Steady Eddy
{{short description|Australian comedian}}
{{about|the Australian comedian and actor|the snooker player nicknamed Steady Eddie|Eddie Charlton}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{infobox person
| image = Steady Eddy The Weekend Edition.jpg
| name = Steady Eddy
| birth_name = Christopher Widdows
| birth_date = {{birth_date and age|7 December 1968}}
| occupation = Comedian, actor
| awards = Young Australian Achievers Award from the Melbourne International Comedy Festival)
}}
Christopher Widdows (born 7 December 1968) is an Australian stand-up comedian and actor primarily known by the stage name 'Steady Eddy.' Born with cerebral palsy,{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0248914/|title=Steady Eddy|website=IMDb|access-date=2019-12-26}} his disability became a key part of his comedy, hence his performing moniker.
'Steady Eddy's' mainstream career began in 1992 with appearances on popular Australian TV programs like Nine Network's The Midday Show{{Cite web|url=https://thehempchronicle.com/steady-eddy-mardigrass-comedy/|title=Steady Eddy for MardiGrass Comedy - Nimbin Town Hall|date=2012-04-29|website=The HEMP Chronicle|language=en-AU|access-date=2019-12-26}} and Seven Network's Tonight Live with Steve Vizard, becoming a frequent personality throughout much of the 1990s and early 2000s. He was one of the first disabled performers to be featured prominently in Australian mainstream media.
Stand-up comedy
'Steady' began performing stand-up in 1991, with his first Australian stand-up tour kicking off in 1993 with "Ready Steady Go!". The performance recording won the ARIA Award for Best Comedy Release.{{Cite web |title=Stand Up Comedians - Steady Eddy Comedian Bookings |url=https://standupcomedians.com.au/australian-comedian/steady-eddy/ |access-date=2023-01-05 |website=standupcomedians.com.au}} He followed up in 1994 with “Quantum Limp”, which won him the Young Australian Achievers Award at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Steady performed internationally throughout the nineties including at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal, the Austrian Comedy Festival in Vienna, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the LA Comedy Store.
In 1999, he served as Master of Ceremonies for the national tour by Australian band Midnight Oil. As of 2016, he has been part of the musical-comedy duo The Jingo Brothers, with Steady Eddy and Jolly Jingo performing a mix of skits, stand-up, original songs and covers with Adelaide Fringe saying "critics compare them with Peter Cook and Dudley Moore".{{Cite web |title=The Jingo Brothers. Aka Steady Eddy and Jolly Jingo {{!}} Adelaide Fringe |url=https://adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/the-jingo-brothers-aka-steady-eddy-and-jolly-jingo-af2023 |access-date=2023-01-05 |website=adelaidefringe.com.au |language=en}}
Film & TV
Across his career, he has appeared in numerous film and television productions, including a 1994 episode of A Country Practice titled "There Was a Crooked Man".{{Cite web |title=Steady Eddy |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0248914/ |access-date=2023-01-05 |website=IMDb |language=en-US}} That same year he made his big screen debut in Ben Lewin's romantic-comedy Paperback Romance (also known as Lucky Break in the US) with Anthony LaPaglia and Rebecca Gibney.{{Cite web |last=Stratton |first=David |date=1994-10-03 |title=Lucky Break |url=https://variety.com/1994/film/reviews/lucky-break-1200439158/ |access-date=2023-01-05 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}
In 2004, Steady co-starred as Trevor in the Australian-made comedy, Under the Radar, alongside Nathan Phillips, Chloe Maxwell and Clayton Watson.{{Citation |last=Clarry |first=Evan |title=Under the Radar |date=2004-07-29 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0352951/ |type=Adventure, Comedy, Thriller |publisher=Macquarie Film Corporation |access-date=2023-01-05}} He appeared as a character playing himself in the 2007 ABC TV miniseries Bastard Boys.{{Cite web |title=Australian Television: Bastard Boys: articles |url=http://www.australiantelevision.net/bastard_boys/articles.html |access-date=2023-01-05 |website=www.australiantelevision.net}}
Discography
= Albums =
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |
| Title
! Details |
|---|
| align="left"| Ready Steady Go!
|
|
| align="left"| Born To Be Bent
|
|
Awards and nominations
=ARIA Music Awards=
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music.{{cite web | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120109051551/http://www.ariaawards.com.au/history/year/1994 | url = http://www.ariaawards.com.au/history/year/1994 | title = Winners by Year 1994 | publisher = Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) | archive-date = 9 January 2012 }}
{{Awards table}}
|-
| 1994
| Ready Steady Go!
| {{won}}
|-
{{end}}
=Mo Awards=
The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Steady Eddy won four awards in that time.{{cite web|url=https://www.moawards.com.au/awardwinners|title=MO Award Winners|website=Mo Awards|access-date=16 March 2022}}
{{awards table}} (wins only)
|-
|rowspan="2"| 1993
| rowspan="4"| Steady Eddy
| Comedy Performer of the Year
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="3"| New Wave Comedy Performer of the Year
| {{won}}
|-
| 1994
| {{won}}
|-
| 1995
| {{won}}
|-
{{end}}
==References==
{{reflist}}
See also
- Josh Blue – (born 1978) American comedian with cerebral palsy
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Category:Australian male film actors
Category:Australian stand-up comedians
Category:People with cerebral palsy