Ricky Gervais
- Writer
- Producer
- Actor
Ricky Dene Gervais was born in a suburb of Reading, Berkshire, to Eva
Sophia (House) and Lawrence Raymond Gervais, who was a hod carrier and
labourer. His father was born in Ontario, Canada, of French-Canadian
descent, and his mother was English. He was educated at Ashmead
Comprehensive School and went on to study at University College,
London, where he gained a degree in Philosophy.
After university, Gervais attempted to pursue a pop career with Seona
Dancing, a duo he formed with a fellow student. Similar to many groups
in the early 1980s, they were a synth-pop act with a somewhat
pretentious name and exhibiting a strong musical influence by
David Bowie. Gervais adopted a
vocal style that has often been compared to Bowie; comedian
Paul Merton would later joke
that Bowie nicked their music. Seona Dancing were briefly signed to a
recording contract and released two singles, "More to Lose" and "Bitter
Heart". The latter was slightly reminiscent of
Queen's "Body Language" from a year
earlier, featuring a similar synthesizer riff. The act failed to breach
the UK top 75 and earn a place in the Guinness Book of British Hit
Singles, but clips have survived and they have been frequently used to
tease Gervais in interviews. Despite his own lack of success, Gervais
stayed within the music industry for a while and even spent time as the
manager of Suede.
Gervais had to wait a long time before achieving the fame he had hoped
would come with a pop career. In the 1990s he formed a writing
partnership with Stephen Merchant. In
2000, he landed his own comedy chat show on Channel 4,
Meet Ricky Gervais (2000),
which attracted legendary guests such as
Jimmy Savile,
Michael Winner,
Paul Daniels,
Peter Purves,
Stefanie Powers,
Jim Bowen and
Midge Ure. The series only ran for six
episodes but a year later greater stardom came for Gervais with the
debut of BBC comedy
The Office (2001). Although it was
not initially received to great acclaim or viewing figures, it is now
often cited as one of the greatest comedy series of all time and has
been credited with reinventing the sitcom. Gervais starred as the
obnoxious and embarrassing office manager David Brent, who has since
been voted in various polls one of the greatest comic characters. It
also prompted an American remake,
The Office (2005). Gervais had
further success with another sitcom,
Extras (2005), which attracted a
series of celebrity guests, including
Ben Stiller,
Samuel L. Jackson and his musical idol
David Bowie. It served as a
satire on the entertainment industry and leading stars were happy to
play along by performing exaggerated versions of themselves.
Gervais has become one of the most popular and omnipresent comedy
performers of the 21st century, hosting the Golden Globe awards,
lending his talent to films, becoming a voice artist and appearing on
numerous talk shows. He has become one of the best known British comedy
figures in America. He is also regularly the subject of controversy due
to his dark comedy. Some critics have called him insensitive and
outrageous. Gervais has responded by saying "offense is the collateral
damage of free speech", he has said that he doesn't aim for a mass
audience, he's just pleased he's managed to get one, and he has
compared his style of comedy and the audience he has acquired with
being Iggy Pop in preference to being
Phil Collins.
Sophia (House) and Lawrence Raymond Gervais, who was a hod carrier and
labourer. His father was born in Ontario, Canada, of French-Canadian
descent, and his mother was English. He was educated at Ashmead
Comprehensive School and went on to study at University College,
London, where he gained a degree in Philosophy.
After university, Gervais attempted to pursue a pop career with Seona
Dancing, a duo he formed with a fellow student. Similar to many groups
in the early 1980s, they were a synth-pop act with a somewhat
pretentious name and exhibiting a strong musical influence by
David Bowie. Gervais adopted a
vocal style that has often been compared to Bowie; comedian
Paul Merton would later joke
that Bowie nicked their music. Seona Dancing were briefly signed to a
recording contract and released two singles, "More to Lose" and "Bitter
Heart". The latter was slightly reminiscent of
Queen's "Body Language" from a year
earlier, featuring a similar synthesizer riff. The act failed to breach
the UK top 75 and earn a place in the Guinness Book of British Hit
Singles, but clips have survived and they have been frequently used to
tease Gervais in interviews. Despite his own lack of success, Gervais
stayed within the music industry for a while and even spent time as the
manager of Suede.
Gervais had to wait a long time before achieving the fame he had hoped
would come with a pop career. In the 1990s he formed a writing
partnership with Stephen Merchant. In
2000, he landed his own comedy chat show on Channel 4,
Meet Ricky Gervais (2000),
which attracted legendary guests such as
Jimmy Savile,
Michael Winner,
Paul Daniels,
Peter Purves,
Stefanie Powers,
Jim Bowen and
Midge Ure. The series only ran for six
episodes but a year later greater stardom came for Gervais with the
debut of BBC comedy
The Office (2001). Although it was
not initially received to great acclaim or viewing figures, it is now
often cited as one of the greatest comedy series of all time and has
been credited with reinventing the sitcom. Gervais starred as the
obnoxious and embarrassing office manager David Brent, who has since
been voted in various polls one of the greatest comic characters. It
also prompted an American remake,
The Office (2005). Gervais had
further success with another sitcom,
Extras (2005), which attracted a
series of celebrity guests, including
Ben Stiller,
Samuel L. Jackson and his musical idol
David Bowie. It served as a
satire on the entertainment industry and leading stars were happy to
play along by performing exaggerated versions of themselves.
Gervais has become one of the most popular and omnipresent comedy
performers of the 21st century, hosting the Golden Globe awards,
lending his talent to films, becoming a voice artist and appearing on
numerous talk shows. He has become one of the best known British comedy
figures in America. He is also regularly the subject of controversy due
to his dark comedy. Some critics have called him insensitive and
outrageous. Gervais has responded by saying "offense is the collateral
damage of free speech", he has said that he doesn't aim for a mass
audience, he's just pleased he's managed to get one, and he has
compared his style of comedy and the audience he has acquired with
being Iggy Pop in preference to being
Phil Collins.