Gregory Fleet 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 ...

and

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

History

Early life

Fleet was born in

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. His father moved the family to Australia when Greg was four. He grew up in

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

, and as a teenager boarded at

Geelong Grammar School , motto_translation = 1 Corinthians 1:30: "For us, Christ was made wisdom"(1 Corinthians 1:30: Christ, who has been made for us in wisdom) , city = Corio, Victoria , country = Australia , coordinates = , ty ...

. Fleet briefly attended Australia's

National Institute of Dramatic Art The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts is based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, many of Australia's leading actors and directors trained at NIDA, including Cat ...

(NIDA), but was kicked out after a year for poor performance.

Career

Fleet began his acting career in the early 1980s with several performances in Australian television series and telemovies. He appeared in ''

Matthew and Son "Matthew and Son" is a single written, composed, and performed by Cat Stevens. It was selected as the title song for his 1967 debut album. Stevens was a newly signed teenage singer-songwriter, who performed to elaborate arrangements quite di ...

'' alongside

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an American and Australian actress and producer. Known for her work across various film and television productions from several genres, she has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid act ...

in 1984, and then played the role of "Delivery Man 2" in an episode of ''

Prisoner A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...

'' in 1985. Fleet went on to star as Lt Scott Harris in the Australian mini-series ''

A Thousand Skies ''A Thousand Skies'' is a 1985 Australian mini series about the life of Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith. It was based on the novel ''The Empty Sky'' by Tasman Beattie and was partly financed by Film Victoria. The budget was $4.5 million.Ed. Scott Mu ...

''. In 1988, after a guest appearance in ''

The Flying Doctors ''The Flying Doctors'' is an Australian drama TV series produced by Crawford Productions that revolves around the everyday lifesaving efforts of the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia, starring Andrew McFarlane as the newly arrived Dr. T ...

'', Fleet took on the role of

Dave Summers '' Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera that was first broadcast on 18 March 1985. The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the serial in 1988, by order of first appearance. Until February, characters were intr ...

in the Australian soap ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera, which has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons an ...

''. His most dramatic sequence in this program involved killing the popular character of

Daphne Daphne (; ; el, Δάφνη, , ), a minor figure in Greek mythology, is a naiad, a variety of female nymph associated with fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of freshwater. There are several versions of the myth in whi ...

in a car accident. Fleet then appeared in the popular Australian sketch show '' Full Frontal''. Since then, Fleet has been a regular stand-up comedian around Australia, and has appeared on many TV and radio comedy programs, including

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 ...

's '' Stand Up Australia!''. He was the announcer and narrator for the comedy series ''

Real Stories ''Real Stories'' is an Australian satirical television comedy series produced by Carlton Television for Network Ten. It was created by Hamish Blake and Andy Lee. The series was first broadcast on 22 August 2006. Eight episodes were produced ...

'' on the

Ten Network Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...

, and provides the voice of "Sandy" the Yellow

Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...

in TV commercials for the Home Hardware hardware store chain. During 2006 and 2007 Fleet was often heard on

Triple M Triple M is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 40 radio stations broadcasting a mainstream rock music format and 5 digital radio stations. The network dates back to th ...

's ''

Get This ''Get This'' was an Australian radio comedy show which aired on Triple M and was hosted by Tony Martin and Ed Kavalee, with contributions from panel operator, Richard Marsland. A different guest co-host was featured nearly every day on the ...

'' radio program as a frequent guest co-host alongside Tony Martin,

Ed Kavalee Edward Robert Kavalee (born 30 June 1979) is an Australian comedian, actor, writer, podcaster radio and television presenter. He is a recurring panellist on Network 10's ''Have You Been Paying Attention?'' with Sam Pang and co-hosts ''Hughesy, ...

, and

Richard Marsland Richard Kemble Marsland (5 September 1976 – 6 December 2008) was an Australian comedy writer, actor, comedian and radio personality. Career Radio Marsland started his radio career in Adelaide on the SAFM breakfast show with Greg Fleet, ...

. On occasions he filled in as a last-minute replacement guest as he only lived a short distance away from the

studio. In 2011 Fleet commissioned a DVD containing segments of some of his best known performances. The DVD is sold as ''Bootlegs and Jumperpants'' and has been sold for $20 Australian dollars. Fleet has alluded to the funds from this DVD going towards financing his filming of his classic 1995 show ''Thai Die''. This was to be filmed on 7 November 2011 at The Comics Lounge in Melbourne. In 2015, Fleet starred in the Australian zombie comedy film ''

Me and My Mates vs the Zombie Apocalypse ''Me and My Mates vs the Zombie Apocalypse'' is a 2015 Australian zombie comedy horror film written and directed by Declan Shrubb and developed through ScreenACT's 2012 Low Budget Feature Pod. The film stars Jim Jefferies, Alex Williamson, Ad ...

,'' alongside fellow Australian comedians Jim Jefferies and Alex Williamson. In 2021, he acted in the play ''The Twins'' which opened at the 2021

Adelaide Fringe Festival The Adelaide Fringe, formerly Adelaide Fringe Festival, is the world's second-largest annual arts festival (after the Edinburgh Festival Fringe), held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Between mid-February and mid-March each year, ...

and won the Mental Health Awareness Award.

Books

''Thai Die'' (2002) Random House ''These Things Happen'' (2015) Macmillan 9781743537916 ''The Good Son'' (2018) Random House

Personal life

Greg Fleet with fan Yvan J Drake at the SoftBelly club in Melbourne

When Fleet was ten his father faked his own death, only to reappear later in his life. His father changed his name, married, and fathered another child during this absence, and then eventually returned to the US. Fleet expanded upon these experiences in his live show ''I Wish You Were Dead''. Fleet has also fought a long battle with heroin addiction, a subject he has covered in many media interviews, his live show "10 Years in a Long Sleeved Shirt", and on the 1997

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 ...

television program ''Smallest Room in the House''. In 2015 Fleet also revealed a six-month long addiction with

methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamph ...

in 2005. In 2007 Fleet went into drug rehab, and returned for the 2 April 2007 episode of ''

''. Although Fleet had claimed to be drug-free, in an interview in April 2011 he admitted that he was stoned during that performance. Fleet is a passionate long-distance supporter of the

Hibernian Football Club Hibernian Football Club (), commonly known as Hibs, is a professional football club based in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland. The club plays in the Scottish Premiership, the top tier of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL). ...

References

External links

Official Greg Fleet site
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleet, Greg Australian people of American descent Australian stand-up comedians Living people People educated at Geelong Grammar School Male actors from Geelong 1962 births