Adrian Edmondson

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Adrian Edmondson
Edmondson as the Red Baron in Blackadder Goes Forth
Born
January 24, 1957
Flag of England Bradford, West Yorkshire, England
Occupation
Actor, writer, comedian, director
Career milestones
The Comic Strip Presents... (1982–present)
The Young Ones (1982–1984)
Bottom (1991–2003)

Adrian Charles Edmondson (born 24 January 1957) is an English actor, comedian, director, and writer. He sometimes credited as Ade Edmondson.

Edmondson is probably best known as the anarchic punk Vyvyan Basterd in the cult BBC sitcom The Young Ones (1982–1984) and later, for his role as Eddie Hitler in the BBC sitcom Bottom (1991–1995) which he also co-wrote. In both of these roles he starred alongside comedy partner, Rik Mayall.

Contents

[edit] Early life

He is the second of four children. Though born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, as a child he lived with his family in a variety of places including Cyprus, Bahrain, and Uganda. His father was a teacher in the armed forces.

He attended Pocklington School, a public school in Yorkshire. Adrian was a pupil at the exclusive boys school from 11 to 18 years of age. He later went on to the University of Manchester to study drama, receiving a 2:1. Edmondson met Mayall while studying at the university. They soon became friends and before long found work on the burgeoning alternative comedy scene. Under the name 20th Century Coyote they became one of the star attractions at the The Comedy Store. As their popularity grew, they and other upcoming comedians (including Alexei Sayle, Peter Richardson, Nigel Planer and French and Saunders) split away from the Comedy Store to set up their own venue: The Comic Strip club.

[edit] Career chronology

The Comic Strip soon gained a reputation as one of the most popular comedy clubs in London and soon came to the attention of Channel 4. Edmondson and the others were commissioned to act in six self-contained half-hour films, using the group as comedy actors rather than stand-up performers. The series, entitled The Comic Strip Presents... debuted on 2 November 1982 (the opening night of Channel 4). The first episode to be broadcast was "Five Go Mad in Dorset", a parody of Enid Blyton's Famous Five, which drew anger from some viewers for the way it mercilessly satirised a children's classic. Edmondson starred as one of the five.

At the same time as The Comic Strip Presents... was being negotiated, the BBC signed up Edmondson, Mayall, Richardson, Planer and Sayle to star in The Young Ones, a sitcom in the same anarchic style as The Comic Strip. (Richardson later decided not to proceed and was replaced by Christopher Ryan.) The show revolved around the shared house where the students lived during their study at Scumbag College. It was noted at the time of its first airing for its violent slapstick, with Edmondson's character as the main instigator, and this is a trait which has stayed with him throughout his career. The series captured public imagination and remains one of Britain's most popular sitcoms.

Edmondson (far right) as Vyvyan in The Young Ones
Edmondson (far right) as Vyvyan in The Young Ones

Following the success of The Comic Strip Presents... and, to a greater extent, The Young Ones, Edmondson and Mayall returned to their "Coyote" dynamic in the double act "The Dangerous Brothers" with Edmondson as "Sir (or occasionally Lady) Adrian Dangerous" in Saturday Live (1985–1987).

In 1983, he appeared as the lead singer Vim Fuego in the spoof heavy metal band called Bad News, with his Young Ones co-stars, Rik Mayall and Nigel Planer, and Peter Richardson of "Comic Strip Presents...".

In 1985 Edmondson married fellow Comic Strip performer Jennifer Saunders. The couple now have three children: Eleanor, Beatrice and Freya. Edmondson's university nickname of "Eddie Monsoon", a play on his surname, inspired the name of Saunders' character, Edina Monsoon, on Absolutely Fabulous and his own characters Eddie Catflap (Filthy Rich & Catflap) and Eddie Hitler (Bottom). Their joint production company is called Mr and Mrs Monsoon Limited.

In 1986, Edmondson achieved a number one hit in the UK singles charts when he and his co-stars from The Young Ones teamed up with Cliff Richard to record a new version of "Living Doll" for the inaugural Comic Relief campaign. Despite having been killed off in the final episode of the series, Edmondson played Vyvyan one last time in the video. The same year he co-wrote the book How to be a Complete Bastard together with Mark Leigh and Mike Lepine.

In 1987 he reunited with Planer and Mayall to star in Filthy, Rich and Catflap. The series was penned by The Young Ones' co-writer Ben Elton and saw Edmondson display the same slapstick characteristics as Vyvyan, but was closer in personality to his later character "Eddie Hitler" in Bottom. The show received critical acclaim but poor viewing figures and was cancelled after one series.

In 1989 Edmondson made an appearance in an episode of Blackadder Goes Forth as The Red Baron, arch-nemesis to Mayall's character, Lord Flashheart.

Edmondson played Brad Majors in the 1990 West End run of The Rocky Horror Show, alongside Tim McInnerny as Frank-N-Furter and Ed Tudor-Pole as Riff-Raff. He also appears on the soundtrack album of the production.

In 1991 he teamed up with Mayall once more, this time co-writing and co-starring in their own sitcom, Bottom. Edmondson starred as "Edward Elizabeth Hitler" opposite Mayall's "Richard Richard". The series featured the slapstick and crude humour for which the pair had become famous, but also more in-depth character analysis. Mayall and Edmonson have said Bottom was aimed to be more than just a series of toilet gags but a cruder cousin to plays like Waiting for Godot, about the pointlessness of life. The series became very popular. However, it was criticised for its often vulgar humour. Edmondson was also censured for essentially reprising the same character he had been playing for his entire career. Bottom was also incarnated into five UK stage tours (1993, 1995, 1997, 2001 and 2003). The violent natures of these shows saw both Edmondson and Mayall ending up in hospital.

In 1993 Edmondson starred alongside Richard Briers in a controversial black comedy called If You See God, Tell Him. Edmondson played Gordon Spry, whose Father (Briers) is paralysed and has a greatly reduced attention span. His erratic behaviour causes problems for Gordon. The series comprised four episodes, each 45 minutes long, and only broadcast once. (The BBC has refused to repeat the series.)

Edmondson (left) with Mayall in Bottom
Edmondson (left) with Mayall in Bottom

September 1995 saw the release of his first (comic) novel, The Gobbler.

In 1996, he played the role of Ace Face/Bellboy at The Who's performance of Quadrophenia at London's Hyde Park.

Following the 1997 Bottom stage tour, Hooligans Island, Mayall and Edmondson worked on the idea of a Bottom film in which Richie and Eddie run a hotel. The two had been working on the script together, and were set to co-direct. However, in 1998 Mayall was seriously injured and spent a few days in a coma. Edmondson found this time very difficult. When Mayall came around he helped Edmondson complete the script while still in hospital, but it was decided that he was still not fit enough to direct, so Edmondson took the sole directing duties on what became Guest House Paradiso. Since the 2003 Bottom tour, which ended on December 12 of that year, Edmondson has shown a lack of interest in working with his friend Mayall, claiming he is more difficult to work with since his accident, also having stopped drinking alcohol altogether. In December 2004 The Daily Mirror newspaper quoted him as saying: "It’s definitely time to stop. We're getting too old. We both realised that the show wasn't as engaging as it used to be. We were starting to look a bit ridiculous. [...] We're both nearly 50 and we're starting to feel slightly undignified talking about wanking and knobs constantly."[1] Rik Mayall has repeatedly said that they will work together again, they just needed "A good idea".

In 2004 Edmondson starred in a different comedic role, as an incompetent surgeon in Doctors and Nurses and had a recurring part in Jonathan Creek.

In 2005 he was one of the celebrities taking part in Comic Relief does Fame Academy (in which he was known for his punk-style version of the song "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You") and came in third place.

He directed pop videos for Fiesta (1988) by The Pogues, Prime Mover (1987) by Zodiac Mindwarp, Like The Weather (1988) by 10,000 Maniacs, Please Help The Cause Against Loneliness (1988) by Sandie Shaw, and Hourglass by Squeeze.

In Surviving Disaster, a BBC docu-drama about the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, broadcast at the start of 2006, Edmondson played the role of Dr Valeri Legasov, who gives his account of events.

Most recently he has also made guest appearances in Holby City, starring in a semi-serious role as Consultant General Surgeon Percival "Abra" Durant, a doctor who usually works in Ghana. As of 2007, he plays his first BBC Radio 2 sitcom with Ben Elton and writer Nigel Smith called Teenage Kicks, named after the famous punk song by The Undertones. After a six-episode series which became a success, there are news of a TV series of Teenage Kicks. A pilot episode is being filmed for BBC2.

At Jools Holland's 2006 Hootenanny, Edmonson sang and played trumpet in an inspired jazz-style cover version of The Sex Pistols Anarchy in the U.K.

On February 28, 2007, BBC One broadcast a special programme Comic Relief with Edmondson travelling to Kenya to see what donations from Comic Relief do, cleverly titled "Does Africa Need Ade... Edmondson?". He then performed on the Comic Relief 2007 special Top Gear Of The Pops, playing guitar with Supergrass.

[edit] Trivia

This article contains a trivia section.
Content in this section should be integrated into other appropriate areas of the article or removed, and the trivia section removed.
  • When asked in an interview what he enjoyed doing in his spare time, he replied with classic Edmondson wit, "Drinking fine wine and knee-capping people."
  • After being interrupted several times by a rambunctious fan after a 1988 television appearance, he responded with "I love you dearly, but would you please shut up?".
  • In 1986 he was featured on the cover of Smash Hits as "Sexy Ade Edmondson" while the article inside featured him breaking into the photographer's studio and murdering Howard Jones.
  • Has three daughters: Eleanor (b. 22 January 1986), Beatrice (b. 19 June 1987), and Freya (b. 16 October 1990).
  • A keen fan of the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, Edmondson performed (vocals and trumpet) with them as part of their 2006 reformation and countrywide tour.
  • Adrian has appeared in the music video for Kirsty McColl's 1983 single "Terry".

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Report of interview in Daily Mirror entitled Rik and Ade to split up

[edit] External links

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