Actors - Peter Kay

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	Actors - Peter Kay

Peter Kay (born 2 July 1973 in Bolton, England) is an English writer, producer, actor and comedian. He has written, produced, and acted in That Peter Kay Thing (2000), both series of Phoenix Nights (2001, 2002), Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere (2004), as well as various other independent productions.

Rise to Fame

After leaving school, Peter Kay took several jobs, many of which inspired episodes or sequences in That Peter Kay Thing. His earliest work was an interview with Granada Television in which he listed the contents of his room, as well as detailing his experience meeting Jimmy Saville. This would later be used in That Peter Kay thing, in the role of Leonard De-Thompkinson.

Most recently, Kay's experience working at the Manchester Evening News Arena inspired him to wear the official yellow jacket of the MEN Arena for the final performance of his Mum wants a bungalow Tour. Kay has said that he sought a career in comedy . During his time working as a cinema usher, Kay experimented with stand up, participating in several local events, as well as others at the Comedy Store in Manchester. Eventually, after losing his job as a cinema usher, Kay was presented with the choice between finding another relatively meagre job, or moving into the arena of comedy. After a short decision, Kay chose stand up; after being told he was talented by several loved ones. He also took the path of the comedian partly to clear debt, although this is mainly thought of as a comedic device; referring only to the fact that he was out of work.

After he entered and subsequently won Channel 4's So You Think You're Funny contest in 1997, his first semi-professional stand-up appearances were at the 1998 Edinburgh Fringe festival, where he was nominated for the Perrier Award. During this time, he also appeared at various other clubs, such as The Comedy Store, and the Barracuda Club in Lincoln. Although these appearances led to a certain level of public recognition, it was only after his heavily promoted show Live at the Top of the Tower in 2000 that Kay attained widespread fame.

In this period, Kay appeared on several chatshows, such as Parkinson and Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. Production also began on Phoenix Nights, which was to see him achieve critical acclaim as well as mainstream appreciation. Subsequent advertisements for John Smiths Bitter, which imitate the realistic style of Phoenix Nights, saw Kay develop his now much-repeated catchphrases "Ave 'it!" and "Two Lamb bhunas", both of which now appear on T-Shirts as official merchandise.

In 2003, he was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest British comedians. In a 2005 poll of comedians and critics to find The Comedian's Comedian, he was voted amongst the top 50 greatest comedians of all time. In March 2005 he also came top in a survey sponsored by the Jongleurs comedy club to find Britain's favourite comedian.

In 2006 in a Channel 4 television show he was voted number one in "100 funniest moments", most noteably for his stand up act.

Catchphrases

"Booked it, Packed it, Fucked off." (talking about booking a holiday through Teletext)
"Garlic...Bread?" (An impersonation of Kay's father who, on holiday in Spain, was bamboozled by garlic bread, wondering how garlic and bread can be put together)
"Cheesecake?" (A sort of sequel to 'Garlic bread')
"It's Spitting!" (Dinner lady cry before hearding kids into school)
"It's that fine rain that soaks you through."

Productions

Kay's first TV project was an episode of Channel 4's The Comedy Lab, The Services, which was a pilot episode for the later released That Peter Kay Thing. Peter's idea with The Services was to create a testbed for ideas and concepts which he could later use within other series. The idea of having several characters all played by himself was something with which Peter experimented, and eventually set on.

From the initial success of the Pilot, That Peter Kay Thing was created; based solely on the experiences of Peter's earlier life working in several remedial jobs. Eventually, after deciding to create another series after continued success, Kay and Fitzmaurice decided to settle on the idea of "In The Club"; Using the characters Brian Potter, as well as improving other elements which Audiences enjoyed. The cast was slightly altered, elements were removed which were thought to be unnecessary, and eventually it was re-incarnated as Phoenix Nights.

Phoenix Nights was a collaboration between Kay, Dave Spikey and Neil Fitzmaurice, as well as other comedians such as Steve Edge and Daniel Kitson - all of whom had appeared in That Peter Kay Thing who played character roles in Phoenix Nights. Kay plays multiple characters in Phoenix Nights - two of the principal parts, Brian Potter and Max the bouncer, as well as a wide range of supporting parts. In addition to writing and acting in Phoenix Nights, Kay also directed the second series.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Peter Kay ]

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