Anthony Ackroyd

Anthony Ackroyd
Born (1958-06-30) 30 June 1958
Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Occupation Comedian, speaker and writer

Anthony Ackroyd (born 30 June 1958) is an Australian comedian, speaker and writer.[1] He is a cast member of the ABC radio comedy show "Thank God It's Friday!". He is the creator and director of the "United Nations of Comedy" which aims to bring together the best comedy from around the world and build bridges between cultures through shared humour.

Biography

Ackroyd was born in Hobart, Tasmania and grew up in the tough working class suburb of Warrane. At the age of 16 he became Australian schoolboy public speaking champion when he won "Rostrum's Voice of Youth" competition. He was also a Commonwealth debating champion.

Ackroyd began performing stand up comedy at the Sydney Comedy Store in the 1980s. Television exposure quickly followed with frequent appearances on popular TV shows such as The Video Comedy Store, Hey, Hey, It's Saturday and The Midday Show. From 1989–1991 he was a cast member on ABC TV's pioneering live comedy show The Big Gig. During the 1990s he appeared on TV shows including Good News Week, Tonight Live, "Mornings with Kerri-Anne, and Pizza. He performed the critically acclaimed comedy monologue "Karma Comedian" on ABC's "The Smallest Room in the House", which detailed with great honesty many aspects of his life to that point.

Ackroyd's one man shows have included Anthony Ackroyd in His Own Little World, Ecstasy and How To Get It, At Last The Truth About Everything, and The Fruit of My Lions.

The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian newspapers acknowledged Ackroyd as one of the best comedians of his generation. Cosmopolitan Magazine dubbed him "The Man of the Moment". Beat Magazine declared him "one of the ultimate comedy legends".

He has written for TV and film including the highly successful Australian sketch show The Comedy Company and two years writing for an internet sitcom spin off for Jim Carrey's Ace Ventura character. He has workshopped material with writer-performers such as Billy Crystal and Rowan Atkinson.[2] Ackroyd's articles have appeared in publications such as Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Vogue, Life Etc., Studio, Eco Magazine, Parenting, Men's Stuff, and Good Taste.

Ackroyd's film work includes roles in the movies Reckless Kelly, Geno, and Willful. He provided the voice of Dragon on the award winning children's TV show Magic Mountain.

This examination of comedy's power in society led Ackroyd to declare that "comedy is the correct response to life". He now devotes himself to writing and performing comedy for stage, print media, TV, and feature films. Due to an uncanny resemblance, Ackroyd also became a frequent impersonator of Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd. He is now one of Australia's leading political satirists and hosts his own show "Political Bent".

[3][4][5]

References

  1. ↑ "Anthony Ackroyd". Celebrity Speakers. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  2. ↑ Speaker Profile of Anthony Ackroyd at The Celebrity Speakers Bureau
  3. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0010095/
  4. ↑ Archived 27 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ http://www.globalspeakers.com.au/viewspeakercomplete.php?id=167

External links

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