Adam Hills
{{Short description|Australian comedian and presenter}}
{{about|the Australian comedian|the English politician|Adam Hills (politician)|other people|Adam Hill (disambiguation)}}
{{EngvarB|date=April 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2015}}
{{Infobox comedian
| name = Adam Hills
| honorific_suffix = {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|MBE}}
| image = Xx0809 - Adam Hills in Paralympic Village - 3b (cropped).jpg
| caption = Hills in 2008 at the Paralympic Village
| image_size =
| pseudonym =
| birth_name = Adam Christopher Hills{{Cite web|url=https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/klUmSeGMWnOy05BKOCPk0p10OJE/appointments|title=Adam Christopher HILLS personal appointments - Find and update company information - GOV.UK|website=find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk }}
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1970|07|10}}
| birth_place = Loftus, Sydney, Australia
| death_date =
| death_place =
| medium = Television, radio
| active = 1989–present
| genre = Social satire, observational comedy
| subject = Everyday life, current events, disability
| spouse = {{marriage|Ali McGregor|2009}}
| children = 2
| domesticpartner =
| notable_work = {{idp|
- Spicks and Specks (2005–2011, 2018–present)
- Adam Hills Tonight (2011–2013)
- The Last Leg (2012–present)}}
| signature =
| website ={{official website|https://adamhills.com.au|adamhills.com.au}}
| footnotes =
}}
Adam Christopher Hills (born 10 July 1970) is an Australian comedian, radio and television presenter. In Australia, he hosted the music quiz show Spicks and Specks from 2005 to 2011, and again in 2021 onwards,[https://www.abc.net.au/doublej/music-reads/music-news/spicks-and-specks-2021-new-episodes-myf-adam-hills-abc-tv/13252492 "Spicks and Specks will return with new episodes this April"] by Dan Condon, ABC Double J, 16 March 2021 and the talk show Adam Hills Tonight from 2011 to 2013. In the United Kingdom, he has hosted the talk show The Last Leg since 2012. He has been nominated for an Edinburgh Comedy Award, the Gold Logie Award and numerous BAFTA TV Awards.
Born in Loftus, Sydney, he began performing as a stand-up comedian in 1989 at the age of 19 and, since 1997, has produced ten solo shows which have toured internationally. He has performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the Montreal Just for Laughs festival, earning three consecutive Edinburgh Award nominations for his Edinburgh shows in 2001, 2002 and 2003.
In 2002, he scored a minor hit in Australia with his single "Working Class Anthem", in which he sang the lyrics of the Australian National Anthem to the tune of "Working Class Man", a song by Scottish-born Australian rocker Jimmy Barnes.
Comedy career
=Stand-up career=
Hills first appearance in comedy scene was in 1989 at the Sydney Comedy Store. He did breakfast radio on SAFM in Adelaide, as well as stand-up gigs and, by the mid-1990s, he decided to focus on live comedy. His first solo show premiered in 1997 and was called "Stand Up and Deliver", taking its name from an Adam and the Ants song. He has travelled widely, performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the Montreal Just For Laughs festival.{{cite web |author=Elliott, Tim | url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/tv--radio/adam-hills-loves-bringing-people-together/2008/06/27/1214472741818.html | title=Mr Nice Guy |work=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=28 June 2008|access-date=19 August 2008}} He has been nominated for three consecutive Edinburgh Comedy Awards for his 2001, 2002 and 2003 solo shows at the Edinburgh Fringe.{{cite web |author=Staff writer|url=http://www.chortle.co.uk/comics/a/452/adam_hills|title=Adam Hills|work=Chortle|access-date=19 August 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080829150440/http://chortle.co.uk/comics/a/452/adam_hills| archive-date= 29 August 2008 | url-status= live}}
The title of his 2001 show, "Go You Big Red Fire Engine", was coined during a 1999 performance in Melbourne. Hills asked an audience member to yell his name to the audience and for the audience to yell it back, but instead the man yelled "Go you big red fire engine!"{{cite web |author=Burgess, Marissa | url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/entertainment/comedy/s/133/133570_hill_be_back.html | title=Hill Be Back |work=Manchester Evening News|date=14 October 2004|access-date=19 August 2008}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}} The phrase quickly became an audience chant, and Hills promised he would make it the name of his next show because, he says, "it was such an uplifting and genuinely silly moment."{{cite web |author=Whittaker, Andrea |url=http://www.reachout.com.au/default.asp?ti=1631 |title=Adam Hills |work=Reach Out! |access-date=19 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726130000/http://www.reachout.com.au/default.asp?ti=1631 |archive-date=26 July 2008 |url-status=dead |df=dmy }} "Go You Big Red Fire Engine" later became the name of a second stand-up show and a comedy album. It also appeared in a Detroit newspaper, on a Swedish website, and was yelled by Senator Natasha Stott Despoja in the Australian Parliament.
Hills' artificial right foot is commonly used as a source of humour in his shows and the comedian has been known to remove it and pass it around. However, he had been performing live comedy for over a decade before he made reference to his prosthesis on stage, and it was only after "Go You Big Red Fire Engine" was nominated for a Perrier Award in 2001 that he began incorporating it into his act. Hills says he felt he could too easily have become a novelty act and that he "didn't want to be known as the one-legged comedian ... I wanted to prove myself as a comic before talking about this".{{cite web |author=Scott-Norman, Fiona | url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/04/05/1017206254254.html | title=Unspeakably Funny |work=The Age|date=5 April 2006|access-date=19 August 2008}}
At his festival shows, Hills regularly performs alongside Leanne Beer, an Auslan sign interpreter, a move sparked by a performance he did in Adelaide at a disability art conference.{{cite web |author=Hills, Adam |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/ouch/columnists/adam/060803_index.shtml |title=Sign Here If You're Normal |work=Ouch! |date=6 August 2003 |access-date=19 August 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 December 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031207085910/http://www.bbc.co.uk/ouch/columnists/adam/060803_index.shtml}} An interpreter had been provided at the show, and Hills found that it not only allowed the deaf audience members to enjoy his material but was also an entertaining and fascinating experience for the hearing audience members. "Now I have hearing people who will only book [for sign interpreted shows]", he says.
Some of his influences include Chris Addison, Greg Fleet, Rich Hall, Daniel Kitson, Ross Noble and David O'Doherty.[http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/ipad/wendy-harmer-on-men-and-talk-radio/story-fn3o6wog-1226630023934 Wendy Harmer on men and talk radio]; Adelaide Now; April 27, 2013
=Television career=
Hills hosted the music trivia show Spicks and Specks from its premiere in 2005. In late-2007, he joined the show on a national live tour dubbed the "Spicks and Speck-tacular", with appearances in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Newcastle and Perth.{{cite web |author=Braithwaite, Alyssa |url=http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22289550-1702,00.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070728091913/http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22289550-1702,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 July 2007 |title=Spicks and Specks to hit the road|website=news.com.au|date=22 August 2007 |access-date=19 August 2008 }} In late 2011 and early 2012, the show hit the road again for Spicks and Speck-tacular – The Finale, appearing in Sydney, Newcastle, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Wollongong, Canberra, Adelaide, Perth and Melbourne. He has also made appearances on Australian shows: Rove Live, The Glass House and The Fat, as well as the UK shows: Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Mock the Week, QI and Ask Rhod Gilbert.{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00vjry8 |title=BBC One – Ask Rhod Gilbert, Series 1, Episode 5 |publisher=BBC |date=27 October 2010 |access-date=23 April 2013}}{{IMDb name|0998928|Adam Hills}} Additionally, he appeared on the first TV edition of BBC Northern Ireland's Great Unanswered Questions.{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00q2pnt|title=BBC One – Great Unanswered Questions, Series 1, Episode 1|work=BBC}} He conducted backstage interviews at Australia's 2005 and 2006 Logie Awards and was one of three presenters at the 2007 awards.{{cite web |author=Enker, Debbie | url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/tv--radio/hills-hoist/2006/04/22/1145344318173.html | title=Hills Hoist |work=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=24 May 2006|access-date=19 August 2008}}{{cite web |author=Sydney Confidential | url=http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,21600462-5006002,00.html | title=Fifi reluctant star on box |work=The Daily Telegraph|location=Sydney|date=23 May 2007|access-date=19 August 2008}}
In September 2008, Hills co-hosted the ABC coverage of the 2008 Summer Paralympics.{{cite web|author=Metlikovec, Jane|url=http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23888693-661,00.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121230135041/http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23888693-661,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 December 2012|title=Comedian Adam Hills to host Paralympics|work=Herald Sun|location=Melbourne|date=19 June 2008|access-date=19 August 2008}}{{cite web | url=http://www.abc.net.au/paralympics/2008/abcteam/ | title=Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games: The ABC TV Sports's Team in Beijing | work=ABC TV online | access-date=7 September 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080913113119/http://www.abc.net.au/paralympics/2008/abcteam/ | archive-date=13 September 2008 | url-status=dead | df=dmy-all }}
In July 2009, Hills appeared in Thank God You're Here; he also appeared on Good News Week.
Hills presented his own weekly talk show, Adam Hills in Gordon Street Tonight, on the ABC from early-2011.{{Cite news |title=Adam Hills to host ABC talk show |work=The Spy Report |publisher=Media Spy |date=2 December 2010 |url=http://www.mediaspy.org/report/2010/12/02/adam-hills-to-host-abc-talk-show/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120805000858/http://www.mediaspy.org/report/2010/12/02/adam-hills-to-host-abc-talk-show/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 August 2012 |access-date=2 December 2010 }} In 2012 it was renamed Adam Hills Tonight and ended with its third-season finale on 31 July 2013.{{cite news|agency=AAP|title=Adam Hills calls it quits from ABC series Adam Hills Tonight|url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/adam-hills-calls-it-quits-from-abc-series-adam-hills-tonight-20131128-2yb2n.html|access-date=20 March 2023|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=28 November 2013}}
In 2012, he was part of the UK Channel 4 TV commentary team for the London 2012 Summer Paralympics,[http://www.channel4.com/info/press/news/channel-4-assembles-groundbreaking-paralympic-presenting-team "Channel 4 assembles groundbreaking Paralympic presenting team"], Channel 4, 28 February 2012 and hosted a daily alternative review of each day's events, The Last Leg with Adam Hills, with Alex Brooker and comedian Josh Widdicombe.{{Cite news
| title = The Last Leg With Adam Hills
|work=Metro|location=UK
| date = 30 August 2012
| url = http://www.metro.co.uk/tv/910042-the-last-leg-with-adam-hills-and-the-kindness-of-strangers-tv-picks
| access-date = 1 September 2012}} The show was renamed The Last Leg, and was adapted for a weekly schedule to cover a comedic wrap-up of the week's events. The Last Leg has since been renewed for multiple series each year, with the 300th episode airing in March 2023.
In 2013, Hills hosted the panel game Monumental for BBC Northern Ireland. In August 2013, it was announced that Hills would present a special one-off revival episode of Channel 4's quiz show, Fifteen to One.{{cite news|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/fifteen-one-channel-4-comeback-2163383 |title=Fifteen To One in Channel 4 comeback for special show during 1980s weekend |work=Daily Mirror |date=14 August 2013 |first=Mark |last=Jefferies |access-date=20 August 2013}} This was broadcast on 20 September 2013, as part of the channel's 1980s-themed Back to the Future weekend of programmes.{{cite web|url=http://www.channel4.com/info/press/news/back-to-the-future |title=Back to the Future |publisher=Channel 4 Press |date=14 August 2013 |access-date=20 August 2013}} He was credited under the name "Adam C. Hills" in a tribute to the original presenter, William G. Stewart. In 2014, Hills returned to present four more celebrity specials; a full daytime series was hosted by Danish-born comedian Sandi Toksvig.{{cite web |url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a536910/fifteen-to-one-to-return-for-full-series-and-celebrity-specials.html |title=Fifteen to One to return for full series and celebrity specials |date=9 December 2013 |first=Tom |last=Eames |work=Digital Spy |access-date=21 October 2021}}
In 2014, Hills co-starred in Die on Your Feet, an Australian TV series starring several real-life comedians as fictional comics at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
In 2016, Hills voiced Buddy Pendergast in Thunderbirds Are Go.{{cite web|url=https://www.thunderbirds.com/en/news/article/19|title=News – Thunderbirds Are Go|access-date=17 September 2016|archive-date=28 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200328011143/https://www.thunderbirds.com/en/news/article/19|url-status=dead}}
In February 2022 he began hosting the Super League coverage on Channel 4.
=Other work=
In 2002, Hills released a single titled "Working Class Anthem", in which he sang the lyrics of the Australian National Anthem, "Advance Australia Fair", to the tune of "Working Class Man", a famous song by iconic Australian rocker Jimmy Barnes. Around 40 comedians contributed to the song, which made the independent top 10 in Australia. All proceeds went to the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council, an organisation supported by Barnes and Jon Bon Jovi that supports firefighters. Hills has performed the song several times on television, including a performance honouring Barnes' guest appearance on Spicks and Specks.{{cite web|url=http://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2003/01/22/2530/disco_inferno|title=Disco Inferno|work=Chortle|date=22 January 2003|access-date=19 August 2008}}
Between 2003 and 2005, Hills wrote as a columnist for the BBC's disability website Ouch!.{{cite web | url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/ouch/writers/adamhills/ | title=Adam Hills |work=Ouch! |date=21 November 2005|access-date=19 August 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051222230912/http://www.bbc.co.uk/ouch/writers/adamhills/ |archive-date=22 December 2005}}
Hills published a memoir, Best Foot Forward, in 2018.{{cite web |url=https://www.theaureview.com/books/reviews-books/book-review-adam-hills-best-foot-forward-proves-that-he-is-an-elder-statesman-of-comedy/ |title=Book Review: Adam Hills' Best Foot Forward proves that he is an elder statesman of comedy |first=Natalie |last=Salvo |website=theaureview.com |date=20 August 2018 |access-date=21 October 2021}} His first book for children, "Rock Star Detectives", was published in February 2022. A second book in the series, titled "Murder at the Movies", was released in February 2023,{{cite web |url=https://www.penguin.com.au/books/rockstar-detectives-murder-at-the-movies-9780241519707 |title=Rockstar Detectives: Murder at the Movies by Adam Hills |website=Penguin Books Australia |access-date=19 April 2023}} and a third book is currently in the works.{{cite podcast |url=https://open.spotify.com/episode/3EgzHoeTuJyKgCfBE3rqMt?si=6daef7bf3b6f4a13 |title=WILOSOPHY with Adam Hills |publisher=LiSTNR |host=Wil Anderson |date=27 September 2023 |access-date=28 September 2023}}
In 2019, Adam Hills: Take His Legs was released, a sports documentary that follows the birth of the Warrington Wolves physical disability rugby league team from its creation, to the first PDRL World Club Challenge. In August 2023, a sequel documentary about the inaugural PDRL World Cup was released, titled Adam Hills: Grow Another Foot.{{Cite web |title=Watch Adam Hills: Grow Another Foot {{!}} Stream free on Channel 4 |url=https://www.channel4.com/programmes/adam-hills-grow-another-foot |access-date=2023-08-18 |website=www.channel4.com |language=en}}
Also in 2023, Hills narrated and executive produced Amputating Alice, a documentary about the journey of British Paralympic swimmer Alice Tai, who competed in the 2022 Commonwealth Games less than a year after having her right leg amputated.{{Cite web |date=2023-04-18 |title=NOAH MEDIA GROUP & CHANNEL 4 ANNOUNCE TWO BRAND NEW DOCUMENTARIES FOR 2023 |url=https://www.noahmediagroup.com/news/noah-media-group--channel-4-announce-two-brand-new |access-date=2023-08-24 |website=www.noahmediagroup.com |language=en-gb}}
In March 2023, Hills partnered with Scott Hallsworth to open a permanent Freak Scene restaurant in Parsons Green in London.{{cite web |url=https://london.eater.com/2023/1/11/23550164/adam-hills-last-leg-london-restaurant-freak-scene-scott-hallsworth |title=Last Leg Comedian Adam Hills Is Getting Into the London Restaurant Business. He's backing Scott Hallsworth's latest revival of Freak Scene, in Parsons Green |last=Hansen |first=James |author-link=James Hansen |publisher=Vox Media |date=January 23, 2023 |website=Eater London |access-date=January 11, 2023}}
Rugby league
File:Adam Hills.jpg PDRL side in 2019]]
Hills is a supporter of his hometown rugby league club the South Sydney Rabbitohs.{{cite web|url=https://www.rabbitohs.com.au/news/2018/01/23/adam-hills-my-souths-story/|title=Adam Hills – My Souths Story|date=22 January 2018|website=South Sydney Rabbitohs|access-date=3 November 2024}}
In 2017, Hills helped set up the Warrington Wolves Physical Disability rugby league team. In August 2018, he played in their World Club Challenge vs the South Sydney Rabbitohs, winning 34–12.{{cite news|url=https://www.foxsports.com.au/news/andrew-johns-will-come-out-of-retirement-for-a-oneoff-rugby-league-game-with-warrington/news-story/08dce8ad67f097bbbf1b854e4427be50|title=Andrew Johns will come out of retirement for a one-off rugby league game with Warrington|agency=Fox Sports|date=25 August 2018|access-date=3 November 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/news/16608200.warrington-wolves-pdrl-team-win-world-club-challenge/|title=Warrington Wolves PDRL team win World Club Challenge|work=Warrington Guardian|date=30 August 2018}} Hills was also a member of Australia's team for the inaugural PDRL World Cup, as well as a spokesperson for the event.{{cite web|title=PDRL World Cup: England, Australia, Wales, New Zealand compete in first event|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/63347901|publisher=BBC Sport|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221021152153/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/63347901|archive-date=21 October 2022|date=21 October 2022|url-status=live}}
Hills fronted Channel 4's Super League coverage during the 2022 and 2023 season, after which the broadcaster lost rights to the competition being outbid by the BBC.https://www.totalrl.com/adam-hills-on-rfl-presidency-aims-selling-rugby-league-and-the-ashes/
In February 2025 Hills became the 33rd President of the Rugby Football League, an honorary position, in succession to the Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle.{{cite web|access-date=7 June 2025|url= https://www.rugby-league.com/article/63426/welcoming-the-new-rfl-president,-adam-hills-mbe#:~:text=Welcoming%20the%20new%20RFL%20President%2C%20Adam%20Hills%20MBE!,Danika%20Priim%20and%20Steve%20Wild.|title=Welcoming the new RFL President, Adam Hills MBE|website=rugby-league.com}}
Personal life
Hills was born in the southern Sydney suburb of Loftus.{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/up-and-adam-20110129-1a8wn.html|title=Up and Adam|last=Dunn|first=Amanda|date=30 January 2011|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=29 March 2017}} Hills was born without a right foot and wears a prosthesis, which has become a frequent source of comedy in his act.{{cite web|author=Di Fonzo, Benito|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/arts-reviews/adam-hills-joymonger/2007/05/17/1178995307115.html|title=Adam Hills: Joymonger|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=18 May 2007|access-date=27 January 2020}} He studied for a Bachelor of Arts (Communications) at Macquarie University, graduating in 1991.[https://awc.alumni.mq.edu.au/s/1404/15/index2.aspx?sid=1404&gid=1&pgid=252&cid=1409&ecid=1409&ciid=9498 "Adam Hills"], Alumni, Macquarie University. [https://awc.alumni.mq.edu.au/s/1404/images/content_images/adam_hills_test_635805290310906256.jpg Picture] The university awarded their 2018 Alumni Award to Hills.[https://www.mq.edu.au/alumni/awards/winners "Adam Hills – 2018"], Macquarie Alumni Award winners. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
In December 2009, Hills married opera soprano Ali McGregor.{{cite news|url=http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity/wedding-caps-a-top-month-for-adam-hills/story-e6frfmqr-1225824108869|title=Wedding caps a top month for Adam Hills|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=Sydney|date=28 January 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130719161515/http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity/wedding-caps-a-top-month-for-adam-hills/story-e6frfmqr-1225824108869|archive-date=19 July 2013}} They have two daughters and lived in London until just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, when McGregor and their daughters moved back to her hometown of Melbourne, with Hills staying in London during filming periods of The Last Leg.{{cite news|url=https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/comedian-adam-hills-wont-be-hosting-adam-hills-tonight-in-2014/news-story/08629d767f341cd6ab846f551dad1d32|title=Comedian Adam Hills won't be hosting Adam Hills Tonight in 2014|last=Vickery|first=Colin|date=27 November 2013|website=news.com.au|access-date=3 January 2014}}{{citation|title=S04 EP6: Adam Hills|date=11 February 2022|url=https://open.spotify.com/episode/24agBvbvSHnbJ7CdTDKfPZ|access-date=6 October 2022}}
When researching his ancestry for the SBS television show Who Do You Think You Are?, broadcast on 2 April 2013, Hills found that several generations of his ancestors had been German burghers in what was then {{lang|de|Sankt Sebastiansberg|italic=no}} in Austrian Bohemia (now {{lang|cs|Hora Svatého Šebestiána|italic=no}} in the Czech Republic), with his great-grandfather naturalising as an Australian citizen shortly after the start of World War I.{{cite AV media|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/22619204001/who-do-you-think-you-are-s5-ep4-adam-hills |title=Who Do You Think You Are?: Season 5 Episode 4 — Adam Hills|publisher=SBS|date=2 April 2013|access-date=14 June 2022}} He also found that another ancestor who died in 1511 had been a notary in Aragonese-Sicilian Malta and had funded corsairs (pirates).{{cite web|url=https://tvtonight.com.au/2013/03/returning-who-do-you-think-you-are-9.html|title=Returning: Who Do You Think You Are?|last=Knox|first=David|date=2 March 2013|website=TV Tonight|access-date=9 May 2019}}
In February 2020, Hills became Ambassador for The Children's Trust, a British charity for children with brain injury and neurodisability.{{cite web|url=https://www.thechildrenstrust.org.uk/about/ambassadors|title=Our ambassadors | The Children's Trust|website=www.thechildrenstrust.org.uk|access-date=3 November 2024}} He first became involved with The Children's Trust when he visited the charity in 2014 to meet Seb, a nine-year-old boy who had a severe brain injury and leg amputation following a road traffic collision.{{cite web|url=https://www.braininjuryhub.co.uk/news/comedian-adam-hills-visits-leading-charity-for-children-with-brain-injury|title=Comedian Adam Hills visits leading charity for children with brain injury | News and Blogs|website=Brain Injury Hub|url-status=dead|access-date=17 February 2020|archive-date=17 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200217141815/https://www.braininjuryhub.co.uk/news/comedian-adam-hills-visits-leading-charity-for-children-with-brain-injury}} He has also supported five annual comedy shows at The Comedy Store for the charity.{{cite web|url=https://www.thechildrenstrust.org.uk/events/childrens-trust-virtual-chortle-association-comedy-store|title=The Children's Trust Virtual Chortle in association with The Comedy Store|website=The Children's Trust|date=2020|access-date=3 November 2024}}
In April 2020, Australia Post released a set of stamps recognising Australian Legends of Comedy,{{Cite web|title=Australian Legends of Comedy|url=https://australiapostcollectables.com.au/stamp-issues/australian-legends-of-comedy|access-date=15 February 2021|website=Australia Post Collectables}} with Hills appearing on one of the stamps.{{cite web|url=https://www.9news.com.au/national/australian-post-magda-szubanksi-comedy-legends-stamp/9c1d610b-1e55-44d0-b879-f264033169e5|title=Superstars of comedy honoured in this year's Australia Post Legends Awards|date=15 April 2020|website=www.9news.com.au|access-date=20 November 2020}}
Hills was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to Paralympic sport and disability awareness.{{London Gazette|issue=63571|supp=y|p=N20|date=1 January 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/59828368|title=New Year Honours 2022: Jason Kenny receives a knighthood and Laura Kenny made a dame|date=31 December 2021|work=BBC Sport|access-date=3 November 2024}} He was granted permanent residency in the UK in 2022.{{cite web|last=Hallam|first=Katy|date=9 December 2022|title=The Last leg's Adam Hills makes huge announcement about his life in UK|url=https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/showbiz-tv/channel-4-last-legs-adam-25719582|access-date=8 January 2023|website=BirminghamLive}}
In 2023, Hills received an honorary Doctor of Letters from the University of Chester, for contributions to comedy and disability advocacy.{{cite news|date=31 October 2023|title=Stars and graduates honoured in University of Chester ceremonies|url=https://www.chesterstandard.co.uk/news/23892360.stars-graduates-honoured-university-chester-ceremonies/|last=Dowling|first=Mark|access-date=3 November 2024|website=Chester and District Standard}}
Guinness Record Holder for: The fastest time to put on five jumpers by a team is 34.43{{spaces}}seconds, achieved by Alex Brooker (UK), Adam Hills (Australia) and Josh Widdicombe (UK) on the New Year's Eve Special of The Last Leg (Channel 4) at Television Centre, London, UK, on 31 December 2023.{{cite web|access-date=3 November 2024|url=https://guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/761226-fastest-time-to-put-on-five-jumpers-team|title=Fastest time to put on five jumpers (team) | Guinness World Records|work=Guinness World Records }}
Solo shows
- Stand Up and Deliver (1997)
- Life Is Good (1998)
- My Own Little World (1999)
- Goody Two Shoes (2000)
- Go You Big Red Fire Engine (2001) – Perrier nominee
- Happy Feet (2002) – Perrier nominee
- Cut Loose (2003) – Perrier nominee
- Go You Big Red Fire Engine 2: Judgement Day (2004)
- Characterful (2006)
- Joymonger (2007)
- Inflatable (2009)
- Mess Around (2010)
- Adam Hills Stands Up Live (2012)
- Happyism (2013)
- Clown Heart (2015){{cite web|url=http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2015/season/shows/clown-heart-adam-hills |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150324060213/http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2015/season/shows/clown-heart-adam-hills |url-status=dead |archive-date=2015-03-24 |title=Clown Heart, Adam Hills – Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2015 |work=comedyfestival.com.au }}
- Shoes Half Full (2021)
Discography
=Charting singles=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+List of singles, with selected chart positions ! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Title ! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Year ! scope="col" colspan="1"| {{nowrap|Peak chart positions}} |
| scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| AUS{{cite Ryan|page=129}} |
|---|
| scope="row"| "Working Class Anthem"
| 2002 | 59 |
Awards and nominations
=ARIA Music Awards=
The ARIA Music Awards are a set of annual ceremonies presented by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the music of Australia. They commenced in 1987.
{{awards table}}
! {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}
|-
| 2011
| Inflatable
| {{nom}}
|-
{{end}}
=Television=
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Award ! Category ! Result ! Work |
|---|
| rowspan="2"|2006
| rowspan="12" align="centr"|Logie Awards | Most Popular New Male Talent | {{nom}} | rowspan="10" align="centr"|Spicks and Specks |
| Most Outstanding New Talent
| {{nom}} |
| rowspan="2"|2008
| Most Popular Personality on TV | {{nom}} |
| Most Popular Presenter
| {{nom}} |
| rowspan="2"|2009
| Most Popular Personality on TV | {{nom}} |
| Most Popular Presenter
| {{nom}} |
| rowspan="2"|2010
| Most Popular Personality on TV | {{nom}} |
| Most Popular Presenter
| {{nom}} |
| rowspan="2"|2011
| Most Popular Personality on TV | {{nom}} |
| Most Popular Presenter
| {{nom}} |
| rowspan="2"|2012
| Most Popular Personality on TV | {{nom}} | rowspan="2" align="centr" |Adam Hills in Gordon Street Tonight, Spicks and Specks |
| Most Popular Presenter
| {{won}} |
| rowspan="4"|2013
| rowspan="2"|Logie Awards | Most Popular Personality on TV | {{nom}} | rowspan="2"|Adam Hills in Gordon Street Tonight |
| Most Popular Presenter
| {{nom}} |
| rowspan="2" | British Comedy Awards
| Best Breakthrough Artist | {{won}} |
| Best Comedy Entertainment Program
| {{nom}} |
| rowspan="3"|2014
| Most Popular Presenter | {{nom}} | |
| rowspan="2" | British Comedy Awards
| Best Comedy Entertainment Personality | {{nom}} |
| Best Comedy Entertainment Program
| {{nom}} | rowspan="5"|The Last Leg |
| 2015
| Royal Television Society Awards | Best Entertainment Program | {{won}} |
| 2017
| rowspan="2"|British Academy Television Awards | rowspan="2" | Best Entertainment Performance | {{nom}} |
| 2018
| {{nom}} |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{external media
|video1= {{YouTube|6dZxXDljmes|Adam Hills and his memoir Best Foot Forward}}, Matter of Fact with Stan Grant, ABC News
}}
- {{British Comedy Guide|people|adam_hills}}
- {{twitter|adamhillscomedy}}
- {{IMDb name|0998928|Adam Hills}}
- [https://www.freakscenerestaurants.com/about-us/ Freak Scene Restaurants]
{{NRFL}}
{{RFL Presidents}}
{{HelpmannAward ComedyPerformer}}
{{Silver Logie Award for Most Popular TV Presenter on Australian Television}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hills, Adam}}
Category:20th-century Australian comedians
Category:21st-century Australian comedians
Category:Australian game show hosts
Category:Australian male comedians
Category:Television presenters with disabilities
Category:Australian people with disabilities
Category:Television personalities with disabilities
Category:Australian stand-up comedians
Category:Australian television talk show hosts
Category:Comedians from Sydney
Category:Helpmann Award winners
Category:Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire