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Rod Hull
Born	Rodney Stephen Hull August 13, 1935(1935-08-13) Isle of Sheppey, Kent, England
Died	March 17, 1999 (aged 63) Winchelsea, near Rye, East Sussex
Cause of death	Fall from roof
Nationality	British
Occupation	Comedian

Rodney Stephen Hull (13 August 1935–17 March 1999), better known as Rod Hull, was a popular entertainer on British television in the 1970s and 1980s. He rarely appeared without Emu, a mute, highly aggressive arm-length puppet of such a bird. He died after falling from the roof of his house, whilst trying to adjust the TV aerial in order to get a better picture for a football match he was keen to see. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... If you hold the copyright to an image (e. ... is the 225th day of the year (226th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar). ... View towards Minster from Elmley Marshes The Isle of Sheppey is a small (36 square miles, 94 km²) island off the northern coast of Kent, England in the Thames Estuary, some 38 miles (62km) to the east of central London. ... For other uses, see Kent (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... is the 76th day of the year (77th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events of 2008: (EMILY) Me Lesley and MIley are going to China! This article is about the year. ... Winchelsea is a small town in East Sussex, England, between the High Weald and the Romney Marsh. ... Binomial name Secale cereale M.Bieb. ... East Sussex is a county in South East England. ... is the 225th day of the year (226th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar). ... is the 76th day of the year (77th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events of 2008: (EMILY) Me Lesley and MIley are going to China! This article is about the year. ... Rod Hull (August 13, 1936-March 18, 1999) was a popular childrens entertainer on British television in the 1970s and 80s. ... A puppet is a representational object manipulated by a puppeteer. ... For other uses, see EMU. Binomial name (Latham, 1790) The Emu has been recorded in the areas shown in orange. ...

Career

Hull was born in the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, England in 1935.^[1] He attended Delemark Road School and the County Technical School, Sheerness. When he left school, he trained as an electrician but moved to Australia in the early 1960s.^[2] It was there that he first worked in television, at first behind the cameras as a lighting technician with TCN Channel Nine in Sydney.^[1] He then began performing, notably as Constable Clot in Channel Nine's Kaper Kops, a regular segment in its children's afternoon programming. Clot proved very popular and soon gained his own segment, Clot in the Clouds, which depicted Constable Clot daydreaming about having other professions, such as a world famous brain surgeon, 'Blood Clot'. View towards Minster from Elmley Marshes The Isle of Sheppey is a small (36 square miles, 94 km²) island off the northern coast of Kent, England in the Thames Estuary, some 38 miles (62km) to the east of central London. ... For other uses, see Kent (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... , Sheerness is a town located beside the mouth of the River Medway on the northwest corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. ... This article is about the metropolitan area in Australia. ...

Later he worked on a children's breakfast TV programme, The Super Flying Fun Show, and first used Emu as a puppet. There are conflicting reports as to how this came about: Hull stated, "Sure I found him in a cupboard but I had put him there in the first place. I concocted him, nobody else." However, a Channel Nine producer, Jim Badger, recalled that he had requested a reluctant Hull to use Emu.^[1] The bird subsequently became a regular part of Hull's set on cabarets back in the United Kingdom and Australia.

Hull returned to Britain in 1971 and signed with International Artists (after Emu tore up the office).^[1] Soon after, his Australian success translated to his native country with Hull appearing on several children's and adult light entertainment shows.

He began on an ITV show, Saturday Variety, but it was his appearance in the 1972 Royal Variety Performance that provided his springboard to national recognition.^[1] For the record label, see Command Performance Records. ...

Emu

Hull's puppet represented a side of his personality that enabled the entertainer to create a kind of gleeful havoc, while seemingly being not to blame for it. This was aided by the simple yet effective conceit of a false arm attached to Hull's jacket, which cradled the emu, therefore making it appear that the neck and head moved of its own volition. This seemingly independent movement gave the bird its own personality, which entailed sudden, unprovoked and aggressive attacks on anyone and anything that came too close. During these, Hull would make half-hearted attempts to pull the badly-behaved bird away from its victim but would often become embroiled in the fracas, rolling around on the floor to create a scene of mayhem.

It was during the 1970s that Hull and the uncontrollable Emu made their most famous appearances. The bird repeatedly attacked Michael Parkinson during a 1976 edition of his eponymous chat show, eventually causing the interviewer to fall off his chair.^[2] Fellow guest Billy Connolly threatened, "If that bird comes anywhere near me, I'll break its neck and your bloody arm!". Perhaps mindful of his professional future, Hull swiftly got his "pet" back on best behaviour. In later years, Parkinson always lamented the fact that despite all the star guests he had interviewed during his career, he would always be remembered for "that bloody bird". Michael Parkinson CBE (born 28 March 1935) is an English broadcaster and journalist. ... Parkinson is a British television chat show presented by Michael Parkinson. ... Dr William Billy Connolly, CBE, (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish comedian, musician, presenter, and actor. ...

There were no apparent boundaries for Emu's outrageous behaviour. In 1972, it ate The Queen Mother's bouquet of flowers during the after-show line-up at the aforementioned Royal Variety Performance.^[2] During an appearance on The Tonight Show, he even attacked Richard Pryor in one of the comedian's first public appearances after undergoing major emergency reconstructive surgery on his face.^[3] However, Hull was careful to tailor the bird's conduct according to his audience, and always ensured that it displayed a friendly demeanour when in the company of children. Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, later Queen Elizabeth (Elizabeth Angela Marguerite; 4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002), was the Queen Consort of King George VI of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions from 1936 until his death in 1952. ... The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was a late-night talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. ... Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor III (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American comedian, actor, and writer. ...

Hull and Emu were regulars on the Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show, which aired for one season as a Saturday morning kids' show on CBS in 1974. The Hudson Brothers are an American music group from the 1970s, consisting of Bill Hudson, Brett Hudson and Mark Hudson. ... This article is about the broadcast network. ... Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ...

During the 1980s Hull was a multi-millionaire, thanks to his anarchic puppet, and enjoyed huge success with Emu's World and Emu's All Live Pink Windmill Show. The record viewership for his main show, Emu's Broadcasting Company (1975–1980), was 11 million. However, he later suffered financial difficulties and was declared bankrupt in 1994. Emus Pink Windmill Show Emus All Live Pink Windmill Show was an anarchic British television Childrens ITV series of the 1980s featuring star Rod Hull and his demented puppet, Emu. ... Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organization to pay their creditors. ...

Later life

In the late 1980s Hull bought Restoration House in Rochester for £387,000, but went bankrupt renovating it.^[2] The house was repossessed, Hull's wife left him and he moved to a shepherd's cottage in East Sussex.^[1] We dont have an article called Restoration House Start this article Search for Restoration House in. ... , Rochester is a town in Kent, England, at the lowest bridging point of the River Medway about 30 miles (50 km) from London. ... Repossession is generally used to refer to a financial institution taking back an object that was either used as collateral or rented or leased in a transaction. ...

Hull was in the public eye less frequently during the 1990s, appearing in pantomime and television commercials, and winning the 1993 "Pipe Smoker of the Year" award. Nonetheless, his name remained well-known, and comedians Richard Herring and Stewart Lee included a "Rod Hull" character in their 1996 television sketch show, Fist of Fun, played by the actor Kevin Eldon. This character was performed as a grotesque imitation, a character who was finally unmasked by the real Rod Hull, who appeared (minus Emu) in the last episode of the series.^[4] It was to be Hull's penultimate television appearance. For other uses, see Pantomime (disambiguation). ... Pipe Smoker of the Year was an award given out annually by the British Pipesmokers Council, to honour a famous pipe-smoking individual. ... Richard Herring performing his show Someone Likes Yoghurt at the Pleasance Theatre, Edinburgh, during the 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe Richard Keith Herring (born July 12, 1967) is a British comedian and writer formerly best known as part of Lee and Herring, a double act with Stewart Lee. ... 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... Fist of Fun was a popular British comedy television and radio programme, written by and starring Lee and Herring (the comedians Stewart Lee and Richard Herring). ... Eldon as evil hypnotist in Big Train Kevin Eldon ( b. ...

A 2003 Channel 4 documentary, Rod Hull: A Bird in the Hand,^[5] revealed that Hull nursed an increasing resentment towards his puppet, believing that the success of the bird prevented him from pursuing other avenues in showbusiness. He saw himself, according to the programme-makers, as a talented performer who could have developed a more varied career in the entertainment industry had he not been forced to repeatedly play the '& Emu' role. Hull once complained, "I want to write but Emu doesn't leave me the time. I want to be a comedian in my own right, but again Emu won't let me do it."^[1]

Death

Hull died in March 1999, at the age of 63.

In an inquest to his death, the East Sussex Coroner, Alan Craze, recorded a verdict of accidental death six weeks after Hull died following a fall from the roof of his home at Winchelsea, near Rye. He was attempting to adjust the TV aerial in order to get a better picture of the Inter Milan v Manchester United Champions League Quarter Final, 2nd Leg.^[6] Football Club Internazionale Milano is an Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, which plays in Serie A. The club was founded March 9, 1908. ... Manchester Uniteds emblem Manchester United F.C. (often abbreviated to Man United or just Man U, pronounced man-yoo) is an English football club based at Old Trafford in Greater Manchester. ... UEFA Champions League, which replaced the European Champions Cup, is a seasonal club football competition organised by UEFA since 1992 for the most successful football clubs in Europe. ...

Prior to Hull's demise, Lee and Herring had planned to revive their "Rod Hull" character for their contemporary series, This Morning with Richard Not Judy, but despite filming several sketches — in which the character would die after performing a pointless stunt — the footage was disposed of.^[7] Lee and Herring are a British standup comedy double act consisting of the comedians Stewart Lee and Richard Herring. ... This Morning With Richard Not Judy or TMWRNJ was a British comedy television programme, written by and starring Lee and Herring (the comedians Stewart Lee and Richard Herring), made and broadcast by the BBC. Two series were broadcast in 1998 and 1999 on BBC2. ...

Upon Hull's death, Michael Parkinson reminisced that he had found him to be "a very charming, intelligent and sensitive man — quite unlike the Emu." He observed that the puppet "was the dark side of Rod's personality, and very funny, provided it was not on top of you."^[8]

Hull married twice and had five children. His son Toby brought Emu out of retirement for the first time since his father's death during the 2003 pantomime season, appearing in Cinderella at Windsor's Theatre Royal. For other uses, see Cinderella (disambiguation). ... This article is about the English town. ...

It was announced in September 2007 that Toby Hull and Emu would be appearing in their own series on CITV.^[9] This article is about ITVs childrens television brand. ...

Trivia

• Hull is mentioned in the song "Self Suicide" by Goldie Lookin Chain in which it's suggested that an accidental death is undesirable since it doesn't generate the same boost for a celebrity's public image as a suicide.
• Half Man Half Biscuit recorded a song prior to Hull's death entitled "Rod Hull Is Alive - Why?" which asked for some justification of his existence.
• Issue 164 of the cult adult humour comic Viz had a one-off strip of Rod Hull and Emo, which had Emu as a stereotypically maudlin emocore fan.
• In 1974 Hull recorded "Bristol Rovers all the way" with the squad of the time. Near the end of the song he can be heard telling Emu to "get off of the pitch".
• There is a five-a-side football team based in Aberdeen called Rod Hull City. It has been playing since 2000, named in memory of Rod Hull.^{[citation needed]}

Goldie Lookin Chain (often abbreviated to GLC; not to be confused with the American rapper) are a Welsh pop group based in Newport, Wales. ... Nigel Blackwell, singer, guitarist and songwriter Half Man Half Biscuit, often abbreviated to HMHB, are a UK rock band from Birkenhead, active sporadically since the mid-1980s, known for their satirical, sardonic and sometimes surreal songs. ... Cover of Viz (issue 57) Viz is a popular British adult comic magazine that has been running since 1979. ... Emo is a genre of rock music. ... Bristol Rovers are a professional football team based in Bristol, England. ... For other uses, see Aberdeen (disambiguation). ...

References

External links

• BFI: List of series made
• Sausage.net: Emu's Broadcasting Company
• Rod Hull at the Internet Movie Database
• Rod Hull at Find A Grave