Early life
Oddie was born on 7 July 1941 in Rochdale, Lancashire, but moved to Birmingham at a young age. He was raised by his father, Harry Oddie, and grandmother, Emily. His father was assistant chief accountant at the Midlands Electricity Board. His mother, Lilian, was diagnosed with schizophrenia and, during most of his youth, was hospitalised at the Barnsley Hall Hospital psychiatric facility. He was educated at Lapal Primary School, Halesowen Grammar School (now The Earls High School, Halesowen) and King Edward's School, Birmingham, an all-boys direct grant school, where he captained the school's rugby union team. He then studied English literature at Pembroke College, Cambridge.Career
Comedy
While at Cambridge University Oddie appeared in several Footlights Club productions. One of these, a revue called ''A Clump of Plinths'', was so successful at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe that it was renamed '' Cambridge Circus'' and transferred to the West End in London, then New Zealand and Broadway in September 1964. Meanwhile, still at Cambridge, Oddie wrote scripts for and appeared briefly in TV's '' That Was the Week That Was''. He appeared in Bernard Braden's television series ''On The Braden Beat'' in 1964. Subsequently, he was a key member of the performers in the BBC radio series '' I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again'', where many of his musical compositions were featured. Some were released on the album ''Distinctly Oddie'' (Polydor, 1967). He was one of the first performers to parody a rock song, arranging the traditional Yorkshire folk song " On Ilkla Moor Baht'at" in the style of Joe Cocker's hit rendition of the Beatles' " With a Little Help from My Friends" (released on John Peel's Dandelion Records in 1970 and featured in Peel's special box of most-treasured singles), and singing " Andy Pandy" in the style of a brassy soul number such as Wilson Pickett or Geno Washington might perform. In many shows he would do short impressions of Hughie Green. On television Oddie was co-writer and performer in the comedy series '' Twice a Fortnight'' with Graeme Garden, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Jonathan Lynn. Later he was co-writer and performer in the comedy series '' Broaden Your Mind'' with Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden, for which he became a cast member for the second series. Oddie, Brooke-Taylor and Garden then co-wrote and appeared in their television comedy series '' The Goodies'' (1970–1982). The Goodies also released records, including "Father Christmas Do Not Touch Me"/"The In-Betweenies", " The Funky Gibbon" (co-written by Oddie with Dave MacRae) and "Black Pudding Bertha", which were hit singles in 1974–75. They reformed, briefly, in 2005 for a successful 13-date tour of Australia. Oddie, Brooke-Taylor and Garden voiced characters on the 1983 animated children's programme '' Bananaman''. In the Amnesty International show '' A Poke in the Eye (With a Sharp Stick)'', Oddie, Brooke-Taylor and Garden sang their hit song "Funky Gibbon". They also appeared on '' Top of the Pops'' with the song. Together with Garden (who is a qualified medical doctor), Oddie co-wrote many episodes of the television comedy series '' Doctor in the House'', including most of the first season and all of the second season. He has occasionally appeared on the BBC Radio 4 panel game '' I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'', on which Garden is and Brooke-Taylor was a regular panellist. In 1982 Garden and Oddie wrote, but did not perform in, a six-part science-fiction sitcom called '' Astronauts'' for Central and ITV. The show was set in an international space station in the near future.Natural history
Oddie's first published work was an article about the birdlife of Birmingham's Bartley Reservoir in the West Midland Bird Club's 1962 Annual Report. (He is first credited in the 1956 report, in which reports of his bird observations are tagged with his initials "WEO".) He has since written a number of books about birds and birdwatching as well as articles for many specialist publications including '' British Birds'', ''Birdwatching Magazine'' and '' Birdwatch''. He discussed bird-song recordings with Derek Jones in an August 1973 BBC Radio 4 programme called ''Sounds Natural''.'' Radio Times'' entry for In the autumn of 1976, Oddie was involved in the successful identification of Britain's first-ever record of Pallas's reed bunting on Fair Isle, Shetland. One of Oddie's first forays into the world of television natural history was as a guest on '' Animal Magic'' in December 1977.''Radio Times'' entry for Another early natural-history radio appearance was in October, as the guest on Radio 4's ''Through My Window'', discussing the birds of Hampstead Heath.''Radio Times'' entry for On 30 July 1985, he was the subject of a 50-minute ''Nature Watch Special: Bill Oddie – Bird Watcher'', in which he was interviewed by Julian Pettifer at places where he had spent time birding, including Bartley Reservoir, the Christopher Cadbury Wetland Reserve at Upton Warren, RSPB Titchwell Marsh and Blakeney Point. Oddie has since hosted a number of successful nature programmes for the BBC, many produced by Stephen Moss, including: *''The Great Bird Race'' (1983; Channel 4) *''The Great Kenyan Bird Safari'' (BBC) *''Favourite Walks'': "A Bird Walk" (1985; BBC; filmed on Fair Isle) *''Worldwise'': "The Bird Business" (1985; Channel 4) *''Oddie in Paradise'' (1985; BBC) *''Wild Weekends'' (TV AM) *''Flight to Eilat'' (Channel 4) *''Bird in the Nest'' (two series, 1994 and 1995) *'' Birding with Bill Oddie'' (three series, 1997, 1998 and 2000) *'' Bill Oddie Goes Wild'' (three series, 2001, 2002 and 2003) *'' Wild in Your Garden'' (2003) *'' Britain Goes Wild'' (2004) *''Bill Oddie in Tiger Country'' (2004) *'' Bill Oddie's How to Watch Wildlife'' (two series, 2005 and 2006; also on DVD) *'' Seven Natural Wonders'' (London edition) (2005) *'' The Truth About Killer Dinosaurs'' (2005; also on DVD) *'' Springwatch'' (2005–2008) *'' Autumnwatch'' (2006–2008) *'' Bill Oddie Back in the USA'' (2007) *''Bill Oddie's Top Ten Birds'' (2007; BBC Four) *''100 Years of Wildlife'' (2007) *'' Bill Oddie's Wild Side'' (2008) *'' Bill Oddie's Top 10'' (2008) The first broadcast, in 2004, of ''Britain Goes Wild'' set a record for its timeslot of 8 pm onMusic
Oddie wrote original music at Cambridge University for the Footlights and later wrote comic songs for '' I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again''. He also wrote a number of comic songs for The Goodies, most of which he also performed. In the 1960s and early 1970s, Oddie released a number of singles and at least one album. One of the former, issued in 1970 on John Peel's Dandelion Records label (Catalogue No: 4786), was " On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at", performed in the style of Joe Cocker's " With a Little Help from My Friends". The B-side, "Harry Krishna", featured the Hare Krishna chant, substituting the names of contemporary famous people called Harry, including Harry Secombe, Harry Worth, Harry Lauder and Harry Corbett, as well as puns such as "Harry urryalong now" and "Harrystotle ristotle and ending with "Harry-ly reallymust go now". Both tracks appear on the compilation CD ''Life Too, Has Surface Noise: The Complete Dandelion Records Singles Collection 1969–1972'' (2007). In 1966 he was credited as the vocalist with Spencer's Washboard Kings on " Five Feet Two" (Rayrick LCR1001a). The vocalist on the B-side of this 45rpm single, " If You Knew Susie", was Jean Hart, Oddie's future wife. He played the drums and saxophone and appeared as Cousin Kevin in a production of The Who's rock opera '' Tommy'' by London Symphonic Orchestra and English Chamber Choir at the Rainbow Theatre, Finsbury Park, London, on 13 and 14 December 1973. He has also contributed vocals to a Rick Wakeman album, '' Criminal Record''. He recorded a single, "Superspike", with John Cleese and a group of UK athletes, billed the "Superspike Squad", to fund the latter's attendance at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. He co-produced the record with Stephen Shane. In 1986 Oddie took part in the English National Opera production of the Gilbert and SullivanOther television and voice work
Oddie appeared as the hapless window cleaner in the Eric Sykes' comedy story '' The Plank'' in 1967. He also presented the live children's Saturday morning entertainment show '' Saturday Banana'' ( ITV/ Southern Television) during the late 1970s. In the late 1980s he was a presenter of the BBC TV show '' Fax'' (a show about 'facts'). In 1981, he appeared as a Telethon celebrity in New Zealand, hosted by TV1. He voices Asterix in the UK dub of the 1989 animated film '' Asterix and the Big Fight'' (an animated adaptation of the books '' Asterix and the Big Fight'' and '' Asterix and the Soothsayer'', novelized as ''Operation Getafix''). In 1992, he was a guest star in the US comedy television series '' Married... with Children'' for a three-part episode set in England. He voiced the chimney sweep in the 1996 film '' The Willows in Winter''. In 1997 and 1998, he appeared on the Channel 4 archaeological programme '' Time Team'', as the team excavated a Roman villa site in Turkdean, Gloucestershire. He was the compère of a daytime BBC gameshow '' History Hunt'' (in 2003); and has appeared in the '' Doctor Who'' audio drama '' Doctor Who and the Pirates''. In 2004, he appeared on the first ever episode of the BBC series '' Who Do You Think You Are?'', in which he looked into his ancestry: he was visibly moved by its revelations. In 2005, he took part in '' Rolf on Art – the big event at Trafalgar Square'' and in September that year was also a celebrity guest along with Lynda Bellingham on the ITV1 programme '' Who Wants to Be a Millionaire''. He also gave opinions on 100 greatest cartoons on Channel 4 that year, talking about '' Tom and Jerry'' and cartoon incidents such as the "Asses of Fire skit" in '' South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut''. In 2006, Oddie appeared in the BBC show '' Never Mind the Buzzcocks'', and also appeared on the topical quiz show '' 8 out of 10 Cats''. He was also the voice behind many B&Q adverts throughout 2006/2007. On 25 May 2007, Oddie made a cameo appearance on Ronni Ancona's new comedy sketch show, '' Ronni Ancona & Co''. Also in 2007, three artists each painted a portrait of Oddie, as part of the BBC programme ''2013 Australian tour
Oddie undertook an Australian tour during June 2013 in all of the mainland states capital cities – Brisbane, Sydney,Personal life
Family
In 1966, Oddie married Jeanne Hart, and from this marriage he has two daughters, one of whom is the actress Kate Hardie. The couple later divorced. In 1983, Oddie married Laura Beaumont-Giles. The couple have worked on a variety of projects for children, including film scripts, drama and comedy series, puppet shows and books. They have a daughter, Rosie, born in October 1985, and live in Hampstead, North London. Rosie Oddie is a musician, also using the name Rosie Bones.Mental health
Oddie had experienced depression for most of his life before being diagnosed with clinical depression in 2001. In March 2009 he was reportedly admitted to Capio Nightingale psychiatric hospital in Marylebone for treatment. His then agent, David Foster, said: "Bill gets these bouts every two or three years where he gets down for about two weeks and recovers. He sometimes goes into hospital or takes a break or has a change of scenery to recharge his batteries." In January 2010 Oddie spoke to the media, revealing that he had two separate stays in different hospitals, only being discharged "in time for Christmas". He said that he was dealing with depression andPolitical views
Oddie supports the Green Party. In October 2014, on the BBC's '' Sunday Morning Live'', he stated that he wanted a limit on the number of children that British families can have, saying that he was "very often ashamed" to be British, calling them "a terrible race".Honours
In 2002, Oddie became the third person to decline to appear on '' This Is Your Life'' but changed his mind a few hours later. On 16 October 2003 Oddie was made an OBE for his service to wildlife conservation in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace. He wore a camouflage shirt and crumpled jacket to receive his medal. In June 2004 Oddie and Johnny Morris were jointly profiled in the first of a three-partBibliography
(incomplete list) *''Bill Oddie Unplucked: Columns, Blogs and Musings'' (Bloomsbury, 2015) *''Bill Oddie's Introduction to Birdwatching'' (Subbuteo Books, 2002) *''Bill Oddie's Colouring Guide to Birds'' (Piccolo, 1991) *''Bill Oddie's Little Black Bird Book'' *''Bill Oddie's Little Black Bird Book'' (paperback with additional material) *''Bill Oddie's Gone Birding'' *''The Big Bird Race'' (with David Tomlinson; Collins, 1983) *''Follow That Bird!'' *'' Gripping Yarns'' (Christopher Helm, 2000) *''Bird in the Nest'' *''Bill Oddie's How to Watch Wildlife'' *''One Flew into the Cuckoos Egg'' (Autobiography) Bill Oddie also co-wrote the Springwatch & Autumnwatch book with Kate Humble and Simon King. Co-written with the other members of The Goodies: *'' The Goodies File'' *''The Goodies Book of Criminal Records'' *''The Goodies Disaster Movie'' Co-written with Laura Beaumont: *''The Toilet Book (or 11 & ½ minutes a day and how not to waste them)'' ( Methuen, 1984, )Contributions
*''Confessions of a Scilly Birdman'', David Hunt; Croom Helm, 1985. (foreword and postscript) *''Birds in the Yorkshire Museum'', Michael Denton; North Yorkshire County Council, 1995. (foreword) *''Bird Brain of Britain'', Charles Gallimore & Tim Appleton; Christopher Helm, 2004. (foreword) *''Blokes and Birds'', Stephen Moss; New Holland Publishers. (foreword) *''The New Birds of the West Midlands'', Graham and Janet Harrison ( West Midland Bird Club, 2005) (foreword)Discography
Albums
Singles
In popular culture
In the fictional world of comedy character Alan Partridge, Oddie is an unseen presence in Alan's life, buying him dressing gowns for Christmas and being part of a radicalised RSPB. He has also been referenced, often humorously, by the hosts of '' Top Gear''.References
Sources
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