Comedians

We all love having a laugh.  Comedy acting is big business.  All over the world audiences are warming to different kinds of comedy.  Many comedians are highly educated and comedians like geeks are the new ‘rock stars’.  Suddenly it’s cool if you belong to MENSA and make people laugh.  But what goes on behind the scenes?  It is true that many comedy actors have managed to remain fairly private.  But they are becoming regarded as A-listers in the entertainment business and their many fans want to know more and more about their ‘comedy idols’.  It’s perhaps ironic that they are becoming what they love mocking.

Take for example Russell Howard.  He is only twenty eight years old.  Not everybody likes him.  There are those who describe his expression of comedy as ‘facile and juvenile’ in a British sense.  This young comedian is keeping certain parts of his life very private.  He has declined to declare who he is girlfriend is.  But the two do live together in London.  He has been seen on shows like ‘Mock The Week, Never Mind The Buzzcocks and Would I Lie To You?’ - all popular shows.  These are all known as ‘panel shows’ but Howard has confided that his heart is really in stand-up comedy.  He is well known for his ‘short attention span’.  Russell lives in London but comes from Bristol.

Another comedy actor rising and rising in popularity is Dara O’Briain.  He started out as graduate of the University College Dublin.  O’Briain earned a mathematical physics degree.  He entered the realm of television presenting and made his mark on children’s programmes.   It was at this time he made the decision to pursue stand-up comedy.  But even four appearances at the ‘Edinburgh Fringe’ did nothing to get his career off the ground.  His success is based on a rather touching story.  O’Briain’s Nan died.  She had been in the ‘old IRA’ as a teenager.  He made the decision to use this as the subject of his show.  It worked and at last O’Briain was getting recognized as a really good stand up comedian.  He also scored the television programmes ‘Mock The Week’ and ‘Have I Got News For you?’  The thirty six year old comedian is married to Susan, a doctor.  The couple lives in London.        

Alan Carr who is thirty two years old has cultivated a huge following.  This gay comedian has a well known dad.  Carr is the son of Graham Carr, an ex football player.  Being over the top camp is probably Carr’s trademark.  But he is really funny as well.  He keeps his audience in stitches with his one hundred percent irreverent comments.  And this includes his super butch dad.  Carr did have to ‘tone down’ his camp persona and work on his shrill voice.  Once he did this his popularity started climbing.  He was first seen on television in ‘The Friday Night Project’ with Justin Lee Collins.  Like Graham Morton, Carr is about to have his own ‘chat show’ on Channel 4.