Jim Tavaré
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| Jim Tavaré | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1963 Essex, England |
Jim Tavaré (born 1963) is an English stand-up comedian and musician. He may be best known for his work on The Sketch Show on ITV and also plays the role of Tom, the owner of the Leaky Cauldron, in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Tavaré was born in Essex, England and moved to Cheshire with his family when he was seven, and he attended art school as a teenager in Northwich before going to London, where he successfully auditioned for RADA. He later branched out into stand-up comedy with a unique act which featured his double bass - an instrument he had learned to play to a reasonable standard during his childhood. He always donned tails and a white tie outfit - the uniform of the classical musician - when performing his act, though he only played the bass in short bursts for comic effect. A regular joke during these shows was pretending he was a midget with a violin. He would often be introduced as "Jim Tavaré on the double bass", and then proceed to perform his act on the instrument.
After many years working the stand-up circuit and making fleeting television appearances as a guest comic, Tavaré hosted a series for BBC2 entitled Jim Tavaré Pictures Presents.... He also had a skit series of his own on Channel Five and an episode of the American series Wings was written entirely around his bass act.
Tavaré is a father of two. His 8-year-old son, Louis was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called Burkitt's lymphoma.
Tavaré is the cousin of former England batsman Chris Tavaré. He is an experienced sailor and was the first stand up comedian to join the Enterprise Allowance scheme as a professional comic.
[edit] Books
- Sit-Down Comedy (contributor to anthology, ed Malcolm Hardee & John Fleming) Ebury Press/Random House, 2003. ISBN-10: 0091889243; ISBN-13: 978-0091889241
