David Barry Hilton (born 29 January 1956) is a South African stand-up comedian. Referred to by his middle name, Barry (aka 'The Cousin'),
he is also an actor,
television personality
and motivational speaker. After 6 years of initially working as an
electrician
An electrician is a tradesperson specializing in electrical wiring of buildings, transmission lines, stationary machines, and related equipment. Electricians may be employed in the installation of new electrical components or the maintenance ...
he tried his hand at comedy – turning Professional in 1983 at the age of 26.
[WITBANKNEWS/NUUS (Friday) 23 September 2011 Page 18] Inspired by comedians
Richard Pryor
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, and is widely regarded as on ...
and
Billy Connolly
Sir William Connolly (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish actor, retired comedian, artist, writer, musician, and presenter. He is sometimes known, especially in his homeland, by the Scots nickname the Big Yin ("the Big One"). Known for his ...
, Hilton's personal style can best be described as a combination of
observational
Observation is the active acquisition of information from a primary source. In living beings, observation employs the senses. In science, observation can also involve the perception and recording of data (information), data via the use of scienti ...
,
satirical
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...
and
physical comedy
Physical comedy is a form of 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 ...
.
Early life and education
Hilton was born in 1956 to Irene Natalie Lieveaux, a French Mauritian descendant and Lancashire-born father Jack Hilton. In 1961 Hilton's family moved from
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kn ...
to
North Wales
, area_land_km2 = 6,172
, postal_code_type = Postcode
, postal_code = LL, CH, SY
, image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg
, map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...
where he attended St Joseph's Roman Catholic Junior School from the age of 5 (1961) to the age of 10 (1966). Ages 11 to 12 were spent at
Blessed Edward Jones Catholic High School
Christ the Word Catholic School is a Catholic co-educational voluntary aided secondary school situated on Cefndy Road, in Rhyl, Denbighshire. It opened in September 2019 and is an English-medium school. It replaced both a secondary school, Bles ...
in Rhyl until the family relocated to
Newlands
Newlands may refer to:
Places Australia
* Newlands, Queensland, a locality in the Whitsunday Region
New Zealand
* Newlands, Wellington, a suburb of Wellington
South Africa
* Newlands, Cape Town, a suburb of Cape Town
* Newlands, Johannesbur ...
in
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
, South Africa where his father worked as a
bricklayer
A bricklayer, which is related to but different from a mason, is a craftsman and tradesman who lays bricks to construct brickwork. The terms also refer to personnel who use blocks to construct blockwork walls and other forms of masonry. ...
. From March 1969 to December 1971 Hilton was a pupil at Observatory Boys (now Rhodes High School) but left at age 15 to start an apprenticeship at Joffe Electrical, which he completed in 1974.
Early career
![Barry Hilton](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Barry_Hilton.jpg)
Whilst working as the maintenance manager of a hotel frequented by the cast of the comedy television show 'Biltong and Potroast' Hilton met Johnny Noble who managed to get him into his first gig at The Holiday Inn, in
Port Elizabeth
Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...
in May 1983. This was followed by a six-month stint as compere at cabaret spot, the Millionaires Club in
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
after which he relocated to
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
to perform at local pub, The Jolly Roger. It was here where agent Josie Broude (of the "Don Hughes Organisation") run by Maurice Fresco discovered Hilton and represented him for 10 years up until her death in 1994. Performances at the Runway Bar, Royal Swazi Sun and Wild Coast Sun followed, making Hilton the first South African comedian ever to perform at the latter.
Hilton is also the first South African comedian ever to perform at the Sun City Extravaganza. There he shared the stage with eccentric French actress/dancer/singer Jacqueline Du Gay from Las Vegas whilst continuing to perform as a relatively unknown comic at the Sun City Super Bowl in 'Laugh Aid' 1989. Due to his mother's illness with cancer, Hilton returned to South Africa from a four night gig called 'In on the park' at St Helier on the Channel Islands Jersey where he opened for
Billy Connolly
Sir William Connolly (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish actor, retired comedian, artist, writer, musician, and presenter. He is sometimes known, especially in his homeland, by the Scots nickname the Big Yin ("the Big One"). Known for his ...
. In 1990 he moved back to South Africa permanently, returning to the Runway Bar for four years to continue his work in a new Connolly inspired direction. Here Joe Parker advised him to book sets and take money from the door rather than working for guaranteed money gigs. Basil O'Hagen gave Hilton the opportunity to do so at Dan Keld West, and after having performed for only six people on the first night, gigs picked up steadily and Hilton's career in comedy started to look promising. To date Hilton has opened for comic greats such as
Bob Monkhouse
Robert Alan Monkhouse (1 June 1928 – 29 December 2003) was an English comedian, writer and actor. He was the host of television game shows including ''The Golden Shot'', ''Celebrity Squares'', ''Family Fortunes'' and '' ''Wipeout'.
Early ...
,
Bobby Davro
Robert Christopher Nankeville, known professionally as Bobby Davro (born 13 September 1958), is an English actor and comedian.
He made his television debut in 1981 followed by breakthrough in ''Live from Her Majesty's'' (1983); this was follow ...
,
Billy Connolly
Sir William Connolly (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish actor, retired comedian, artist, writer, musician, and presenter. He is sometimes known, especially in his homeland, by the Scots nickname the Big Yin ("the Big One"). Known for his ...
and
Les Dennis
Leslie Dennis Heseltine (born 12 October 1953) is an English television presenter, actor, and comedian. He presented ''Family Fortunes'' from 1987 until 2002.
Early life
Dennis was born Leslie Dennis Heseltine on 12 October 1953 in the Liverpoo ...
and is also the first South African to perform at London's
Comedy Store
The Comedy Store is an American comedy club opened in April 1972. It is located in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. An associated club is located in La Jolla, San Diego, California.
History
The Comedy ...
. To this day Hilton continues to fill 4000 seat – and more – theaters with his solo shows.
2001 – present
Television
Besides comedy, Hilton has also contributed to television by hosting talk shows ''Catch A Wake Up'' and ''Funny You Should Say That'' and TV game show ''The Generation Game'' in 2008.
More recently Hilton guested on TV game show ''I Love South Africa''. He has also guested numerous times on ''The Expresso Show''.
2015 saw Hilton perform a comedy special, titled ''The Live Series – Barry Hilton''. Developed especially for
DStv
Digital Satellite Television, commonly abbreviated to DStv, is a Sub-Saharan African direct broadcast satellite service owned by MultiChoice and based in Randburg, South Africa. Launched on 6 October 1995, the service provides multiple audio, ...
's Box Office by Mannequin Pictures and launched on Box Office and released later in 2015 on DVD. DStv says sales from show "exceeded expectations", it was one of the best-selling shows on Box Office when it was released in February 2015, selling more rentals than some well-known Hollywood feature films. Also in 2015, he appeared in an M-NET documentary series titled, My Story. He appeared in Episode 4.
Commercials
Hilton was the
Savanna Cider
Savanna Dry is a South African cider introduced by the Distell Group Limited in May 1996. Savanna Dry is sold in over 40 countries, and it is South Africa’s leading cider export and the third-largest cider brand in the world. Savanna Dry is ...
brand face from 1999 to 2011. He reprised his role as Larry the Bartender for thirteen commercials in those 12 years. Since 2011 Hilton has featured in fourteen commercials in an ongoing campaign for newly re-launched fast food outlet, Romans Pizza. The "Schoolkids" ad was placed ninth in the Millward Browns 2012 Best Liked South African adverts. Between 2012 and 2013 Hilton featured in radio voiceover and print adverts for the Chevrolet Campaign 2014 and three television commercials for Lasher Tools.
Movies
At the
Feel Good Film Festival
The Feel Good Film Festival (FGFF), also known as the Sunflower Film Festival, was held annually in Hollywood, California from 2008 to 2012. The Festival was the largest of its kind showcasing American, international, independent, and family-frien ...
in Hollywood, Hilton was nominated for best actor in a lead role for 'Finding Lenny' which also ended up winning best narrative feature in the
Pan African Film Festival Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) is a non-profit corporation in Los Angeles, California, that states its goal is to promote "cultural understanding among peoples of African descent" through exhibiting art and film. It hosts a film festival and an ar ...
in Cannes.
[Destinyman.com – Destiny Man – 7 February 2011] In 2010 he starred in a South African stand-up comedy feature film titled 'Outrageous'
[CALLSHEET, THE 1 May 2010 Page 20] with fellow comedians
John Vlismas and Mark Banks. Barry hosted and performed an episode for Comedy Central Africa in June 2012 filmed at Parkers Comedy and Jive and was shortlisted, alongside
John Cleese
John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Emerging from the Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and ...
, for Best Comedy Act Dubai TimeOut Night Life Awards in 2013. Hilton has over seven signature comedy DVDs attributed to his name and celebrated 30 years in comedy in 2012.
Live shows
September 2013 Hilton was the first South African comedian to be invited to perform at The Improv at Harrah's in Las Vegas. Hilton also performed MC duties for the famous South African singer,
Steve Hofmeyr in January 2014. In February Jami Gong from Take Out Comedy Club invited Hilton back to perform his new show, ''The Way I see It'' in Hong Kong and Vietnam. Hilton was invited to attend and perform at the Top Gear Festival in Durban, South Africa in June.
After a tour of the UK in June, Hilton returned to Hong Kong as one of the headlining acts at the 8th International Comedy Festival in September 2014 with shows in Hong Kong, Singapore and Macau. He followed this up with performances in Australia and New Zealand. Hilton's audio track of his famous joke, "Nou Gaan Ons Braai" was used on the "Lag n Slag" CD. The CD is a compilation of South African jokes and short stories told by their often famous creators. Other artists featured on the CD are Tolla van der Merwe, Leon Schuster, Nico Nel, Nataniël and Kobus Galloway to name a few. The CD was released for sale in July 2014. In 2012 Hilton launched an online store dedicated to the sale of Braai merchandise. His Nou Gaan Ons Braai clip on YouTube has received over 600 000 views. A solo performance for 4 000 people at Carnival City in Johannesburg in 2015 saw Hilton completely surrounded by the audience on a center stage, a first for South African Comedy. Hilton was the only South African comic to perform at the 2015 KLICFEST in Kuala Lumpur. In January 2016 Hilton performed in Australia at The Sydney Opera House, Perth Convention Centre and Brisbane Convention Centre.
Awards
In June 2013 he was invited back to Live at Parkers and again filmed for Comedy Central with the top rated headlining acts from the past season. In July Hilton received the Comics Choice Lifetime Achiever Award. Winners of the prestigious awards are voted by fellow artists and receive a "Waldo" statuette of which only 6 are made each year, however only the "Lifetime Achiever" recipient receives the ring called the "Charles" named after
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...
and are 'honoured' at a special grilling at Parker's a few weeks before the formal awards ceremony. Zimbabwean born Hilton qualified for a nomination in 2014's Zim awards for the Personality of the year award. Other nominees included John Vlismas,
Getmore Sithole
Getmore Sithole (born 4 June 1964), is a Zimbabwe–born South African actor. He is best known for his roles in the popular serials ''A Small Town Called Descent'', ''Le lion'' and ''Blood & Water (South African TV series), Blood & Water''.
Per ...
, Melgin Tafirenyika and Leroy Gopal. Hilton won, and was at the prestigious ceremony in Johannesburg to collect his award. In 2015 The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International named Hilton a Paul Harris Fellow in appreciation for assisting in the better understanding and friendly relations among peoples of the world.
Personal life
![Barry-and-Sandy-Wedding-Pic](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Barry-and-Sandy-Wedding-Pic.jpg)
Having six children of his own, Hilton is an avid supporter of the "Little Fighter's Cancer Trust"
and continually takes part in charity events to raise money and awareness for the West Rand Heart and Organ Transplant Foundation. Hilton is married to his third wife Sandy Hilton (2007–current) after two previous marriages to Janet McKirdy (1976–1980) and Jane Tweedie (1980–2004). He presently resides in
Hermanus
Hermanus (originally called ''Hermanuspietersfontein'', but shortened in 1902 as the name was too long for the postal service , South Africa with his wife and children.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hilton, Barry
1956 births
Living people
White Rhodesian people
Zimbabwean expatriates in South Africa
People from Harare
South African male comedians
Articles containing video clips
Rhodesian people of British descent
Naturalised citizens of South Africa
South African expatriates in Wales
South African people of French descent