Grumpy Old Men (TV Show)
''Grumpy Old Men'' is a conversational-style British television series, first shown in October 2003 on BBC Two. The first run of four programmes was repeated several times before a second series, also of four episodes, was shown in 2004. A third series was broadcast in April 2006. There were also 2003 and 2004 Christmas specials. An Irish version, '' Gaybo's Grumpy Men'', was produced by RTÉ in 2005. Format The format shows a number of well-known middle-aged men talking about any issues of modern life which irritate them, from the proliferation of excessive road signs to unnecessary and overly-loud mobile phone conversations. Regular contributors include Jeremy Clarkson, Bob Geldof, John Humphrys, A. A. Gill, Nigel Havers, Tony Hawks, Simon Hoggart, John O'Farrell, Rory McGrath, Bill Nighy, Matthew Parris, John Peel, Will Self, Arthur Smith, Tim Rice, Rick Stein, Tony Slattery, Rick Wakeman, Lemn Sissay, Don Warrington, Des Lynam, Gerry Robinson,. The narrator is Geoffrey Pal ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term originated in ancient Greece: in Athenian democracy, the public opinion of voters was influenced by political satire performed by comic poets in theaters. The theatrical genre of Greek comedy can be described as a dramatic performance pitting two groups, ages, genders, or societies against each other in an amusing '' agon'' or conflict. Northrop Frye depicted these two opposing sides as a "Society of Youth" and a "Society of the Old". A revised view characterizes the essential agon of comedy as a struggle between a relatively powerless youth and the societal conventions posing obstacles to his hopes. In this struggle, the youth then becomes constrained by his lack of social authority, and is left with little choice but to resort to ruses w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
John O'Farrell (author)
John O'Farrell (born 27 March 1962) is a British author, scriptwriter, and political campaigner. Previously a lead writer for such shows as ''Spitting Image'' and '' Have I Got News for You'', he is now best known as a comic author for such books such as ''The Man Who Forgot His Wife'' and ''An Utterly Impartial History of Britain''. He is one of a small number of British writers to have achieved best-seller status with both fiction and nonfiction."May Contain Nuts" interview ''BooksatTransworld.co.uk'' He has also published three collections of his weekly column for ''The Guardian'' and set up Britain's first daily satirical news website NewsBiscuit. Wit ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Des Lynam
Desmond Michael Lynam, (born 17 September 1942) is an Irish-born television and radio presenter. In a broadcasting career spanning more than forty years, he has hosted television coverage of many of the world's major sporting events, presenting '' Grandstand'', ''Match of the Day'', Wimbledon, the Grand National, ''Sportsnight'', the World Cup and Olympic Games, as well as presenting non-sporting programmes such as ''Holiday'', ''How Do They Do That?'' and ''Countdown''. Early years Lynam was born in Ennis, County Clare, Ireland, and moved with his family to Brighton, England, at the age of six. He recalled having a strong Irish accent at that time, but eventually lost it. He passed the eleven-plus in 1954, to attend Varndean Grammar School. After sitting his A-levels, he went into the insurance business. Broadcasting career 1968–1999 Lynam started his career in broadcasting as a freelance radio journalist on BBC Radio Brighton (1968–1969). He quickly joined national BB ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Don Warrington
Don Warrington MBE (born Donald Williams, 23 May 1951) is a Trinidadian-born British actor. He is best known for playing Philip Smith in the ITV sitcom ''Rising Damp'' (1974–78), and Commissioner Selwyn Patterson in the BBC detective series '' Death in Paradise'' (2011–present). He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2008 Birthday Honours. Early life Warrington was born in Trinidad, but moved to England with his mother and brother at a young age, while his sister stayed in Trinidad. He was brought up in Newcastle upon Tyne. His father, Basil Kydd, was a Trinidadian politician who died in 1958. Warrington attended Harris College (now the University of Central Lancashire) and trained as an actor at the Drama Centre London. As there was already an actor called Don Williams when he joined Equity, he took the stage surname "Warrington" after Warrington Road, the street he grew up on. He started acting in repertory theatre at the age of 17. C ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Lemn Sissay
Lemn Sissay FRSL (born 21 May 1967) is a British author and broadcaster. Sissay was the official poet of the 2012 London Olympics, has been chancellor of the University of Manchester since 2015, and joined the Foundling Museum's board of trustees two years later, having previously been appointed one of the museum's fellows. He was awarded the 2019 PEN Pinter Prize. He has written a number of books and plays. Early life Sissay's mother, Yemarshet Sissay, arrived in Britain from Ethiopia in 1966. Pregnant at the time, she was sent from Bracknell to a home for unwed mothers in Lancashire to give birth. His birth father, Giddey Estifanos, was a pilot for Ethiopian Airlines, who later passed away in a plane crash in 1972. Sissay was born in Billinge Hospital, near Wigan, Lancashire, in 1967. Norman Goldthorpe, a social worker assigned to his mother by Wigan Social Services, found foster parents for Sissay while his mother returned to Bracknell to finish her studies. Goldthorpe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Rick Wakeman
Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboardist best known as a former member of the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004, and for his solo albums released in the 1970s. Born and raised in West London, Wakeman intended to be a concert pianist but quit his studies at the Royal College of Music in 1969 to become a full-time session musician. His early sessions included playing on "Space Oddity", among others, for David Bowie, and songs by Junior's Eyes, T. Rex, Elton John, and Cat Stevens. Wakeman became a member of The Strawbs in 1970 before joining Yes a year later, playing on some of their most successful albums across two stints until 1980. Wakeman began his solo career in 1973; his highest-selling solo albums are his first three, '' The Six Wives of Henry VIII'' (1973), ''Journey to the Centre of the Earth'' (1974), and ''The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table'' (1975), all concept alb ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Tony Slattery
Tony Declan James Slattery (born 9 November 1959) is an English actor and comedian. He appeared on British television regularly from the mid-1980s, most notably as a regular on the Channel 4 improvisation show ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' His serious and comedic film work has included roles in ''The Crying Game'', ''Peter's Friends'' and ''How to Get Ahead in Advertising''. Early life and education Slattery was born in Stonebridge, north London, into a working-class background, the fifth and last child of Catholic Irish immigrants, Michael and Margaret Slattery. In 2019 Slattery revealed that he had been repeatedly sexually abused by a priest at the age of eight, but had never told his parents; he believes the event contributed to his unstable character later in life. He was educated at Gunnersbury Boys' Grammar School in west London and won a scholarship to read Modern and Medieval Languages at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, specialising in French literature and Spanish poetry. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Rick Stein
Rick may refer to: People *Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name *Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality *Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycologist; also his botanical author abbreviation *Marvin Rick (1901–1999), American middle-distance runner Units of measure *Rick, a quantity of firewood, related to a cord, in some parts of the US *Rick, a stack or pile of hay, grain or straw Other uses *Tropical Storm Rick (other) * ''Rick'' (film), a 2003 film starring Bill Pullman *RICK, stock ticker symbol for Rick's Cabaret International, Inc. See also *Richard (other) *Ricks (other) *Ricky (other) *Rix (other) Rix may refer to: Places * Rix, Jura, a commune in France * Rix, Nièvre, a commune in France People * Rix (surname) * Rix Robinson (1789–1875), Michigan pioneer Other uses * ''Rix'', a Gaulish word meaning "king"; cognate w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Tim Rice
Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English lyricist and author. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ''Jesus Christ Superstar'', and ''Evita''; with Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson of ABBA, with whom he wrote ''Chess''; and with Disney on '' Aladdin, The Lion King'', the stage adaptation of ''Beauty and the Beast'', and the original Broadway musical ''Aida''. He also wrote lyrics for the Alan Menken musical ''King David'', and for DreamWorks Animation's ''The Road to El Dorado''. Rice was knighted by Elizabeth II for services to music in 1994. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, is an inductee into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame, is a Disney Legend recipient, and is a fellow of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors. In addition to his awards in the UK, he is one of seventeen artists to have won an Emmy, Osc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Arthur Smith (comedian)
Brian Arthur John Smith (born 27 November 1954) is an English alternative comedian, presenter and writer. Early life Smith was born on 27 November 1954 in Bermondsey, south London. His eldest brother is Richard Smith, a medical doctor, editor and businessman. His younger brother is Nick Smith, a civil servant who was also a stand-up comic but in recent years has turned to amateur dramatics. Arthur was a student and school captain at The Roan School for Boys, a grammar school, now The John Roan School in Blackheath, London. He then studied at the University of East Anglia, where he was chairman of the poetry society, wrote for the student newspaper and contributed sketches for a student revue. He graduated with a 2:1 BA degree in Comparative literature in 1976. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Will Self
William Woodard Self (born 26 September 1961) is an English author, journalist, political commentator and broadcaster. He has written 11 novels, five collections of shorter fiction, three novellas and nine collections of non-fiction writing. Self is currently Professor of Modern Thought at Brunel University London, where he teaches psychogeography. His 2002 novel ''Dorian, an Imitation'' was longlisted for the Booker Prize, and his 2012 novel ''Umbrella'' was shortlisted. His fiction is known for being satirical, grotesque and fantastical, and is predominantly set within his home city of London. His writing often explores mental illness, drug abuse and psychiatry. Self is a regular contributor to publications including ''The Guardian'', '' Harper's Magazine'', ''The New York Times'' and the '' London Review of Books''. He currently writes a column for the ''New Statesman'', and he has been a columnist for the ''Observer'', ''The Times'', and the ''Evening Standard''. His col ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004. Peel was one of the first broadcasters to play psychedelic rock and progressive rock records on British radio. He is widely acknowledged for promoting artists of multiple genres, including pop, dub reggae, punk rock and post-punk, electronic music and dance music, indie rock, extreme metal and British hip hop. Fellow DJ Paul Gambaccini described Peel as "the most important man in music for about a dozen years". Peel's Radio 1 shows were notable for the regular "Peel sessions", which usually consisted of four songs recorded by an artist in the BBC's studios, often providing the first major national coverage to bands that later achieved fame. Another feature was the annual Festive Fifty countdown of his ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |