Slattery was born in Stonebridge, north London, into a working-class background, the fifth and last child of Catholic Irish immigrants, Michael and Margaret Slattery.[1]
In 2019 Slattery revealed that he had been repeatedly sexually abused by a priest at the age of eight, but had never told his parents; he believes the event contributed to his unstable character later in life.[2][3] He was educated at Gunnersbury Boys' Grammar School in west London and won a scholarship to read Modern and Medieval Languages at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, specialising in French literature and Spanish poetry. Slattery held a black belt in judo and represented England internationally in the under-15s.[4]
In 1981, Slattery, Fry, Laurie, Thompson and Toksvig won the inaugural Perrier Award for their revue The Cellar Tapes. The following year, Slattery was made President of the Footlights. During his tenure, the touring annual revue was Premises Premises.
Television and film
Slattery first broke into television as a regular performer on Chris Tarrant's follow up to O.T.T., Saturday Stayback (1983), while also appearing for children in Behind the Bike Sheds and the Saturday-morning show TX. In 1988 he appeared in the first series of comedy improvisation show Whose Line Is It Anyway? and quicky became a regular performer on the show. In 1991 he and fellow Whose Line regular Mike McShane starred in their own improvisational comedy series, S&M.[6] During the 1990s he was also a regular guest on comedy panel show Have I Got News for You and the TV version of the quiz show Just a Minute. He also occasionally appeared on the radio version of Just a Minute, including the live version held at the Edinburgh Festival.
At the end of the 1980s he became a film critic, presenting his own show on British television, Saturday Night at the Movies. He also appeared in the ITV sitcom That's Love with Jimmy Mulville. Other TV appearances include The Music Game alongside Richard Vranch and as a regular guest on Ruby Wax and Clive Anderson's chat shows. In 1988, Slattery appeared in the BBC sci-fi comedy series Red Dwarf, in the episode "Kryten" he played the voice of the main character on Kryten's favourite soap opera, "Androids", a parody of the Australian soap opera Neighbours.
He has also been a regular guest with the Comedy Store Players, both at the Comedy Store in London and on tour.[7]
Early in the 1990s he appeared on so many TV shows that he became a target of satire. For example, the Have I Got News for You 1991 annual showed images of the game from around the world, and each local variant featured Slattery as a guest. Spitting Image showed a sketch in which an anthropomorphisedBBC Two logo refused to have blue paint splattered on it - a parody of the then-new BBC Two idents - and Slattery intervened for the sake of publicity. The satirical magazine Private Eye once published a memorable cartoon depicting his answering machine with the outgoing message "Yes, I'll do it!"[citation needed]
In 1990, he appeared as a contestant on Cluedo, facing off against David Yip. From 1993 to 1994 he was the host of the game show Trivial Pursuit.
In 1992 he appeared in the film Carry On Columbus. In the same year he appeared in the series Dead Ringer, filmed for the observation round in The Krypton Factor. Also in 1992 Slattery appeared as a contestant on the Channel 4 show GamesMaster, in which he said that he hated video games. He played the real-time arcade shooter Who Shot Johnny Rock?, deliberately failing the challenge by shooting an innocent victim in the game.[citation needed]
Personal problems later overshadowed Slattery's career, leading to a reduced profile. He made his last appearance on Whose Line Is It Anyway? in 1995, and due to an extended period of illness, he undertook only occasional television work from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s. He reappeared in Red Dwarf in 1999 as the voice of a vending machine that threatens Arnold Rimmer in the final episode of the series' initial BBC2 run, "Only the Good...".
In 2020 Slattery and his partner Mark Hutchinson featured in an edition of the BBC Horizon series entitled "What's the Matter with Tony Slattery?". In a detailed examination of his mental health, childhood trauma and substance addictions, medical professionals concluded that Slattery continued to experience the effects of trauma relating to childhood abuse; was on the bi-polar spectrum; and suffered alcohol dependence. The professionals advised Slattery on steps to take to improve his mental health and his physical wellbeing.[8][2]
Theatre and comedy
In 1981 he teamed with Richard Vranch as a comedic duo calling themselves "Aftertaste". For a number of years they toured throughout Great Britain performing in small venues: theatres and clubs, most notably the Tunnel Club, King's Head Theatre in London and aboard the Thekla, then known as the "Old Profanity Showboat" in Bristol. Together they hosted the Channel 4 quiz The Music Game and over 100 episodes of Cue the Music on ITV.
In 1994, Slattery became a founding patron of Leicester Comedy Festival alongside Norman Wisdom, appearing at the first festival in 1996 and again in 2020.
In the mid-1990s, after leaving Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Slattery suffered what he described as a "midlife crisis"; triggered by cocaine use and excessive drinking. Slattery says he does not remember how much he spent on cocaine but "would not be surprised" if media reports[10] that he spent £4,000 per week on the drug were accurate.[11]
In 1996 Slattery's crisis culminated with a six-month period as a recluse, during which he did not answer his door or telephone, "or open bills, or wash... I just sat." Eventually, one of his friends broke down the door of his flat and persuaded him to go to hospital. He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He discussed this period and his subsequent living with the disorder in a documentary made by Stephen Fry, The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive, in 2006; Slattery claimed that he spent time living in a warehouse and "throwing [his] furniture into the Thames."[9]
In May 1998 he was elected as Rector of the University of Dundee, however his poor attendance record with a single visit in a one-year period led to calls for his resignation from students. The official view was that it would not be worthwhile ousting him, because his term would end in February 2001.[12]
He has said: "I'm happily described as gay", and has been in a relationship with the actor Mark Michael Hutchinson since 1986.[13]
In March 2019 he held a Comedy Gala in Hoylake, Merseyside to raise money for a charity close to his heart, Bipolar UK. The night included sets from a variety of comedians.[citation needed]
In September 2020 Slattery signed a publishing deal to write his memoirs.[14]
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