Paul Shearer

Last updated
Paul Shearer
Born
Paul Shearer

Epsom, UK
NationalityEnglish
Education St John's College, Cambridge [1]
Occupation(s)Actor, writer
Spouse
Vicky Licorish
(m. 1994)
[2]
Children2 (1 deceased)

Paul Shearer is an English actor, best known for his roles in The Fast Show and The Russ Abbot Show . [3] Together with Stephen Fry, Emma Thompson, and Hugh Laurie, Shearer was a member of the Cambridge University's Footlights ensemble which won the first ever Perrier Comedy Award in 1981. [4] As of 2024, Shearer works as a property journalist. [5]

Contents

Personal life and education

Shearer attended Lancing College between 1973 and 1978. He graduated from St John's College, Cambridge in 1981 with a degree in computer science. [6] After graduating he lived in a flat with Peter Cook and Hugh Laurie. [7] He married actor Vicky Licorish in 1994. [8] On 30 October 2024, their 25-year-old child Cal Shearer, who was transgender, non-binary and autistic, was found dead in their dorm room at St John's College, Oxford, in an apparent suicide by hanging. [9] [10]

Footlights

On the Footlight committee, Shearer held the position of "Club Falconer", which, according to Fry, "went back to the days when the Footlights were quartered in Falcon Yard." [11] He partnered with Nick Hytner in a sketch Graffiti on the Wall. He also wrote for A Sense of Nonsense and The Cellar Tapes . [12]

Television

A selection of television appearances include:

YearTitleChannelNotes
1982 There's Nothing to Worry About! ITV (Granada)With Ben Elton, Emma Thompson, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry. [13] Shearer was replaced by Robbie Coltrane after the first series. [14]
1983 The Crystal Cube [15] BBCPilot
1983 – 1985 CBTV Presenter [16]
1984 Jigsaw [17]
1986 Chocky's Challenge [18]
1987 – 1989 The Russ Abbot Show [19] BBCSketch show
1989 Anything More Would Be Greedy [20] ITVComedy mini-series
1991 Five Children and It [21] BBCChildren's drama
Birds of a Feather (TV series) [22]
1992 Tales from the Poop Deck [23] ITVChildren's sitcom
The South Bank Show s.15 e.13 "Douglas Adams" [24] Played 'Electric Monk' during fictional sequences in interview with author Douglas Adams [25]
1994 – 1997 The Fast Show [26] [27] BBCSketch show
1995Proud Love [28] ITVSitcom
1995 – 1996Cone Zone [29] ITVChildren's sitcom
1998 Stressed Eric [30] BBC TwoComedy animation
2003 CBeebies [31] BBC Two
2006The MessageBBC ThreeSketch show
2020The Fast Show: Just a Load of Blooming CatchphrasesGold

Also, Les Dennis Laughter Show , [32] Abracadabra – children's comedy, [33] CHBC, [34] The Max Headroom Show and Who Dares Wins .

Film

Radio

YearTitleChannel
1985Ninety-ninety four [37] BBC Radio 4
The Fosdyke Saga III [38] BBC Radio 2
1986The World at Once Upon a Time [39] BBC Radio 4
1988 – 1991Gorham and Swift [40] BBC Radio 2
1991Week Ending [41] BBC Radio 4
1995In the Red [42] BBC Radio 4
Next of Kin [43] BBC One
1996Chambers [44] BBC Radio 4
2011 Cabin Pressure
2015The Lentil Sorters [45]
2015 – 2017Cracking Up

Theatre

1988: Snow White and the Seven Dwarves at Cambridge Arts Theatre [46] 1991: Teechers at Duke's Theatre [47]

Writing

Shearer was a writer on the following shows:

As a property journalist Shearer has written for The Financial Times , [52] The Times [53] and France Magazine .

See also

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