| Russ Abbot | |
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| Birth name | Russell A. Roberts |
| Born | 16 September 1947 Chester, Cheshire, England |
| Medium | Television, Stand-up |
| Nationality | British |
| Years active | 1971-present |
| Spouse | Patricia A. Simpson (1967-present) |
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Russ Abbot (born Russell A. Roberts on 16 September 1947) is an English musician, comedian, and actor.
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Career
He was the fifth of six sons born to Donald Roberts, who was English, and Elizabeth Laing, who was Scottish.
As a drummer, Abbot founded the Black Abbots, who signed their first recording contract in 1977. Later on he appeared as a comedian, winning the Funniest Man On Television award five times.
From 1980, 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 #7.
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).
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).
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 plate, 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.
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.[1]
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[2]. Abbott also appeared on Harry Hill's TV Burp parodying the character he played in Casualty.
Discography
Singles
- 1982 - "A Day In The Life of Vince Prince" (UK: #61, 1 week; re-entered at #75 2 weeks later for 1 week[3])
- 1984 - "Atmosphere" aka "Oh What An Atmosphere" (UK: #7, in charts for 13 weeks[3])
- 1985 - "All Night Holiday" (UK: #20, in charts for 7 weeks[3])
- 2009 - "Atmosphere" Basildon Bond's Madhouse Mix (UK: #69)
Album
- 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)
- 2001 - TV to Go (television programme)
- 2003 - The Bill (television programme); guest appearance, single episode
- 2005 - Miss Marple (television programme)
- 2007 - The Last Detective (television programme); guest appearance, May 2007, single episode, in conjunction Roy Hudd
- 2008 - The Sarah Jane Adventures (television programme)
- 2009 - present - Last of the Summer Wine
- 2009 - Casualty (TV series) (television programme); guest apperance, Novemember 2009, single episode
References
- ^ Sherwin, Adam (2008-05-10). "Last of the Summer Wine antics 'dangerous' for elderly actors". The Times. http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article3905028.ece. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
- ^ http://www.holby.tv/db/index.php?id=44,618,0,0,1,0
- ^ a b c Guiness British Hit Singles (13th ed.), London, UK: Guinness World Records Ltd, 2000, pp. 69, ISBN 0-85112-111-X
External links
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