Brian Nankervis (born 1956) is an Australian writer, actor, radio host, television producer and comedian.

Personal life

Nankervis was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

. He lives in St Kilda with documentary film maker
Sue Thomson
and their children, Claudia, Lola, Henry-Joe and Brian's favourite, Jerry. He is one of the co-creators of the music quiz show, RocKwiz and co-hosts The Friday Revue on ABC Radio.

Career

Prior to acting, Nankervis was a primary school teacher at Wesley College,

Glen Waverley Glen Waverley is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Monash local government area. Glen Waverley recorded a population of 42,642 at the 2021 census. Histor ...

, and Kingswood College, Box Hill. After six years of teaching he decided to quit to pursue his passion for acting. He got a job as a waiter in 1985 at a famous Melbourne theatre restaurant, The Last Laugh. It is famous for discovering comedians and performers such as Lynda Gibson, Jane Turner, Peter Moon, Richard Stubbs and many more. Nankervis was originally best known for his character of

Raymond J. Bartholomeuz Raymond J. Bartholomeuz (sometimes misspelled "Bartholomew") is a fictional comic character created and performed by Australian writer and comedian Brian Nankervis. Bartholomeuz is an earnest, sensitive modern poet prone to strange and rambling di ...

, an eccentric beat poet. The character was popular during the 1980s and 1990s in regular appearances on '' Hey Hey It's Saturday''. As Bartholomeuz, Nankervis also appeared weekly on Paul Hester's ABCTV series Hessie's Shed (1998–99) and in Bob Franklin's sitcom '' Introducing Gary Petty'' (2000). Nankervis played the role of Dr Ray Good in the stage and TV versions of '' Let The Blood Run Free'' (TV series: 1990–92) and appeared in the ensemble cast of the sketch comedy series '' Jimeoin'' (1994–95). In 1997 he appeared in an episode of ''Smallest Room in the House''. He frequently appeared as himself on television and stage and was the regular warmup man and audience wrangler for '' The Panel'' and ''

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. Ea ...

'' (2006–2009). In 2005, Nankervis co-created the SBS music trivia game show '' RocKwiz'' (2005–2016), which he also appears in as adjudicator and co-host alongside

Julia Zemiro Julia Zemiro () (born 14 April 1967) is a French-born Australian television presenter, radio host, actress, singer, writer and comedian. She is best known as the host of the music quiz and live performance show '' RocKwiz''. Zemiro is a fluent ...

, as well as co-writing the scripts and co-producing the show. RocKwiz is filmed in front of a live audience in the Gershwin Room at St Kilda's Esplanade Hotel, however the show often tours around Australia and festivals. Nankervis is responsible for a thorough pre-show quiz which ends with him selecting the members who will appear on the team panels alongside the night's celebrity. At the beginning of 2016, Nankervis became one of the hosts of The Friday Revue on ABC Radio with Richelle Hunt. The show runs for two hours and features "chat, guests, live music, some comedy and news snippets that will make it a ‘must listen to’ program either live or later on demand. Given Brian is known for being one of the country's preeminent musical "quizmeisters" there will of course be a quiz – but not just any quiz." Nankervis continues to work with his partner Sue Thomson and has co-produced some of her documentaries, ABC's '' Boys and Balls'' starring

Roy and HG Roy and HG are an Australian comedy duo, comprising Greig Pickhaver in the role of "H. G. Nelson" and John Doyle as "'Rampaging' Roy Slaven". Their act is an affectionate but irreverent parody of Australia's obsession with sport. Their charact ...

, Ted Whitten and

Ron Barassi Ronald Dale Barassi Jr. (born 27 February 1936) is a former Australian rules footballer, coach and media personality. Regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of the game, Barassi was the first player to be inaugurated int ...

(1994),

Network Ten's Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...

''Class Clowns'' for 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, typical ...

and Tempest at the Drop In (2015). Nankervis outed himself as a "one time member" of TISM on RocKwiz in November 2011. Nankervis was the first adult to initiate a prank on ABC's '' Prank Patrol'' (2010) where he pranked his own children. The episode "The Force" aired on TV station ABC3 on 5 September 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nankervis, Brian 1956 births Living people Australian male comedians Australian television personalities Comedians from Melbourne Television personalities from Melbourne Australian schoolteachers People from St Kilda, Victoria