Coordinates: 51°41′53″N 0°10′59″W / 51.698°N 0.183°W / 51.698; -0.183

Potters Bar
Potters Bar  Potters Bar shown within Hertfordshire
Population	21,618 [1]
OS grid reference	TL255015
District	Hertsmere
Shire county	Hertfordshire
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	POTTERS BAR
Postcode district	EN6
Dialling code	01707
Police	Hertfordshire
Fire	Hertfordshire
Ambulance	East of England
EU Parliament	East of England
UK Parliament	Hertsmere
List of places: UK • England • Hertfordshire

Potters Bar is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire, England,^[2] located 18 miles (29 km) north of Central London. In 2001 it had a population of 21,618.^[1]

The town originated in the early 13th century and remained a small settlement until the arrival of the Great Northern Railway in 1850.^[3] It is part of the London commuter belt.^[4]

Etymology[link]

The origin of the Potters element of the town's name is uncertain but is generally thought to be either a reference to a Roman pottery, believed to have been sited locally, or alternatively to the Pottere family who lived in the South Mimms parish.^[5] The Bar is thought to refer to the gates leading from the South Mimms parish and into the Enfield Chase parish, or possibly from some sort of toll on the Great North Road.^[5] The original "Bar" is said to have been at what is now the Green Man pub, or at the current entrance to Morven House.

Darkes Lane, Potters Bar, looking north towards the railway bridge

History[link]

Potters Bar is located on the Great North Road, one of two road routes from the City of London to the north of England.^[6] The road was originally numbered as the A1, and later the A1000.

Potters Bar was historically part of Middlesex^[7] and formed the Potters Bar Urban District of that county from 1934.^[8] From 1894 to 1934 its area had formed the South Mimms Rural District.^[9] In 1965 the district was transferred to Hertfordshire while most of the rest of Middlesex became part of Greater London.^[10][11]

The urban district covered an area of 6,129 acres (24.80 km²).^[8] In 1939 it had a population of 13,681, increasing to 24,613 in 1971.^[12] In 1974 the urban district was abolished and the area became part of the borough of Hertsmere. Having been part of Middlesex, the area continued to form part of the Metropolitan Police District; with the creation of the Greater London Authority it was transferred to the Hertfordshire Constabulary in 2000.^[13]

Geography[link]

Climate[link]

Potters Bar experiences an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb) similar to almost all of the United Kingdom.

Transport[link]

The A1 was built as a major 'arterial' road and a crossroads at Bignells Corner linked it to the Barnet - St Albans road. Potters Bar is now also served by junctions 23 and 24 of the M25 motorway.^[2]

Potters Bar railway station is the highest on the line between London's King's Cross railway station and York. The First Capital Connect route serving Potters Bar links the town to various North London suburbs to the south before terminating at either King's Cross or Moorgate station. Northbound, the railway connects Potters Bar to Peterborough, Cambridge and Letchworth Garden City as well as towns en route to these destinations such as Hatfield, Welwyn Garden City and Stevenage.^[15]

The nearest London Underground station is at Cockfosters, which is approximately 2.5 miles south on the A111 from junction 24 of the M25.

Potters Bar has a bus depot that services local bus routes as well as some London bus routes. The 84 bus route travels south to New Barnet and north-west to St. Albans. Other routes include the 298 to Arnos Grove, the 313 to Enfield and Chingford, the 242 to Waltham Cross, the 398 to Borehamwood and the 610 to Enfield (on weekdays) and Hatfield. There are also school bus services run from various places to Dame Alice Owen's School and to Chancellor's School, as well as a service that runs once on a Wednesday from Hatfield to Potters Bar via Cuffley and Colney Heath, numbered 312.

Route Number	Route	Operation	Operator
84 TfL (Partly)	St. Albans St Peters Street to New Barnet Station via Barnet Route 84 is a TfL service between Potters Bar Cranbourne Road and High Barnet only	Daily	Metroline
242	Waltham Cross Bus Station to Potters Bar Station via Cuffley, Cheshunt. Extended to Welwyn Garden City via Hatfield on Sundays	Daily	Metroline, Sullivan Buses, Centrebus
298 TfL	Potters Bar Cranbourne Road to Arnos Grove Station via Cockfosters	Daily	Arriva London
312 Circular	Hatfield Birchwood Tesco to Potters Bar Station via Cuffley	Wednesdays	Sullivan Buses
313 TfL	Potters Bar Station to Chingford Station via Enfield	Daily	Arriva London
398	Potters Bar Station to Borehamwood via South Mimms	Mon-Sat	Sullivan Buses
610	Enfield Town to Hatfield Business Park via Welham Green	Mon-Sat	Uno
PB1 Circular	Circular via Shillitoe Avenue, Potters Bar Station , High Street and Oakmere	Mon-Sat	Uno

Potters Bar rail accidents[link]

Potters Bar has been the scene of three train crashes; two major and one minor. On 19 March 1898, a train crashed on the platform, but no one was killed or seriously injured. On the night of 10 February 1946, a local train hit buffers at the station, became derailed, and two express trains travelling in opposite directions struck the wreckage. On 10 May 2002, a northbound train derailed at high speed, killing seven people and seriously injuring another 11.

On 10 May 2003, a small piece of art that resembles seven faces was erected at the station as a memorial to those killed.^[16]

Churches[link]

There are several churches in Potters Bar. These include St Mary the Virgin and All Saints Church at the top of the Walk, the first Anglican parish in the town created from the parish of South Mimms in the 1800s.^[17] Other churches are Our Lady and St Vincent, King Charles the Martyr, Christ Church, Potters Bar Baptist Church and St John's Methodist Church.^[18]

Synagogues[link]

The town has one synagogue, Potters Bar and Brookmans Park District United Synagogue, which is under the leadership of Rabbi Adam Hill and Chazan Uziel Hill.^[19]

Education[link]

There are six primary and infant state schools in Potters Bar and the surrounding area; they are Cranborne School, Ladbrooke JMI, Little Heath Primary, Oakmere Primary, Pope Paul RC Primary and Wroxham School.

There are five secondary schools in Potters Bar and the surrounding area; they are Chancellor's, Dame Alice Owen's, Goffs Oak, Mount Grace and Queenswood.

Mount Grace School is a mixed grant maintained School in Potters Bar opened in 1954.^[20]

Lochinver house school is an all boys preparatory school in Potters Bar, which opened in 1947.^[21]

Dame Alice Owen's School is a mixed grant-maintained school in Potters Bar.^[22] Originally founded in 1613 and based in Islington until the 1960s, it is unusual in its 'Visitation' and 'Beer Money' traditions.^[23] The trustees of the Dame Alice Owen Foundation are the Worshipful Company of Brewers. It is a partly selective school (25% of its intake is on the basis of pupils doing well on its entry test). It also reserves some places for children from Islington. It specialises in languages, and offers GCSEs in a wide range of languages. It has recently become a music and science college in addition to being a language college.

Sports, entertainment and recreation[link]

Potters Bar has a King George's Field in memorial to King George V, which is situated behind the Furzefield Centre. There is a swimming pool and leisure centre run by Hertsmere council, which is home to St Albans and Hertsmere Canoe Club.^[24] Also in the town are Potters Bar Town F.C., Potters Bar Swimming Club (PBSC),^[25] a Scuba diving Club (the Potters Bar Sub Aqua Club), a tennis club, a cricket club, and a golf course. The Wyllyotts Centre is a theatre, cinema and events venue, and is also the location of the town's museum.^[26] Potters Bar is also home to the Hertfordshire Showband (formally known as the Marching Blues).^[27]

In 1983, the area around Potters Bar was used for the on-location filming of the comic-horror film, Bloodbath at the House of Death. Also, in 2005, David Walliams and Matt Lucas shot two scenes for the third season of the comedy, Little Britain, one scene at Mount Grace School gym, the other at a wedding shop on the High Street.^[28] Potters bar is also home to the performing arts school, Top Hat Stage School, which has been running classes at Elm Court Community Centre since 1994.

Notable residents[link]

• John Bennett, trombone player with Kenny Ball's Band since its inception
• Acker Bilk, clarinetist, divides his time between Pensford, Somerset, and Potters Bar^[29]
• James Carter, jazz musician and actor^{[citation needed]}
• Letitia Dean, actor, EastEnders, born in Potters Bar
• John Griffin, founder of Addison Lee, lives in Potters Bar
• Tony Jacklin, golfer, home golf club was Potters Bar Golf Club^[30]
• Myleene Klass, model, TV presenter, classical pianist, lives near Potters Bar
• Thomas Law, actor
• Terry Lightfoot, jazz musician, born in Potters Bar and spent his early years there^[31]
• Storm Thorgerson, graphic designer, born Potters Bar^{[citation needed]}
• Henri Lansbury, Arsenal footballer, grew up in Potters Bar

Twinnings[link]

• Viernheim, Germany
• Franconville, Val-d'Oise, France (Since 1973)

References[link]

External links[link]

• St Mary the Virgin and All Saints Church, Potters Bar
• The Potters Bar Society
• pottersbar.org - local information

Yu Dafu
Born	(1896-12-07)December 7, 1896 Fuyang, Zhejiang, China
Died	September 17, 1945(1945-09-17) (aged 48)
Occupation	Short Story writer and Poet

Yu Dafu (simplified Chinese: 郁达夫; traditional Chinese: 郁達夫; pinyin: Yù Dáfū; Wade–Giles: Yu Ta-fu) (December 7, 1896—September 17, 1945). Born in Fuyang, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, was a modern Chinese short story writer and poet.

Early years[link]

Yu Dafu's father died when he was three, leaving the family poverty-stricken and destitute. He received a number of scholarships through the Chinese government and went on to receive a traditional Chinese education in Hangzhou. Chronologically he studied in Jiangxing-Fu Middle School (before he came to Hangzhou), Hangzhou-Fu Middle School, Yuying Academy^[1] (育英学堂, formerly of Zhejiang University).

In 1912, he entered Hangchow University (later its major part merged into Zhejiang University) preparatory through examination. He was there only for a short period before he was expelled for participation in a student strike.^[2]

He then moved to Japan, where he studied economics at the Tokyo Imperial University between 1913 and 1922, where he met other Chinese intellectuals (namely, Guo Moruo, Zhang Ziping and Tian Han). Together, in 1921 they founded the Chuangzao she 創造社 ("Creation Society"), which promoted vernacular and modern literature. One of his earlier works Chenlun 沉淪, also his most famous, published in Japan in 1921. The work had gained immense popularity in China, shocking the world of Chinese literature with its frank dealing with sex, as well as grievances directed at the incompetence of Chinese government at the time.

In 1922, he returned to China as a literary celebrity and worked as the editor of Creation Quarterly, editing journals and writing short stories. In 1923, after an attack of tuberculosis, Yu Dafu directed his attention to the welfare of the masses.

In 1927, he worked as an editor of the Hongshui literary magazine. He later came in conflict with the Communist Party of China and fled back to Japan.

Second Sino-Japanese war[link]

After the start of the Second Sino-Japanese war, he returned to China and worked as a writer of anti-Japanese propaganda in Hangzhou, and later in Zhejiang. From 1938 to 1942, he worked as a literary editor for the newspaper Sin Chew Jit Poh in Singapore.

In 1942 when the Imperial Japanese Army invaded Singapore, he was forced to flee to Sumatra. Known under a different identity, he settled there among other overseas Chinese and began a brewery business with the help of the locals. Later he was forced to help the Japanese military police as an interpreter when it was discovered that he was one of the few "locals" in the area who could speak Japanese.

In 1945, he was arrested by the Kempeitai when his true identity was finally discovered. It is believed that he was executed by the Japanese shortly after the surrender of Japan.

Works[link]

• Chenlun 沉淪 "Sinking" (1921)
• Riji jiuzhong 日記九種 “Nine Diaries” (1927)
• Guoqu 過去 “The Past" (1927)
• his first novel?? (1928) (moderately successful)
• his second novel?? (1932)
• Chuben 出奔 "Flight" (1935)

His most popular work, breaking all Chinese sales records, was Jih-chi chiu-chung "Nine Diaries", which detailed his affair with the writer Wang Ying-hsin. The most critically acclaimed work is Kuo-ch'u or "The Past", written in 1927.^{[citation needed]}

References[link]

• Encyclopædia Britannica 2005 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD, article- "Yü Ta-fu"

External links[link]

• Works by Yu Dafu at Project Gutenberg

Eddie Izzard
Izzard performing at the Garrick Theatre, 2 December 2008
Birth name	Edward John Izzard[1]
Born	(1962-02-07) 7 February 1962 (age 50) Colony of Aden, Aden Protectorate (now Aden, Yemen)[2]
Medium	Stand up, Television, Film
Nationality	British
Years active	1982–present
Genres	Surreal humour, Improvisational comedy, Observational comedy.
Subject(s)	History, Celebrities, Religion, Culture, Sex
Influences	Monty Python,[3][4] Billy Connolly,[5] Lenny Bruce, Bill Hicks,[5] Steve Martin,[4] Spike Milligan, Jerry Sadowitz.[4]
Influenced	Hal Sparks, Harry Hill, Rhod Gilbert[6]
Notable works and roles	Live at the Ambassadors Unrepeatable Definite Article Dress to Kill Glorious Circle Lenny Bruce in Lenny Wayne Malloy/Doug Rich in The Riches Roman Nagel in Ocean's Thirteen Erich Fellgiebel in Valkyrie Mr. Kite in Across the Universe
Website	eddieizzard.com
Emmy Awards
Individual Performance In A Variety Or Music Program 2000 Dress to Kill Writing In A Variety, Music Or Comedy Program 2000 Dress to Kill
British Comedy Awards
Top Stand-up 1993 Live at the Ambassadors Best Stand-up 1996 Definite Article

Edward John "Eddie" Izzard^[1] (born 7 February 1962) is an English stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. His comedy style takes the form of rambling, whimsical monologue and self-referential pantomime. He had a starring role in the television series The Riches as Wayne Malloy and has appeared in many motion pictures such as Ocean's Twelve, Ocean's Thirteen, Mystery Men, Shadow of the Vampire, The Cat's Meow, Across the Universe, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian and Valkyrie. He is also the voice of Nigel in the 2006 animated film The Wild and Miles Axlerod in the 2011 Disney/Pixar animated film Cars 2.

He has cited his main comedy role model as Monty Python, and John Cleese once referred to him as the "Lost Python".^[3] In 2009, he completed 43 marathons in 51 days for Sport Relief in spite of having no prior history of long distance running.^[7] He is also known for his transvestism. He has won numerous awards including a Primetime Emmy Award for Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program for his comedy special Dress to Kill, in 2000. Izzard's web site won the Yahoo People's Choice Award^[8] and earned the Webby Award.^[9]

Early life[link]

Izzard was born in Aden, Yemen, then the Colony of Aden in the Aden Protectorate.^[2] He was the younger son of British parents Dorothy Ella, a midwife and nurse, and Harold John Izzard, an accountant who was working in Aden with British Petroleum.^[10][11] A year after his birth, the family moved to Bangor in Northern Ireland and lived there until he was five.^{[1][2][3][10]} The family then moved to Skewen in south west Wales (near Swansea) where his mother died of cancer when Eddie was six and his brother Mark was eight.^[1][11][12] Following his mother's death, Izzard attended boarding schools:^[1][11] St John's School in Porthcawl,^[4] St. Bede's Preparatory School, Eastbourne,^{[citation needed]} and Eastbourne College^{[citation needed]}.

Career[link]

Early career[link]

Izzard began to toy with comedy at the University of Sheffield with student friend Rob Ballard.^[5][13] After leaving his accountancy degree course, he and Ballard took their act to the streets,^[5][13] often in Covent Garden.^[4][14][15] After his split with Ballard, Izzard spent a great deal of the early 1980s working as a street performer in Europe and the United States. He then moved his act into the stand-up comedy venues of Britain. His first gig was at the Banana Cabaret in Balham, London.^[1][16] In 1987, he made his first stage appearance at The Comedy Store, London.^[3] In 1989, he met actress Sarah Townsend who was running a Fringe venue at the Edinburgh Festival.^[17] He refined his material throughout the 1980s, and in the early 1990s he finally began earning some measure of recognition through his improvisation, in part at his own club "Raging Bull" in Soho.^[15]

Success as a comedian[link]

In 1991, Izzard got a spot on the Fry and Laurie produced AIDS benefit Hysteria 3, where he did his "Wolves" sketch, which broke him into the mainstream comedy circuit and television. His resultant stand-up work brought him British Comedy Awards in 1993 (for Live at the Ambassadors), a part in "Filth" which was a stand up presentation by left-wing sympathetic comedians in aid of raising money for the Terrence Higgins Trust in 1994, and 1996 (for Definite Article).

In 1996, he got a part in his first United States-produced film, The Secret Agent, where he met and befriended Robin Williams. Williams already knew of Izzard's act, and discussed bringing his act to the United States. As a result, Izzard took Definite Article on a successful stint in New York City in the same year, and as a support act to Williams took Dress to Kill to San Francisco in 1998 (the footage from which forms the performance on the Dress To Kill DVD). His US breakthrough came in 1999, when Dress to Kill was shown on the American television channel HBO, about a year or so after he performed the show on tour in the US, UK and France. Suddenly, America was aware of Izzard, and the show went on to earn him two Emmy Awards in 2000 (for performance and writing).

In 1999, after complaints that his act recycled jokes appearing on his DVDs, the BBC's consumer programme Watchdog investigated Izzard's live act. Izzard explained that like most comedy performers, he used some of his most successful routines in each show. Nonetheless, Izzard was issued a warning by the Department of Trade and Industry. Much of the problem was caused by the recording and selling of the American leg of his tour on DVD in the UK for the Christmas market before the UK leg of the tour took place. Izzard was greatly upset by early reactions to his UK shows, and the investigation, as he was initially unaware of the show's core material having already been seen. He commented on this debacle in later performances and furiously started to write new tangential material hoping to satisfy audiences. This also led to DVD releases of first the US tour show and later the altered UK version with new and evolved material. Since then, Izzard has rarely performed his stand-up act on television, saying that it uses up material at too high a rate, whereas stage material can be continually re-used in front of different audiences for several months.^{[citation needed]}

In 2005, Izzard used his rambling style to provide the voice-over for the British government's television advertisements promoting recycling. The tagline of the ads was "Recycle. The possibilities are endless!" Izzard also performed on stage with Scottish musician Midge Ure at Live8 in Edinburgh, Scotland. He played the piano on the song "Vienna".

In January 2006, the US television network FX announced the production of a new drama series called The Riches (formerly Low Life). Izzard and British actress Minnie Driver star as a married couple, Wayne and Dahlia Malloy, who have been part of a caravan of con-artist Irish travellers swindling their way across the US with their children. After finding another family killed in a car accident, the Malloys assume their identities and start a new life as law-abiding suburbanites in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The youngest son has shown a preference for wearing girls' clothing, leading to some speculation that the role was based upon Izzard's experiences. Izzard has stated in several interviews that the character of Sam had been given transvestite tendencies long before he was cast as Wayne Malloy, but he has contributed his perspective to keep the character believable.

Theatrical, TV and film appearances[link]

In 1994, Izzard made his West End drama debut as the lead in the world premiere of David Mamet's The Cryptogram with Lindsay Duncan, in the production at London's Comedy Theatre. The success of that role led to his second starring role in David Beaird's black comedy 900 Oneonta. In 1995, he portrayed the title character in Christopher Marlowe's Edward II.

In 1998 Izzard appeared briefly on stage with the Monty Python team in The American Film Institute's Tribute to Monty Python (also referred to as Monty Python Live at Aspen). He walked on stage with the five surviving Pythons and he was summarily escorted off by Eric Idle and Michael Palin as he attempted to participate in a discussion about how the group got together.

Izzard portrayed comedian Lenny Bruce in the 1999 production of Julian Barry's 1971 play Lenny. In 2001, he replaced Clive Owen in Peter Nichols' 1967 play A Day in the Death of Joe Egg at the Comedy Theatre. Izzard and Victoria Hamilton then repeated their lead roles when the show was brought to Broadway in 2003, with The Roundabout Theatre Company production. The revival received four Tony Award nominations including Best Revival of a Play, Best Leading Actor and Actress for its stars Izzard and Hamilton in their Broadway debuts, and Best Direction for Laurence Boswell. In June 2010, Izzard replaced James Spader in the role of Jack Lawson in David Mamet's play Race on Broadway.^[18]

Izzard has appeared in numerous films, starting with 1996's The Secret Agent. He has appeared as several real-life individuals, including Charlie Chaplin in The Cat's Meow, actor Gustav von Wangenheim in Shadow of the Vampire and General Erich Fellgiebel in Valkyrie. Other roles have included Mr. Kite in Across the Universe, Lussurioso in Revengers Tragedy and criminal expert Roman Nagel in Ocean's Twelve and Ocean's Thirteen. Voice work has included the titular It in Five Children and It, Nigel in The Wild and the mouse warrior Reepicheep in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. He said in 2009 that he would not be reprising his role as Reepicheep and the role was ultimately played by Simon Pegg in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. He also had a brief appearance in James Cameron's oscar winning film, Titanic. He appeared as a cabin boy on the ship.

Izzard appeared in the BBC science fiction miniseries The Day of the Triffids based on the 1951 novel, alongside Jason Priestley, Vanessa Redgrave, Joely Richardson, Dougray Scott and Brian Cox.^[19] He played Dr. Hatteras, a sceptical psychology professor, in the Showtime series United States of Tara.^[20]

In December 2011, he appeared in the British drama Lost Christmas as Anthony. The film was written by David Logan and John Hay. In January 2012, he appeared as Long John Silver in Sky1's adaptation of Treasure Island alongside Elijah Wood and Philip Glenister among others.

Comic style[link]

Elliott Gould and Eddie Izzard

Izzard's style is heavily influenced by Monty Python, or rather Spike Milligan, especially in his use of a stream-of-consciousness delivery that jumps between topics as he free associates on stage. He does not generally work from a script, owing to his dyslexia. Instead, he interrupts himself with new joke ideas, the characters he portrays turn into other characters, and he nonchalantly leaps from topic to topic. This often results in brief pauses in the routine which he fills with 'so, yeah', and other verbal tics that have become his trademarks. Thinking aloud is also part of Izzard's ongoing attempt to make the process of writing the show itself part of the humour. As he put it in a 2004 interview with The Guardian, "It's the oral tradition. Human beings have been doing it for thousands of years".^[21] He frequently notes the reaction to a joke midstream by pretending to write on his hand ("Should be funnier"; "Lost them there"; "They didn't believe me"; "They didn't follow, never do that again"; "Never link those two [references] together ever again.") He asks the audience questions and verbally engages with hecklers.

Among Izzard's comic talents are mimicry and mime. He portrays God as an authority figure using the voice of James Mason and casts Sean Connery as Noah; these impersonations appear in many of his performances. Izzard also imitates activities such as sawing wood, vacuum cleaning, and mowing the lawn, anthropomorphising the machines with accents and personalities. Successful impressions, such as his Scottish clarinet teacher, Mrs. Badcrumble, become running gags which recur in different shows. He tackles topics both contemporary and historic, including frequent re-imaginings of historical events which result in scenes like 'Cake or Death: Church of England runs the Inquisition', or 'Jesus Ministers to the Dinosaurs'.

When asked about his comedy style by George Stroumboulopoulos, host of CBC Television's talk show, The Hour, Izzard described his use of history by saying,

"I just talk complete bullshit. The history, the politics, I noticed that no one was using history, so there's a lot of history lying about the place, and it's all free, and it's on Wikipedia! You know, I use Wikipedia like a crazy idiot, now. Then I take all this stuff, and I regurgitate it into a weird angle".^[22]

In 2008, in his Stripped tour, Izzard began using Wikipedia itself as part of his stand-up act, reading from a live copy of an article and mocking Wikipedia's self-referential editorial style.

Traditionally, Izzard has focused on the creative possibilities of thinking through absurd situations in real time. He also turns much of the attention on himself and his personality, including his cross-dressing ("It is my manifest destiny to wear a dress on all seven continents"). Contemporary popular culture (Harry Potter, Star Wars, etc.) is also a frequent subject, brought up both to critique its weaknesses and to enhance his anecdotes.

His bent towards the surreal even went so far as to produce a sitcom called Cows in 1997 for Channel 4, a live action comedy with actors dressed in cowsuits.^[23]

Transvestism[link]

Izzard started to freely talk about his transvestism in venues like Edinburgh Festival as early as 1992.^[24][25] In his show, Dress to Kill, Izzard describes himself as an "executive", "action" and "professional" transvestite, as "a male tomboy" rather than a drag queen or a "weirdo" transvestite (he cites J. Edgar Hoover and Hermann Göring as examples of the latter). In the past he regularly cross-dressed on stage but, since gaining success as a television and film actor, has decided to stay in "boy-mode" for the last several years. While there are those who suspect Izzard's cross-dressing was simply a comedic hook, he says that cross-dressing is, for him, neither a part of his performance nor a sexual fetish.^{[citation needed]} He remarks in his show Unrepeatable, "Women wear what they want and so do I". According to Izzard, "Most transvestites fancy women".^[26] He dismisses claims that he is a male homosexual, saying he is "a straight transvestite or a male lesbian".^[27] He has also described himself as "a lesbian trapped in a man's body",^[28] transgender,^[24] and "a complete boy plus half girl".^[27]

Activism[link]

Izzard has engaged in campaigning work. He is especially well known as a pro-European Union campaigner supporting the further integration of the UK into the EU. In May 2005, he appeared on the BBC's political debate show Question Time, describing himself as a 'British-European', comparing this with other cultural identities such as 'African-American'. As part of his integration campaigning, he was one of the first people to spend a euro in London. This pan-European approach has influenced his work: he regularly performs in French,^[15][20] in which he is fluent,^[14] and occasionally in German,^[15] in addition to English. In July 2003, Izzard received an honorary Doctor of Letters from the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England for "pro-Europe campaigning", "his contribution to promoting modern languages and tolerance of other cultures and lifestyles" and for having "transcended national barriers" with his humour.^[29]

He has also campaigned unsuccessfully against the closure of the departments of Drama and Languages, Linguistics and Translation at the University of East Anglia, although the department of Drama was later reprieved. In 1998, Izzard was named in a list of the biggest private financial donors to the Labour Party.^[30] He appeared in a party political broadcast for the Labour Party in the run up to the 2005 general election. He donated nearly £10,000 to the party in 2008,^[31] appeared again in a party political broadcast for the 2009 European election and again in a 2010 election video entitled 'Brilliant Britain'. Izzard appeared in literature to support changing the British electoral system from first-past-the-post to alternative vote for electing Members of Parliament to the House of Commons in the Alternative Vote referendum in 2011.^[32] In 2011, Eddie Izzard revealed that he had political ambitions and wanted to become an MP, Mayor or MEP by 2020.^[33]

On 20 July 2006, he received an honorary doctorate in Letters from the Faculty of Arts at the University of Sheffield,^[34] where he spent one year on an Accounting and Financial Management course in the early 80s. During his time at the University he established the now-defunct Alternative Productions Society in the Union of Students with the aim of promoting fringe-based arts. On 4 March 2010, he was elected as the Honorary President of the University of Sheffield Students' Union.^[35]

On 7 July 2007, Izzard was one of the presenters from the London leg of Live Earth. During an interview for the 2008 Stripped tour, Izzard spoke about becoming more active in European politics as well as running for political office in Europe within the next decade. Izzard added a stop in New Orleans during his 2008 Stripped tour. All proceeds from the performance of 23 June 2008 were donated to Neighborhood Housing Services of New Orleans.^[36]

Marathons[link]

On 27 July 2009, with only 5 weeks' training and no significant prior history of running, Izzard began seven weeks of back-to-back marathon runs (with Sundays off) across the UK to raise money for Sport Relief. He ran from London to Cardiff, to Belfast, to Edinburgh, and back to London carrying flags of England, Scotland or Wales depending on which country he was in, and carried a self-designed green flag bearing a white dove when in Northern Ireland. The blog Eddie Iz Running was a document of his road running marathon, in which he ran 43 marathons in 51 days. He completed the run on 15 September 2009, after having run at least 27 miles each day, 6 days a week for 7 weeks straight, covering more than 1,100 miles across the UK.^[37] Izzard received a special award at BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2009 for his achievements.^[38]

Izzard ran his final marathon in five hours and 30 seconds, narrowly outside his projected time. However, had he not stopped and waited 20 minutes for his film crew to catch up with him he could have finished well under his target time. In March 2010, Izzard took part in the Sport Relief Mile event.^[39]

Following the completion of the marathon runs, Izzard has started training to take part in an Ironman Triathlon, saying he has become fascinated with fitness "because there's no point in throwing away all that training".^[40]

Personal life[link]

During his Stripped tour, Izzard said he realised he was an atheist. "I was warming the material up in New York, where one night, literally on stage, I realised I didn’t believe in God at all. I just didn’t think there was anyone upstairs."^[41]

He keeps his romantic life private, saying one of the reasons is due to the wishes of his companions not wanting to become content for his show.^[41] Izzard dated Sarah Townsend, the director of the documentary Believe: The Eddie Izzard Story,^[14] whom he first met while she was running a Fringe venue at the Edinburgh Festival in 1989.^[17]

Izzard speaks French and has performed stand up in French during his shows.^[14] He also speaks German and used it in the 2001 film All the Queen's Men.

He supports Crystal Palace FC.^[42]

Izzard is an outspoken supporter of the Labour Party, and in September 2011 declared his ambition to stand for the party in the future as an MP, MEP or as Mayor of London.^[43]

Critical reception[link]

On 18 March 2007, Izzard was listed as number 3 of the 100 Greatest British National Comedians (just behind Peter Kay at number 2 and Billy Connolly at number 1) as part of British television station Channel 4's ongoing 100 Greatest..., series. However in the 2010 updated version of the list he was ranked 5th^[44] In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, Izzard was voted amongst the top 20 greatest comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders. He was number 75 in Comedy Central's 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time.

During the 1999 television special It's... the Monty Python Story,^[45] which Izzard hosted, John Cleese said Izzard was the "Lost Python"; Izzard furthered that idea via his substitution for Graham Chapman in public performance of Python material with the rest of the original members of the troupe. He also made a cameo appearance in the Python reunion interview Monty Python Live at Aspen.

In 2008, Izzard received the James Joyce Award of the Literary and Historical Society of UCD, Dublin, Ireland. In March 2010, Sheffield Students' Union of the University of Sheffield overwhelmingly elected him their honorary President.

Discography and appearances[link]

Stand-up[link]

• Live at the Ambassadors (15 November 1993)
• Unrepeatable (1994)
• Definite Article (21 October 1996)
• Glorious (17 November 1997)
• Dress to Kill (9 November 1998)
• Circle (18 November 2002)
• Sexie (26 November 2003)
• Stripped (23 November 2009)
• Force Majeure (2013)

Stage[link]

• 900 Oneonta (1994)
• The Cryptogram (1994)
• Edward II (1995)
• Lenny (1999)
• A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (2001–2002, 2003)
• Trumbo (2003)
• Race (2010)

Filmography[link]

• The Oncoming Storm (1995) as Luthor Keeton
• The Secret Agent (1996) as Vladimir
• Velvet Goldmine (1998) as Jerry Devine
• The Avengers (1998) as Bailey
• Mystery Men (1999) as Tony P
• The Criminal (1999) as Peter Hume
• Circus (2000) as Troy
• Shadow of the Vampire (2000) as Gustav von Wangenheim
• The Cat's Meow (2001) as Charlie Chaplin
• All the Queen's Men (2001) as Tony Parker
• Revengers Tragedy (2002) as Lussurioso
• Alien Invasion (2003) as Brik
• Blueberry aka Renegade (2004) as Prosit
• Around the World in 80 Days (2004)
• Five Children and It (2004) as It (voice)
• Romance & Cigarettes (2004) as Gene Vincent
• Ocean's Twelve (2004) as Roman Nagel
• The Aristocrats (2005) as Himself
• The Wild (2006) as Nigel (voice)
• My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006) as Professor Bedlam
• Ocean's Thirteen (2007) as Roman Nagel
• Across the Universe (2007) as Mr. Kite
• The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008) as Reepicheep (voice)
• Igor (2008) as Dr. Schadenfreude (voice)
• Valkyrie (2008) as Erich Fellgiebel
• Rage (2009) as Tiny Diamonds
• The Other Side (2009) as Dean Bellamy
• Believe: The Eddie Izzard Story (2009) as Himself
• Every Day (2010) as Garrett
• Cars 2 (2011) as Miles Axelrod
• Lost Christmas (2011) as Anthony

TV appearances[link]

• Barf Bites Back (Amnesty International Gala) (1991) – ITV
• Open Fire (1994)
• Have I Got News for You (1994, 1995 and 1996) – BBC Two
• Aristophanes: The Gods are Laughing (1995)
• Whose Line Is It Anyway? (1995)
• Tales from the Crypt (1996) – HBO
• Clive Anderson Talks Back (1996)
• Inspector Derrick (1997)
• Channel Izzard (1997)
• The Roseanne Show (1998)
• Rex the Runt (1998) – BBC
• Shooting Stars (1998) – BBC
• Parkinson (3 times)
• Dennis Miller Live (1999) – HBO
• Python Night – 30 Years of Monty Python (1999) – BBC
• Good News Week (2000) – Network 10
• Mongrel Nation (2002) – Discovery Channel
• The Caroline Rhea Show (2002)
• The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (2002, 2004 and 2007)
• The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (2009)
• 40 (2003) – Channel 4
• Late Night with Conan O'Brien (2003, 2008) NBC
• QI (Unaired pilot- 2002 or 2003, and 2010)
• Top Gear (2004) – BBC Two
• Last Call with Carson Daly (2005)
• The Sharon Osbourne Show (2006)
• Late Show with David Letterman (6 times)
• Late Late show with Craig Kilborn (4 times)
• The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011)
• The Henry Rollins Show (2006)
• The Paul O'Grady Show (2009)
• The Secret Policeman's Ball (2006)
• Kitchen (2007) – five
• Comedy Cuts (interview) (2007)
• The Hour (2007)
• Friday Night with Jonathan Ross (2007 and 2009)
• The Daily Show (2000, 2003 and 2007)
• The Riches (2007–2008)
• The Secret Policeman's Ball (2008)
• The Graham Norton Show (2008 and 2011)
• Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (2009)
• Kevin Pollak's Chat Show (2009)
• BBC Sports Personality of the Year (2009 award winner)
• The Day of the Triffids (2009)
• Marathon Man (2010)
• The Simpsons episode To Surveil with Love (2010)
• Chelsea Lately (2010)
• United States of Tara (2011)
• Alan Carr: Chatty Man (2011)
• The Green Room with Paul Provenza (2011)
• The Good Wife (2011) Season 3 – Episode 2, James Thrush ^[46]
• The Big Fat Quiz of the Year (2011)
• Treasure Island (2012) as Long John Silver
• The Secret Policeman's Ball (2012)

Video game[link]

• 102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue – Sgt. Tibbs the Cat (voice)

See also[link]

• Cross-dressing in film and television

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Eddie Izzard

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Eddie Izzard

• Official web site
• BBC America – Eddie Izzard
• Eddie Izzard at the Internet Movie Database
• Eddie Izzard at AllRovi
• Interview with Izzard – The Observer, 3 October 2004
• It's stupid and I love it – the Goon Show and me – The Guardian, 14 February 2005.
• Izzard interviewed by Bono – The Independent, 16 May 2006
• Venus Zine Staff Picks: Eddie Izzard, Dress to Kill