Geoffrey Campbell McComas AM (2 May 19528 January 2005) was an Australian comedian, writer and actor.

Early life and education

McComas attended

Caulfield Grammar School Caulfield Grammar School is an Independent school, independent, co-educational, Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican, International Baccalaureate, day school, day and boarding school, located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1881 as ...

and Scotch College in

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

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 ...

, and studied law and arts at

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

Career

After practising law for several years, he became one of Australia's most renowned public speakers and comedians. McComas's start in comedy was in May 1976, when he made his famous hoax lecture at Monash pretending to be

Glanville Williams Glanville Llewelyn Williams (15 February 1911 – 10 April 1997) was a Welsh legal scholar who was the Rouse Ball Professor of English Law at the University of Cambridge from 1968 to 1978 and the Quain Professor of Jurisprudence at University ...

, "alternative professor of English law at University of Cambridge". The lecture was given to around 450 students, though it has often been remarked that thousands of people claim to have attended the lecture. Even those who knew Williams were reportedly fooled by the hoax. McComas then made a professional career out of similar stunts, hired by various organizations to perform in character as a "guest speaker". McComas is probably best known to the wider general public, however, through his chairing televised comedy "debates" 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 ...

. He regularly appeared on

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 ...

radio, and created over 1800 characters for impersonations. In 2004, he was made a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

for his service to entertainment.It's an Honour
/ref> McComas died in early 2005 after a short battle with

leukaemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

. He was survived by his wife, Wendy, and son from his first marriage, Alistair, who was also a law student at Monash.

References

*Selma Milovanovic and Xavier La Canna.
McComas the chameleon dies at 52
. ''The Age''
Obituary
''Speakers New Zealand''

1952 births 2005 deaths Deaths from leukemia Comedians from Melbourne Australian male comedians Monash Law School alumni People educated at Caulfield Grammar School Deaths from cancer in Victoria (state) People educated at Scotch College, Melbourne Members of the Order of Australia 20th-century Australian comedians Radio personalities from Melbourne {{Australia-comedian-stub

Early life and education

Career

See also

References