Russ Abbot (born Russell Allan Roberts; 18 September 1947) is an English musician, comedian and actor. Born in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

, he first came to public notice during the 1970s as the singer and drummer with British comedy showband the Black Abbots, later forging a prominent solo career as a television comedian with his own weekly show on British television. Continuing his musical career as a solo artist, Abbot released several charting singles and albums. His career has continued with a shift into more mainstream serious acting in television shows, series, and stage productions.

Career

As a drummer/backing singer, Abbot joined the Black Abbots (founded by Robert Turner) in

during the mid-1960s and they released several singles to modest chart success on minor labels in the early 1970s. The band only signed their first major

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...

in 1977, putting out a series of comedy singles and one live album (Abbot now taking lead vocals) before disbanding in 1980. Subsequently, he appeared as a comedian, winning the 'Funniest Man On Television' award five times. Abbot appeared on the television show '' The Comedians'' under his birth name (Russ Roberts). From 1980 onward, he released some albums as a solo artist and appeared in several TV series. The most successful of his music singles, "Atmosphere", did well in the UK top 10, peaking at No. 7 in 1985. ''Russ Abbot's Madhouse'' and '' The Russ Abbot Show'' showcased his talents as an all-round entertainer, attracting millions of viewers. This show was top-rated among younger viewers, prompting two annuals to be published in 1982–83. These annuals featured

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics ter ...

s based on popular characters, plus some publicity photos of Abbot in a variety of guises, including his well-known

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors hav ...

satire featuring characters named Basildon Bond and Miss Funnyfanny (based on the fictional MI6 spy duo James Bond and

Miss Moneypenny Miss Moneypenny, later assigned the first names of Eve or Jane, is a fictional character in the James Bond novels and films. She is secretary to M (James Bond), M, who is Bond's superior officer and head of the British Secret Intelligence Serv ...

). In January 1993, Abbot hosted an Elvis special of '' Stars in Their Eyes''; this was originally to be presented by

Leslie Crowther Leslie Douglas Sargent Crowther, CBE (6 February 1933 – 29 September 1996) was an English comedian, actor, TV presenter, and game show host. Biography Crowther was born on Monday, 6 February, 1933 in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, son of ...

, who had suffered serious injuries in a car crash in his

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

in October 1992. Abbot was brought in as a temporary host, and this was the only episode he hosted. Crowther was unable to return, and died in 1996; he was replaced by

Matthew Kelly Matthew Kelly (born David Allan Kelly, 9 May 1950) is an English actor and presenter. Having been trained as a theatre actor, he first came to public prominence as a television presenter of ITV light entertainment shows such as '' Game for a ...

, who then hosted the show until 2004. From 2000, Abbot played the lead role in the British National Tour of ''

Doctor Dolittle Doctor John Dolittle is the central character of a series of children's books by Hugh Lofting starting with the 1920 '' The Story of Doctor Dolittle''. He is a physician who shuns human patients in favour of animals, with whom he can speak in th ...

''. Taking a break over the Christmas period, Abbot stepped down for

Phillip Schofield Phillip Bryan Schofield (born 1 April 1962) is an English television presenter who works for ITV. He is currently the co-presenter of ITV's '' This Morning'' (2002–present) and ''Dancing on Ice'' (2006–2014, 2018–present) alongside Holl ...

to take the part but returned to the tour subsequently. In 2003, his "See You, Jimmy" character (called C. U. Jimmy) came third in the ''

Glasgow Herald ''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...

'''s poll to find the most Scottish person in the world, behind Iain and Jimmy Krankie. Abbot's theatre roles include Alfred P. Doolittle in ''

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play '' Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons ...

'' (starring

Amy Nuttall Amy Abigail Nuttall (born 7 June 1982) is an English actress and singer known for playing Chloe Atkinson in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' from 2000 until 2005, and housemaid Ethel Parks in ITV period drama ''Downton Abbey''. Early life Nut ...

) at the

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dr ...

and on tour; The Narrator in ''

The Rocky Horror Show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to the Science fiction film, science fiction and Horror film, horror B movies of the 1930s through to the early 1960s, the ...

''; Grandpa Potts in ''

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' is a 1968 musical-fantasy film directed by Ken Hughes with a screenplay co-written by Roald Dahl and Hughes, loosely based on Ian Fleming's novel '' Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car'' (1964). The film stars ...

'' at the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 a ...

and

Fagin Fagin is a fictional character and the secondary antagonist in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist''. In the preface to the novel, he is described as a "receiver of stolen goods". He is the leader of a group of children (the Artful Dod ...

in ''

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a Coming-of-age story, coming-of-age Musical theatre, stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre ...

'' both in 1998 and 2009. From July 2007, he took over the role of

Roger De Bris The following are fictional characters from the 1967 film '' The Producers'', the Broadway musical based on it, and the 2005 film adaptation of the musical. Max Bialystock Max Bialystock is described as selfish, arrogant, fiery, impatient, sa ...

in the UK tour of '' Mel Brooks' The Producers''. In 2008, Abbot appeared as the Tin Man in the stage production of '' The Wizard of Oz'' at the Mayflower Theatre, Southampton. In 2008, the BBC announced that Abbot would be joining the cast of ''

Last of the Summer Wine ''Last of the Summer Wine'' is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke and originally broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010. It premiered as an episode of '' Comedy Playhouse'' on 4 January 1973, and the first series of episodes f ...

'' for the show's 30th series. He played Luther 'Hobbo' Hobdyke, who was the leader of a group consisting also of Entwistle, played by

Burt Kwouk Herbert Tsangtse Kwouk, (; ; 18 July 1930 – 24 May 2016) was a British actor, known for his role as Cato in the ''Pink Panther'' films. He made appearances in many television programmes, including a portrayal of Imperial Japanese Army Ma ...

and Alvin, played by Brian Murphy. In 2008, he guest-starred in ''

The Sarah Jane Adventures ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' is a British science fiction television programme that was produced by BBC Cymru Wales for CBBC, created by Russell T Davies, and starring Elisabeth Sladen. The programme is a spin-off of the long-running BBC ...

'' episode "Secrets of the Stars" as a character called Martin Trueman, an astrologer who was possessed by the Ancient Lights. On 8 August 2009, Abbot appeared in an episode of '' Casualty'' playing a pet shop owner. This marked Abbot's second ''Casualty'' role – he previously appeared as a different character in a 1999 episode. He appeared on '' Harry Hill's TV Burp'' parodying the character he played in ''Casualty''. In 2009, when

Rowan Atkinson Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He played the title roles on the sitcoms '' Blackadder'' (1983–1989) and '' Mr. Bean'' (1990–1995), and the film series ''Johnny English'' (2003–20 ...

fell ill during the original run of

Cameron Mackintosh Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh (born 17 October 1946) is a British theatrical producer and theatre owner notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "th ...

's West End revival of ''

'', Abbot stepped into the role of

for the second time. He again took the role after

Griff Rhys Jones Griffith Rhys Jones (born 16 November 1953) is a Welsh comedian, writer, actor, and television presenter. He starred in a number of television series with his comedy partner, Mel Smith. Rhys Jones came to national attention in the 1980s for h ...

left the show on 12 June 2010. Between 2014 and 2016 he co-starred in the BBC sitcom '' Boomers''. In December 2020, University Radio Nottingham presenters George Scotland and Damian Stephen decided to start an internet campaign to get "Atmosphere" to number one for Christmas. The campaign, in the style of previous internet campaigns for Rage Against The Machine and

AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and heavy metal, but the band calls it ...

(both of whom charted within the Top 5) was endorsed by Abbot as well as

Paul Chuckle The Chuckle Brothers were an English comedy double act comprising Barry David Elliott (24 December 1944 – 5 August 2018) and Paul Harman Elliott (born 18 October 1947). They were known for their BBC children's programme ''ChuckleVision'', wh ...

and Alistair Griffin, with "Atmosphere" highlighted as one of the contenders for Christmas Number One by the

Official Charts Company The Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. In the United Kingdom, its charts inc ...

Family

Abbot has been married to Patricia Simpson since 28 January 1966. The couple have four children.

Discography

Singles

* 1980 – "Space Invaders Meet the Purple People Eater" / "Country Cooper Man" * 1982 – "A Day In The Life of Vince Prince" ( UK No. 61, one week; re-entered at No. 75 two weeks later for one week) * 1984 – "Atmosphere" (UK No. 7, in the chart for thirteen weeks) * 1985 – "All Night Holiday" (UK No. 20, in the chart for seven weeks) * 1985 – "Let's Go To The Disco" (No UK chart placing)

Albums

* 1984 – ''Russ Abbot's Madhouse'' * 1985 – ''I Love A Party'' – ( UK No. 12) * 1990 – ''Songs Of Joy''

Filmography

* 1971 – ''The Comedians'' (television programme) * 1972 – ''Who Do You Do?'' (television programme) * 1976 – ''What's On Next?'' (television programme) * 1979 – ''The Freddie Starr Variety Madhouse'' (television programme) * 1980 – ''Russ Abbot's Madhouse'' (television programme) * 1982 – ''My Beard is My Lighthouse'' (radio show on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...

) * 1986 – '' The Russ Abbot Show'' (television programme) * 1993 – '' Stars in Their Eyes'' – cover for

(a one-off Elvis special) * 1993 – '' September Song'' (television programme) * 1996 – '' Married for Life'' (television programme) * 1999–2002 ''

Dream Street Dream Street were an American pop music, pop boy band that was formed in 1999 by Louis Baldonieri and Brian Lukow. The band disbanded in 2002 following a legal dispute between parents of the band members and the band's managers. History The ...

'' (narrator) * 2000 – '' Heartbeat'' (television program); guest appearance, December 2000, single episode * 2001 – ''

TV to Go ''TV to Go'' is a British television sketch show that aired on BBC One during 2001 and 2002. It starred Mackenzie Crook, Hugh Dennis, Mina Anwar and Debra Stephenson. Notes and references''TV to Go''at BBC Online BBC Online, formerly k ...

'' (television programme) * 2003 – ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused o ...

'' (television programme); guest appearance, single episode * 2003 – ''

My Family ''My Family'' is a British sitcom created and initially co-written by Fred Barron, which was produced by DLT Entertainment and Rude Boy Productions, and broadcast by BBC One for eleven series between 2000 and 2011, with Christmas specials broadc ...

'' (television programme); guest appearance, single episode * 2005 – ''

Agatha Christie's Marple ''Agatha Christie's Marple'' (or simply ''Marple'') is a British ITV television programme loosely based on the books and short stories by British crime novelist Agatha Christie. The title character was played by Geraldine McEwan from the first ...

'' (television programme) * 2007 – '' Hotel Babylon'' (television programme) as Mr. Poldark, guest appearance, February 2007, single episode, in conjunction with Cherie Lunghi * 2007 – '' The Last Detective'' (television programme) guest appearance, May 2007, single episode, in conjunction with

Roy Hudd Roy Hudd, OBE (16 May 1936 – 15 March 2020) was an English comedian, actor, presenter, radio host, author and authority on the history of music hall entertainment. Early life Hudd was born in Croydon on 16 May 1936 to Evalina "Evie" (née ...

* 2008 – ''

'' (television programme) Secrets of the Stars: Series 2 Episode 5 * 2008–2010 – ''

'' * 2009 – '' Casualty'' (television programme); guest appearance, November 2009, single episode * 2012 – '' Run for Your Wife'' (film); cameo role * 2014–2016 '' Boomers'' (television programme)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abbot, Russ 1947 births 20th-century English comedians 21st-century English comedians English male comedians English male singers English male television actors English people of Scottish descent English rock drummers Male actors from Cheshire Actors from Chester Musicians from Cheshire Living people People educated at Chester City Grammar School British male comedy actors People from Ellesmere Port