Matt Parkinson (comedian)

Last updated

Matt Parkinson
Born
Matthew Parkinson

Perth, Western Australia, Australia
NationalityAustralian
Other names"Goliath"
Occupations
  • Comedian
  • actor
  • radio presenter
  • quiz show personality
Years active2015–present
Known for The Chase Australia

Matthew Parkinson is an Australian comedian, actor, radio presenter and quiz show personality.

Contents

Life and career

Parkinson was born in Perth, Western Australia. He began acting at school and studied theatre arts at the Western Australian Institute of Technology. His professional career began in Perth at the Hole in the Wall Theatre where he appeared in Hamlet , The Cherry Orchard , A Midsummer Night's Dream and the title role in Ben Johnson's The Alchemist .

Parkinson was formerly a member of the comedy duo the Empty Pockets, along with Matthew Quartermaine, who featured regularly on the television comedy shows The Big Gig [1] [2] and Full Frontal . [3]

Parkinson was also a champion winner of television game show Sale of the Century in the 1990s. [4]

Parkinson was one of the hosts of the Triple M breakfast program The Cage in Melbourne. After the axing of The Cage in the Sydney market at the end of 2006, he moved to Melbourne to continue to co-host the show. He was a regular member of the "Brains Trust" on the ABC quiz show The Einstein Factor , hosted by fellow Cage member Peter Berner. [5] He was also a judge on Comedy Slapdown hosted by H.G. Nelson which appeared on The Comedy Channel in 2008. [6] In 2010 he was a writer on the comedy murder-mystery game show Sleuth 101 on the ABC. [7]

In 2011, Parkinson had a cardiac arrest while playing indoor cricket in Melbourne. [8]

In 2015, he was announced as one of the "chasers" on the Australian version of the UK quiz show The Chase on the Seven Network where he is nicknamed "Goliath". He also appears in the celebrity edition of the show.

Parkinson is married to television producer Maryanne Carroll. [9]

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References

  1. ↑ "television". wendyharmer.com. Archived from the original on 24 July 2010.
  2. ↑ Mapstone, Naomi (7 July 1994). "Hit men of Australian comedy". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 26 September 2018– via Trove.
  3. ↑ Wallace, Mark (10 May 1993). "Fast Forward goes Full Frontal". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 26 September 2018– via Trove.
  4. ↑ Mitchell, Glenn (31 January 2007). "Quiz show gurus bemoan gimmes". Herald Sun. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  5. ↑ Munro, Kelsey (2 September 2007). "The Einstein Factor". The Age. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  6. ↑ Blundell, Graeme (8 November 2008). "Chuckle chokehold". The Australian. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  7. ↑ "Comedian has 101 moments of sleuth". The Age. 11 February 2010. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  8. ↑ Alex White (28 January 2012). "Turning blue is no joke, finds Parkinson". Herald Sun. Archived from the original on 28 May 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  9. ↑ Smith, Amanda (12 February 2012). "The Heart is an Organ of Fire". ABC Radio National . Retrieved 25 May 2019.


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