(born
24 January 1957 ) is an
English Actor ,
Comedian ,
Director and
Writer . He is sometimes credited as '''Ade Edmondson'''.
Edmondson is probably best known as the anarchic punk Vyvyan Basterd in the cult
BBC Sitcom ''
The Young Ones '' (1982–1984) and later, for his role as Eddie Hitler in the BBC sitcom ''
Bottom '' (1991–1995) which he also co-wrote. In both of these roles he starred alongside
Comedy Partner Rik Mayall .
He is the second of four children. Though born in
Bradford ,
West Yorkshire , as a child he lived with his family in a variety of places including
Cyprus ,
Bahrain , and
Uganda . His father was a teacher in the armed forces.
He attended club.
The Comic Strip soon gained a reputation as one of the most popular comedy clubs in London and soon came to the attention of
Channel 4 . Edmondson and the others were commissioned to act in six self-contained half-hour films, using the group as comedy actors rather than stand-up performers. The series, entitled ''
The Comic Strip Presents... '' debuted on
2 November 1982 (the opening night of Channel 4). The first episode to be broadcast was "
Five Go Mad In Dorset ", a parody of
Enid Blyton 's
Famous Five , which drew anger from some viewers for the way it mercilessly satirised a children's classic. Edmondson starred as one of the five.
At the same time as ''The Comic Strip Presents...'' was being negotiated, the BBC signed up Edmondson, Mayall, Richardson, Planer and Sayle to star in ''The Young Ones'', a sitcom in the same anarchic style as The Comic Strip. (Richardson later decided not to proceed and was replaced by
Christopher Ryan .) The show revolved around the shared house where the students lived during their study at Scumbag College. It was noted at the time of its first airing for its violent slapstick, with Edmondson's character as the main instigator, and this is a trait which has stayed with him throughout his career. The series captured public imagination and remains one of Britain's most popular sitcoms.
Following the success of ''The Comic Strip Presents...'' and, to a greater extent, ''The Young Ones'', Edmondson and Mayall returned to their "Coyote" dynamic in the double act "
The Dangerous Brothers " with Edmondson as "Sir (or occasionally Lady) Adrian Dangerous" in ''
Saturday Live '' (1985–1987).
In 1983, he appeared as the lead singer ''Vim Fuego'' in the spoof
Heavy Metal band called ''
Bad News '', with his ''Young Ones'' co-stars, Rik Mayall and Nigel Planer, and Peter Richardson of "Comic Strip Presents...".
In 1985 Edmondson married fellow ''Comic Strip'' performer '') and Eddie Hitler (''Bottom''). Their joint production company is called Mr and Mrs Monsoon Limited.
In 1986, Edmondson achieved a number one hit in the UK singles charts when he and his co-stars from ''The Young Ones'' teamed up with
Cliff Richard to record a new version of "Living Doll" for the inaugural
Comic Relief campaign. Despite having been killed off in the final episode of the series, Edmondson played Vyvyan one last time in the video. The same year he co-wrote the book ''
How To Be A Complete Bastard '' together with Mark Leigh and Mike Lepine.
In
1987 he reunited with Planer and Mayall to star in ''Filthy, Rich and Catflap''. The series was penned by ''The Young Ones''' co-writer
Ben Elton and saw Edmondson display the same slapstick characteristics as Vyvyan, but was closer in personality to his later character "Eddie Hitler" in ''Bottom''. The show received critical acclaim but poor viewing figures and was cancelled after one series.
In
1989 Edmondson made an appearance in an episode of ''
Blackadder Goes Forth '' as
The Red Baron , arch-nemesis to Mayall's character,
Lord Flashheart . In this year, he also released a follow up to How To Be A Complete Bastard called The Bastard's Book of the Worst.
Edmondson played Brad Majors in the 1990 West End run of ''
The Rocky Horror Show '', alongside
Tim McInnerny as Frank-N-Furter and
Ed Tudor-Pole as Riff-Raff. He also appears on the soundtrack album of the production.
In
1991 he teamed up with Mayall once more, this time co-writing and co-starring in their own sitcom, ''Bottom''. Edmondson starred as "Edward Elizabeth Hitler" opposite Mayall's "Richard Richard". The series featured the slapstick and crude humour for which the pair had become famous, but also more in-depth character analysis. Mayall and Edmonson have said ''Bottom'' was aimed to be more than just a series of toilet gags but a cruder cousin to plays like ''
Waiting For Godot '', about the pointlessness of life. The series became very popular. However, it was criticised for its often vulgar humour. Edmondson was also censured for essentially reprising the same character he had been playing for his entire career. ''Bottom'' was also incarnated into five UK stage tours (1993, 1995, 1997, 2001 and 2003). The violent natures of these shows saw both Edmondson and Mayall ending up in hospital.
In
1993 Edmondson starred alongside
Richard Briers in a controversial black comedy called ''
If You See God, Tell Him ''. Edmondson played Gordon Spry, whose uncle (Briers) is paralysed and has a greatly reduced attention span. His erratic behaviour causes problems for Gordon. The series comprised four episodes, each 45 minutes long, and only broadcast once. (The BBC has refused to repeat the series.)
September 1995 saw the release of his first (comic) novel, ''The Gobbler''.
In
1996 , he played the role of Ace Face/Bellboy at The Who's performance of ''
Quadrophenia '' at London's
Hyde Park .
Following the has repeatedly said that they will work together again, they just needed "A good idea".
In
2004 Edmondson starred in a different comedic role, as an incompetent surgeon in ''Doctors and Nurses'' and had a recurring part in ''
Jonathan Creek ''.
In
2005 he was one of the celebrities taking part in ''
Comic Relief Does Fame Academy '' (in which he was known for his punk-style version of the song "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You") and came in third place.
He directed pop videos for ''Fiesta'' (1988) by
The Pogues , ''Prime Mover'' (1987) by
Zodiac Mindwarp , ''Like The Weather'' (1988) by
10,000 Maniacs , ''Please Help The Cause Against Loneliness'' (1988) by
Sandie Shaw , and ''Hourglass'' by
Squeeze .
In ''Surviving Disaster'', a BBC docu-drama about the 1986
Chernobyl Disaster , broadcast at the start of 2006, Edmondson played the role of Dr
Valeri Legasov , who gives his account of events.
Most recently he has also made guest appearances in '' sitcom with
Ben Elton and writer
Nigel Smith called ''Teenage Kicks'', named after the famous punk song by
The Undertones . After a six-episode series which became a success, there are news of a TV series of ''Teenage Kicks''. A pilot episode is being filmed for
BBC2 .
At
Jools Holland 's 2006 Hootenanny, Edmonson sang and played trumpet in an inspired jazz-style cover version of
The Sex Pistols ''
Anarchy In The U.K. '' In 2005, he invited himself onstage to sing along with Ricky Wilson on the Kaiser Chiefs' "I Predict A Riot".
On
28 February 2007 ,
BBC One broadcast a special programme Comic Relief with Edmondson travelling to
Kenya to see what donations from Comic Relief do, cleverly titled "Does Africa Need Ade... Edmondson?". He then performed on the Comic Relief 2007 special
Top Gear Of The Pops , playing guitar with
Supergrass .
On May 11, 1985 Edmondson married fellow and a 400-year old farm house with 45 acres of land in
Chagford ,
Devon . Both Saunders and Edmondson remain very quiet and rarely partake in interviews due to their desire for privacy.
- When asked in an interview what he enjoyed doing in his spare time, he replied with classic Edmondson wit, "Drinking fine wine and Knee-capping people."
- After being interrupted several times by a rambunctious fan after a 1988 television appearance, he responded with "I love you dearly, but would you please shut up?"
- In 1986 he was featured on the cover of '' Smash Hits '' as "Sexy Ade Edmondson" while the article inside featured him breaking into the photographer's studio and murdering Howard Jones .
- In 1996 he provided the voice for the Peperami Character in the Video Game , '' Animal ''. He has since provided the voice on the television adverts for the product.
- A keen fan of the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band , Edmondson performed (vocals and trumpet) with them as part of their 2006 reformation and countrywide tour.
- On 10th July 2007, Edmonson was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Literature from the University Of Exeter .
- Is a season ticket holder at Exeter City Football Club .
