David Copperfield (born Stanley Barlow, 1947, Doncaster, West Riding of Yorkshire) is a British comedian who is best known for his role in the 1980s BBC sketch show Three of a Kind , in which he starred alongside Tracey Ullman and Lenny Henry. [1]
Copperfield began his professional career performing in various cabaret venues.[ citation needed ] His first TV appearances were on the Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club. His big break in TV earned him appearances on Wogan and Cliff and Friends. Three of a Kind ran from 1981 to 1983. After that, Copperfield worked on his own shows, Coppers & Co and Copperfield Comedy Company. He then worked on cruise liners as an entertainer under the name "David Copperfield – Not the Magician" (distinguishing himself from the American illusionist of the same name), including the QE2 on its final voyage to Dubai. [2] In addition to comedy he sings, plays the violin, piano, guitar and mandolin and performs ventriloquism. He is particularly renowned for his acclaimed version of "Classical Gas". [3]
Claudia Maria Schiffer is a German model and actress based in England. She rose to fame in the 1990s as one of the world's most successful models, attaining supermodel status. In her early career, she was compared to Brigitte Bardot.
Christopher Nash Elliott is an American actor, comedian, writer, director, and author. He appeared in comedic sketches on Late Night with David Letterman (1982–1988), created and starred in the comedy series Get a Life (1990–1992) on Fox, and wrote and starred in the film Cabin Boy (1994). His writing has won four consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards. His other television appearances include recurring roles on Everybody Loves Raymond (2003–2005) and How I Met Your Mother (2009–2014), starring as Chris Monsanto in Adult Swim's Eagleheart (2011–2014) and starring as Roland Schitt in Schitt's Creek (2015–2020). He also appeared in the film Groundhog Day (1993), There's Something About Mary (1998), Snow Day (2000) and Scary Movie 2 (2001).
The Late Show with David Letterman is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the Late Show franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants, and CBS Television Studios. The show's music director and leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, was Paul Shaffer. The head writer was Matt Roberts and the announcer was originally Bill Wendell, then Alan Kalter. In most U.S. markets the show aired from 11:35 p.m. to 12:35 a.m. Eastern and Pacific Time, and recorded Monday to Wednesdays at 4:30 p.m., and Thursdays at 3:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The second Thursday episode usually aired on Friday of that week.
James Hugh Calum Laurie is an English actor, comedian, writer, and musician. He first gained recognition for his work as one half of the comedy double act Fry and Laurie with Stephen Fry. The two acted together in a number of projects during the 1980s and 1990s, including the BBC sketch comedy series A Bit of Fry & Laurie and the P. G. Wodehouse adaptation Jeeves and Wooster. From 1986 to 1989 he appeared in three series of the period comedy Blackadder alongside Rowan Atkinson, first as a recurring guest star in the last two episodes of Blackadder II, and remains the only actor in the Blackadder series to have played two characters in the same series before he joined the main cast in Blackadder the Third, Laurie going on to appear in Blackadder Goes Forth and many specials.
David Seth Kotkin, known professionally as David Copperfield, is an American magician, described by Forbes as the most commercially successful magician in history.
Armando Giovanni Iannucci is a Scottish satirist, writer, director, producer, performer and panellist. Born in Glasgow to Italian parents, Iannucci studied at the University of Glasgow followed by the University of Oxford. Starting on BBC Scotland and BBC Radio 4, his early work with Chris Morris on the radio series On the Hour transferred to television as The Day Today.
Anthony Francis Martin is a New Zealand comedian, writer and actor, who has had a successful TV, radio, stand-up and film career in Australia.
Kevin George Knipfing, known professionally as Kevin James, is an American comedian and actor. He began his career by performing stand-up at comedy clubs on Long Island in the 1980s. He rose to prominence for his portrayal of Doug Heffernan on the CBS sitcom The King of Queens (1998–2007), for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series nomination for the role in 2006.
Michael Molloy is an Australian comedian, writer, producer, actor and television and radio presenter who has been active in radio, television, stand-up and film. He currently hosts The Front Bar on the Seven Network.
Noel Fielding is an English comedian and actor. He is best known for his work with The Mighty Boosh comedy troupe alongside Julian Barratt in the 2000s, and more recently as a co-presenter of The Great British Bake Off since 2017. He is known for his dark and surreal comedic style.
Matthew Paul Walsh is an American comedian and actor, best known for his role as Mike McLintock in Veep for which he received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations. He is a founding member of the Upright Citizens Brigade sketch comedy troupe, with which he co-starred in its original television series and the 2015 reboot. He also previously starred in short-lived comedy programs such as Dog Bites Man and Players, and was a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He has also appeared in films such as Road Trip (2000), Bad Santa (2003), School for Scoundrels (2006), Role Models (2008), The Hangover (2009), and The Do-Over (2016).
Spinal Tap is a fictional English heavy metal band created by the American comedians and musicians of The T.V. Show who wrote and performed original songs as the band: Michael McKean, as the lead singer and guitarist David St. Hubbins; Christopher Guest, as the guitarist Nigel Tufnel; and Harry Shearer, as the bassist Derek Smalls. They are characterized as "one of England's loudest bands".
David John Bradley is an English actor. He is known for his screen roles including Argus Filch in the Harry Potter film series, Walder Frey in the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones, and Abraham Setrakian in the FX horror series The Strain.
Norman Gene Macdonald was a Canadian stand-up comedian, actor, and writer whose style was characterized by deadpan delivery and the use of folksy, old-fashioned turns of phrase. He appeared in many films and was a regular guest on late-night talk shows, where he became known for his chaotic, yet understated style of comedy. Many critics and fellow comedians considered him to be the ultimate talk show guest, while prominent late-night figure David Letterman regarded him as "the best" of stand-up comedians.
Brian Stack is an American actor, comedian, and writer best known for his sketch comedy work. He worked on all three late-night talk shows hosted by Conan O'Brien including Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien on NBC, and Conan on TBS. Stack left Conan in April 2015 to join the writing staff of the CBS series The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Mick Miller is an English stand-up comedian who has had a long career on the live comedy circuit, and has a trademark haircut of a bald head with long hair down the sides.
Gavin & Stacey is a British sitcom written by James Corden and Ruth Jones about two families: one in Billericay, Essex; one in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan. Mathew Horne and Joanna Page play the eponymous characters Gavin and Stacey, while Corden and Jones star as Smithy and Nessa. Alison Steadman and Larry Lamb star as Gavin's parents, and Melanie Walters (Gwen) is Stacey's mother and Rob Brydon (Bryn) is Stacey's uncle.
Daniel Mark Pudi is an American actor. His roles include Abed Nadir on the NBC sitcom Community (2009–2015), for which he received three nominations for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series and one nomination for the TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy. Since 2020 he has starred as Brad Bakshi in the Apple TV+ comedy series Mythic Quest. He was the voice of Huey Duck on the 2017 reboot of DuckTales.
Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of illusion, stage magic, and close-up magic, among others, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural means. It is to be distinguished from paranormal magic which are effects claimed to be created through supernatural means. It is one of the oldest performing arts in the world.
Daniel White is an American magician, producer, and creative consultant. In March 2015, White began performing a headline show produced by Theory11 at The NoMad Hotel in New York City, titled "The Magician at The NoMad." The critically acclaimed show has been featured in Vanity Fair, Wall Street Journal, and 12 times on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.