Harry Hill
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Dr. Matthew Hall (born October 1, 1964), better known as Harry Roy Hill, is a British stand-up comedian who has graduated to being a star of British television by way of a BBC radio series Harry Hill's Fruit Corner. He was born in Woking and educated at Cranbrook School in Kent, and holds a medical degree from St George's Hospital Medical School.
Hill's humour is quirky almost to the point of surrealism. In way of illustrating this, the comedy historian Oliver Double described Hill as being "Ronnie Corbett possessed by the ghost of Salvador Dalí." [1] His character has a trademark appearance, comprising a bald head, thick black spectacles, pens in his top pocket, small badges on his lapel and a comically oversized shirt collar.
Harry Hill is one of many alternative British comics associated with the Avalon Promotions comedy family. Other careers launched from this company include Richard Herring, Stewart Lee, Dave Gorman, Simon Munnery, Frank Skinner, David Baddiel and Al Murray[2].
In 2003, he was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, he was voted amongst the top 50 comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders[3] In 2007 he was voted number five on Channel 4's hundred greatest stand-ups.
On December 13, 2006, he won two Highland Spring British Comedy Awards, over the favourites Ant and Dec, which Harry made light of in his acceptance speeches[4].
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[edit] Radio and Television
Starting in 1993 and running for four series, Harry starred in his own BBC Radio 4 programme, Harry Hill's Fruit Corner.
In 1994 Harry made the transition to television, where he produced and starred in six episodes of a very peculiar show called Fruit Fancies. The name was somewhat similar to his radio show at the time Fruit Corner and was transmitted on BBC Two in 1994. This was a 10 minute episode series and was filmed in black and white with little or no dialogue.
From 1997 Harry had his own Channel 4 television series called The Harry Hill Show (listed simply as Harry Hill on screen) which ran to three series. The show was essentially a reworking of the Radio series Harry Hill’s Fruit Corner. Among the regular characters were Harry's big brother, 'Alan' (played by the comedian Al Murray) and his adopted son 'Little Alan' (played by Dr. Matt Bradstock).
The actor Burt Kwouk appeared in every episode of the Harry Hill show and occasionally, Harry's major live standup shows. Kwouk plays Harry's 'Chicken Catcher' and each week he will have an excuse as to why he has not yet captured a chicken, followed by singing the song Hey Little Hen and dancing. It was odd that such a star was performing in such an amateur and ridiculous fashion, and therein lay the joke: Kwouk would do almost anything for a joke on Harry's show, as long as it was slightly demeaning. In later series Hill and Kwouk appeared in sketches as Karl Lagerfeld and Gianni Versace.
Harry's wife May Sung also made appearances on the show, mainly around the theme of trying to steal Harry's savings book.
Another favourite on the show was Stouffer the cat. Stouffer is a curious-looking cat glove puppet made of blue rubber. Stouffer normally sits in a throne supported by a rubber 'Rod Hull' arm. Harry employs Stouffer to intimidate guests in his standup routines and as part of a strange children's TV parody sketch on his TV show. Stouffer's catch phrase is Respect Due.
Other regular skits included appearances by The Man from The Joy of Sex and a foul mouthed ventriloquist's dummy as deranged Michael Grade.
The end of each episode was supposed to host an event called 'The Badger Parade': a strange parade of puppet badgers. But every week there would be some kind of problem resulting in the badgers being unable to perform. In place of the badger parade, Harry would usually sing a song, with a guest he had invited onto the show.
2001 saw Harry move to ITV presenting an all-new show Harry Hill's TV Burp, which has had six series so far. The show is a comic look at the week's television, picking out and commenting on lines and scenes from various programmes. Also on ITV1 was The All New Harry Hill Show, similar to his Channel 4 show, but with a bigger budget and more celebrity guests. Regular features included the Hamilton Challenge and a Butterfly in Blue Jeans finale.
In 2004 Harry became the new narrator & fourth presenter of You've Been Framed, a programme in the "funny home videos" genre.
2005 saw Harry move into new territory with Harry Hill's Shark Infested Custard, a 13-part show broadcast in the CITV slot. While many of his previous characters including Stouffer and Garry Hill (Hill's fictional layabout son from his first marriage) remained, it also showcased several new characters including Speed Camera Boy, about an outsider who is half boy and half speed camera, and Evelynne Hussey and her amazing instruments. While the show featured a game show element, Help the Aged, it was very similar in structure to The Harry Hill Show.
In 2006 he appeared in Children's Party At The Palace for Queen Elizabeth II's 80th birthday. He was also on he appeared on Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway on October 14, 2006, alongside Al Murray, and on November 8, 2006 he appeared on The New Paul O'Grady Show.[5][6]
[edit] Standup
Harry Hill has established a tight and successful standup structure in which he employs the comedic process of 'reincorporation' to a uniquely obsessive degree. He sets up a number of running themes and slips in and out of each thread without warning. Harry is one of the comedians set on his way by Malcolm Hardee.
His routines are usually smut-free and he seldom employs harsh language. There is often a sexual undertone to his work but his humour appears grounded in petty 'old time' attitudes and conservatism.
Occasionally, such as in his 1997 Man Alive show he employs video footage. In this case, a short movie featuring himself and Matt Bradstock called The boy with the big face was presented at the beginning of the show.
Stouffer the cat usually appears in his standup; in later shows, riding on the success of his TV series, Burt Kwouk and other characters from the TV show would also show up.
Harry has also developed many catchphrases over the years including "what are the chances of that happening?" after a bizarre routine and "pork and lamb: they're the main two" in relation to chops.
Chops, Savlon, puppets, discussion of TV soaps and failed celebrities are all Harry Hill signatures.
Harry Hill appeared on the We Know Where You Live! video along with Eddie Izzard and Paul Whitehouse.
There are five Harry Hill standup comedy videos on general release in the UK.
He has appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman seven times with Letterman saying about Harry, "I like that guy, there is something wrong with him." He also at one point held the record for the British comedian with the most appearances on Letterman, as of 2005 [7].
[edit] Books
In 2003 Harry Hill's first novel was published. It is called, Flight from Deathrow, which is made up of the hilarious antics of celebrities as seen through the eyes of the storyteller, whilst in and out of a coma.
He published his second book in October 2006, Tim the Tiny Horse and is embarking on a short UK stand up tour to promote it. See his website for details.
Also available is the Harry Hill funbook: a Christmas cash-in and spin-off from the TV show published at the height of its popularity.
[edit] Quotes
- "I knew I was going bald when it was taking longer and longer to wash my face."
- "Want to know where your post has come from? Run after your postman shouting '1-4-7-1!'" (Star-69)
- "Apparently you can tell a lot about people from what they're like."
- "I have a really nice stepladder. Sadly, I never knew my real ladder."
- "Not just Jockeys I think all small men should have to wear a number."
- "If you drop a Bible on a field mouse, it'll kill it. So maybe the Bible's not all good?"
- "Is it just me, or does anyone else get the amount you're allowed to drink when you're driving mixed up with the amount you're allowed to take through customs?"
- "Why do they put the little holes in the top of the biscuits? (Points to random audience member) YOU, go and find out!"
- "What is it about people that repair shoes that makes them so good at cutting keys? Try going in there with a shoe shaped like a key and see how confused they get."
- "My dad used to say - Always fight fire with fire. Which is probably why he was thrown out of the fire brigade."
- "My nan has a picture of the United Kingdom tattooed all over her body. You can say what you like about my nan, but at least you know where you are with her."
- "Apparently the main problem with heroin.... its very more-ish..."
- "I found out this week that my Mum's got false teeth. So how can I believe a single word that she tells me?"
- "You know what I blame the increase in crime on? The rise of mobile phones. There's fewer phone boxes. Fewer places for Superman to get changed in. He's having to get changed in Portaloos. Is that what we want? Is that the sort of society that we want? A world where Superman has to stand on his shoes to get changed?"
- "Tim Rice? Tim Curry? What is it about the name Tim that suggests Indian food?"
- "Vegetarians tend to be the same touchy-feely bunch that go on about the environment. Well, maybe there'd be more environment about, if you lot weren't eating all the plants."
- "You know the white plastic doll's house garden furniture that you get free with the home delivery pizzas? I keep getting the table. What's that about? They're not making enough chairs are they? The ratio of tables to chairs should be at least four to one!"
- "What is it with chimpanzees and that middle parting? It's so 1920s."
- "I think dogs should only be allowed to eat food that rhymes with their names. Under this system Poodles would only be able to eat noodles or strudel. But if you think about it that is the only dog which rhymes with a food so that's probably why the system isn't in effect. No, stop trying to think of a dog which rhymes with a food there isn't one. Stop it!
(later)
Quiche Lorraine, Great Dane. No, I won't accept it
(later)
Labrador, lobster thermidor. OK, I'll accept that one."
- "I remember the shouts of "SCAB!" as my father went to work. "SCAB!" they would shout during the great dermatologists strike..."
- "Last night I had a lovely quattro formaggi pizza. Bit cheesy."
- "My auntie used to say "What you can't see can't hurt you." She died of radiation poisoning a few months back."
- "I don't wear a watch. I want my arms to weigh the same."
- "Hitler was a bad man. Winston Churchill was a good man. But if you were in a balloon with Hitler and Churchill, and you were losing altitude..."
- "Isn't it embarrassing when you cough up a hairball and it isn't your colour?"
(At the 2006 BAFTA Comedy Awards, after announcing the nominations for best comedy) "They're all good but which ones the winner? There's only one way to find out... FIGHT!"
- "My mum used to work in an abattoir, stunning cows. Some of the sheep weren't bad looking either."
- "Apparently if you find an osprey egg and you give it the right temperature, the right conditions, that egg will turn into a beautiful... omelette."
- "I went to an Indian restaurant called A Taste Of The Raj. The waiter hit me with a big stick and got me to build a complicated railway system."
- "It's only when you look at an ant through a magnifying glass on a sunny day that you realize how often they burst into flames.
[edit] Trivia
- A fan of Morrissey and The Smiths, Hill appeared on a edition of Celebrity Stars in their Eyes as Morrissey - and on tour posters, he is frequently billed as Britain's leading Morrissey impersonator.
- Harry's instantly recognisable voice often lands him in voice-over roles on television commercials. For example, he starred in Christmas adverts for Boots in 2004.
- He can sing How Much Is That Doggie In The Window? backwards.
| Preceded by Jonathan Wilkes |
Host of You've Been Framed 2004 |
Succeeded by incumbent |
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.comedy-zone.net/standup/comedian/h/hill-harry.htm
- ^ http://www.comedy-zone.net/standup/comedian/h/hill-harry.htm
- ^ http://www.comedy-zone.net/standup/comedian/h/hill-harry.htm.
- ^ http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/article/ds40735.html
- ^ http://www.harryhill.tv
- ^ http://www.avalonuk.com/management/artist_hill.htm
- ^ http://www.funny.co.uk/news/art_72-3363-Harry-Hill-Sets-Record.html
- Unknown, Unknown. "Harry Hill : Comedian Profile", Comedy Zone, 1999-2006. Retrieved on February 13, 2007.
- Wilkes, Neil. "British Comedy Awards 2006: The Winners", Digital Spy, 2006-12-13. Retrieved on February 13, 2007.
- Hill, Harry. "Harry Hill", 2007. Retrieved on February 13, 2007.
- Unknown, Unknown. "A V A L O N", Avalon UK, 2006. Retrieved on February 13, 2007.
[edit] External links
- Harry-Hill.tv - official website
- Avalon.co.uk - Avalon
- TV Recordings Free tickets to Harry Hill's TV shows
