Kev Orkian (born Kevork Kapikyan) is a British-Armenian comedian. He has performed around the world from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and

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, Oman and Australia. Orkian has been compared to the likes of

Victor Borge Børge Rosenbaum (3 January 1909 – 23 December 2000), known professionally as Victor Borge ( ), was a Danish-American comedian, conductor, and pianist who achieved great popularity in radio and television in the North America and Europe. His ...

Les Dawson Leslie Dawson Jr. (2 February 1931 – 10 June 1993) was an English comedian, actor, writer, and presenter, who is best remembered for his deadpan style, curmudgeonly persona and Mother-in-law joke, jokes about his mother-in-law and wife. Earl ...

and

Dudley Moore Dudley Stuart John Moore CBE (19 April 193527 March 2002) was an English actor, comedian, musician and composer. Moore first came to prominence in the UK as a leading figure in the British satire boom of the 1960s. He was one of the four writ ...

. Between 2003 and 2009, Kev Orkian spent a lot of his time touring the UK as the support act for some of the biggest names in British comedy and has previously starred in West-End London musicals including '' Fame'', ''

Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marshall, it was one of the most succ ...

'' and ''

Boogie Nights ''Boogie Nights'' is a 1997 American period comedy-drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. It is set in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley and focuses on a young nightclub dishwasher who becomes a popular star of pornographic fil ...

'' alongside ''Dancing on Ice'' winner and ''

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, '' ...

'' actress

Hayley Tamaddon Hayley Soraya Tamaddon (born 24 January 1977) is a British actress. She is known for her roles in the ITV soap operas as Del Dingle in ''Emmerdale'' and Andrea Beckett in ''Coronation Street''. Tamaddon won the fifth series of ''Dancing on Ic ...

. In 2009 Kev Orkian became a regular on the UK comedy circuit performing at well-known clubs such as Jongleurs where his comedy rendition of

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

's 'I'm Still Standing' has been described as Comedy Gold, and has generated

standing ovation A standing ovation is a form of applause where members of a seated audience stand up while applauding after extraordinary performances of particularly high acclaim. In Ancient Rome returning military commanders (such as Marcus Licinius Crassus a ...

s. On 23 September 2009 ''Event Magazine'' reported that Orkian won the final of ''The Next Big Thing'' - the event industry's version of ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'', which was held at Event UK in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

. On 10 June 2010, Orkian performed for

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

, celebrating his 89th birthday at the

Guards Polo Club The Guards Polo Club is an English polo club in Windsor, Berkshire. It was most closely associated with the British Royal Family. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was President of the club from its formation on 25 January 1955 until his death i ...

. The event fell behind schedule and Prince Philip was set to leave – before Kev got on stage – to get to another engagement. But as soon as Orkian started his sketch the Prince decided to sit back down and watch the full act. So impressed was he that instead of rushing off at the end he stayed even longer to congratulate Orkian in person. Prince Philip was quoted as saying "It’s a wonderful show. I thoroughly enjoyed your performance". Also in June 2010 Orkian performed a live comedy 'sketch' with

Katherine Jenkins Katherine Maria Jenkins (born 29 June 1980) is a Welsh singer. She is a mezzo-soprano and performs operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre, and hymns.Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recordi ...

also performed, along with the NSO (National Symphony Orchestra) and comedians

Bobby Davro Robert Christopher Nankeville, known professionally as Bobby Davro (born 13 September 1958), is an English actor and comedian. He made his television debut in 1981 followed by breakthrough in ''Live from Her Majesty's'' (1983); this was follow ...

and Jethro. The comedy routine was an updated version of an old

sketch which Orkian had developed with Jenkins, which both artists performed again on an

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

show called ''

Stepping Out with Katherine Jenkins Stepping may refer to: * Walking, one of the main gaits of locomotion among legged animals Computing * Stepping level, an aspect of microprocessor version designation * Stepping (debugging), a method of debugging Dance * Chicago stepping ...

''.

Britain's Got Talent

In May 2010 Orkian took part in series 4 of ITV's flagship entertainment show ''

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquially ...

'', with his first appearance on Saturday 29 May, the last show of the first round auditions. In this appearance, during which Orkian performed his trademark

scratchy CD version of 'I'm Still Standing', he gained three YES votes from

Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality, entrepreneur and record executive. He is the creator of ''The X Factor'' and ''Got Talent'' franchises which have been sold around the world. He has judged on t ...

Amanda Holden Amanda Louise Holden (born 16 February 1971) is an English actress, media personality, and singer. Since 2007, she has been a judge on the television talent show competition ''Britain's Got Talent'' on ITV. She also co-hosts the ''Heart Brea ...

and

Piers Morgan Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan (; né O'Meara; born 30 March 1965) is a British broadcaster, journalist, writer, and television personality. He began his Fleet Street career in 1988 at '' The Sun''. In 1994, aged 29, he was appointed editor of the ...

, the latter of whom commented "That is one of the smartest things I've seen", winning himself a place in the live semi-final on Tuesday 1 June. High-street bookmakers Coral reported one of the biggest gambles in reality TV history on piano playing funny man Orkian to win the talent show stating "With the semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent set to get underway in just a few hours, Coral are reporting one of the biggest gambles in reality TV history on piano playing funny man Kev Orkian to win the talent show. Orkian has been cut from 100/1 to 9/1 with the firm, and he is now the fourth favourite behind Spellbound, who are 2/1 favourites, Olivia Archbold (7/2) and Liam McNally, at 13/2. Coral spokesman Gary Burton told Bettingpro: "The few pounds we saw first thing this morning at 100/1 and 80/1 quickly turned into three figure bets at shorter prices, he will cost us a fortune if he wins. It's been an incredible punt!"". Despite missing out on a place in the ''Britain's Got Talent'' final and losing the chance to perform at the Royal Variety Show, Orkian nevertheless beat winners

Spelbound Spelbound are a gymnastic troupe from the United Kingdom who rose to fame in 2010, winning the fourth series of ''Britain's Got Talent''. The prize was £100,000 and the opportunity to appear at the 2010 Royal Variety Performance. They also ...

and the other finalists to the post of performing for Royalty. Orkian entertained Prince Philip less than two weeks after being booted off the show and had already performed for several other members of the Royal family including Prince Charles, Prince Edward and Princess Michael of Kent. Orkian was invited to perform for Prince Charles at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original cast ...

in 2009 for the

British Forces Foundation The British Forces Foundation is a British charitable foundation, launched in May 1999 by comedian Jim Davidson (comedian), Jim Davidson OBE to support the well-being of the members of Britain's British Forces, armed forces through the provision of ...

10th Gala Dinner. Classical singer

Katherine Jenkins Katherine Maria Jenkins (born 29 June 1980) is a Welsh singer. She is a mezzo-soprano and performs operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre, and hymns.David Walliams David Edward Williams (born 20 August 1971), known professionally as David Walliams, is an English comedian, actor, writer, and television personality. He is best known for his work with Matt Lucas on the BBC sketch comedy series '' Little B ...

also attended. Orkian was granted access to one of the castle's bedrooms to prepare for the comedy piano sketch and he recalls the moment he turned to see Prince Charles turn bright red with laughter during his act: "I was amazed". After the sketch, Prince Charles congratulated him and said he was an "absolute genius".

Pantomime

Since 1999 Orkian has starred in 27 British Pantomimes alongside a plethora of British stars including

Leslie Grantham Leslie Michael Grantham (30 April 1947 – 15 June 2018) was an English actor, best known for his role as "Dirty" Den Watts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. He was a convicted murderer, having served 10 years for the killing of a West Germ ...

Julian Clary Julian Peter McDonald Clary (born 25 May 1959) is an English actor, comedian, novelist and presenter. He began appearing on television in the mid-1980s. Since then he has also acted in films, television and stage productions, numerous pantomim ...

, husband and wife team

Linda Lusardi Linda Frances Elide Lusardi (born 18 September 1958) is an English actress, television presenter and former glamour model. Career Modelling Lusardi was born in Wood Green, London to Lilian (née Glassman, b. 1933) and Nello Lusardi (1930–2017 ...

and Sam Kane,

Warwick Davis Warwick Ashley Davis (born 3 February 1970) is an English actor. He played the title character in ''Willow'' (1988) and the ''Leprechaun'' film series (1993–2003), several characters in the ''Star Wars'' film series (1983–2019), most nota ...

Dame Edna Everage Dame Edna Everage, often known simply as Dame Edna, is a character created and performed by Australian comedian Barry Humphries, known for her lilac-coloured ("wisteria hue") hair and cat eye glasses ("face furniture"); her favourite flower, th ...

Stacey Solomon Stacey Chanelle Clare Solomon-Swash (born 4 October 1989) is an English singer and television personality. She finished in third place on the sixth series of ''The X Factor'' in 2009, and won the tenth series of '' I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Ou ...

Sam Bailey Samantha Florence Bailey (born 29 June 1977) is an English pop singer who won the tenth series of ''The X Factor'' in 2013. Following her win, her debut single, a cover of Demi Lovato's "Skyscraper" was released on 15 December 2013, achieving ...

John Inman Frederick John Inman (28 June 1935 – 8 March 2007) was an English actor and singer best known for his role as Mr. Humphries in ''Are You Being Served?'', a British sitcom between 1972 and 1985, and was the only actor from that series to featur ...

and

Claire Sweeney Claire Jane Sweeney (born 17 April 1971) is an English actress, singer and television personality, best known for playing the role of Lindsey Corkhill in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Brookside'' and playing the role of Roxie Hart in the musical ...

. In December 2009 he starred as Chester The Jester in ''Sleeping Beauty'' alongside singer/actress

at The Churchill Theatre, Bromley.

Edinburgh Fringe Festival

In August 2010 Orkian made his debut appearance at the

Edinburgh Fringe Festival 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 ...

, taking his full

one-man show A solo performance, sometimes referred to as a one-man show or one-woman show, features a single person telling a story for an audience, typically for the purpose of entertainment. This type of performance comes in many varieties, including auto ...

, 'Kev Orkian - The Illegal Tour', to the

Underbelly Underbelly is the side of something that is not normally seen. Figuratively, it means a vulnerable or weak part, similar to the term Achilles' heel, or alternatively, a hidden, illicit side of society. This term could refer to: Business * ...

on Cowgate. Trystan Davies, of Fringe Guru awarded the show five stars, stating "Kev Orkian is an acknowledged rising star, and has been rightfully compared to

and

." Liz, of LoveFringe.com, also awarded the show a full score of five stars, saying: "This show is one of the few which had us laughing all the way through and received a standing ovation, which is rare for Fringe shows." The show received similar reviews from the British comedy guide, awarding the show four and a half out of five; and ThreeWeeks magazine, who gave it four out of five stars.

Current

Kev Orkian booked an arena tour in South Africa in April performing to 6000 people per night, followed by a tour of the Middle East in late April. Orkian headlined the South African Vodacom Funny Festival from 10 June to 7 July; he is the first British comedian to headline 7 times. Kev Orkian was featured in the ''Dead Air Show''

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...

David Baddiel David Lionel Baddiel (; born 28 May 1964) is an English comedian, presenter, screenwriter, and author. He is known for his work alongside Rob Newman in ''The Mary Whitehouse Experience'' and his comedy partnership with Frank Skinner. He has al ...

's stage version of '' The Infidel'' has cast Orkian as its star.David Baddiel's musical version of The Infidel to star Kev Orkian
/ref> In December 2021 Orkian compered and performed in the Thursford Christmas show in Norfolk. Thursford Collection

References

External links

Official websiteKev Orkian on FacebookKev Orkian on Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orkian, Kev Comedians from London British people of Armenian descent English male comedians 1974 births Britain's Got Talent contestants Living people