colour	Brown
name	Fagin
first	''Oliver Twist''
gender	Male
cause of death	execution by hanging
occupation	criminal, pickpocket
portrayer	Lon Chaney, Sr. (1922), Alec Guinness (1948), Ron Moody (1968), Dom DeLuise (voice, 1988), Gary Farmer (2003), Ben Kingsley (2005), Timothy Spall (2007), Noah Berry (2011).
creator	Charles Dickens }}

Fagin () is a fictional character who appears as an antagonist of the Charles Dickens novel ''Oliver Twist'', referred to in the preface of the novel as a "receiver of stolen goods", but referred to more frequently within the actual story as the "merry old gentleman" or simply the "Jew".

Character

Born in London, Fagin is described as "disgusting" to look at. He is the leader of a group of children, the Artful Dodger and Charley Bates among them, whom he teaches to make their livings by pickpocketing and other criminal activities in exchange for a roof over their heads. A distinguishing trait is his constant—and thoroughly insincere—use of the phrase "my dear" when addressing others. At the time of the novel, he is said by another character, Monks, to have already made criminals out of "scores" of children who grow up to live—or die—committing the same crimes as adults. Bill Sikes, one of the major villains of the novel, is hinted to be one of Fagin's old pupils, and Nancy, Sikes' girlfriend and sex worker clearly was.

Whilst portrayed as relatively humorous, he is nonetheless a self-confessed miser who, despite the amount he has acquired over the years from the work of others, does very little to improve the squalid lives of the children he takes in, allowing them to smoke pipes and drink gin "with the air of middle-aged men". In the second chapter of his appearance, it is shown, albeit when talking to himself, that he cares less about those children who are eventually hanged for their crimes and more about the fact that they do not "peach" on him and the other children. Still darker sides to the character's nature are shown when he beats the Artful Dodger for not bringing Oliver back, making Charley cry for mercy, in his attempted beating of Oliver for trying to escape after the thieves have kidnapped him, and in his own involvement with various plots and schemes throughout the story. He also indirectly and intently causes the death of Nancy by falsely informing the ill-tempered Sikes that she had betrayed him and Fagin, when in reality she had shielded him, loving him despite his violent personality. This results in Sikes beating her to death. Near the end of the book, Fagin is hanged following capture, in a chapter that portrays him as being pitiful in his anguish, waiting for the moment he will be led to the scaffold which is being prepared outside and becoming so mad not one guard wants to wait with him, meaning there are two there.

Historical basis

Dickens took Fagin's name from a friend he had known in his youth while working in a boot-blacking factory.

Fagin's character was based on the criminal Ikey Solomon, who was a fence at the centre of a highly-publicised arrest, escape, recapture, and trial. Some accounts of Solomon also describe him as a London underworld "kidsman". (A kidsman was an adult who recruited children and trained them as pickpockets, exchanging food and shelter for goods the children stole.) The popularity of Dickens' novel caused "kidsman" to be renamed "fagin" in some crime circles, or an adult who teaches minors to steal and keeps a major portion of the loot.

Antisemitism

Fagin is noted for being one of the few characters of 19th century English literature, let alone any of Dickens's pieces, who is described as Jewish. Fagin has been the subject of much debate over antisemitism both during Dickens's lifetime and up to modern times. In an introduction to a 1981 Bantam Books reissue of ''Oliver Twist'', for example, Irving Howe wrote that Fagin was considered an "archetypical Jewish villain." The first 38 chapters of the book refer to Fagin by his racial and religious origin 257 times, calling him "the Jew", with just 42 uses of "Fagin" or "the old man". In 2005, novelist Norman Lebrecht wrote that "A more vicious stigmatisation of an ethnic community could hardly be imagined and it was not by any means unintended." Dickens (who had extensive knowledge of London street life and child exploitation) explained that he had made Fagin Jewish because "it unfortunately was true, of the time to which the story refers, that that class of criminal almost invariably was a Jew". He also claimed that by calling Fagin a Jew he had meant no imputation against the Jewish faith, saying in a letter, "I have no feeling towards the Jews but a friendly one. I always speak well of them, whether in public or private, and bear my testimony (as I ought to do) to their perfect good faith in such transactions as I have ever had with them..."

In later editions of the book printed during his lifetime, Dickens excised many of the references to Fagin's Jewishness, removing over 180 instances of 'Jew' from the first edition text.

This occurred after Dickens sold his London home to a Jewish banker, James Davis in 1860, and became acquainted with him and his wife Eliza, who objected to the emphasis on Fagin's Jewishness in the novel. When he sold the house to them, Dickens allegedly told a friend, "The purchaser of Tavistock House will be a Jew Money-Lender" before later saying, "I must say that in all things the purchaser has behaved thoroughly well, and that I cannot call to mind any occasion when I have had moneydealings with anyone that has been so satisfactory, considerate and trusting."

Dickens became friendly with Eliza, who told him in a letter in 1863 that Jews regarded his portrayal of Fagin a "great wrong" to their people. Dickens then started to revise ''Oliver Twist'', removing all mention of "the Jew" from the last 15 chapters. Dickens later wrote in reply, "There is nothing but good will left between me and a People for whom I have a real regard and to whom I would not willfully have given an offence." In one of his final public readings in 1869, a year before his death, Dickens cleansed Fagin of all stereotypical caricature. A contemporary report observed, "There is no nasal intonation; a bent back but no shoulder-shrug: the conventional attributes are omitted."

In 1865, in ''Our Mutual Friend'', Dickens created a number of Jewish characters, the most important being Mr Riah, an elderly Jew who finds jobs for downcast young women in Jewish-owned factories. One of the two heroines, Lizzie Hexam, defends her Jewish employers saying, "The gentleman certainly is a Jew, and the lady, his wife, is a Jewess, and I was brought to their notice by a Jew. But I think there cannot be kinder people in the world."

The comic book creator Will Eisner, disturbed by the antisemitism in the typical depiction of the character, created a graphic novel in 2003 titled ''Fagin the Jew''. In this book, the back story of the character and events of ''Oliver Twist'' are depicted from his point of view.

Film, theatre and television

Numerous prominent actors have portrayed Fagin.

In the 1922 film, Lon Chaney, Sr. played Fagin. Alec Guinness performed the role in the 1948 film version directed by David Lean. Guiness' performance was so controversial that the film was banned in the U.S. for three years, on charges of being anti-Semitic.

Ron Moody's portrayal in the original London production of ''Oliver!'' and in the 1968 film is recognisably influenced by Guinness' portrayal (although the supposedly "anti-semitic" quality of Guinness's portrayal was considerably toned down in the musical), as was Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley's portrayal of Fagin in Roman Polanski's 2005 screen adaptation.

When ''Oliver!'' was brought to Broadway in 1964 Fagin was portrayed by Clive Revill, but in a 1984 revival, Moody reprised his performance opposite Tony Award winner Patti LuPone who played Nancy.

Fagin is made somewhat lovable in the musical, and completely innocent of Nancy's murder. He presumably evades the police at the end.

In the 1980 ATV series ''The Further Adventures of Oliver Twist'', Fagin was played by David Swift. In this 13-episode series, Fagin has escaped his hanging by pretending to have had a stroke leaving him paralyzed (and therefore unfit to be executed) and is in hiding at The Three Cripples tended to by Barney.

In the 1982 made-for-tv movie version, Fagin is portrayed by George C. Scott. Though the character is generally portrayed as elderly, diminutive and homely, Scott's version of the character was markedly younger, stronger, and better looking.

In the 1985 miniseries, Fagin is portrayed by Eric Porter.

In Disney's animated version, ''Oliver & Company'' (1988), Fagin is a poor but kind-hearted man who lives on a houseboat with his dogs, and is voiced by Dom DeLuise.

In 1994, ''Oliver'' was revived in London. Fagin was played by many noted British actors and comedians including Jonathan Pryce, George Layton, Jim Dale, Russ Abbot, Barry Humphries (from Wales) - who had played Mr Sowerberry in the original 1960 London production of ''Oliver!'' - and Robert Lindsay, who won an Olivier Award for his performance. Costumes are changed in the stage productions, for each different actor. Some suit different looks. This is seen clearly in the various coats that are used. Pryce used a patched red and brown coat, while Lindsay used the traditional dark green overcoat seen in the 1968 film version.

In Disney's 1997 live action television production, Fagin is played by Richard Dreyfuss.

In the 2003 film ''Twist'' (a film loosely based on Dickens' ''Oliver Twist'') Fagin is played by actor Gary Farmer.

In the 2007 BBC television adaptation Fagin is played by Timothy Spall. Contrary to his appearance in the novel, he is beardless and overweight in this version. He is also a sweet and kindly character.

In December 2008, ''Oliver!'' was revived at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London with Rowan Atkinson playing the character. This role was taken over by Omid Djalili in July 2009. Griff Rhys Jones took over the role from Omid Djalili in December 2009. He was succeeded by Russ Abbot in June 2010.

Further reading

References

External links

Category:Oliver Twist characters Category:Oliver & Company characters Category:Film characters Category:Fictional Jews Category:Musical theatre characters Category:Literary archetypes by name Category:Fictional criminals Category:Fictional con artists Category:Fictional characters introduced in 1838

de:Fagin (Charles Dickens) fa:فاگین fr:Fagin id:Fagin it:Fagin sv:Fagin

name	Russ Abbot
birth name	Russell Allan Roberts
birth date	September 18, 1947
birth place	Chester, Cheshire, England
medium	Comedian, musician, actor
nationality	British
active	1971–present
genre	Television, stand-up
spouse	; 4 children
website	}}

Russ Abbot (born Russell Allan Roberts on 18 September 1947) is an English musician, comedian and actor who first came to public notice during the 1970s as the singer and drummer with British comedic showband the ''Black Abbots'', later forging a prominent solo career as a television comedian with his own weekly show on British television.

Continuing his musical career as a solo artist Abbot released several charting singles and albums. Latterly his career has continued with a shift into more mainstream serious acting in television shows, series and stage productions.

Career

He was the fifth of six sons born to Donald Roberts, who was English and Elizabeth Laing, who was Scottish.

As a drummer/backing singer, Abbot founded the ''Black Abbots'' in Chester during the mid-1960s and released several singles to modest chart success on minor labels in the early 1970s. The band only signed their first major recording contract in 1977, putting out a series of comedy singles and a lone live album with Abbot now taking lead vocals, before disbanding in 1980. Later on he appeared as a comedian, winning the ''Funniest Man On Television'' award five times.

From 1980 onwards, Abbot released some albums as a solo artist, and appeared in several TV series. The most successful of his music singles was called ''"Atmosphere"'', which did well in the UK top 10, peaking at No 7 in 1984.

''The Russ Abbot Show'' showcased his talents as an all-round entertainer, attracting millions of viewers. This show was especially popular among younger viewers, prompting two annuals to be published in 1982 and 1983. These annuals featured comic strips based on popular characters, plus some publicity photos of Abbot in a variety of guises, including his well-known James Bond satire featuring characters named Basildon Bond and Miss Funnyfanny (based on the fictional MI6 spy duo James Bond and Miss Moneypenny).

From 2000, Abbot played the lead role in the British National Tour of ''Doctor Doolittle''. Taking a break over the Christmas period, Russ stepped down for Phillip Schofield to take the part, but returned to the tour subsequently.

In 2003, his 'See You Jimmy' character (called C. U. Jimmy) came third in The Glasgow Herald's poll to find the most Scottish person in the world, behind Iain and Jimmy Krankie.

Abbot's theatre roles include Alfred P. Doolittle in ''My Fair Lady'' (starring Amy Nuttall) at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and on tour; The Narrator in ''The Rocky Horror Show''; Grandpa Potts in ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' at the London Palladium and Fagin in ''Oliver!'' both in 1998 and 2009. From July 2007, he took over the role of Roger De Bris in the UK tour of ''Mel Brooks' The Producers''. In 2008, Abbot appeared as the Tin Man in the stage production of ''The Wizard of Oz'' at the Mayflower in Southampton.

In 2008, the BBC announced that Abbot would be joining the cast of ''Last of the Summer Wine'' for the show's 30th series. He played Luther 'Hobbo' Hobdyke, who was the leader of a group consisting also of Entwistle, played by Burt Kwouk and Alvin, played by Brian Murphy. In 2008 he guest starred in ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' episode 'Secrets of the Stars' as a character called Martin Trueman, an astrologer who was possessed by the Ancient Lights.

On 8 August 2009, it was announced that Abbot would appear in an episode of ''Casualty'' playing a pet shop owner. This will be Abbot's second ''Casualty'' role - he previously appeared as a different character in a 1999 episode. Abbot also appeared on Harry Hill's ''TV Burp'' parodying the character he played in ''Casualty''.

In 2009, when Rowan Atkinson fell ill during the original run of Cameron Mackintosh's West End revival of ''Oliver!'', Abbot stepped into the role of Fagin for the second time. He has again taken the role, after Griff Rhys Jones left the show on 12 June 2010.

Personal life

He married Patricia Simpson in 1967, and has four children: Erika, Richard, Gary and Christopher. He has two grandchildren, Laine (born 1995) and Charlotte (born 2004).

Discography

Singles

1980 - "Space Invaders Meet the Purple People Eater" / "Country Cooper Man" 1982 - "A Day In The Life of Vince Prince" (UK #61, one week; re-entered at #75 two weeks later for one week) 1984 - "Atmosphere" (UK #7, in chart for thirteen weeks) 1985 - "All Night Holiday" (UK #20, in chart for seven weeks)

2009 - "Atmosphere" - Basildon Bond's Madhouse Mix

Albums

1984 - ''Russ Abbot's Madhouse''

1985 - ''I Love A Party'' - (UK #12)

1990 - ''Songs Of Joy''

Filmography

1972 - ''Who Do You Do'' (television programme)

1976 - ''What's On Next'' (television programme)

1979 - ''The Freddie Starr Variety Madhouse'' (television programme)

1980 - ''Madhouse'' (television programme)

1982 - ''My Beard is My Lighthouse'' (radio show on BBC Radio 4)

1986 - ''The Russ Abbot Show'' (television programme)

1993 - ''Stars in Their Eyes'' - cover for Leslie Crowther (also presented a one-off Elvis special)

1993 - ''September Song'' (television programme)

1996 - ''Married for Life'' (television programme)

2000 - ''Heartbeat (UK TV series)'' (television programme); guest appearance, December 2000, single episode

2001 - ''TV to Go'' (television programme)

2003 - ''The Bill'' (television programme); guest appearance, single episode

2003 - ''My Family'' (television programme); guest appearance, single episode

2005 - ''Miss Marple'' (television programme)

2007 - ''Hotel Babylon'' (television programme) as Mr Poldark, guest appearance, February 2007, single episode, in conjunction Cherie Lunghi

2007 - ''The Last Detective'' (television programme) guest appearance, May 2007, single episode, in conjunction Roy Hudd

2008 - ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' (television programme) Secrets of the Stars : Series 2 Episode 5

2008–2010 - ''Last of the Summer Wine''

2009 - ''Casualty (TV series)'' (television programme); guest appearance, November 2009, single episode

References

External links

Category:1947 births Category:Living people Category:English actors Category:English comedians Category:English male singers Category:English people of Scottish descent Category:English rock drummers Category:English television actors Category:People from Chester

de:Russ Abbot

name	Timothy Spall
birth date	February 27, 1957
birth name	Timothy Leonard Spall
birth place	Battersea, London
occupation	Actor, presenter
yearsactive	1979–present
spouse	}}

Timothy Leonard Spall, OBE (born 27 February 1957) is an English character actor and occasional presenter.

Early life

Spall, third of four sons, was born in Battersea, London. His mother, Sylvia R. (Leonard), was a hairdresser, and his father, Joseph L. Spall, was a postal worker. He trained at the National Youth Theatre and RADA, where he was awarded the Bancroft Gold Medal as the most promising actor in his year. His brother, Matthew, is studio director of the computer games company Morpheme. Another brother, Richard, is the landlord tenant of the Astolat public house in Guildford.

Career

Initially notable in the United Kingdom for playing the gormless Barry Taylor in all five series of ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'', Kevin in Outside Edge and as Aubrey the appalling chef in Mike Leigh's ''Life is Sweet'', Spall has since appeared in films such as ''Crusoe'', ''Secrets & Lies'', ''Shooting the Past'', ''Topsy-Turvy'', ''Vanilla Sky'', ''Rock Star'', ''The Last Samurai'', ''Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events'' and ''The King's Speech''. He gained international recognition as Peter Pettigrew ("Wormtail") in the Harry Potter film series. In 1991 he guest-starred in the series 5 Red Dwarf episode Back to Reality. In 1993, Spall was in Rab C Nesbitt.

On 31 December 1999, he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).

Spall performed lead vocals on the song ''The Devil Is An Englishman'' from the Ken Russell film ''Gothic'' (1986), in which Spall portrayed John William Polidori.

Spall played the starring role of Albert Pierrepoint in the 2005 film ''Pierrepoint'', which was released as ''The Last Hangman'' in the United States. In the 2006 video game ''Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories'', Spall voiced Phil Collins' manager, Barry Mickelthwaite. In 2007, he starred as Nathaniel in Disney's ''Enchanted'' and Beadle Bamford in Tim Burton's production of ''Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street''. He also starred as Georgie Godwin in a one-off television drama ''The Fattest Man in Britain'' on ITV 1 which aired on the 20th December 2009. The drama also featured Bobby Ball, Frances Barber, Aisling Loftus, and Jeremy Kyle.

In 2010 he portrayed Winston Churchill in critically acclaimed film ''The King's Speech'' for which as a member of the ensemble he was jointly awarded the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

Personal life

Spall is married to Shane and has three children: Pascale (born 1976), Rafe (born 1983), who is also an actor, and Mercedes (born 1985). He lives in Forest Hill, a suburb of south-east London.

In 1996, Spall was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, but has since been in remission. He has said of his illness: }}

He is the owner of a Dutch barge that he and his wife have been sailing around the British Isles as part of a BBC4 TV series 'Timothy Spall: Back at Sea '.

Filmography

Title	Year	Role	Notes
! scope="row"	1979	Harry the Projectionist
''''	1982	Parswell
! scope="row"	1982	Gordon Leach	Television film; working with Mike Leigh for the first time
! scope="row"	1982	1st Constable	Television film
''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet''	1983	Barry Taylor	Television programme
''''	1985	Paulus
''Dutch Girls''	1985	Lyndon Baines Jellicoe
! scope="row"	1986	Dr. John William Polidori
! scope="row"	1987	Paul
''Dream Demon''	1987	Peck
''To Kill a Priest''	1988	Igor
! scope="row"	1989	Reverend Milne
''White Hunter Black Heart''	1990	Hodkins, Bush Pilot
''''	1990	Eric Lyle
! scope="row"	1990	Ramborde
''Red Dwarf''	1991	Andy (video game operator)
! scope="row"	1991	Aubrey, Regret Rien Owner
''Frank Stubbs Promotes''	1993	Frank Stubbs	Television programme
''Rab C Nesbitt''	1993	Cell Mate	Television programme
''Outside Edge''	1994	Kevin Costello	Television programme
! scope="row"	1996	Maurice Purley
! scope="row"	1996
''Neville's Island''	1998	Gordon	Television programme
! scope="row"	1998	Mr. Venus
''Still Crazy''	1998	David 'Beano' Baggot
''''	1998	Inspector Healey
''Topsy-Turvy''	1999
''Shooting the Past''	1999	Oswald Bates	Nominated — British Academy Television Award for Best Actor
! scope="row"	1999	Sterling
''Love's Labour's Lost''	2000	Don Armado
! scope="row"	2000	Gourville
''Chicken Run''	2000	Nick	Voice
''Chucklevision''	2000	Hot Dog Man	Television programe
''''	2001	Mayor Luis Agalla
! scope="row"	2001	Irving	Television programme
''Lucky Break''	2001	Cliff Gumbell
''Vanilla Sky''	2001	Thomas Tipp
! scope="row"	2001	Andy	Nominated — Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actor
! scope="row"	2001	Mats
''Vacuuming Completely Nude in Paradise''	2001	Tommy Rag
''Ivor the Invisible''	2001	Dad	Television programme
! scope="row"	2002	Phil
''Bodily Harm''	2002	Mitchel Greenfield	Television programme
! scope="row"	2002	Charles Cheeryble	National Board of Review Award for Best Cast
''When Love Speaks''	2002		"Sonnet 3"
''''	2003	Simon Graham
''My House in Umbria''	2003	Quinty
''Gettin' Square''	2004	Darren 'Dabba' Barrington	Nominated — Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
''Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events''	2004	Mr. Poe
! scope="row"	2004	Peter Pettigrew
! scope="row"	2005	Peter Pettigrew
! scope="row"	2005	Terry Cannings	Television film
''Mr. Harvey Lights a Candle''	2005	Mr. Harvey	Television film
! scope="row"	2005	Albert Pierrepoint	Nominated — London Film Critics Circle Award for Actor of the Year
''''	2006–09	Eddie McEvoy	Television programme
''Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories''	2006	Barry Mickelthwaite	Video game
''Mysterious Creatures''	2006	Bill Ainscow	Television film
''Death Defying Acts''	2007	Sugarman
! scope="row"	2007	Peter Pettigrew	Archive footage
! scope="row"	2007	Nathaniel
! scope="row"	2007	Beadle Bamford
''''	2007	Mr. Emerson	Television programme
! scope="row"	2007	Fagin	Television serial
! scope="row"	2008	Phil Olson
''''	2009
! scope="row"	2009	Peter Pettigrew
! scope="row"	2009	George Morgan
! scope="row"	2009	Terry Donaldson
! scope="row"	2009
''Gunrush''	2009	Doug Beckett	Television programme
''''	2009	Georgie Godwin	Television programme
! scope="row"	2010	Bayard Hamar, the Bloodhound	Voice
''Wake Wood''	2010	Arthur
''Jackboots on Whitehall''	2010	Winston Churchill
''Re-Uniting the Rubins''	2010	Lenny Rubins
''''	2010	Winston Churchill
''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1''	2010	Peter Pettigrew
''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2''	2011	Peter Pettigrew
''Timothy Spall: Back at Sea ''	2010-11	Himself	Television series
''Comes A Bright Day''	2011	Charlie	Post-production

References

External links

Amy Raphael, ''Spall in the Family,'' (Interview of Timothy Spall and actor son Rafe) The Observer, 28 October 2007

Stuart Jeffries, ''I don't always play losers,'' The Guardian, 5 November 2007

Category:1957 births Category:Actors from London Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Category:Cancer survivors Category:English film actors Category:English stage actors Category:English television actors Category:Living people Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:People from Battersea Category:Royal Shakespeare Company members Category:Shakespearean actors

ar:تيموثي ليونارد سبال da:Timothy Spall de:Timothy Spall es:Timothy Spall fr:Timothy Spall id:Timothy Spall it:Timothy Spall he:טימותי ספול la:Timotheus Spall hu:Timothy Spall nl:Timothy Spall ja:ティモシー・スポール no:Timothy Spall pl:Timothy Spall pt:Timothy Spall ru:Сполл, Тимоти fi:Timothy Spall sv:Timothy Spall

Name	Joe Fagin
Background	solo_singer
Instrument	Vocals
Genre	Pop, rock
Occupation	Singer-songwriter
Years active	1960s–present
Website	Official site }}

Joe Fagin (born January 1940) is a British pop singer-songwriter.

Biography

He was musical director for Jim Davidson, including his 1983 Falklands tour.

In 1983 he recorded the theme songs to ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet''. The single, featuring "Breaking Away" and "That's Living Alright", reached number 3 in the UK Singles Chart in January 1984. The single was re-released when the programme was repeated on Channel 4 in 1996. He also sang the two songs for the show's second series, "Get it Right" and "Back With the Boys Again". They were also released as a single; but performed less successfully, reaching only number 53 in 1986.

Fagin released a greatest hits album in 1996.

A reworked version of "That's Living Alright" was released on 5 June 2006 for the World Cup. However, "That's England Alright" was an unofficial song, since Embrace were chosen to record the official song, "World at Your Feet".

References

External links

Unofficial site

"That's England Alright" - official website, with full lyrics and sound and video clips

Category:1940 births Category:Living people Category:English male singers Category:English singer-songwriters

de:Joe Fagin

birth date	September 30, 1965
birth place	Chelsea, London, England,
occupation	Actor, comedian, television producer and writer
years active	1995–present
spouse	Annabel Knight (m. ?-present) }}

Omid Djalili (; ; born 30 September 1965) is an Iranian/Persian British stand-up comedian, actor, television producer and writer.

Personal life

Djalili was born in Chelsea, London to Iranian Bahá'í parents and is a Bahá'í himself. He attended Holland Park School and then the University of Ulster in Coleraine, Northern Ireland, studying English and Theatre studies.

Djalili is a Chelsea fan. He is married to British actress and playwright Annabel Knight, with whom he has a daughter and two sons.

Comedy career

The first significant success of his stand-up comedy career was at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1995 with "Short, Fat Kebab Shop Owner's Son", followed by "The Arab and the Jew" in 1996.

He has performed in numerous countries, including Australia, Ireland, Denmark, Canada, Germany and the United States, where he had his own HBO Special and did 22 episodes of the NBC sitcom Whoopi with Whoopi Goldberg.

He did his part for Comic Relief after the 2005 Indian Ocean earthquake and also in 2005 he appeared on the British TV show ''Top Gear'' as a celebrity driver. The same year he broke Edinburgh Festival box office records with over 16,500 ticket sales.

In 2006, Sky Television picked him to be the face of their Saturday night movie premières, and he also announced a new tour of the UK called 'No Agenda', from January 2007 until March 2007, covering 23 different dates. The ''No Agenda'' tour DVD was released in late 2007.

On 18 March 2007, he was voted by the British public as the 60th best stand-up comedian in a Channel 4 programme "The 100 Greatest Stand-Ups". On 26 October 2007, he guest-presented the BBC political quiz show ''Have I Got News for You''. ''The Omid Djalili Show'' started on BBC1 on 17 November 2007. The series is a mix of sketches and stand-up material. A second series was recorded in late 2008 and began broadcast on BBC1 on 20 April 2009. He performed on We Are Most Amused on ITV1 to mark Prince Charles's 60th birthday in 2008.

A touring stand-up, his next tour starts on 14th October 2011 although previews of this tour are being performed in smaller venues such as The Beggar's Theatre Millom

Acting career

Djalili has appeared in a number of films, most notably ''Gladiator'', ''The Mummy'', ''Mean Machine'', ''Alien Autopsy'', ''Spy Game'', ''Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow'', ''Grow Your Own'', ''Notting Hill'', ''Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End'' and ''Sex and the City 2''.

He had observed that he usually appears as a generic Middle Eastern background character in many of these films, often commenting that he appears in the "James Bond film" as the "Second Azerbaijani oil pipe attendant". He is known to American audiences as Nasim from the U.S. sitcom ''Whoopi'', starring Whoopi Goldberg, and picked up an international film award for Best Supporting Actor in ''Casanova'', starring alongside Heath Ledger and Jeremy Irons.

On 12 February 2009, Cameron Macintosh (producer) announced that Djalili will appear as the second Fagin in the new West End production of Oliver! at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London. Omid took over from Rowan Atkinson, who was contracted until 18 July 2009.

In 2009, Djalili became the voice of Yusuf Amir in the popular gaming series Grand Theft Auto. He took up the role in the Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony spin-off game. In 2010, he starred in the David Baddiel scripted movie ''The Infidel''.

In 2010, Djalili starred in a series of TV and cinema adverts for Moneysupermarket.com.

Djalili appeared in the short-lived NBC sitcom ''The Paul Reiser Show'', which was a midseason replacement for the 2010-11 television season.

For the BBC Learning project "Off By Heart Shakespeare", Omid played Lord Capulet from Romeo and Juliet and delivered the speech "Hang thee, young baggage, disobedient wretch!"

Other activities

On 13 June 2010, Djalili appeared in a Meltdown Festival concert given by the Philharmonia Orchestra at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall, performing the part of the narrator in 'Rubaiyat', a tone poem by American classical composer Alan Hovhaness which sets the words of Omar Khayyám to music.

Filmography

Cinema

''The Mummy'' (1999)

''Notting Hill'' (1999)

''Mad Cows'' (1999)

''The World Is Not Enough'' (1999)

''Gladiator'' (2000)

''Spy Game'' (2001)

''Mean Machine'' (2001)

''Anita and Me'' (2002)

''Cross My Heart'' (2003)

''Deadlines'' (2004)

''The Calcium Kid'' (2004)

''Modigliani'' (2004)

''Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow'' (2004)

''Casanova'' (2005)

''Alien Autopsy'' (2006)

''Over the Hedge as Tiger, the bad tempered Persian cat (2006)

''Grow Your Own'' (2007)

''Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End'' (2007)

''The Love Guru'' (2008)

''Dead Man Running'' (2009)

''The Infidel'' (2010)

''Sex and the City 2'' (2010)

''Animals United'' (2010)

''Mr Nice'' (2010)

Television

''The Friday Night Armistice'' (1996)

The Bill (1998)''

Barking'' (1998)

''The Lake of Darkness'' (1999)

''Cleopatra'' (1999)

''Coming Soon'' (1999)

''Small Potatoes'' (1999)

''Black Books'' (2000)

''Jason and the Argonauts'' (2000)

''Lenny Henry in Pieces'' (2000)

''So What Now?'' (2001)

''Relic Hunter'' (2002)

''Dinotopia: The Series'' (2002)

''Between Iraq and a Hard Place'' (2003)

''Whoopi'' (2003)

''Live at the Apollo'' (2004)

''Age of Awakening. Narrator'' (2005)

''Chopra Town'' (2005)

''One Night Stand'' (HBO) (2005)

''My Family and Other Animals'' (2005)

''Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive'' (2006)

''Jack Dee's Lead Balloon'' (2006)

''Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law'' (2006)

''TV Heaven, Telly Hell'' (2007)

''Have I Got News For You'' (2007)

''The Omid Djalili Show'' (2007)

''Premier League All Stars'' (2007)

''Never Mind The Buzzcocks'' (2008)

''The Omid Djalili Show - Series 2'' (2009)

''Would I Lie To You?'' (2009)

''The Paul Reiser Show'' (2010)

Video games

''Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony'' as Yusuf Amir. (2009)

''50 Cent: Blood on the Sand'' as Eddie. (2009)

Awards

Djalili has won awards for his comedy. These include the EMMA Award, ''Time Out'' Award, and LWT Comedy Award for Best Stand-up Comedian, Spirit of the Fringe Award as well as the One World Media Award for his Channel 4 documentary, ''Bloody Foreigners''.

He has also been nominated for awards, such as the Perrier Award for Best Comedian, the Gemini Award for Best Comedy Performance of 2003, the South Bank Award for Best Comedy of 2003, the Royal Television Society Award for Best Stand-up, and the European TV Award for his ''Bloody Foreigners''.

Stand-up DVDs

''No Agenda: Live at the London Palladium'' (26 November 2007) - Live at the London Palladium

''Live in London'' (16 November 2009) - Live at the HMV Hammersmith Apollo

See also

Iranian stand-up comedy

References

External links

Omid Djalili's official web site

Category:1965 births Category:Alumni of the University of Ulster Category:British people of Iranian descent Category:Edinburgh Comedy Festival Category:English Bahá'ís Category:English film actors Category:English stand-up comedians Category:English television actors Category:English voice actors Category:Living people Category:People from Chelsea, London Category:20th-century Bahá'ís Category:21st-century Bahá'ís

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