John Bird (born 22 November 1936) is an English

satirist This is an incomplete list of writers, cartoonists and others known for involvement in satire – humorous social criticism. They are grouped by era and listed by year of birth. Included is a list of modern satires. Under Contemporary, 1930-196 ...

, actor and

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 ...

, known for his work in television satire, including many appearances with

John Fortune John Fortune (born John C. Wood; 30 June 1939 – 31 December 2013) was an English satirist, comedian, writer, and actor, best known for his work with John Bird and Rory Bremner on the TV series ''Bremner, Bird and Fortune''. Early life Fortu ...

Early life

John Bird was born in

Bulwell Bulwell is a market town in the City of Nottingham, in Nottinghamshire, England. It is south-west of Hucknall and to the north-west of Nottingham. The United Kingdom Census 2011 recorded the population of Bulwell at 29,771 which amounted to o ...

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

, and attended High Pavement Grammar School, Nottingham. While studying at

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...

, he met

. Bird became well known during the television satire boom of the 1960s, appearing in ''

That Was The Week That Was ''That Was the Week That Was'', informally ''TWTWTW'' or ''TW3'', is a satirical television comedy programme that aired on BBC Television in 1962 and 1963. It was devised, produced, and directed by Ned Sherrin and Jack (aka John) Duncan, and pre ...

'', the title of which was coined by Bird. Bird was intended by

Ned Sherrin Edward George Sherrin (18 February 1931 – 1 October 2007) was an English broadcaster, author and stage director. He qualified as a barrister and then worked in independent television before joining the BBC. He appeared in a variety of ra ...

for

David Frost Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was a British television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme ' ...

's role in the series, but was committed elsewhere. He also appeared in the television programmes ''

Not So Much a Programme, More a Way of Life ''Not So Much a Programme, More a Way of Life'' (commonly abbreviated to ''NSMAPMAWOL'', pronounced ens-map-may-wall and stylised as Not so much a programme, more a way of Life) is a BBC-TV satire programme produced by Ned Sherrin, which aired d ...

'', ''If It Moves File It'', ''Dangerous Brothers'', ''

A Very Peculiar Practice ''A Very Peculiar Practice'' is a surreal black-comedy drama set in the health centre of a British university, produced by the BBC, which ran for two series in 1986 and 1988. The two series were followed by a 90-minute made-for-television film, ...

'' and '' My Father Knew Lloyd George'', as well as in ''

The Secret Policeman's Other Ball The Secret Policeman's Other Ball was the fourth of the benefit shows staged by the British Section of Amnesty International to raise funds for its research and campaign work in the human rights field. It was the second of many shows to bear ...

''.

Acting career

Bird acted straight and comic roles in several television series and in films such as '' Red and Blue'' (1967), '' A Dandy in Aspic'' (1968), '' 30 Is a Dangerous Age, Cynthia'' (1968), '' This, That and the Other'' (1969), ''

Take A Girl Like You ''Take a Girl Like You'' is a comic novel by Kingsley Amis. The narrative follows the progress of twenty-year-old Jenny Bunn, who has moved from her family home in the North of England to a small town not far from London to teach primary school ...

'' (1970), ''

Jabberwocky "Jabberwocky" is a nonsense poem written by Lewis Carroll about the killing of a creature named "the Jabberwock". It was included in his 1871 novel ''Through the Looking-Glass'', the sequel to ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865). The bo ...

'' (1977), ''

The Seven-Per-Cent Solution ''The Seven-Per-Cent Solution: Being a Reprint from the Reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D.'' is a 1974 novel by American writer Nicholas Meyer. It is written as a pastiche of a Sherlock Holmes adventure, and was made into a film of the same ...

'' (1976), and ''Yellow Pages'' (1988). During the 1970s, when

Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 16 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern w ...

was at the height of his infamy, Bird starred on a popular recording (''

The Collected Broadcasts of Idi Amin ''The Collected Broadcasts of Idi Amin'' is a British comedy album parodying Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, released in 1975 on Transatlantic Records. It was performed by John Bird and written by Alan Coren, based on columns he wrote for ''Punch'' ma ...

'') based on

Alan Coren Alan Coren (27 June 1938 – 18 October 2007) was an English humourist, writer and satirist who was a regular panellist on the BBC radio quiz ''The News Quiz'' and a team captain on BBC television's ''Call My Bluff''. Coren was also a journalis ...

's anti-Idi ''

Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...

'' columns. In 1975, Bird took the part of Mr Rembrandt, described as "Van Gogh's son, also an illegal akistaniimmigrant", in ''The Melting Pot''. This was a sitcom written by

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 ...

and

Neil Shand Neil Hodgson Shand (3 March 1934 – 14 April 2018) was a British television comedy writer. He was born in Luton to parents from Glasgow, the son of a Vauxhall employee and a dressmaker. Neil was the eldest of three boys. Raised in a "two up tw ...

, which was cancelled by the BBC after just one episode had been broadcast. In 1979, Bird, in

blackface Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-Black people to portray a caricature of a Black person. In the United States, the practice became common during the 19th century and contributed to the spread of racial stereo ...

, played an African Chief in a cinema commercial for

Silk Cut Silk Cut is a British brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Gallaher Group, a division of Japan Tobacco. The packaging is characterised by a distinctive stark white packet with the brand name in a purple, blue, red, silver, wh ...

cigarettes. Bird played Raymond, a nervous boy who stuttered in

Dennis Potter Dennis Christopher George Potter (17 May 1935 – 7 June 1994) was an English television dramatist, screenwriter and journalist. He is best known for his BBC television serials '' Pennies from Heaven'' (1978), ''The Singing Detective'' (198 ...

's play '' Blue Remembered Hills'' which was broadcast in 1979. He played the Director of the British National Theatre in an episode of the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Early life

Acting career

References

Further reading

External links