Thomas Edmund Gleisner (born 24 October 1962) is an Australian comedian, television presenter, producer, director, writer, occasional actor and author. Gleisner currently hosts

Network 10 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 ...

's ''

Have You Been Paying Attention? ''Have You Been Paying Attention?'' (abbreviated on social media as HYBPA? and stylised on-screen as Have you been paying attention? in sentence case) is an Australian panel game television quiz show on Network 10. The series, which is produced ...

''.

Early life and education

Gleisner was educated at

Xavier College Xavier College is a Roman Catholic, day and boarding school predominantly for boys, founded in 1872 by the Society of Jesus, with its main campus located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Classes started in 1878. Th ...

in Melbourne, Australia. Gleisner attended the University of Melbourne in the 1980s, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws in 1987. He was a law student in

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

when he began working with

Santo Cilauro Santo Luigi Cilauro (born 25 November 1961) is an Australian comedian, television and feature film producer, screenwriter, actor, author and cameraman who is also a co-founder of ''The D-Generation''. Known as the weatherman in ''Frontline'', ...

and

Rob Sitch Robert Ian Sitch (born 17 March 1962) is an Australian director, producer, screenwriter, actor and comedian. Early life Sitch was born in 1962, the son of Melbourne bus proprietor Charles (Charlie) Sitch. Sitch attended St Kevin's College and ...

in the 1983 Law Revue ''Legal A.I.D.S.''. Gleisner wrote and performed in the 1985 Melbourne University Revue ''Too Cool for Sandals'', and was credited as a writer on ''

The D-Generation ''The D-Generation'' was a popular and influential Australian TV sketch comedy show, produced and broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) for two series, between 1986 and 1987. A further four specials were broadcast on the ...

'' (1986–1987) but not as a regular performer. He did, however, turn up on numerous occasions as a guest star (he featured more prominently in the second season, to fill in for Rob Sitch who was juggling writing/performing for the show with his studies), and on the album ''The Satanic Sketches''. Gleisner would go on to perform in the D-Gen's late-eighties Triple M radio show (and its spin-off album ''The Breakfast Tapes''), and then starred in, and wrote for, ABC's ''

The Late Show The Late Show may refer to: Books * ''The Late Show'' (book), a 2017 book by Michael Connelly Film * ''The Late Show'' (film), a 1977 film * ''Late Show'', a 1999 German film by director Helmut Dietl Music * ''The Late Show'' (Eddie "Loc ...

'' (1992–1993). He is remembered in ''The Late Show'' as the newsreader of ''Late Show News,'' the co-host of ''Countdown Classics'' with

Jane Kennedy Jane Kennedy may refer to: *Jane Kennedy (courtier) (died 1589), Scottish courtier *Jane Kennedy (actress) (born 1964), Australian actress and comedian *Jane Kennedy (politician) (born 1958), British Labour Party Member of Parliament See also *Jay ...

and the interviewer of stuntman Rob Sitch in ''Shitscared,'' although he appeared in various other sketches (including a recurring role as brainless bush-traveler "Wallaby Jack").

Television, radio, and film

When ''The Late Show'' finished, Gleisner co-founded

Working Dog Productions Working Dog Productions (originally Frontline Television Productions Pty. Ltd.) is a film and television production company based in Melbourne, Australia. It was formed in 1993 by actors Santo Cilauro, Rob Sitch, Jane Kennedy (actor), Jane Ken ...

, along with

and

. Their first venture was ''

Frontline Front line refers to the forward-most forces on a battlefield. Front line, front lines or variants may also refer to: Books and publications * ''Front Lines'' (novel), young adult historical novel by American author Michael Grant * ''Frontlines ...

'' which ran on the ABC from 1994 until 1997. Gleisner was a writer/producer/director, and also had a minor role as photocopier repairman Colin Konica. In 1995, Gleisner starred as mute cop Poncho on ''

Funky Squad ''Funky Squad'' was a short-lived 1995 Australian comedy television series which satirised 1970s-era U.S. police television dramas, such as ''The Mod Squad''. Only seven half-hour episodes were produced, which were broadcast on the ABC. Real tel ...

'' on ABC, another Working Dog comedy which he co-created and served on as one of the writer/producer/directors. Gleisner co-wrote the Working Dog films '' The Castle'' (1997), ''

The Dish ''The Dish'' is a 2000 Australian historical comedy-drama film that tells the story of the Parkes Observatory's role in relaying live television of humanity's first steps on the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. It was the top-grossing ...

'' (2000) and ''

Any Questions for Ben? ''Any Questions for Ben?'' is a 2012 Australian comedy film created by Working Dog Productions, directed by Rob Sitch. It stars Josh Lawson, Rachael Taylor, Felicity Ward, Daniel Henshall, and Christian Clark. It was written by Santo Cilauro, ...

'' (2012). He also hosted and co-executive produced the popular

Network Ten 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 ...

program '' The Panel'', (1998–2004). Gleisner has also appeared with Rob Sitch as a presenter of the ABC TV fly-fishing documentary ''

A River Somewhere ''A River Somewhere'' is an Australian documentary television series originally broadcast by ABC TV in 1997 and 1998. It was produced by Working Dog Productions, and was hosted by Tom Gleisner and Rob Sitch. The series was released on DVD in ...

'' (1997–1998). He also wrote and directed the

Glenn Robbins Glenn Maxwell Robbins (born 30 December 1957) is an Australian comedian, writer, actor, television and radio presenter. Robbins has appeared on '' The Panel'', ''Thank God You're Here'' and ''Have You Been Paying Attention?''. He is best known ...

comedy, ''

All Aussie Adventures ''All Aussie Adventures'', also known as ''Russell Coight's All Aussie Adventures'', is an Australian mockumentary television series that parodies the travel-adventure genre. Comedian Glenn Robbins plays Russell Coight, a survival and wildlife ...

'' (2001–2002, 2004, 2018), was the judge on the

improvised comedy Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, a ...

program ''

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 ...

'' (2006–2009), and co-wrote/co-produced Working Dog's ''

The Hollowmen ''The Hollowmen'' is an Australian television comedy series set in the offices of the Central Policy Unit, a fictional political advisory unit personally set up by the Prime Minister to help him get re-elected. Their brief is long-term vision; t ...

'' (2008), ''

Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', describing a fictional ...

'' (2014-2019), and ''

Pacific Heat The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

'' (2016). He now is host of the popular Australian quiz show ''

'' (2013–present), as well as a producer for '' The Cheap Seats'' (2021–present).

Books

Gleisner has written four comedic books in the persona of a fictitious cricketer,

Warwick Todd Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Wh ...

, ''The Warwick Todd Diaries'' (1997), ''Warwick Todd: Back in the Baggy Green'' (1998), ''Warwick Todd Goes The Tonk'' (2001) and ''Warwick Todd – Up in the Block Hole'' (2009). Gleisner has appeared in his Warwick Todd persona in guest appearances on TV. Gleisner has also written a number of

fly fishing Fly fishing is an angling method that uses a light-weight lure—called an artificial fly—to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. The light weight requires casting techniques significantly diffe ...

books along with Rob Sitch, and along with Sitch and Santo Cilauro, is responsible for the travel guide parodies in the "Jetlag Travel Guide" series. As of 2006, this series stands at the

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...

send-up of ''

Molvanîa ''Molvanîa'' (subtitled ''A Land Untouched by Modern Dentistry'') is a book parodying travel guidebooks. The guide describes the fictional country Molvanîa, a post-Soviet state, a nation described as "the birthplace of the whooping cough" and ...

: A Land Untouched by Modern Dentistry'', parody of

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

n destinations ''

Phaic Tăn ''Phaic Tăn'' (subtitled ''Sunstroke on a Shoestring'') is a 2004 parody travel guidebook examining imaginary country Phaic Tăn. The book was written by Australians Tom Gleisner, Santo Cilauro, and Rob Sitch. Along with the other Jetlag Trav ...

: Sunstroke on a Shoestring'' and Central American send up ''

San Sombrèro ''San Sombrèro'' (subtitled ''A Land of Carnivals, Cocktails and Coups'') is a parody travel guide book examining the eponymous fictional country, described as the birthplace of tinted sunglasses and sequins. This country is set in Central Amer ...

: A Land of Carnivals, Cocktails and Coups''. Gleisner is the chairman of Challenge, an Australian cancer support organisation. He is also passionate about raising autism awareness; he was inspired to do so by the child of a dear friend of his and his wife.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gleisner, Tom 1962 births Australian male comedians Australian television talk show hosts Australian game show hosts Australian parodists Living people People educated at Xavier College Melbourne Law School alumni Australian film studio executives Officers of the Order of Australia People from the City of Boroondara