Adam Christopher Hills (born 10 July 1970) is an Australian comedian, radio and television presenter. In Australia, he hosted the music quiz show ''
Spicks and Specks'' from 2005 to 2011, and again in 2021 onwards, and the talk show ''
Adam Hills Tonight
''Adam Hills Tonight'', formerly known as ''Adam Hills in Gordon Street Tonight'', is a comedic Australian television interview show that ran from February 2011 to July 2013 on ABC1. It was hosted by comedian Adam Hills and co-starred Hannah Gads ...
'' from 2011 to 2013. In the United Kingdom, he has hosted the talk show ''
The Last Leg
''The Last Leg'' (known during its first series as ''The Last Leg with Adam Hills'' and in Australia as ''Adam Hills: The Last Leg'') is a British comedy and late-night television talk/sketch show that originally ran alongside the 2012 Summer Pa ...
'' since 2012. He has been nominated for an
Edinburgh Comedy Award
The Dave's Edinburgh Comedy Awards (formerly the Perrier Comedy Awards, and also briefly known by other names for sponsorship reasons) are presented to the comedy shows deemed to have been the best at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland. ...
, the
Gold Logie
The Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television, commonly referred to simply as the Gold Logie, is an award presented annually at the Australian Logie Awards.
The Gold Logie was first awarded at the 2nd Annual TV We ...
Award and numerous
BAFTA TV Awards
The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the BAFTA. They have been awarded annually since 1955.
Background
The first-ever Awards, given in 1955, consisted of six categories. Until ...
.
Born in
Loftus, Sydney, he began performing as a stand-up comedian in 1989 at the age of 19 and, since 1997, has produced ten solo shows which have toured internationally. He has performed at the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...
, the
Melbourne International Comedy Festival
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) is the largest stand-alone comedy festival and the second-largest international comedy festival in the world. Established in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks, typicall ...
and the Montreal
Just for Laughs festival, earning three consecutive Edinburgh Award nominations for his Edinburgh shows in 2001, 2002 and 2003.
In 2002, he scored a minor hit in Australia with his single "Working Class Anthem", in which he sang the lyrics of the
Australian National Anthem
"Advance Australia Fair" is the national anthem of Australia. Written by Scottish-born composer Peter Dodds McCormick, the song was first performed in 1878, sung in Australia as a patriotic song. It first replaced "God Save the Queen" as the ...
to the tune of "
Working Class Man
"Working Class Man" is a song performed and made famous by Australian singer Jimmy Barnes. It was written by Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain. "Working Class Man" is generally considered Barnes' signature song as a solo artist.
At the 19 ...
", a song by Scottish-born Australian rocker
Jimmy Barnes
James Dixon "Jimmy" Barnes (née Swan; born 28 April 1956) is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer. His career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the rock band Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most popular and best- ...
.
Career
Stand-up career
Hills first appearance in comedy scene was in 1989 at the Sydney Comedy Store. He did breakfast radio on
SAFM
SAFM (official callsign: 5SSA) is a commercial FM radio station owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo as part of the Hit Network. The station is broadcast to Adelaide, South Australia from studios in Franklin Street.
History
The stati ...
in Adelaide, as well as stand-up gigs and, by the mid-1990s, he decided to focus on live comedy. His first solo show premiered in 1997 and was called "Stand Up and Deliver", taking its name from an
Adam and the Ants
Adam and the Ants were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. The group existed in two incarnations, both fronted by Adam Ant, over the period 1977 to 1982. The first, founded in May 1977 and known simply as The Ants until November of t ...
song. He has travelled widely, performing at the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...
, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the Montreal Just For Laughs festival. He has been nominated for three consecutive Edinburgh Comedy Awards for his 2001, 2002 and 2003 solo shows at the Edinburgh Fringe.
The title of his 2001 show, "Go You Big Red Fire Engine", was coined during a 1999 performance in Melbourne. Hills asked an audience member to yell his name to the audience and for the audience to yell it back, but instead the man yelled "Go you big red fire engine!"
[ ] The phrase quickly became an audience chant, and Hills promised he would make it the name of his next show because, he says, "it was such an uplifting and genuinely silly moment." "Go You Big Red Fire Engine" later became the name of a second stand-up show and a comedy album. It also appeared in a Detroit newspaper, on a Swedish website, and was yelled by Senator
Natasha Stott Despoja
Natasha Jessica Stott Despoja AO (born 9 September 1969) is an Australian politician, diplomat, advocate and author. She is the founding Chair of the Board of Our Watch, the national foundation to prevent violence against women and their childr ...
in the
Australian Parliament
The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the governor-g ...
.
Hills' artificial right foot is commonly used as a source of humour in his shows and the comedian has been known to remove it and pass it around. However, he had been performing live comedy for over a decade before he made reference to his prosthesis on stage, and it was only after "Go You Big Red Fire Engine" was nominated for a Perrier Award in 2001 that he began incorporating it into his act. Hills says he felt he could too easily have become a novelty act and that he "didn't want to be known as the one-legged comedian ... I wanted to prove myself as a comic before talking about this".
At his festival shows, Hills regularly performs alongside Leanne Beer, an
Auslan
Auslan () is the majority sign language of the Australian Deaf community. The term ''Auslan'' is a portmanteau of "Australian Sign Language", coined by Trevor Johnston in the 1980s, although the language itself is much older. Auslan is relat ...
sign interpreter, a move sparked by a performance he did in
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
at a disability art conference. An interpreter had been provided at the show, and Hills found that it not only allowed the deaf audience members to enjoy his material but was also an entertaining and fascinating experience for the hearing audience members. "Now I have hearing people who will only book
or sign interpreted shows
Or or OR may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* "O.R.", a 1974 episode of M*A*S*H
* Or (My Treasure), a 2004 movie from Israel (''Or'' means "light" in Hebrew)
Music
* ''Or'' (album), a 2002 album by Golden Boy with Miss ...
, he says.
His influences are
Chris Addison
Christopher David Addison (born 5 November 1971) is a British comedian, writer, actor, and director. He is perhaps best known for his role as a regular panellist on ''Mock the Week''. He is also known for his lecture-style comedy shows, two of ...
,
Greg Fleet
Gregory Fleet is an Australian comedian and actor.
History
Early life
Fleet was born in Michigan, in the United States. His father moved the family to Australia when Greg was four. He grew up in Geelong, and as a teenager boarded at Geelong G ...
,
Rich Hall,
Daniel Kitson
Daniel John Kitson (born 2 July 1977) is an English comedian and writer.
Early life
Daniel John Kitson was born in Denby Dale on 2 July 1977, the son of a primary school headteacher mother and a lecturer father. He was a pupil at Scissett Midd ...
,
Ross Noble
Ross Markham Noble (born 5 June 1976) is an English stand-up comedian and actor. Noble rose to mainstream popularity through making appearances on British television, particularly interviews and on panel shows such as '' Have I Got News for You' ...
and
David O'Doherty
David Nicholas O'Doherty (; born 18 December 1975) is an Irish comedian, author, musician, actor and playwright and son of renowned jazz pianist Jim Doherty. His stand-up has won many international awards including the if.comedy award in 2008 a ...
.
Television career
Hills hosted the music trivia show ''Spicks and Specks'' from its premiere in 2005. In late-2007, he joined the show on a national live tour dubbed the "Spicks and Speck-tacular", with appearances in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Newcastle and Perth. In late 2011 and early 2012, the show hit the road again for ''Spicks and Speck-tacular – The Finale'', appearing in Sydney, Newcastle, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Wollongong, Canberra, Adelaide, Perth and Melbourne. He has also made appearances on Australian shows: ''
Rove Live
''Rove'', also titled ''Rove Live'', was an Australian television variety show that featured live music performances and interviews with local and international celebrity guests. The program premiered on the Nine Network on 22 September 1999, be ...
'', ''
The Glass House'' and ''
The Fat
''The Fat'' was an Australian sports based talk show television series, broadcast and produced by ABC TV.The series began on 6 March 2000, and ended on 18 November 2003.
Program synopsis
Host Tony Squires, with regulars Peter Wilkins and Rebec ...
'', as well as the UK shows: ''
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' is a British comedy panel game show with a pop music theme. It has aired on Sky Max since September 2021, having originally aired between November 1996 and January 2015 on BBC Two. The original series was first hoste ...
'', ''
Mock the Week
''Mock the Week'' is a British topical satirical celebrity panel show, created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson. It was produced by Angst Productions for BBC Two, and was broadcast from 5 June 2005 to 4 November 2022. The programme was present ...
,'' ''
QI'' and ''
Ask Rhod Gilbert
''Ask Rhod Gilbert'' is a British comedy panel show produced by Green Inc for the BBC. It began on 27 September 2010 and ended on 9 November 2011 on BBC One, it is presented by Rhod Gilbert with Greg Davies and Lloyd Langford as regular panelists ...
''. Additionally he appeared on the first TV edition of BBC Northern Ireland's ''Great Unanswered Questions''. He conducted backstage interviews at Australia's 2005 and 2006
Logie Award
The Logie Awards (officially the TV Week Logie Awards; colloquially known as The Logies) is an annual gathering to celebrate Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The first ceremony was held in 1959 as the ...
s and was one of three presenters at the 2007 awards.
In September 2008, Hills co-hosted the ABC coverage of the
2008 Summer Paralympics
The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was ...
.
In July 2009, Hills appeared in ''
Thank God You're Here
''Thank God You're Here'' is an Australian television improvised comedy program created by Working Dog Productions, which premiered on Network Ten on 5 April 2006, and aired for the first three seasons and on Seven for the fourth season.
Each ...
''; he also appeared on ''
Good News Week
''Good News Week'' is an Australian satirical panel game show hosted by Paul McDermott that aired from 19 April 1996 to 27 May 2000, and 11 February 2008 to 28 April 2012. The show's initial run aired on ABC until being bought by Network Ten in ...
''.
Hills presented his own weekly talk show, ''
Adam Hills in Gordon Street Tonight'', on the ABC from early-2011. In 2012 it was renamed ''
Adam Hills Tonight
''Adam Hills Tonight'', formerly known as ''Adam Hills in Gordon Street Tonight'', is a comedic Australian television interview show that ran from February 2011 to July 2013 on ABC1. It was hosted by comedian Adam Hills and co-starred Hannah Gads ...
'' and ended with its third-season finale on 31 July 2013.
In 2012, he was part of the UK
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
TV commentary team for the London
2012 Summer Paralympics, and hosted a daily alternative review of each day's events, ''
The Last Leg with Adam Hills'', with
Alex Brooker
Alexander James Brooker (born 15 May 1984) is an English journalist and presenter best known for his television work with Channel 4.
Since 2012, Brooker has co-hosted ''The Last Leg'', a Channel 4 panel show with Adam Hills and Josh Widdicombe ...
and comedian
Josh Widdicombe
Joshua Michael Widdicombe (; born 8 April 1983) is an English comedian, presenter and actor. He is best known for his appearances on '' The Last Leg'' (2012–present), ''Fighting Talk'' (2014–2016), '' Insert Name Here'' (2016–2019), ''Mock ...
. The show was renamed ''
The Last Leg
''The Last Leg'' (known during its first series as ''The Last Leg with Adam Hills'' and in Australia as ''Adam Hills: The Last Leg'') is a British comedy and late-night television talk/sketch show that originally ran alongside the 2012 Summer Pa ...
'', and was renewed for seven episodes in 2013, then extended to nine episodes, beginning on 25 January 2013. The 200th edition aired on 6 December 2019. Hills hosted the panel game ''Monumental'' for
BBC Northern Ireland
BBC Northern Ireland ( ga, BBC Thuaisceart Éireann; Ulster-Scots: ''BBC Norlin Airlan'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Northern Ireland. It is widely available across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ire ...
in 2013.
In August 2013, it was announced that Hills would present a special one-off revival episode of Channel 4's quiz show, ''
Fifteen to One
''Fifteen to One'' is a British general knowledge quiz show broadcast on Channel 4. It originally ran from 11 January 1988 to 19 December 2003 and had a reputation for being one of the toughest quizzes on TV. Throughout the show's original run ...
''. This was broadcast on 20 September 2013, as part of the channel's 1980s-themed ''Back to the Future'' weekend of programmes. He was credited under the name "Adam C. Hills" in a tribute to the original presenter,
William G. Stewart. In 2014, Hills returned to present four more celebrity specials; a full daytime series was hosted by Danish-born comedian
Sandi Toksvig
Sandra Birgitte Toksvig (; ; born 3 May 1958) is a Danish-British writer, comedian and broadcaster on British radio, stage and television. She is also a political activist, having co-founded the Women's Equality Party in 2015. She has written ...
.
In 2014, Hills co-starred in
Die On Your Feet
''Die on Your Feet'' is an Australian television comedy series premiering on One (Australian TV channel), One on 7 August 2014. The eight-part series follows the story of five fictional stand-up comedians trying to make a go of it in the Melbou ...
, an Australian TV series starring several real-life comedians as fictional comics at the
Melbourne International Comedy Festival
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) is the largest stand-alone comedy festival and the second-largest international comedy festival in the world. Established in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks, typicall ...
.
In 2016, Hills voiced Buddy Pendergast in ''
Thunderbirds Are Go''.
In February 2022 he began hosting the
Super League
The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...
coverage on Channel 4.
Other work
In 2002, Hills released a single titled "Working Class Anthem", in which he sang the lyrics of the Australian National Anthem, "
Advance Australia Fair
"Advance Australia Fair" is the national anthem of Australia. Written by Scottish people, Scottish-born composer Peter Dodds McCormick, the song was first performed in 1878, sung in Australia as a patriotic song. It first replaced "God Save the ...
", to the tune of "
Working Class Man
"Working Class Man" is a song performed and made famous by Australian singer Jimmy Barnes. It was written by Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain. "Working Class Man" is generally considered Barnes' signature song as a solo artist.
At the 19 ...
", a famous song by iconic Australian rocker
Jimmy Barnes
James Dixon "Jimmy" Barnes (née Swan; born 28 April 1956) is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer. His career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the rock band Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most popular and best- ...
. Around 40 comedians contributed to the song, which made the independent top 10 in Australia. All proceeds went to the
Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council
The National Council for Fire & Emergency Services (formerly the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council or ''AFAC''), is the peak body responsible for representing fire, emergency services and land management agencies in th ...
, an organisation supported by Barnes and
Jon Bon Jovi
John Francis Bongiovi Jr. (born March 2, 1962), known professionally as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is best known as the founder and frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, which was formed in 1983. He ...
that supports
firefighter
A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...
s. Hills has performed the song several times on television, including a performance honouring Barnes' guest appearance on ''Spicks and Specks''.
Between 2003 and 2005, Hills wrote as a columnist for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
's disability website ''Ouch!''.
Hills published a memoir, ''Best Foot Forward'', in 2018. His first book for children, "Rock Star Detectives", was published in February 2022. A second book in the series, titled "Murder at the Movies", is expected to be released in February 2023.
In 2019, ''Adam Hills: Take His Legs'' was released, a sports documentary that follows the birth of the
team from its creation, to the first PDRL World Club Challenge.
* Stand Up and Deliver (1997)
* Life Is Good (1998)
* My Own Little World (1999)
* Goody Two Shoes (2000)
* Go You Big Red Fire Engine (2001) – Perrier nominee
* Happy Feet (2002) – Perrier nominee
* Cut Loose (2003) – Perrier nominee
* Go You Big Red Fire Engine 2: Judgement Day (2004)
* Characterful (2006)
* Joymonger (2007)
* Inflatable (2009)
* Mess Around (2010)
* Adam Hills Stands Up Live (2012)
* Happyism (2013)
* Clown Heart (2015)
* Shoes Half Full (2021)
(ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the
. They commenced in 1987.
!
, -
,
. Hills was born without a right foot and wears a
, which has become a frequent source of comedy in his act.
. They have two daughters and lived in London until just prior to the
'', broadcast on 2 April 2013, Hills found that several generations of his ancestors had been German
.
.
team. In August 2018, he played in their World Club Challenge vs the
, winning 34–12. Hills was also a member of Australia's team for the
, as well as a spokesperson for the event.
In February 2020, Hills became Ambassador for
, a British charity for children with brain injury and neurodisability. He first became involved with The Children's Trust when he visited the charity in 2014 to meet Seb, a nine-year-old boy who had a severe brain injury and leg amputation following a road traffic collision. He has also supported five annual comedy shows at The Comedy Store for the charity.
In April 2020,
released a set of stamps recognising Australian Legends of Comedy, with Hills appearing on one of the stamps.
Hills was appointed
for services to Paralympic sport and disability awareness.