English comedian (1961?2019)
Jeremy Hardy
|
---|
Hardy in 2016
|
Birth name
| Jeremy James Hardy
|
---|
Born
| (
1961-07-17
)
17 July 1961
Aldershot
, England
|
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Died
| 1 February 2019
(2019-02-01)
(aged 57)
|
---|
Medium
| Television, radio and stand-up
|
---|
Education
| University of Southampton
(
BA
)
|
---|
Spouse
| Kit Hollerbach
(1986?2006)
Katie Barlow
|
---|
Children
| 1 (adopted)
|
---|
Jeremy James Hardy
(17 July 1961 – 1 February 2019) was an
English
comedian. Born and raised in
Hampshire
, Hardy studied at the
University of Southampton
and began his stand-up career in the 1980s, going on to win the
Perrier Comedy Award
at the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
in 1988. He is best known for his appearances on radio panel shows such as the
News Quiz
and
I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue
.
Early life
[
edit
]
Hardy was born in
Aldershot
, Hampshire,
[1]
[2]
the fifth and youngest child of rocket scientist Donald D. Hardy (1925?2016) and Sheila Stagg (1924?2012).
[3]
He attended
Farnham College
and studied
modern history
and politics at the
University of Southampton
.
[4]
He subsequently failed to obtain a place on a journalism course, and considered becoming an actor or poet.
[5]
Career
[
edit
]
Hardy started
scriptwriting
before turning to
stand-up comedy
in London in the early 1980s,
[5]
funded in part by the
Enterprise Allowance Scheme
.
[6]
He won the
Perrier Comedy Award
in 1988 at the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
.
He made his television debut in the late 1980s, featuring regularly as Jeremy the
boom operator
in the
Rory Bremner
-led comedy show
Now ? Something Else
on
BBC Two
, along with guest appearances on programmes including the
BBC One
talk show
Wogan
.
[5]
He went on to feature in various comedy shows including
Blackadder Goes Forth
(1989), and presented a television documentary about the political background to the
English Civil War
as well as an edition of
Top of the Pops
in 1996. He was one of the two team captains on the BBC Two game show
If I Ruled the World
that ran for two series in 1998?1999.
[5]
Kit Hollerbach
featured alongside him in the BBC radio sitcoms
Unnatural Acts
and
At Home with the Hardys
.
[7]
[8]
Hardy worked extensively on
BBC Radio 4
, particularly on
The News Quiz
,
I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue
and his long-running series of monologues
Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation
.
[9]
His excruciatingly off-key singing was a long-running joke on the radio panel show
I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue
? on which he appeared regularly ? as well as the spin-off radio series
You'll Have Had Your Tea: The Doings of
Hamish and Dougal
.
[10]
He appeared in the Radio 4 sitcom
Linda Smith's A Brief History of Timewasting
,
[11]
and he also appeared as a panellist on the first and second series of
QI
.
[12]
His experiences in Palestine during the
Israeli army incursions of 2002
became the subject of a feature documentary
Jeremy Hardy vs. the Israeli Army
(2003), directed by
Leila Sansour
. A four-episode series entitled
Jeremy Hardy Feels It
was broadcast on Radio 4 in December 2017 to January 2018.
[13]
Hardy wrote a regular column for
The Guardian
until 2001.
[14]
He then wrote a column in the
London Evening Standard
'
s magazine.
[5]
His first book,
When Did You Last See Your Father
, was published by
Methuen
in 1992.
My Family and Other Strangers
, based on his research into his
family history
, was published by
Ebury Press
on 4 March 2010.
[15]
An anthology of Hardy's writing,
Jeremy Hardy Speaks Volumes
, was published in February 2020.
[16]
It was edited by his wife Katie Barlow and his long-time radio producer
David Tyler
.
[17]
Political views
[
edit
]
Hardy was a committed socialist, and a supporter of the
Labour Party
. He performed at Labour Party rallies and Labour leader
Jeremy Corbyn
considered him a "dear, lifelong friend".
[18]
His comedy embodied his radical politics, including outspoken opposition to former Labour leader
Tony Blair
[19]
? he was conflicted during the Blair and
Gordon Brown
leadership period, quoted as saying "To me, voting Labour is like wiping your bottom: I can't say I like doing it but you've got to ? because you're in a worse mess if you don't."
[20]
Hardy was banned from voting in Labour internal elections in 2015 because he had also raised funds for the
Green Party
.
[21]
He strongly supported Corbyn in the leadership election of 2015.
[22]
He was also an outspoken opponent of the
Trident programme
.
[23]
Hardy supported Irish nationalist
Roisin McAliskey
, the then-pregnant daughter of
Bernadette Devlin McAliskey
, when the former was accused of involvement in an IRA mortar attack in Germany, and put up part of the bail money to free her.
[9]
He also supported the campaign to free
Danny McNamee
, whose conviction for involvement in the
Provisional Irish Republican Army
's (IRA)
Hyde Park bombing
on 20 July 1982 was quashed in 1999, after several years of prison.
[24]
In an edition of
Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation
on BBC Radio 4 "How to be Afraid", broadcast in September 2004, Hardy said during one of his comedy routines that "if you just took everyone in the
BNP
and everyone who votes for them and shot them in the back of the head, there would be a brighter future for us all."
[25]
This sparked complaints and caused
Burnley Borough Council
to cancel a show in the town over fears that it could be "disruptive" in an area with a recent history of racial tension.
[26]
In September 2016 Hardy performed at the Keep Corbyn rally in
Brighton
in support of
Jeremy Corbyn
's campaign in the
Labour Party leadership election
.
[27]
On Hardy's death, Corbyn said "He always gave his all for everyone else and the campaigns for social justice."
[18]
Personal life
[
edit
]
In 1986 Hardy married the actress and comedian
Kit Hollerbach
[28]
and in 1990 they adopted a daughter, Elizabeth Hardy. He later married the photographer and filmmaker Katie Barlow.
[29]
Hardy was a close friend of the comedian
Linda Smith
; when she died of
ovarian cancer
on 27 February 2006 he publicly eulogised her in many media outlets
[30]
and wrote her obituary in
The Guardian
.
[31]
Hardy died of cancer on 1 February 2019, at the age of 57.
[29]
Julia McKenzie, the head of Radio team at BBC Studios, said of Hardy "I will remember him as someone who could convulse an audience with laughter at a comic image whilst at the same time making a point of substance that reverberated on a much deeper level and spoke to his principles and unflinching concern for the less fortunate."
[32]
Miles Jupp
, then-host of
The News Quiz
and a longtime friend, wrote his obituary in
The Guardian
.
[4]
Collections
[
edit
]
The University of Kent holds a collection of Hardy's work as part of the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive.
[33]
The archive is composed of audio-visual material from Hardy's career, including recordings of live performances.
[33]
Appearances
[
edit
]
Television
[
edit
]
Radio
[
edit
]
Film
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Index entry"
.
FreeBMD
. ONS
. Retrieved
1 February
2019
.
- ^
Jeremy J Hardy in the England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916?2007
- ^
Serena Hardy (17 July 2016).
"Donald Hardy obituary"
.
The Guardian
, London
. Retrieved
1 February
2019
.
- ^
a
b
Jupp, Miles
(1 February 2019).
"Jeremy Hardy obituary"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
2 February
2019
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
"Jeremy's stand-up routine"
.
The Bolton News
. 22 February 2002
. Retrieved
29 July
2018
.
- ^
Moorhead, Rosy (19 December 2015).
"Jeremy Hardy looks back at 'the one decent thing Thatcher did'
"
.
Harrow Times
. Retrieved
29 July
2018
.
- ^
a
b
"At Home With the Hardys"
.
BBC
. Retrieved
1 February
2019
.
- ^
a
b
"Unnatural Acts"
. BBC
. Retrieved
1 February
2019
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
"Jeremy Hardy: Caustic comic"
.
BBC
. 5 April 2002
. Retrieved
1 February
2019
.
- ^
"Jeremy Hardy ? Comedian, Writer and Political Activist"
. BBC. 6 January 2007
. Retrieved
1 February
2019
.
- ^
"A Brief History of Timewasting: The Complete Series 1 and 2"
.
Penguin Books
. Retrieved
7 June
2021
.
- ^
"Jeremy Hardy Dies at 57"
. Nottinghamshire Live. February 2019
. Retrieved
2 February
2019
.
- ^
"Jeremy Hardy Feels It"
.
BBC Radio 4
. Retrieved
29 July
2018
.
- ^
Hardy, Jeremy (4 April 2001).
"Frankly, I've got nothing to joke about"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
13 September
2007
.
- ^
Hardy, Jeremy (27 February 2010).
"Jeremy Hardy's family tree"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
29 July
2018
.
- ^
Hardy, Jeremy (21 October 2019).
Jeremy Hardy Speaks Volumes
. John Murray Press
. Retrieved
18 February
2020
.
- ^
Merritt, Stephanie (15 February 2020).
"
'I knew he was loved but not the scale of it': Katie Barlow on her late husband Jeremy Hardy"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
18 February
2020
.
- ^
a
b
Mumford, Gwilym (1 February 2019).
"Comedian Jeremy Hardy dies of cancer aged 57"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
1 February
2019
.
- ^
Lawson, Mark (1 February 2019).
"Jeremy Hardy: a ferocious talent who radicalised radio comedy"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
2 February
2019
.
- ^
Turner, Alwyn W (22 March 2012).
"Things can only get bitter"
.
New Statesman
. Archived from
the original
on 25 March 2012
. Retrieved
2 February
2019
.
- ^
"The Labour purge is underway"
.
New Internationalist
. Retrieved
2 February
2019
.
- ^
"Comic Jeremy Hardy accuses Labour of trying to rig leadership election"
.
The Guardian
. Press Association. 21 August 2015.
ISSN
0261-3077
. Retrieved
2 February
2019
.
- ^
"Comedian Jeremy Hardy is under fire for suggesting Trident supporters are mentally ill"
. 10 March 2016.
Archived
from the original on 8 June 2022
. Retrieved
2 February
2019
.
- ^
"McNamee's 11-year campaign for justice"
.
BBC News
. 17 December 1998
. Retrieved
27 February
2007
.
- ^
"Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation s06e01 How to Be Afraid"
– via vimeo.com.
- ^
"Comic banned for 'shoot BNP' joke"
.
BBC News
. 2 November 2004
. Retrieved
13 September
2007
.
- ^
Burke, Darren (26 August 2016).
"TV star comedians line up for Jeremy Corbyn rally in Doncaster"
. Doncaster:
Doncaster Free Press
. Retrieved
1 June
2018
.
- ^
"Join Ancestry®"
.
www.ancestry.co.uk
. Retrieved
2 February
2019
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Jeremy Hardy: Comedian and Radio 4 panel star dies aged 57"
.
BBC
. 1 February 2019
. Retrieved
1 February
2019
.
- ^
Hardy, Jeremy (28 February 2006).
"Her mind was extraordinary"
.
BBC News
. Retrieved
13 September
2007
.
- ^
Hardy, Jeremy (1 March 2006).
"Obituary: Linda Smith"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
13 September
2007
.
- ^
McKenzie, Julia (1 February 2019).
"The News Quiz twitter feed"
(Press release)
. Retrieved
1 February
2019
.
- ^
a
b
"Jeremy Hardy Collection"
.
Special Collections and Archives - University of Kent
. 6 December 2021
. Retrieved
15 May
2024
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Jeremy Hardy"
. British Film Institute. Archived from
the original
on 2 February 2019
. Retrieved
1 February
2019
.
- ^
"Grumpy Old Men"
.
Radio Times
(4198): 108. 2 September 2004
. Retrieved
1 February
2019
.
- ^
"Mock the Week"
.
Radio Times
(4236): 74. 2 June 2005
. Retrieved
1 February
2019
.
- ^
Collier, Hatty (1 February 2019).
"Jeremy Hardy death: Comedian dies from cancer aged 57"
.
Evening Standard
. Retrieved
1 February
2019
.
- ^
"The Voice"
.
Radio Times
(4370): 124. 17 January 2008
. Retrieved
1 February
2019
.
- ^
Daoust, Phil (25 February 2004). "Radio: Pick of the day".
The Guardian
.
- ^
"Chain Reaction"
.
Radio Times
(4322): 123. 8 February 2007
. Retrieved
1 February
2019
.
- ^
"Chain Reaction ? Series 3 ? Jeremy Hardy"
.
BBC Radio 4
. 14 February 2007
. Retrieved
10 April
2019
.
- ^
"Chain Reaction ? Series 3 ? Jack Dee interviews Jeremy Hardy"
.
BBC Radio 4 Extra
. Retrieved
10 April
2019
.
- ^
"Comic to Comic"
.
Radio Times
(4298): 127. 17 August 2006.
- ^
"The Unbelievable Truth"
.
Radio Times
(4306): 133. 12 October 2006
. Retrieved
1 February
2019
.
- ^
"Jeremy Hardy Feels It"
. BBC
. Retrieved
1 February
2019
.
- ^
Groves, Nancy (22 May 2009).
"Observations: Oliver Irving gets by with a little help from his friends"
.
The Independent
.
Archived
from the original on 8 June 2022
. Retrieved
1 February
2019
.
External links
[
edit
]
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International
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National
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Artists
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