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Johnny Vegas (b. September 11, 1971) as Michael Pennington is an English comedian. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Image File history File links Idealbbc. ... Ideal is a British sitcom originally broadcast on digital channel BBC Three, created by Graham Duff and produced by BBC Comedy North and Baby Cow Productions. ... is the 254th day of the year (255th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. ... For the larger local government district, see Metropolitan Borough of St Helens. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... A comedian, or comic, is an entertainer who amuses an audience by making them laugh. ... For other uses, see Actor (disambiguation). ... is the 254th day of the year (255th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ...

Early life

He was born as the youngest of four siblings to Laurence and Patricia Pennington on September 11, 1971 (1971-09-11) (age 36), having two older brothers (Robert and Mark) and an older sister (Catharine), in St Helens, Merseyside. At the age of eleven, he attended a boarding-school seminary to train for the priesthood, but came back homesick after four terms.^[1] is the 254th day of the year (255th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. ... For the larger local government district, see Metropolitan Borough of St Helens. ...

Life before fame

For a time Vegas was a Redcoat (Butlins); he studied art and ceramic design at Middlesex University for three years and attempted to forge a career in pottery but became disillusioned when he received a third class degree. His passion for pottery continues however to this day. He returned to St Helens, became a live-in barman and drank heavily. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Butlins. ... Ancient Egyptian ceramic art: Louvre Museum. ... Middlesex University is a university in north London, England, located in the historic county boundaries of Middlesex (from which it takes its name). ... Unfired green ware pottery on a traditional drying rack at Conner Prairie living history museum. ... A B.A. issued from the University of Tennessee. ...

Vegas made his TV debut as a contestant on Win, Lose or Draw in the UK under his real name of Michael, but made references to the fact he wanted to be a comedian and that his stage name was "Johnny Vegas". His appearance was briefly shown during Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups. Win, Lose or Draw was an American television game show that aired from September 1, 1987 to September 7, 1989 on NBC and in syndication from 1987 to 1990. ... This article is about the British television station. ...

In the mid-nineties he spent some time living in London and Glasgow with the declared intention of becoming a stand up comedian. In London, he was mentored by 'comedy godfather' Malcolm Hardee. This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... For other uses, see Glasgow (disambiguation). ... Richard Pryor hits the money line A stand-up comedian or stand-up comic is someone that performs in comedy clubs, usually reciting a fast paced succession of amusing stories, short jokes and one-liners, typically called a monologue. ... Malcolm Hardee (born Lewisham, London, January 5, 1950 – died London, January 31, 2005)[1] was an anarchic English comedian, author, club proprietor, compère and amateur sensationalist[2] whose high reputation among his peers rests on his outrageous publicity stunts and on the help and advice he gave to successful...

Fame

Early performances

Before his success in the late 90s, Vegas was a compère of many comedy nights at the Citadel Arts Centre[1] in St Helens where he developed his character's stage performance; in London, Malcolm Hardee repeatedly booked him at his Up The Creek comedy club in Greenwich. This article is about Greenwich in England. ...

His career took off when he won the Festival Critics' Award at the 1997 Edinburgh Festival, and was the first newcomer to be nominated for the Perrier Award. Vegas also won the Leicester Mercury Comedian of The Year Competition in 1997. There is no one Edinburgh Festival but those using the term are usually referring to the collection of various festivals in August and early September of each year in Edinburgh, Scotland. ... The Perrier Comedy Award is a prestigious award for comedy, awarded to the best comedy show at the Edinburgh Fringe festival. ...

His early shows The Johnny Vegas Gameshow and The Johnny Vegas Show contained elements such as Butlins style sing-a-longs, onstage pottery, verbal abuse of the audience, and drunkenness. He was accused of sexism. Audience members report great variation in the quality of the shows - on occasion the talent for ad-libbing seems to desert him to be replaced by a shambolic, fragmentary performance. This box:      The sign of the headquarters of the National Association Opposed To Woman Suffrage Sexism is commonly considered to be discrimination and/or hatred against people based on their sex rather than their individual merits, but can also refer to any and all systemic differentiations based on the sex...

The pathos in these shows is often remarked upon as it is often hard to identify how much of the apparent disintegration of Vegas is performance and how much is a genuine, guileless display of personal pain. Look up Pathos in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Major projects

He appeared as "Al" in a series of adverts for ITV Digital around 2001/2002 with knitted monkey (voiced by Ben Miller), whose name was simply Monkey ('Monkeh'). The ubiquity of these adverts made Vegas a household name, though Vegas now has to fend off (and does so with good humour) remarks about the failure of ITV Digital as an enterprise. This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... Original ITV Digital promotional Monkey Monkey (also known as ITV Digital Monkey, Monkeh or Munkay) is a knitted mascot advertising character that has fronted advertising campaigns in the United Kingdom for both the television company ITV Digital (now defunct) and popular tea brand PG Tips. ... Ben Miller (born 1966) is a British comedian, director and actor. ...

Vegas gave an award-winning performance as Charlie in 2001's Happiness, marking his transition from stand-up comedian to actor. Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

In 2003 Vegas wrote and starred in a DVD-only film, Who's Ready For Ice Cream? in which he played himself. The plot centred around Vegas's fame and success having resulted in the decline of his stand-up ability and the resulting efforts to regain it. The film was directed by Stewart Lee. Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Stewart Graham Lee (born April 5, 1968 in Shropshire, raised in Solihull) is an English stand-up comedian, writer and director probably best known for being one half of the 1990s comedy duo Lee and Herring, and for co-writing and directing the critically-acclaimed and controversial stage show Jerry...

He starred in the 2004 film Sex Lives of the Potato Men. He has displayed unshaking pride in the venture, despite very poor reviews, some going so far as to label it the worst film ever. Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Sex Lives of the Potato Men is a controversial British feature film released in 2004. ...

He wrote and starred in a BBC Radio 4 sitcom called Night Class, seemingly heavily autobiographical, about an ex red coat, pottery teacher called Johnny Vegas. old Radio 4 logo BBC Radio 4 is a UK domestic radio station which broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes including news, drama, comedy, science and history. ...

In 2004, he co-starred in Dead Man Weds written by and co-starring of this series is Dave Spikey. Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Dead Man Weds is a 6-part comedy series shown on ITV on British TV (and repeated on ITV2). ... Dave Spikey (born David Bramwell, September 1950 in Bolton, Lancashire) is an English comedian based in Chorley, Lancashire. ...

He appeared in the 2005 comedy-drama Ideal, playing a drug dealer. Vegas also started presenting an unconventional Friday night chat/comedy show on Channel 4 titled 18 Stone of Idiot. Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Ideal is a British sitcom starring Johnny Vegas about a small-time dope dealer. ... This article is about the British television station. ... 18 Stone of Idiot was a British television programme broadcast on Channel 4 in 2005 designed as a vehicle for Johnny Vegas and produced by Chris Evans. ...

Later in 2005, he appeared in straight acting roles on BBC One, first in their high-profile adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel Bleak House (as Krook), and then as Bottom in an updated, modern-language version of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... BBC One is the primary television channel of the BBC, and the first in the United Kingdom. ... “Dickens” redirects here. ... Bleak House is a 15-part BBC television drama serial adaptation of Charles Dickens Bleak House. ... Nick Bottom is a character in Shakespeares A Midsummer Nights Dream who provides comic relief throughout the play, and is famously known for getting his head transformed into that of a donkey by the elusive Puck within the play. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... For other uses, see A Midsummer Nights Dream (disambiguation). ...

In 2005, he appeared in a supporting role as 'Sackville', a poet and member of Charles II court in the film The Libertine, starring Johnny Depp. Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Libertine is a movie that was released in the United Kingdom on November 25, 2005, and on March 10, 2006 in the United States. ... Johnny Depp (born John Christopher Depp II[2] on June 9, 1963, in Owensboro, Kentucky) is an Academy Award-nominated and SAG Awards-winning American actor and for his performances in the films Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Edward Scissorhands (1990), Whats Eating Gilbert Grape (1993), Ed Wood (1994...

In February 2006, he topped the bill at London's Hackney Empire in a 5-hour tribute show to comedy club owner Malcolm Hardee, who had drowned the previous month. Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Hackney Empire The Hackney Empire is a theatre on Mare Street, Hackney. ...

In January 2007 PG Tips, a popular brand of tea in the UK, have reunited Johnny Vegas and the Monkey character in a new advertising campaign. They are emotionally reunited over the product, with Johnny notably cleaner and more sober than his characteristic appearance, presumably as PG Tips has always promoted a wholesome image and for many years used chimpanzees as humorous characters. Johnny and the Monkey had been mentioned in a show over the 2006 holiday period documenting really bad decisions (ITV Digital's moribund launch, particularly buying the lesser league UK soccer rights), possibly sparking PG Tips' advertisers to bring them back together. Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... PG Tips is a popular brand of tea in the United Kingdom; its manufacturers Unilever UK say that Britons drink 35 million cups of PG Tips a day. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... PG Tips is a popular brand of tea in the United Kingdom; its manufacturers Unilever UK say that Britons drink 35 million cups of PG Tips a day. ...

Appearances

Vegas appeared on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross and as a guest star on the music quiz show Never Mind the Buzzcocks Friday Night with Jonathan Ross is a chat show presented by Jonathan Ross. ... Never Mind the Buzzcocks is a comedy panel game show with a pop and rock music theme, presented by Simon Amstell and produced by talkbackTHAMES for the BBC. It is usually aired on BBC Two. ...

Vegas was well known for his impromptu rants at awards ceremonies, notably addressing Dustin Hoffman from the stage at the Empire Magazine movie awards in 2003. Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is a two-time Academy Award-winning, BAFTA-winning, and five-time Golden Globe-winning American method actor. ... Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Emap Consumer Media since July 1989. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

He was given his own segment on The Big Breakfast shortly before the show came to an end in 2002 - some speculate it was his appearance that put the final nail in the coffin of this long running Bob Geldof show. Lockkeepers Cottages, in Old Ford Lock, used as the studio for The Big Breakfast The Big Breakfast was a British light entertainment television show shown on Channel 4 each weekday morning from 28 September 1992 until 29 March 2002. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... Robert Frederick Xenon Geldof[1], KBE[2], known as Bob Geldof (born 5 October 1951) [3], is an Irish singer, songwriter, actor and political activist. ...

In the same year, he was seen as a regular panelist on team B on Shooting Stars, with pint of Guinness perched by his buzzer. Shooting Stars is a UK television comedy panel game broadcast on BBC Two. ...

In March 2006 Vegas was a guest on the Channel 4 show TV Heaven, Telly Hell hosted by Sean Lock. In the show Vegas voiced his opinions on various television programmes, including Sex and the City, shopping channels such as QVC, (Vegas has also previously parodied QVC and shopping channels in general in a sketch from Shooting Stars).On May 2nd Johnny appeared in the Irish talk show The Podge and Rodge Show along with Jodie Marsh. TV Heaven, Telly Hell is a comedy television show on Channel 4, presented and produced by Sean Lock. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Sex and the City is a popular American cable television program. ... QVC is a West Chester, Pennsylvania, USA, multinational corporation, specialising in televised home shopping. ... QVC is a West Chester, Pennsylvania, USA, multinational corporation, specialising in televised home shopping. ... Shooting Stars is a UK television comedy panel game broadcast on BBC Two. ... The Podge and Rodge Show (also known as The Podge and Rodge Show with Lucy Kennedy) is an Irish television show, broadcast and produced by RTÉ, featuring the two puppets Podge and Rodge as the hosts of the chatshow, with Lucy Kennedy as a co-host. ... Jodie Louisa Marsh, born 23 December 1978, is an English softcore model, best known for appearing topless in numerous publications and photographs and her high profile feud with numerous other celebrities. ...

In early 2006, Vegas and his family were filmed for the returning series Family Fortunes against Coronation Street's Jenny McAlpine and her family.

On September 15, he appeared on The Charlotte Church Show upsetting the host so much that she slapped him, and shouted 'shut the fuck up'. The Charlotte Church Show is an entertainment television show presented by Welsh singer Charlotte Church broadcast each Friday on Channel 4 from September 1, 2006. ...

Wikinews has related news:

Comedian pushes talk show host Charlotte Church over the edge, on air

Vegas has also appeared as the 'Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car' on the BBC Two television series Top Gear. He was the only guest without a driving licence to appear, and rounded the track in just under two minutes. In addition, he appeared on comedy quiz show QI alongside Stephen Fry and Alan Davies towards the end of 2007. Image File history File links WikiNews-Logo. ... Wikinews is a free-content news source and a project of the Wikimedia Foundation. ... Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car is a recurring segment on the BBC Two motoring programme Top Gear. ... For the original series, see Top Gear (original format). ... For other uses, see Qi (disambiguation). ... Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English comedian, writer, actor, novelist, filmmaker, journalist and television personality. ... Alan Davies (born 6 March 1966) is an English comedian and actor best known for starring as Jonathan Creek on the popular TV mystery series of the same name. ...

In September 2007, Vegas appeared in a documentary entitled "The Beginners Guide to Christian Evangelicalism", in which he travelled to the USA and attempted to recover the faith he lost as a child.

Ceramics

Having achieved fame in entertainment Vegas received belated plaudits for his ceramic work. Ceramic Review praised him, leading to a role in Pot Shots (collaborating with Roger Law), a film made for an international gathering of potters ^[2]. This led to his work being acquired for a collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum and a commission from Old Spice to design a bottle for their aftershave. Roger Law is a caricaturist and one half of Fluck and Law (with Peter Fluck), creators of the satirical TV puppet show Spitting Image. ... The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the worlds largest and finest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4. ... Old Spice is an American brand of male grooming products. ... A razor shaving some stubble off the underside of a chin. ...

In 2005 he participated in the celebrity special edition of The Generation Game demonstrating how to make a pot, before judging the participants' attempts. The Generation Game is a British game show produced by the BBC in which four teams of two (usually people from the same family, but different generations) compete to win prizes. ... A tea kettle A teakettle (tea kettle) is a small kitchen appliance used for boiling water in preparation for making tea or other beverages requiring hot water. ...

Personal life

He was married to Kitty Donnelley and famously sold pictures of the wedding to Viz magazine for £1. Their son, Michael Junior, was born shortly before the couple separated. Fourteen months after the separation, the couple reunited. They are said to have split again in March 2007. In October 2007 Vegas was reported to have upset hotel guests in a drunken rampage in holiday town Benidorm, Spain^[2]. Cover of Viz (issue 57) Viz is a popular British adult comic magazine that has been running since 1979. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... For the TV series, see Benidorm (TV series). ...

Notes

External links

• Johnny Vegas at the Internet Movie Database
• Manchester Alternative Comedy
• Sitting pretty by Miranda Sawyer - The Guardian, May 15, 2005.
  • Interview and profile from which many of the 29th August 2005 additions to this page were sourced.