2011 McIntyre was among the hosts of the BBC's Red Nose Day.

In Sept 2011 McIntyre quit his role as judge on Britain's Got Talent to focus on his 2012 Stand-up tour^[14]

On Christmas Day 2011 McIntyre hosted a Christmas Special of his show, ‘’Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow’’, that featured Jack Dee, Sean Lock, Rhod Gilbert, David Mitchell, James Corden, Miranda Hart, Rob Brydon and had music from Pixie Lott and Kylie Minogue. The show was watched by 8.1 million viewers.^[15]

Radio[link]

McIntyre's radio appearances have included:

• Does the Team Think? (BBC Radio 2)
• Heresy, 4 Stands Up, Happy Mondays, The Unbelievable Truth (all on BBC Radio 4)
• The Jon Richardson Show (BBC 6 Music)
• The Jonathan Ross Show (BBC Radio 2)
• The Chris Moyles Show (BBC Radio 1)
• Desert Island Discs 2011-07-22 (BBC radio 4)^[16]

Personal life[link]

McIntyre lives in Hampstead, London^[17] with his aromatherapist wife Kitty, a daughter of actor Simon Ward. The couple married in 2003 and have two sons, Oscar and Lucas.

He is a supporter of Tottenham Hotspur.^[18]

Awards[link]

Stand-up DVDs[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Michael McIntyre

• Official website
• Official fansite
• Chortle page
• Tour dates
• Fan Club
• Michael McIntyre at the Internet Movie Database

v t e Britain's Got Talent Got Talent Series 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 Presenters Ant & Dec · Stephen Mulhern Judges Current Simon Cowell · Amanda Holden · Alesha Dixon · David Walliams Former Kelly Brook · Piers Morgan · Michael McIntyre · David Hasselhoff Guest Louis Walsh · Carmen Electra Winners Paul Potts · George Sampson · Diversity · Spelbound · Jai McDowall · Ashleigh and Pudsey Other notable contestants Series 1 Bessie Cursons · Connie Talbot · Damon Scott · Bar Wizards · Jake Pratt Series 2 Signature · Andrew Johnston · Escala · Faryl Smith · Kate and Gin · Charlie Green · Charlie Wernham Series 3 Susan Boyle · Julian Smith · Aidan Davis · Hollie Steel · Shaheen Jafargholi · Callum Francis · DJ Talent · Flawless · John Farnworth Series 4 Twist and Pulse · Paul Burling · ReConnected · Myles and Connor · Kev Orkian · Stevie Starr · The Cheeky Girls · Matthew Ahmet Series 5 Ronan Parke · Out of the Blue Series 6 Jonathan and Charlotte · Only Boys Aloud · The Loveable Rogues · Ryan O'Shaughnessy  · Molly Rainford · The Zimmers Related articles List of episodes · Discography · SYCOtv · FremantleMedia · talkbackTHAMES · Thames · ITV Category

Paul Zerdin (born 1972) is an English comedian/ventriloquist. That Paul should choose a career in the entertainment industry is not entirely unexpected as both his parents attended drama school and his mother went on to become a BBC Radio 2 presenter and his father a producer for the BBC World Service.

When Paul Zerdin was 10 a family friend made him a puppet theatre which he used to put on shows, a hobby which quickly grew into an obsession. The real turning point for Paul was when he was given a book on ventriloquism written by the legendary Ray Alan and it was not long before he was spending half an hour a day in front of the mirror practicing talking without moving his lips. When Paul was 17 he got a part-time job at Davenports’ Magic and began to develop his own magic skills along the way and became a children’s entertainer as a sideline.

In 1990 Paul Zerdin made his television debut as a magician in Tricky Business, a BBC TV children’s sitcom, returning a year later in Hangar 17 at which point he debuted his act as a ventriloquist. Paul also started working in holiday camps and working men’s clubs honing his skills. In 1992 Paul landed a two year-contract presenting the Disney produced kids’ programme Rise and Shine for GMTV which saw the introduction of Paul’s puppet character Sam. Paul’s appearances on Rise and Shine led to his first work in Pantomime and he is now a Panto veteran with 16 shows to his credit and a future starring role in the Christmas 2011 Qdos production of Robinson Crusoe in Cardiff. Between 1994 and 1996 Paul continued with his shows around the UK’s holiday camps, and working men’s clubs. During this time he also did guest spots on shows like The O-Zone, Disney Club and To Me To You with The Chuckle Brothers.

In 1995, a chance meeting with a puppeteer friend who was working with the Jim Henson Company led to an introduction to Brian Henson and Kevin Clash (Elmo from Sesame Street). When Brian, who was directing the movie Muppet Treasure Island, and Muppet coordinator Kevin Clash found out that Paul was also a puppeteer they quickly recruited him to work on the movie during that summer. This gave Paul a chance to work with his real heroes and also to further develop his skills.

In 1996 Paul Zerdin was the outright winner of LWT’s The Big Big Talent Show, hosted by Jonathan Ross. The experience raised his profile and introduced him to Nigel Lythgoe, the man who would go on to create reality shows such as Popstars, American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance. Lythgoe took Zerdin under his wing, paving the way for appearances on scores of shows including Tonight at the London Palladium hosted by Bruce Forsyth, You Bet, The Generation Game and A Royal Gala for The Prince’s Trust, marking his first brush with Royalty. Since then Paul has appeared on 3 Royal Variety Performances - in 1999, 2002, and 2009. In the year 2000 Zerdin made his Edinburgh Fringe debut at The Gilded Balloon. In 2002 as a result of his impressive performance on the Royal Variety Show Paul was awarded with Gold Star membership of the Inner Magic Circle as recognition of his talents.

Paul’s talents were becoming increasingly recognised and in 2007 he headlined a show called Variety Live at The Palladium which featured jugglers, magicians and performers from Cirque du Soleil. The show then moved to Las Vegas for 3 nights at the Suncoast Casino and returned there in 2009 for a further run.

By 2009 Paul Zerdin had established himself as one of the world’s leading ventriloquists and he returned to the Edinburgh Fringe to critical acclaim with his show Sponge Fest, combining comedy with ventriloquism. Reviewing Sponge Fest, The Stage commented “simply put, Zerdin is the man who can make ventriloquism look cool.” The following year he was invited to appear at Just for Laughs in Montreal, again to rave reviews. That same year Paul headed back to Edinburgh with Sponge Fest Revisited which was followed by his first ever UK tour with Sponge Fest. Featuring the cheeky pre-adolescent Sam, the belligerent OAP Albert and precocious infant Baby, Sponge Fest proved very popular with audiences and Paul will continue his tour in 2011 between August and November.

References[link]

Information approved by Paul Zerdin www.paulzerdin.com May 2011

External links[link]

• Official website

Penn & Teller (Penn Jillette and Teller) are American illusionists and entertainers who have performed together since the late 1970s, and are known for their numerous stage and television shows. Their current Las Vegas show is an amalgam of illusion and comedy. Penn Jillette is a raconteur; Teller generally does not speak while performing, although his voice can occasionally be heard during their performance. They specialize in gory tricks, exposing frauds, and performing clever pranks. More recently they have become associated with atheism, scientific skepticism, and libertarianism, particularly through their television show Penn & Teller: Bullshit!.

Career[link]

Penn Jillette and Teller were introduced to one another by Weir Chrisimer, and they performed their first show together at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival on 19 August 1975.^[1] From the late 1970s through 1981, Penn, Teller, and Chrisimer performed as a trio called "The Asparagus Valley Cultural Society" which played in San Francisco at the Phoenix Theater. This act was sillier and less "edgy" than today's Penn & Teller act.^{[citation needed]} Chrisimer helped to develop some bits that continued, most notably Teller's "Shadows" trick, which involves a single red rose.

By 1985, Penn & Teller were receiving rave reviews for their Off Broadway show and Emmy award-winning PBS special, Penn & Teller Go Public.^[2] In 1987, they began the first of two successful Broadway runs. Through the late 1980s and early 1990s, the duo made numerous television appearances on Late Night with David Letterman and Saturday Night Live, as well as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Today, and many others.

Penn & Teller had national tours throughout the 1990s, gaining critical praise. They have also made television guest appearances on Babylon 5^[3] (as the comedy team Rebo and Zooty), The Drew Carey Show, a few episodes of Hollywood Squares from 1998 until 2004, ABC's Muppets Tonight, FOX's The Bernie Mac Show, an episode of the game show Fear Factor on NBC, NBC's The West Wing, in a two-part episode of the final season of ABC's Home Improvement in 1998, four episodes during season 1 of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch in 1996, NBC's Las Vegas, and Fox's The Simpsons episodes "Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder" and "The Great Simpsina" and the Futurama film Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder in 2009. They also appeared as three-card Monte scam artists in the music video for "It's Tricky" by Run-DMC in 1987, and were thrown out of a Las Vegas hotel room in the music video for "Waking Up in Vegas" by Katy Perry in 2009.

Their Showtime network television show Bullshit! took a skeptical look at psychics, religion, the pseudoscientific, conspiracy theories, and the paranormal. It has featured critical segments on gun control, astrology, Feng Shui, environmental issues, PETA, weight loss, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the war on drugs.

On Bullshit!, the duo described their social and political views as libertarian.

They have also described themselves as teetotalers. Their book, Penn & Teller's How to Play in Traffic, explains that they avoid absolutely all alcohol and other drugs, including caffeine, though they do appear to smoke cigarettes in some videos. Penn has said that he has never even tasted alcohol, and that his tolerance for certain drugs is so low that his doctor only had to administer a minute amount of anesthetic relative to what one would expect necessary for a man of his size to undergo surgery.

The pair have written several books about magic, including Penn & Teller's Cruel Tricks For Dear Friends, Penn & Teller's How to Play with Your Food, and Penn & Teller's How to Play in Traffic. Since 2001, Penn & Teller have performed six nights a week (or as Penn put it on Bullshit!: "Every night of the week ... except Fridays!") in Las Vegas at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino.

Penn Jillette hosted a weekday one-hour talk show on Infinity Broadcasting's Free FM radio network from January 3, 2006 to March 2, 2007 with cohost Michael Goudeau.^[4][5] He also hosted the game show Identity, which debuted on December 18, 2006 on NBC.

Their new television series Penn & Teller Tell a Lie premiered on the Discovery Channel on October 5, 2011.

Penn & Teller have also shown support for the Brights movement^[6] and are now listed on the movement's homepage under the Enthusiastic Brights section.^[7] According to an article in Wired magazine, their license plates are customized so they read, "Atheist" and "Godless", and when Penn signs autographs, he often writes "there is no God" with his signature.^[8]

Off-stage relationship[link]

Penn Jillette has told interviewer Larry King that a big part of the duo's success and longevity is due to them never having been close friends. They enjoy working together immensely, but have little in common besides magic. As a result of their drastically different lifestyles and interests, they rarely socialize or interact when not working. Jillette believes that their partnership succeeds precisely because they give each other a great deal of space off-stage.

Tricks[link]

Their tricks include Teller hanging upside-down over a cushion of spikes in a straitjacket, Teller submerged in a huge container of water, Teller being run over by an 18-wheel tractor-trailer, Teller swinging going through Penn's hands. Many of their effects rely heavily on shock appeal and violence, although presented in a humorous manner.

Sometimes, the pair will claim to reveal a secret of how a magic trick is done, but those tricks are usually invented by the duo for the sole purpose of exposing them, and therefore designed with more spectacular and weird methods than would have been necessary had it just been a "proper" magic trick. For example, in the "reveal" of one trick, while Teller waits for his cue, he reads magazines and eats a snack.^{[clarification needed]} Another example is their rendition of the cups and balls, using transparent cups.

Penn and Teller perform their own adaptation of the famous bullet catch illusion. Each simultaneously fires a gun at the other through small panes of glass and then "catches" the other's bullet in his mouth. They also have an assortment of card tricks in their repertoire, virtually all of them involving the force of the Three of Clubs on an unsuspecting audience member as this card is easy for viewers to identify on television cameras.^[9]

The duo will sometimes perform tricks that discuss the intellectual underpinnings of magic. One of their acts, titled "Magician vs. Juggler", features Teller performing card tricks while Penn juggles and delivers a monologue on the difference between the two: jugglers start as socially aware children who go outside and learn juggling with other children; magicians are misfits who stay in the house and teach themselves magic tricks out of spite.

In one of their most politically charged tricks, they make a U.S. flag seem to disappear by wrapping it in a copy of the United States Bill of Rights, and apparently setting the flag on fire, so that "the flag is gone but the Bill of Rights remains." The act may also feature the "Chinese bill of rights", presented as a transparent piece of acetate. They normally end the routine by restoring the unscathed flag to its starting place on the flagpole; however, on a TV guest appearance on The West Wing this final part was omitted.^[10]

One of their more recent tricks^[when?] involves a powered nail gun with a quantity of missing nails from the series of nails in its magazine. Penn begins by firing several apparently real nails into a board in front of him. He then proceeds to fire the nailgun into the palm of his hand several times, while suffering no injuries. His pattern builds as he oscillates between firing blanks into his hand and firing nails into the board. While performing he states that the trick is merely memorization, and explains that the fact that he does not flinch when he could be firing a nail into his hand should be a sign that the trick is not actually dangerous. A later revision to the trick replaced the false claims of memorization with a more open explanation, allowing the audience to enjoy the rhythm of the nail gun without fear of a serious mishap.^[11]

A trick introduced in 2010 is a modern version of the bag escape, replacing the traditional sack with a black trash bag apparently filled with helium. Teller is placed in the bag which is then pumped full of helium and sealed by an audience member. For the escape, the audience are blinded by a bright light for a second and when they are able to see again, Teller has escaped from the bag and Penn is holding it, still full of helium, above his head, before releasing it to float to the ceiling. The duo had hoped to put the trick in their mini-tour in London; however, it was first shown to the public in their Las Vegas show on 18 August 2010. In June 2011, Penn and Teller performed this trick for the first time in the United Kingdom on their ITV show Fool Us.^[12]

Filmography[link]

Television[link]

Books[link]

• Penn & Teller's How to Play in Traffic (1997, ISBN 1-57297-293-9)
• Penn & Teller's How to Play with Your Food (1992, ISBN 0-679-74311-1)
• Penn & Teller's Cruel Tricks for Dear Friends (1989, ISBN 0-394-75351-8)
• Sock 2004, ISBN 0-312-32805-2 (Penn Jillette sole author)
• How to Cheat Your Friends at Poker: The Wisdom of Dickie Richard 2006, ISBN 0-312-34905-X (Penn Jillette and Mickey D. Lynn)
• When I'm Dead All This Will Be Yours: Joe Teller—A Portrait By His Kid 2000, ISBN 0-922233-22-5 (Teller sole author)

Other Media[link]

Music[link]

• "The Horse You Rode In On" by Pigface (Penn Jillette only)
• "Spookshow" by Adil Omar (Penn Jillette only)
• "Penn & Teller Present: Music to Look at Boxes By" (With Mike "Jonesy" Jones)
• "Never Mind the Sex Pistols" by Bongos, Bass, & Bob (Penn Jillette with Dean J Seal and Bob "Running" Elk)
• "Tattoo of Blood" by the Captain Howdy (Penn Jillette with Mark Kramer)
• "Money Feeds My Music Machine" by the Captain Howdy (Penn Jillette with Mark Kramer)
• "It's Tricky" by Run–D.M.C. (Penn & Teller shown throughout the video and at the end appear to take over the persona of Run–D.M.C.)
• "Waking up in Vegas" by Katy Perry (Penn & Teller are kicked out of their hotel room by Perry and her boyfriend. They later kick Perry out again.)

Jillette also toured with the Residents during the Mole Show, and hosted Ralph Records' 10th Anniversary Radio Special (1982). There is some mild controversy and confusion surrounding this. While the premise of 10th Anniversary Radio Special revolved around Jillette having never heard of the label or any of the bands on it (the Residents included), he was credited as a collaborator on the 1981 album Mark of the Mole,^[16] and he can be heard giving news bulletins in the first track. This has led some to speculate that Jillette may have been a Resident at one point.

Theater[link]

In 2008 Teller co-directed a production of Macbeth in Red Bank, New Jersey and Washington, DC.^[17]

Video games[link]

• Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors 1995 – Absolute Entertainment for Sega CD & 3DO, Unreleased.
• Sabrina, the Teenage Witch: Spellbound 1998 – Simon & Schuster for PC – Voices for Drell & Skippy
• Desert Bus 2011 – Amateur Pixels.

The 1995 video game Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors featured an unusual mini-game called Desert Bus in which the player drove a realistic bus route between Tucson and Las Vegas. This mini-game became popular due to the fact that it imitated a real 8 hour bus ride. Once reaching the destination, the player gets 1 point and, if desired, can then drive the return route. The game was long and boring, but found a cult audience due to the dark humor and weirdness behind the idea.

The game has since been used in an annual charity called "Desert Bus for Hope" run by website desertbus.org. The site invites celebrities play the game streamed live online, with all proceeds being donated to Child's Play (charity). on November 14, 2011 an iOS port of Desert Bus was created and released in the Apple Inc iTunes store. The game was developed in conjunction with the Desert Bus for hope event and all profits from the game are donated to charity.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Penn & Teller

• Official website
• Penn's "Hydro-therapeutic stimulator" (aka Jill-jet) patent
• A man, a ball, a hoop, a bench (and an alleged thread)… TELLER!