Frank Woodley
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Frank Woodley (born Frank Wood; 29 February 1968) is an Australian
comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...
,
author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
and
musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...
who is best known for his work alongside
Colin Lane Colin Stuart Lane (born 25 March 1965) is an Australian comedian, actor and TV host, best known for being one-half of comedy duo Lano and Woodley. Lano and Woodley Lane performed with fellow comedian Frank Woodley as part of the duo Lano and Wo ...
as part of the comedic duo Lano and Woodley. The two first performed together for almost 20 years in live shows, a television series and an album of comedic songs, before deciding to pursue individual careers in 2006. They announced their reformation in November 2017.


Personal life

Woodley was born Frank Wood, the youngest of seven children. He grew up in suburban
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 ...
, where his family ran a
milk bar In Australia, a milk bar is a suburban local general store. Similar, but not identical, establishments include tuck shops, delicatessens or "delis", and corner shops or corner stores. Milk bars are traditionally a place where people buy new ...
in
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 ...
. He adopted the stage name "Frank Woodley"—drawn from a childhood nickname—when he began performing as part of the comedy duo Lano and Woodley in 1993. In 2000 he changed his name by
deed poll A deed poll (plural: deeds poll) is a legal document binding on a single person or several persons acting jointly to express an intention or create an obligation. It is a deed, and not a contract because it binds only one party (law), party. Et ...
to avoid confusion. Woodley is married with a son and daughter and lives in Melbourne's inner north.


Career


Lano and Woodley

Woodley first performed with fellow comedian Colin Lane as part of the duo Lano and Woodley for a period of almost 20 years. The two met through
theatresports Theatresports is a form of improvisational theatre, which uses the format of a competition for dramatic effect. Opposing teams can perform scenes based on audience suggestions, with ratings by the audience or by a panel of judges. Developed by di ...
in the mid-1980s and first performed together at an
open mike An open mic or open mike (shortened from "open microphone") is a live show at a venue such as a coffeehouse, nightclub, comedy club, strip club, or pub, usually taking place at night, in which audience members may perform on stage whether t ...
night at the Prince Patrick Hotel in Collingwood, Victoria, in 1987 along with their friend Scott Casley, calling themselves the Found Objects. Over the next six years, the trio performed in venues throughout Australia and 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 ...
. They became semi-regulars on ABC TV's ''
The Big Gig ''The Big Gig'' was a popular Australian television sketch comedy music/variety series based on the British TV series '' Saturday Live''. It was produced and broadcast on ABC TV in the late 1980s and early 1990s and was produced and directed by ...
'', a show known for boosting the careers of new comedy acts. They also had their own commercial radio show for six months and were part of the short-lived
Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...
sketch show ''The Comedy Sale''. In 1992, when Casley moved to
Alice Springs Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...
, Woodley and Lane decided to continue as a duo, drawing their name from childhood nicknames. As Lano and Woodley, the two adopt humorous onstage personas, with Woodley playing a "goofy innocent" who is frequently bullied by Lane's pompous, controlling character. Their first show as a comedy duo, ''Fence'', debuted in 1993. It toured throughout Australia, winning the Moosehead Award 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 ...
for best act and was eventually taken to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1994 where it won the
Perrier 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. ...
. Subsequent live productions have included ''Curtains'', ''Glitzy'', ''Slick'', ''Bruiser'', ''The Island'' and their 2006 farewell show, ''Goodbye''. In 2000, they co-hosted the televised Melbourne Comedy Gala. Woodley and Lane have created two television shows together. ''
The Adventures of Lano and Woodley ''The Adventures of Lano and Woodley'' is an Australian comedy television show starring the comedic duo of Lano and Woodley (Colin Lane and Frank Woodley), consisting of two series which aired on ABC TV from 1997 to 1999. The first series was d ...
'', which premiered on the ABC in 1997, was a comedy series which featured the duo living together in a fictional suburban Melbourne flat and frequently getting into trouble. It aired for two seasons, becoming the first Australian show to be sold to the
BBC #REDIRECT 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 ex ...
and airing in 38 other countries. Although they were offered the opportunity to make the series in England, the pair decided to remain in Australia because they did not want to live in London. In 2004 a live show, ''The Island'', was filmed as a TV special and aired on
The Comedy Channel The Comedy Channel (promoted on air as comedy) is a defunct Australian subscription television channel available on Foxtel, and Optus Television. The channel ceased broadcasting on 1 September 2020. History A joint venture between Artist Servi ...
. The duo have also released an album, ''
Lano & Woodley Sing Songs ''Lano & Woodley Sing Songs'' is the live 2005 album by Australian comedy duo, Lano & Woodley. The album was recorded at a show the pair did in August 2005 at the HiFi Bar in Melbourne, and features many visual jokes that the listener is unable ...
'', and a novel, ''Housemeeting''. In 2006, after close to 20 years of working together, Woodley and Lane decided to part ways. Woodley stated that the split was due to a desire to pursue new challenges. "We just got to the stage where we felt we had to make a decision", he said. "Either we were going to spend the next 20 years doing this, this'd be our career, our lives forever. And that wouldn't have been a terrible thing. Or we could go, 'Let's have a bit more variety in our lives'." In one final tour, the duo travelled through 37 Australian cities with their farewell show, ''Goodbye''. In 2018, the duo reprised their roles as Lano and Woodley for a show titled ''Fly'' which won the 2018
Melbourne 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 ...
People’s Choice Award.


Solo work

Woodley made his solo debut in 2003 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 ...
with ''The Happy Dickwi'', a show about "a whole lot of unrelated ideas". He has since performed a number of solo stand-up shows, and in 2008 debuted a one-man play entitled ''Possessed''. Directed by
Kate Denborough Kate Denborough is a choreographer, artistic director, CEO and co-founder of Kage Physical Theatre. She has directed, devised and/or performed in most of KAGE's works as well as working with other companies such as Chunky Move, Australian Dance ...
and featuring music from
Paul Mac Paul Francis McDermott (born 17 September 1965), who performs as Paul Mac, is an Australian electropop musician, singer-songwriter, producer and music re-mixer. He was classically trained at Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Mac has formed variou ...
, ''Possessed'' is the story of Louie, a lonely recluse who falls in love with, and becomes possessed by, the ghost of a 19th-century shipwreck victim. Woodley says that the show came out of the desire to do a big solo show and his interest in doing a romantic comedy: "So I was thinking that maybe I could do a solo romantic comedy where I fell in love with myself. Although it was just a stupid joke initially, I started thinking about having a ghost possess me and then I fall in love with the ghost. I have to help free her from the curse she's under." The show has toured both nationally and internationally, and draws inspiration from
Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...
,
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 ...
,
Don Adams Donald James Yarmy (April 13, 1923 – September 25, 2005), known professionally as Don Adams, was an American actor. In his five decades on television, he was best known as Maxwell Smart (Agent 86) in the television situation comedy ''Ge ...
,
Peter Sellers Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show'', featured on a number of hit comic songs ...
,
Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in popular culture, pop culture ...
and
Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American Double act, comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–19 ...
. Woodley played a television vet named "Frank Woodley" in the twelfth episode of the 1998 Australia television series '' The Games''. Woodley has made regular guest appearances on Australian television, including '' Spicks and Specks'', ''
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 ...
'', ''
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 ...
'', '' The Sideshow'', ''Big Question'', ''
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 ...
'', ''Australia's Brainiest Comedian'' and ''
Show Me the Movie! ''Show Me the Movie!'' was a weekly Australian television comedy panel show, which premiered on Network 10 on 22 March 2018 and ran until 28 March 2019. The program was hosted by Rove McManus who, with team captains Joel Creasey, Jane Harber ( ...
''. In 2008, he appeared in a series of television advertisements for Metlink promoting public transport in Melbourne, in particular
buses A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
. In 2007, Woodley performed in the stage show ''
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) ''The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)'' (also known as ''The Compleat Wrks of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged)'') is a play written by Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield. It parodies the plays of William Shakespeare with all of ...
'', a 97-minute production which encompasses 37 Shakespearian plays. From 2008 to 2009, Woodley co-hosted a show on
The Comedy Channel The Comedy Channel (promoted on air as comedy) is a defunct Australian subscription television channel available on Foxtel, and Optus Television. The channel ceased broadcasting on 1 September 2020. History A joint venture between Artist Servi ...
called ''
Aussie Gold Aussie Gold is a television programme on Foxtel's The Comedy Channel, created and executive produced by Darren Chau, produced by Anthony Warrington, and hosted by Australian comedian Frank Woodley. The show hosts a programming block celebrating ...
'' every Saturday night. In 2012, Woodley had a small role in the Australian comedy film ''
Kath & Kimderella ''Kath & Kimderella'' is a 2012 Australian film. It is a spin-off of the television series ''Kath & Kim'', created by Gina Riley and Jane Turner. It was written by and stars Riley, Turner and Magda Szubanski. The film was released theatricall ...
''. In 2015, he co-starred as the dogcatcher in '' Oddball''. Aside from being a comedian, Woodley is also a children's author and has written a series of children's books called ''Kizmet''. In 2020, Woodley participated in the first Australian season of the
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comedy competition series '' LOL: Last One Laughing'', going on to win the grand prize. In 2022, Woodley was appointed as one of the team captains in '' Would I Lie to You? Australia'' alongside Chris Taylor.


''Woodley''

A television project entitled '' Woodley'' screened in 2012. It is a half-hour visual comedy about a largely innocent-seeming man who is caught up in real-world problems. The series follows his attempts to bond with his daughter and his estranged wife (
Justine Clarke Justine Clarke (born 16 November 1971) is an Australian actress, singer, musician, author and television host. She has been acting since the age of seven and has appeared in some of Australia's best-known TV shows. She is best known as a presen ...
), though this proves difficult for the accident-prone Woodley, as she tries to move forward with her life with her new partner Greg. The show was announced with a number of other projects in a $1.2 million funding from the Victorian government. The show premiered on Wednesday 22 February at 8.00pm on
ABC1 ABC TV, formerly known as ABC1, is an Australian national public television network. It is owned and operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and is the flagship ABC Television network. The headquarters of the ABC TV channel an ...
. The show is built around an extensive use of visual (often slapstick) humour, rather than dialogue, although this is also used sparingly.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Woodley, Frank 1968 births Living people Australian male comedians Comedians from Melbourne