 |
Richard Digance | |
|---|---|
 Digance on screen at the 2010 Cropredy Festival | |
| Born | 24 February 1949 Plaistow, England |
| Occupation(s) | Comedian, folk-singer, media executive |
| Website | www.richarddigance.com |
Richard Digance (pronounced DYE-jance; born 24 February 1949) [1] is an English comedian and folk singer.
Digance was born in Plaistow, East London. After his family moved to nearby East Ham, he attended Vicarage Lane Primary School and then Thomas Lethaby Secondary Modern. After gaining two A-Level passes in English Literature and Modern British History, he moved to Glasgow, where he studied mechanical engineering during which time he was inspired by Billy Connolly.
In the 1970s, he toured the United States. Though failing to make much of a name, he supported Steve Martin, whilst in Britain he also supported Jethro Tull on two British tours, Steeleye Span, Tom Jones, Elkie Brooks, Supertramp and Joan Armatrading. From 1974-78 Doug Morter, guitarist and singer with Hunter Muskett joined Digance as accompanist on vocals and guitar.
Richard Digance began his TV career on Sound of The City for Thames TV, produced by Richard Newman, in the early 1970s. This debut appearance was followed by The Old Grey Whistle Test and then the Today programme. The Old Grey Whistle Test was his only BBC TV appearance, except for appearing on The Ronnie Corbett Show years later, and then link-man for BBC2 coverage of The Cambridge Folk Festival. He then became a regular contributor on The 6 o'clock Show with Michael Aspel. He had to wait over a decade to be given his own show.
His first own TV Special was in 1985 for Thames TV, A Dabble With Digance. After the success of this special he was signed to TVS in Southampton after being a studio warm-up act there for Matthew Kelly and this first series of six programmes screened on Thursday nights. He also filmed a pilot with, Chris Barrie who went on to star in Red Dwarf.
Digance left for London Weekend Television under Greg Dyke and filmed numerous Saturday night TV Specials for ITV. His guests included Status Quo, Brian May, Elkie Brooks, The Moody Blues, Marc Cohn, Buffy St Marie, Joe Pasquale, Juan Martin, Julia Fordham, Chris de Burgh and many others. An additional series with Jim Davidson Wednesday At 8 made him a popular guest during this period from 1985 to 1995. His guest-spots are almost endless; Surprise Surprise with Cilla Black - The Gloria Hunniford Show - The Jim Davidson Show - Des O'Connor Show - Live From Her Majesty's - Live From Piccadilly - Summertime Special with Michael Barrymore - Live From The Palladium with Roy Orbison Magpie - Celebrity Snooker and Fish o'Mania with Steve Davis - Pebble Mill At One - Saturday Night At The Mill - That's Entertainment with Kenny Everett and Julian Clary - Crosswits - The Tom O'Connor Show - The Parkinson Show with Tommy Steele and many more. He received a BAFTA Nomination as TV Entertainer Of The Year.
He came to more public attention as a regular turn on the popular Sunday evening Live from... (Her Majesty's/the Piccadilly/the Palladium) variety series (produced by LWT for ITV) and also on Summertime Special, a variety showcase of the 1980s.
He is known for his television one-hour specials, starting in 1985 with A Dabble of Digance. Abracadigance was a series of four shows in 1988. The 1992 show, Richard Digance's Greatest Bits, recorded at the Brighton Dome, included some of his most popular routines from stage and screen, including the "Nursery Rhymes", "Remembers" and "Jungle Cup Final".
Appearances on TV Specials included HRH The Prince of Wales Princes Trust Galas at the London Palladium with Elton John and Robin Williams - All At Sea, again before HRH The Prince of Wales - Christmas Eve Forces Special from The Berlin Wall and The Zeebrugge Disaster Concert at The London Palladium.
In the next decade he made two series for Carlton Westcountry TV visiting villages in a Morris Traveller and using locals as guests and remains the only entertainer to perform a TV show from a prison, Dartmoor.
Digance also had a BBC Radio career through the 1980s with his show 'A Digence Indulgence' which had a year 7 run up until the summer of 1987.
He has released 43 albums and 20 published books.
He is a regular guest in 'Dictionary Corner' on the Channel 4 game show Countdown, nearly 200 appearances.
In October 2003, he received the Gold Award from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors for his services to music.
He appeared at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2013,[9] performing a solo show, and also his children's musical, War of the Worms, narrated by his daughter, Rosie. He performed 32 completely different shows across 32 nights.
Richard has two daughters, Polly and Rosie and two grandchildren, Izzy and Ellie. He now lives just outside Salisbury, Wiltshire. He semi-retired from live performance in 2021 and now only performs at his favourite theatres. This decision allowed him to concentrate on his writing, studio work, painting and acting as Musical Consultant for Ochre Moon, a website created by renowned blogger Charlotte Murray.
Liza May Minnelli is an American actress, singer, dancer, and choreographer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli is one of the very few performers awarded a non-competitive Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (EGOT). Minnelli is a Knight of the French Legion of Honour.
Sir Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson was an English entertainer and television presenter whose career spanned more than 70 years.
Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a compère or host. The variety format made its way from the Victorian era stage in Britain and America to radio and then television. Variety shows were a staple of English language television from the late 1940s into the 1980s.
William James Te Wehi Taitoko better known by his stage name Billy T. James, was a New Zealand entertainer, comedian, musician and actor. He became a key figure in the development of New Zealand comedy and was a household name during his lifetime.
Edward George Rogers was an English comedian and light entertainment host who started his career as a Redcoat entertainer. He was best known for hosting the Yorkshire Television game show 3-2-1 from 1978 to 1988.
The Royal Variety Performance is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity. It is attended by senior members of the British royal family. The evening's performance is presented as a live variety show, usually from a theatre in London and consists of family entertainment that includes comedy, music, dance, magic and other speciality acts.
Elkie Brooks is an English rock, blues and jazz singer. She was a vocalist with the bands Dada and Vinegar Joe, and later became a solo artist. She gained her biggest success in the late 1970s and 1980s, releasing 13 UK Top 75 singles, and reached the top ten with "Pearl's a Singer", "Sunshine After the Rain" and "No More the Fool" (1986). She has been nominated twice for the Brit Awards.
The Hollywood Palladium is a theater located at 6215 Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. It was built in a Streamline Moderne, Art Deco style and includes an 11,200-square-foot (1,040 m2) dance floor including a mezzanine and a floor level with room for up to 4,000 people. The theater was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016. The Palladium was designated Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument No. 1130 on September 28, 2016.
Michael Philip Batt, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, record producer, director and conductor. He was formerly the Deputy Chairman of the British Phonographic Industry.
Sally Ann Howes was an English actress and singer. Her career on screen, stage and television spanned six decades. She is best known for the role of Truly Scrumptious in the 1968 musical film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. In 1963, she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical for her performance in Brigadoon.
Jane Anne McDonald is an English singer and television presenter. Born and raised in Wakefield, McDonald spent much of her early career performing in local clubs and pubs before landing work as a singer on cruise ships. McDonald became known to the public in 1998 following her appearance on the BBC show The Cruise. The same year, she released her self-titled debut album Jane McDonald (1998), which topped the UK Albums Chart and remained there for 3 weeks.
An Audience with... is a British entertainment television show produced by London Weekend Television, in which a host, usually a singer or comedian, performs for an invited audience of celebrity guests, interspersed with questions from the audience, in a lighthearted revue/tribute style.
Robert Nicholas Crush is an English pianist, songwriter, actor and television presenter, originally from Leyton in East London.
John Stanley Livingstone Harris was a Scottish composer, producer, arranger, conductor, and musical director. He lived in the United States from 1972 until his death.
John Altman is an English film composer, music arranger, orchestrator and conductor.
Anthony Stewart Head is an English actor and singer. Primarily a performer in musical theatre, he rose to fame in the UK in the 1980s following his role in the Gold Blend couple television advertisements for Nescafé, which led to major roles in several television series. He is best known for his roles as Rupert Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003), the Prime Minister in Little Britain (2003–2006), Uther Pendragon in Merlin (2008–2012) and Rupert Mannion in Ted Lasso (2020-2023), as well as voicing Herc Shipwright in BBC Radio 4's Cabin Pressure.
George Frederick Martin was a British comedian, musician, composer, scriptwriter and broadcaster, often billed as "The Casual Comedian".
Donald Ralph Smoothey was a British stage actor, variety entertainer and comic.
Mitch Sebastian is a British theatre director, choreographer and performer. He has been nominated for an Olivier Award and Whatsonstage Award for writing, directing and choreographing The Rat Pack: Live from Las Vegas. He was Artistic Director of Kilworth House Theatre 2005-2015. He won a BAFTA Award as part of the creative team behind the children's animated TV series, Yoko! Jakamoto! Toto!.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
