Sean Hughes (10 November 1965 – 16 October 2017) was a British-born Irish comedian, writer and actor. He starred in his own
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
television show ''
Sean's Show
''Sean's Show'' is a British television situation comedy, first broadcast on Channel 4 between 15 April 1992 and 29 December 1993. Stand-up comedian Sean Hughes co-wrote and starred as a fictionalised version of himself, aware that he is livin ...
'' and was one of the regular team captains on the
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
musical panel game ''
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' is a British comedy panel game show with a pop music theme. It has aired on Sky Max since September 2021, having originally aired between November 1996 and January 2015 on BBC Two. The original series was first hoste ...
''.
Early life
Hughes was born the middle boy in a family of three boys in
Whittington Hospital
Whittington Hospital is a district general and teaching hospital of UCL Medical School and Middlesex University School of Health and Social Sciences. Located in Upper Holloway, it is managed by Whittington Health NHS Trust, operating as Whitting ...
in
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire.
The term ''nort ...
. He had an older brother Alan and a younger brother Martin. He was born in
Archway,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, but spent most of his youth in
Firhouse
Firhouse () is an outer suburb of Dublin, in the county of South Dublin, in the south of the traditional County Dublin in Ireland. It developed from a rural village by the River Dodder, with a second settlement, Upper Fir-house, nearby.Dublin, 1 ...
,
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
. His mother was from
Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
, while his father was from Dublin; they first met on a London bus. His father worked in a
telephone exchange
A telephone exchange, telephone switch, or central office is a telecommunications system used in the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or in large enterprises. It interconnects telephone subscriber lines or virtual circuits of digital syst ...
and was also a
driving instructor
A driving instructor is a person who is hired by a new driver who is learning how to improve their skills - often for an upcoming practical test. Different countries have different rules regarding permits and other regulations. Driving instructors ...
. At the age of six, Hughes moved to Dublin and lived with his paternal grandmother. He attended
Coláiste Éanna
Coláiste Éanna Christian Brothers School is a Roman Catholic secondary school for boys in Ballyroan, Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1967 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers to serve the needs of the Ballyroan and adjacent parishes.
...
in
Ballyroan.
Writing in ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'',
Bruce Dessau
Bruce Dessau is a British arts critic who writes for the ''London Evening Standard
The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in Lo ...
observed of Hughes's early years:
eused to talk about how sounding like a Cockney
Cockney is an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners. The term "Cockney" has traditionally been used to describe a person from the East End, or b ...
in an Irish school was not easy. He later quipped that he spent "most of my childhood in a headlock". Not surprisingly his Mary Poppins It may refer to:
* ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character.
* Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers.
* ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film sta ...
accent soon developed a lilting local burr. Making schoolfriends laugh was a classic defence mechanism and he even set up comedy gigs at his school. What started out as a hobby quickly became a career.
Career
In 1987, he began appearing at the
Comedy Store
The Comedy Store is an American comedy club opened in April 1972. It is located in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. An associated club is located in La Jolla, San Diego, California.
History
The Comedy ...
. In 1990, aged 24, he became the youngest winner of the prestigious
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. ...
for his show, ''A One-Night Stand with Sean Hughes''.
He marked his 30th birthday with the ''Sean Hughes Is Thirty Somehow'' tour, which was broadcast on
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
, in 1995. Hughes returned to stand-up, touring the UK and Australia in 2007 with his show, ''The Right Side of Wrong''.
As well as comedy, he wrote collections of prose and poetry and worked on a number of films. He also presented weekend radio shows on the BBC's London radio station
BBC GLR
BBC Radio London is the BBC's local radio station serving Greater London and its surrounding areas. The station broadcasts across the area and beyond, on the 94.9 FM frequency, DAB, Virgin Media channel 937, Sky channel 0152 (in the London ...
, and in 2002 joined
BBC 6 Music
BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available onl ...
, presenting the Sunday morning programme. He left the station a year after its launch, proclaiming it had turned into everything he had wanted it to be. He also wrote two novels, ''The Detainees'' (1998) and ''It's What He Would Have Wanted'' (2000).
It was reported that Hughes was a close friend of the American comedian
Bill Hicks
William Melvin Hicks (December 16, 1961 – February 26, 1994) was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, satirist, and musician. His material—encompassing a wide range of social issues including religion, politics, and philosophy—wa ...
, but Hughes stated this was not true. In a 2014 interview, he explained: "It says on my Wikipedia page that I was good friends with him. I wasn't! We were in Australia together, so we hung out. I did get to know him a little bit, which was a real pleasure. When I saw him I just went, 'That's the best comic I'm going to see in my lifetime.'" Nevertheless, Hughes wrote the foreword to
Cynthia True
''The Mighty B!'' (stylized in all caps) is an American animated television series created by Amy Poehler, Cynthia True, and Erik Wiese for Nickelodeon. The series centers on Bessie Higgenbottom, an ambitious Honeybee girl scout who believes ...
's biography of Hicks, ''American Scream: The Bill Hicks Story''. He concluded his foreword by writing "being a genius is a heavy burden and he's the only one I'm ever likely to meet. I still miss you Bill."
Film and television drama
Hughes had a small role in the film ''
The Commitments'' (1991), playing a record producer.
In 1992, he had his own TV show, ''
Sean's Show
''Sean's Show'' is a British television situation comedy, first broadcast on Channel 4 between 15 April 1992 and 29 December 1993. Stand-up comedian Sean Hughes co-wrote and starred as a fictionalised version of himself, aware that he is livin ...
'', ostensibly set in his own home. It received a nomination for the 1992 British Comedy Award for Best Channel 4 Sitcom.
Series one of ''Sean's Show'' has been released on DVD. Later, he recorded a series of brief programmes called ''Sean's Shorts'', in which he toured England, visiting many of the country's towns and cities, visiting local places of interest and meeting local people. He appeared in the film ''Snakes and Ladders'' shot in Dublin, and released in 1996.
From 1996 to 2002, he was a team captain on the
BBC 2
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
comedy quiz show ''
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' is a British comedy panel game show with a pop music theme. It has aired on Sky Max since September 2021, having originally aired between November 1996 and January 2015 on BBC Two. The original series was first hoste ...
'', alongside
Phill Jupitus
Phillip Christopher Jupitus (, ''né'' Swan; born 25 June 1962) is an English stand-up and improv comedian, actor, performance poet, cartoonist and podcaster. Jupitus was a team captain on all but one BBC Two-broadcast episode of music quiz ''N ...
and
Mark Lamarr
Mark Lamarr (born Mark Jones, 7 January 1967) is an English comedian, writer, radio DJ, and television presenter. He was a team captain on '' Shooting Stars'' from 1995 to 1997, and hosted ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' from 1996 to 2005.
Early li ...
. He can be seen during
Terrorvision
''TerrorVision'' is a 1986 American science fiction horror comedy film directed by Ted Nicolaou, produced and written by Albert and Charles Band and composed by Richard Band, all of whom would go on to found and work with Full Moon Features in 19 ...
's music video for their single "
Tequila
Tequila (; ) is a liquor, distilled beverage made from the Agave tequilana, blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila, Jalisco, Tequila northwest of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Guadalajara, and in the Jaliscan Highlands ...
" from 1999 and in the video for
The Cure
The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has re ...
's 1996 single, "
The 13th
"The 13th" is a song by English rock band the Cure, released as the first single from the band's 10th studio album, ''Wild Mood Swings'' (1996), on 22 April 1996. The song reached the top 20 in several territories, including Finland, Sweden, the ...
".
He appeared in the 2010
Edinburgh 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 ...
.
In ITV's series ''
The Last Detective
''The Last Detective'' is a British TV comedy drama series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV between 7 February 2003 and 31 May 2007, starring Peter Davison as the title character, Detective Constable "Dangerous Davies". The series is based o ...
'', featuring
"Dangerous" Davies, Hughes played his friend, the perpetually unemployed and well-read "Mod Lewis" (he spends all his time at the library to save on heating). He played
Eileen Grimshaw
Eileen Grimshaw (also Phelan) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Portrayed by Sue Cleaver, the character first appeared on-screen during the episode airing on 3 May 2000. Her storylines have often i ...
's love interest Pat in the British soap ''
Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford.
Origi ...
''.
["Sean Hughes joins Corrie cast"](_blank)
''Digital Spy'', 16 May 2007.
In 2003, Hughes voiced the part of Finbar the
clockwork
Clockwork refers to the inner workings of either mechanical devices called clocks and watches (where it is also called the movement) or other mechanisms that work similarly, using a series of gears driven by a spring or weight.
A clockwork mec ...
Shark, one of seven plastic bath toys which come to life whenever no-one is watching in the
children's television series
Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during the early evenin ...
''
Rubbadubbers
''Rubbadubbers'' is a 2003 British stop-motion children's television series produced by HIT Entertainment and Hot Animation. The series aired from 15 January 2003 to 3 November 2005 on BBC2 in the UK. Created by Peter Curtis, it features seven ...
'', shown on
CBeebies
CBeebies is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 years and under. Its sister channel CBBC is aimed at older childr ...
in the United Kingdom for pre-school children.
He played Sergeant Lake in the ITV ''
Agatha Christie's Marple
''Agatha Christie's Marple'' (or simply ''Marple'') is a British ITV (TV network), ITV television programme loosely based on the books and short stories by British crime novelist Agatha Christie. The title character was played by Geraldine McEw ...
'' production of ''
They Do It with Mirrors'', which was broadcast on 1 January 2010.
Hughes played Brendan in the film version of
Tony Hawks
Antony Gordon Hawksworth, MBE (born February 27, 1960), known professionally as Tony Hawks, is a British comedian and author.
Early life
Born in Brighton, Sussex, Hawks was educated at Brighton, Hove and Sussex Grammar School and Brighton ...
' book, ''
Round Ireland with a Fridge
''Round Ireland with a Fridge'' is a book by Tony Hawks, first published in the UK in 1998. It sold over half a million copies.
The book is loosely based on a journey made by Hawks in 1997, when he hitchhiking, hitchhiked around Ireland while re ...
'' (2010). He also played the lead in the film adaptation of
Spike Milligan
Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish actor, comedian, writer, musician, poet, and playwright. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Raj, British Colonial India, where h ...
's comic novel, ''
Puckoon
''Puckoon'' is a comic novel by Spike Milligan, first published in 1963. It is his first full-length novel, and only major fictional work. Set in 1924, it details the troubles brought to the fictional Irish village of Puckoon by the Partition of ...
''. Hughes also voiced Tapir in the three ''
Robbie the Reindeer
''Robbie the Reindeer'' is a series of three animated comedy television specials co-produced by the BBC and the charity Comic Relief which were broadcast on BBC One between Christmas 1999 and 2007. Although the series is distributed commercially b ...
'' films.
He appeared in ''
Casualty
Casualty may refer to:
*Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster
**Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare
* The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...
'' in 2015.
Stage and online
In early 2014 Hughes started a
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 ...
called ''Under the Radar'', which ran for approximately 57 episodes (excluding repeats and split episodes) until December 2016.
Hughes took over the role of
stationmaster
The station master (or stationmaster) is the person in charge of a railway station, particularly in the United Kingdom and many other countries outside North America. In the United Kingdom, where the term originated, it is now largely historical ...
Mr Perks in the musical ''
The Railway Children
''The Railway Children'' is a children's book by Edith Nesbit, originally serialised in ''The London Magazine'' during 1905 and published in book form in the same year. It has been adapted for the screen several times, of which the 1970 film ...
'' at King's Cross Theatre in March 2015.
Personal life
Hughes was a
vegetarian
Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter.
Vegetarianism m ...
and proponent of
animal rights
Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...
. Hughes was a heavy drinker most of his career. In 2012, it was reported that he had become a teetotaller.
Death
Hughes died aged 51 on 16 October 2017 from the effects of
cirrhosis
Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, and end-stage liver disease, is the impaired liver function caused by the formation of scar tissue known as fibrosis due to damage caused by liver disease. Damage causes tissue repai ...
, at Whittington Hospital in North London (the same hospital he was born in).
A
funeral
A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...
service was held at
St Pancras and Islington Cemetery
St Pancras and Islington Cemetery is a cemetery in East Finchley, North London. Although it is situated in the London Borough of Barnet, it is run as two cemeteries, owned by two other London Boroughs, Camden (formerly St Pancras) and Isling ...
on 23 October 2017, where, after the mourning party heard eulogies to his memory, there were recited extracts of some of Hughes' poetry and recorded music from
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to emerg ...
and
Lily Allen
Lily Rose Beatrice Allen (born 2 May 1985) is an English singer-songwriter and actress. She is the daughter of actor Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. Her music career began in 2005 when she made some of her vocal recordings publi ...
, his body was cremated. A wake was held afterwards in a nearby
pub
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
.
Works
Shows
*''Mumbo Jumbo''
*''Penguins''
*''Life Becomes Noises''
*''Ducks and Other Mistakes I've Made''
*''What I Meant to Say Was...''
*''The Right Side of Wrong''
*''Live... And Seriously Funny''
*''A One Night Stand with Sean Hughes''
Books
*''Sean's Book'' (1993)
*''The Grey Area'' (1995)
*''The Detainees'' (1998)
*''It's What He Would Have Wanted'' (2000)
*''My Struggle to Be Decent and Poems of Sadness and Light''
References
External links
*
Sean Hughesat the
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
Sean Hugheson
Chortle
Chortle is a British comedy website launched in 2000 by Steve Bennett. The site is a major source of comedy news in the UK. It also reviews comedy shows nationwide, including extensively at the annual Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and presents the ...
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Sean (Comedian)
1965 births
2017 deaths
20th-century English comedians
20th-century English male actors
20th-century Irish comedians
20th-century Irish male actors
21st-century English comedians
21st-century English male actors
21st-century Irish comedians
21st-century Irish male actors
Alcohol-related deaths in England
Deaths from cirrhosis
English male comedians
English male television actors
English people of Irish descent
Irish male comedians
Irish male television actors
Male actors from London
People educated at Coláiste Éanna
People from Archway, London
People from South Dublin (county)