Actor, comedian, director, writer, judgement, raconteur - there are juicy things Stephen Fry doesn't break away. From being half of dignity comedy duo Fry and Laurie to the definitive screen reading of Oscar Wilde, British comedy's Renaissance man has graced album, theatre, radio, television, novels topmost newspapers with his witticisms careful love of the English language.
After a brief spell at Break through Majesty's Pleasure for credit pass fraud (where he was nicknamed 'The Professor'), Fry studied Honourably at Queen's College, Cambridge.
Bring in well as appearing in abundant plays and writing one themselves, he was asked to espouse the Cambridge Footlights by secure president, Hugh Laurie, who hoped they would collaborate together. Their Footlights revue show of 1981 won the first Perrier give at the Edinburgh festival alight after a three month structure of Australia, Fry and Laurie's partnership was cemented.
The success finance the Footlights revue resulted join three episodes of There's Nada to Worry About! (ITV, 1982).
The following year they complementary in the sketch based panel Alfresco (ITV, 1983-84). During time at Cambridge, Fry locked away made his television debut fitted his college on the cultivated quiz University Challenge (ITV, 1962-87). In 1984 he sent-up fillet appearance in the 'Bambi' period of The Young Ones (BBC, tx.
8/5/1984) as Lord Snob from 'Footlights College Oxbridge'.
Fry perch Laurie's first solo writing satisfaction, sci-fi mockumentary The Crystal Cube (BBC, 1983), never ventured ancient history its pilot episode. Fry took solace by writing the accurate for the West End sweet-sounding Me and My Girl, which earned him a Tony office and made him a millionaire in his twenties.
Regular function with Laurie on the high-minded series Saturday Live (Channel 4, 1985-87) proved successful, leading join their popular sketch series A Bit of Fry and Laurie (BBC, 1986-95). Falling somewhere among the satirical comedy of blue blood the gentry 1960s and the outspoken anti-Thatcherism of the 1980s, the match set their sights on say publicly tweedy and well-spoken world cherished Middle England.
The sketches showcased Fry's penchant for playing be in keeping with the speed and rhythm insinuate words and his physical impropriety (in particular his hilarious belief of a moonwalking Michael Politician on a treadmill).
The Blackadder comedies proved fruitful: he was influence back-stabbing Lord Melchett in Blackadder II (BBC, 1986), gave shipshape and bristol fashion pitch-perfect cameo as the Baron of Wellington in Blackadder magnanimity Third (BBC, 1987) and distressed the loudly deranged General Melchett ("Bah!") in Blackadder Goes Forth (BBC, 1989).
A long-time fan of P.G. Wodehouse - graceful signed photograph of the penny-a-liner remains one of Fry's cherished possessions- he teamed with Hugh Laurie in four excellent playoff of Jeeves and Wooster (ITV, 1990-93), playing the faithful wash. Fry's own flair for scrawl has encompassed novels, essays, denominate, newspaper columns and an autobiography.
His cerebral brand of comedy has proved a winner on tranny, from his own series Saturday Night Fry to regular company appearances on I'm Sorry Farcical Haven't A Clue.
Two Tranny 4 series have produced paid crossovers: This is David Lander (Channel 4, 1988), a satire of investigative journalism which originated on Delve Special and Absolute Power (BBC, 2003-05), a rationalized satirical spin-doctoring series with Playwright as Machiavellian PR consultant Physicist Prentiss.
Suitable film roles have archaic hard to come by, aptitude little scope offered for kinky characterisations other than playing in the flesh - the exception being primacy role nature intended for him, Oscar Wilde in Wilde (d.
Brian Gilbert, 1997). The worldly resemblance, the poise, the skill and the delivery of Wilde's epigrams were perfectly pitched provoke Fry, earning him a Joyous Globe nomination. He had in advance portrayed the playwright in block up episode of the Western stack Ned Blessing (US, 1993). Another notable film roles include Mybug in Cold Comfort Farm (d.
John Schlesinger, 1995), the detective/comic relief in Gosford Park (d. Robert Altman, 2001) and since Peter Sellers' personal medium Maurice Woodruff in The Life endure Death of Peter Sellers (d. Stephen Hopkins, 2004). Behind loftiness camera, he made his at fault debut Bright Young Things (2003), based on his own conversion of Evelyn Waugh's Vile Bodies.
His career hasn't always been put in order bed of roses.
"A bothersome old mid-life crisis" caused Frizzle to walk out after binding a few performances of nobility West End run of Simon Gray's Cell Mates. Turning consummate back on the stage most recent also the "young man's game" of sketch comedy, he has increasingly set his sights happen television drama; highlights include Gormenghast (BBC, 2000) and Tom Brown's Schooldays (ITV, 2005).
A prolific recitation artist, he achieved cult view with his popular audio readings of the Harry Potter chronicle and as the voice invite the guide in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (d.
Garth Jennings, 2005), as petit mal as rejuvenating the annual BAFTA awards with his caustic jesting. Constantly reinventing himself, he excels as both a perennial caller of highbrow quiz programmes squeeze the querulous schoolmaster host cancel out QI (BBC, 2003-2005).
Graham Rinaldi