Lee Evans (comedian)
| Lee Evans | |
|---|---|
 Lee Evans in 2004 | |
| Born | 25 February 1964 Bristol, England |
| Medium | Comedian, Actor |
| Nationality | British |
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Genres | Physical comedy, stand-up comedy, Observational comedy |
| Subject(s) | Everyday life |
| Spouse | Heather Evans (1984—) |
| Notable works and roles | Same World, Different Planet (1996) Mouse Hunt (1997) The Fifth Element (1997) There's Something About Mary (1998) Lee Evans - So What Now? (2001) The Medallion (2003) The History of Mr Polly (2007) |
| Website | http://www.leeevansbigtour.co.uk/ |
Lee Evans (born 25 February, 1964[1]) is an award winning English stand-up comedian and actor.
Biography
Lee Evans was born in Avonmouth, Bristol, England. His secondary school was The Billericay School in Billericay, Essex. After a spell as a boxer and two years at art school in Essex, Evans decided to follow in his father's footsteps in the entertainment business. In his teens he moved to Rhyl, Wales,[citation needed] and played drums in a punk rock band called The Forgotten Five.[2]
In 1984, he married Heather Evans[3] with whom he has a daughter Mollie, born in 1993. They currently live in Billericay, Essex[4]. Lee Evans is also a singer and musician as is shown on the Lee Evans XL Live Tour 2005. He can play Mandolin, Guitar, Bass, KeyBoard, Piano and Drums.
Career
Stand-up comedy
Lee Evans rose to fame during the 1990s in his home country, becoming noted for his loud, hot, sweaty, energetic on-stage performances, mastery of humorous voices, and very physical, observational alternative and brilliant comedy. He is regarded as having a Norman Wisdom–style of slapstick comedy acting, and in many respects has taken on Wisdom's role for a later generation.[citation needed] In his earlier work, he often used a dysfunctional character called Malcolm to illustrate how he viewed unusual characters in the world. In 1993, Evans won the Perrier Comedy Award for his work at the Edinburgh Festival[5].
One of the trademarks of Evans's performances is his sweatiness: he is usually drenched in his own sweat. During most of his headlining performances, he often must take an intermission, during which he changes into a completely different suit; he once said that this was because he was "as nervous as a nun awaiting her pregnancy test results". He has also said that his suits are regularly thrown away after just one performance, mainly because of the sweat, with dry-cleaners refusing to handle them[6].
A second trademark is The Lee Evans Trio, which consists of him on a bare stage, in a spotlight, miming to a recording of instrumental sound; the spotlight goes out, only to reappear in another location, to which Evans has moved during the blackout, and where he is now miming playing a different instrument. He mimes in three locations, with an imaginary drum kit, double bass and piano[7].
A third trademark is his apparent "stage fright". At the beginning of his act he'll often pretend to get the microphone cord tangled up or thrown over his shoulder, or even that it doesn't work (he'll begin to talk but nothing is heard, until the end of a gag or question is suddenly audible). He may spend the first few minutes rambling as if he can't remember what he came on stage for. Often he will tilt the microphone stand and pretend to machine gun the audience, again as a nervous reaction and supposed "time filler".
Evans is also known for performing music skits at the end of every gig, usually his world-famous mime to Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody"[8]. His live act is also notable for its persistent use of variations of the word fuck.
In November 2005, Evans broke the Guinness World Record for a solo act performing to the biggest comedy audience, playing to 10,108 at the Manchester Evening News Arena[9], beating the previous record of 8,700 set by Eddie Izzard.
Evans will tour Britain with a brand new stand-up act, "Big", in Autumn 2008, with a DVD of the tour released in November. This was scheduled to involve the first ever performance by a comedian at the O2 Arena in London until Chris Rock announced dates that would take place at the venue prior to Evans.
It has also been said that he likes performing in smaller venues.[citation needed]
Acting
Evans has made a number of film appearances, most notably in Funny Bones, MouseHunt, There's Something About Mary, The Fifth Element, The Ladies Man, The Martins and The Medallion. Evans also provided the voice for Train in the 2005 film The Magic Roundabout.
From 1993-1994 Evans appeared in the Channel 4 late-night show Viva Cabaret!, both as a host and as a guest performer. In 1996, Evans starred in the one-off show The World of Lee Evans. In 2001, he wrote a sitcom called So What Now?.
In 2004 he starred as a paranoid murder suspect in his first non-comic role in the film Freeze Frame. Although warned they may never grow back, he shaved his eyebrows (as well as his hair).
From 2004 - 2005 he played Leo Bloom in the London production of The Producers along with Nathan Lane, with whom he also starred in MouseHunt, in which they played brothers.
In May 2007 he also starred in The History of Mr Polly.
Officially the funniest man in Britain according to a recent poll in the UK!
References
- ^ "Lee Evans I". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
- ^ White, Jim (1996-01-27). "Oooh, er, cripes". The Independent. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
- ^ "Lee Evans 2005 Interview".
- ^ "Lee Evans (I) - Biography". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
- ^ "if.comedy - Past winners". if.comedy. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
- ^ Lee Evans Interview. Daily Mirror. 2007-10-31. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
- ^ Lee Evans Trio. 2006-03-05. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
- ^ Lee Evans - Bohemian Rhapsody. 2006-09-16. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
- ^ "Comic Evans breaks crowd record". BBC News. 2005-11-20. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
External links
- Lee Evans Video Clips
- Lee Evans at Off The Kerb Productions
- Lee Evans at the British Film Institute
- 'Pinter? You've got to have fun with it'
- Lee Evans at IMDb
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