Glynn Nicholas
{{short description|Australian actor, comic and director }}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2016}}
{{Use Australian English|date=September 2016}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Glynn Nicholas
| image =
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| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1952}}
| birth_place = Bristol, England
| death_date =
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| nationality = Australian
| other_names =
| occupation = {{hlist|Actor|comedian|director|writer|producer}}
| years_active = 1977– present
| known_for =
| notable_works =
}}
Glynn Nicholas (born 1952) is an Australian actor, comedian, director, writer, and producer. In the early 1990s he developed several the comic alter ego Paté Biscuit, a parody of Patsy Biscoe, a fellow presenter on the TV show Here's Humphrey, which he later presented in The Big Gig. He has appeared in many stage productions.
Early life and education
Glynn Nicholas was born in Bristol, England in 1952. He subsequently moved to Adelaide, South Australia.{{cite web | title=Adelaide dimensions – the mall, Paté Biscuit, Zora Semberová, Shaun Micallef – add to Glynn Nicholas brilliance| website=AdelaideAZ | url=https://adelaideaz.com/articles/adelaide-influences-from-rundle-mall-to-zora--emberov--to-pat--biscuit-to-shaun-micallef-add-to-glynn-nicholas-brilliance- | access-date=26 March 2023}}
In 1982, he studied mime with Zora Šemberová, a former dancer and choreographer from Czechoslovakia who taught at the University of Adelaide and Flinders University and was founder of the Australian Mime Theatre. He learnt circus skills at a college in San Francisco, and performed regularly at Pier 39 while he was there.
Busking and early career
Glynn Nicholas began his career as a busker{{cite web | last=McDonald | first=Patrick | title=Oh brother, Glynn Nicholas and Gretel Killeen join forces in for a big gig in Adelaide called #UsTwo | website=Adelaide Now | date=21 December 2018 | url=https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/entertainment/arts/oh-brother-glynn-nicholas-and-gretel-killeen-join-forces-in-for-a-big-gig-in-adelaide-called-ustwo/news-story/f0a6b558c9d81c3496fa963b27f41e2c | access-date=26 March 2023}} in Europe and the United States,{{cite web | title=Glynn Nicholas | website=The Wheeler Centre | date=4 April 2022 | url=https://www.wheelercentre.com/people/glynn-nicholas/ | access-date=26 March 2023}} starting in Munich in 1977,{{cite web | title=Agony Uncles |website= ABC TV| publisher= Australian Broadcasting Corporation | url=https://www.abc.net.au/tv/agonyuncles/pages/s3446123.htm | access-date=26 March 2023}} but he often returned to Adelaide, where he was known for his busking act in Rundle Mall. His act consisted of singing and playing up to three instruments at the same time. Over time his focus shifted to include physical comedy, magic, mime, and audience participation.{{cn|date=March 2023}}
During the late 1970s and early '80s he busked in USA, Australia, and Europe. He often played in Adelaide in the central shopping precinct, Rundle Mall, which had recently been closed to traffic."Nicholas is energetic, wicked and talented. His crowds bring the mall to a standstill." The Advertiser{{better source|date=March 2023}}
Television career
Nicholas first appeared on Australian television as a presenter on Channel 9's children's show Here's Humphrey in the 1980s, performing songs, dances, stories and games with a large mute bear. In 1991, his album Glynn Nicholas & The Funky Fossils: The Dinosaur Album was nominated for an ARIA Award for Best Children's Album.{{cn|date=March 2023}}
Off-air, he developed a character called Paté Biscuit, a parody of another presenter on Here's Humphrey, Patsy Biscoe. He mimicked her distinctive bob haircut, sing-song voice and "school-prefect" manner, but added cruelty, blood, and a naughty hand puppet called Bongo, to the juvenile story-telling. In 1989, Paté Biscuit found a ready audience on the ABC's new comedy show The Big Gig, where Nicholas had a regular spot. In one episode, the real Patsy Biscoe was seen presenting The Big Gig show with Bongo, having tied Paté Biscuit up.{{YouTube|0B560bMiDmU|Pate Biscuit vs Patsy Biscoe: The Big Gig, 1990}} In 1990, Nicholas took over from Wendy Harmer as host of The Big Gig for two seasons. Another of Glynn's characters on the show was Sergeant Smith.
In 1991, Angus and Robertson published his book Bedtime Stories with Paté Biscuit, which sold 18,000 copies.{{cn|date=March 2023}}
In 1996, Nicholas co-produced a surreal ten-part comedy series on ABC Television,{{cn|date=March 2023}} The Glynn Nicholas Show. It was written by Nicholas, fellow Australian comedian Shaun Micallef, and others.{{cite web | title=The Glynn Nicholas Show (1996) - The Screen Guide | website=Screen Australia | date=16 March 2018 | url=https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/the-screen-guide/t/the-glynn-nicholas-show-1996/10259/ | access-date=26 March 2023}}
Theatre career
Since 1992 Nicholas has focussed on writing, producing and performing live comedy{{Citation needed|date=November 2019}}. These include several live shows, ranging from the solo Glynn with a why? and Crossing the Line, to ensemble pieces like Scat and all that, Wrung Out, Kissing Frogs, Pumping Irony,{{cn|date=March 2023}} and Certified Male, which toured at least seven countries. It was written with his regular artistic collaborator Scott Rankin.{{cn|date=March 2023}}
Other writing credits include Kissing Frogs (1991-3) and Leaves Falling at Midnight and co-writer of the book for Eurobeat - almost Eurovision (2006–2009), which he also directed and produced.{{Cite web |url=http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsN/nichols-glynn.html |title=Glynn Nicholas - Playwright |access-date=7 January 2014 |archive-date=13 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140513181859/http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsN/nichols-glynn.html |url-status=dead }}
He also turned his hand to Shakespeare for the Melbourne Theatre Company's production of The Comedy of Errors, played Major-General Stanley in opera in Essgee Entertainment's 1994 production of The Pirates of Penzance, and in the variety productions The Vaudeville Extravaganza (1994) and Oh Come All Ye Stressful (2005).{{cn|date=March 2023}}
In the 2000s his Glynn Nicholas Group entertainment company was producing and touring several shows internationally including Certified Male,{{cn|date=March 2023}} and the hit musical Eurobeat: Almost Eurovision directed by Nicholas, which was the top-selling show of the 2007 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In 2008 it toured the UK for 20 weeks and then ran for three months in the West End.{{cite news | title=Eurobeat - Almost Eurovision | website=Glynn Nicholas | date=25 June 2020 | url=https://glynnnicholas.com/eurobeat-almost-eurovision/ | access-date=26 March 2023}}
In January 2019, Glynn collaborated with Gretel Killeen in a production called "#UsTwo", at Holden Street Theatres in Adelaide. The show was described as a mix of "stories, comedy, music, nostalgia, sexual tension, tears, outright lies, familiarity and a bit of tango", comparing male and female perspectives.
Recognition and awards
- 1991: Nomination, ARIA Award for best children's album, for Glynn Nicholas & The Funky Fossils: The Dinosaur Album
Other roles
Nicholas has been chair of the arts and social-justice company Big hART, and president of the "Society for the Prevention of Kyle Sandilands".
Working as a public speaker, Glynn produces shows for the corporate market.{{cite web | title=Glynn Nicholas | website=Ovations! Speaker's Bureau | date=5 March 2015 | url=https://www.ovations.com.au/speakers/glynn-nicholas | access-date=26 March 2023}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{official|https://glynnnicholas.com}}
- {{IMDb name|nm0629386}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholas, Glynn}}
Category:Australian male film actors
Category:Australian male television actors
Category:English emigrants to Australia
Category:Comedians from Bristol