Smug Roberts
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Smug Roberts | |
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| Pseudonym | Smug Roberts |
| Birth name | Andy Robert Wilkinson |
| Born | 1960 Harpurhey, Manchester, England |
| Medium | Stand up, television, radio |
| Nationality | English |
| Years active | 1995 – present |
| Genres | Observational comedy, anecdotes |
| Website | http://www.smugroberts.co.uk/ |
Andy Robert Wilkinson (born 1960), better known by his stage name Smug Roberts, is an English stand up comedian and actor.
Born in Harpurhey, Wilkinson attended North Manchester High for Boys before taking various jobs such as a relief pub landlord and the coach of a football team in Toronto. In 1995 he tried stand-up comedy for the first time at The Frog And Bucket comedy club, adopting the stage name "Smug Roberts"; the "smug" came from an event in his life where people teased him for being a "smug bastard" and the "Roberts" was adapted from his middle name. Caroline Aherne and her then-husband Peter Hook watched his set and she put him in contact with an agent.[1][2]
Six weeks later Roberts performed his first one-man gig. In 1998 he released the novelty anthem "Meat Pie, Sausage Roll (Come on England, Gi's a Goal)" as "Grandad Roberts", a character from his afternoon radio show on Key 103.[3] In 2000 he headlined with Paul Merton and John Thomson at the opening night of the Manchester Comedy Store. His appearance there lead to a role in the film 24 Hour Party People, released in 2002.[1][2]
Roberts has also appeared on television and radio: He had a recurring role in Cutting It and Buried as well as a one-off appearance in Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights. In 2006 he performed Me Dad's Dead, a one-man play about the death of his father, at the Edinburgh Festival.[1] In 2008 he became the first stand-up comedian to perform at the Erin Arts Centre on the Isle of Man. A local critic praised his style of anecdotal humour.[4]
Roberts has two sons and one daughter.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Maxwell, Tom. "The comedy gods smile on Roberts", Edinburgh Evening News, 2008-01-11. Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
- ^ a b c Taylor, Paul. "Smug laughs off his grief", Manchester Evening News, 2006-05-25. Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
- ^ Jenkins, Russell. "Comic's hymn to meat pies sweeps football terraces", The Times, 1998-01-06.
- ^ Gregory, John. "Smug Roberts: hilarious stories left me with an aching jaw", Isle of Man Today, 2008-03-03. Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
