Brian Nankervis (born 1956) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

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 met ...

. 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 list of Melbourne suburbs, suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Monash local government ...

, 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 Lynda Jane Wiseman "Gibbo" Gibson (21 March 1956 – 2 January 2004) was an Australian comedian and actress.

Jane Turner Jane Turner (born 1 December 1960) is an Australian actress, comedian and Logie Award-winning comedy series creator and screnwriter. Career Turner, although best known as a comedy performer, made her acting debut in the internationally ren ...

, Peter Moon,

Richard Stubbs Richard Stubbs (born 4 November 1957) is an Australian radio and television presenter, writer and comedian. Career Stubbs was educated at Wesley College, Melbourne, where he was school captain. He then completed a Bachelor of Economics degree ...

and many more. Nankervis was originally best known for his character of Raymond J. Bartholomeuz, an eccentric beat poet. The character was popular during the 1980s and 1990s in regular appearances on ''

Hey Hey It's Saturday ''Hey Hey It's Saturday'' was a long-running variety television program on Australian television. It initially ran for 28 years on the Nine Network from 9 October 1971 to 20 November 1999, with a recess in 1978. Its host throughout its entire ...

''. As Bartholomeuz, Nankervis also appeared weekly on

Paul Hester Paul Newell Hester (8 January 1959 – 26 March 2005) was an Australian musician and television personality. He was the drummer for the band Split Enz for a short time in 1984, and co-founding member and drummer of the rock group Crowded House ...

's ABCTV series Hessie's Shed (1998–99) and in Bob Franklin's sitcom ''

Introducing Gary Petty ''Introducing Gary Petty'' is an Australian comedy series produced for The Comedy Channel in 2000. The series revolves around Bob Franklin as Gary Petty, a man who is obsessed with revenge on those he feels have snubbed him or have committed s ...

'' (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 James Eoin Stephen Paul McKeown (born 24 January 1966), better known as Jimeoin (pronounced "Jim Owen"), is an English-born Irish comedian and actor. Jimeoin rose to prominence in the early 1990s in Australia, where he had his own TV show and ...

'' (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. Each ...

'' (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 ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's '' Boys and Balls'' starring Roy and HG,

Ted Whitten Edward James Whitten Sr. OAM (27 July 1933 – 17 August 1995) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Footscray Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Born and raised into a working-class family in Footscray, Whit ...

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 into ...

(1994), Network Ten's ''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, typicall ...

and Tempest at the Drop In (2015). Nankervis outed himself as a "one time member" of

TISM TISM (an acronym of This Is Serious Mum) are a seven-piece anonymous alternative rock band, formed in Melbourne, Australia on 30 December 1982 by vocalist/drummer Humphrey B. Flaubert, bassist/vocalist Jock Cheese and keyboardist/vocalist Eu ...

on RocKwiz in November 2011. Nankervis was the first adult to initiate a prank on

'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