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| Birth Name(s) : Eddie Izzard |
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Full Eddie Izzard Biography
Edward John "Eddie" Izzard (born February 7, 1962) is an English stand-up comedian and actor, known for his cross-dressing. His comedy style is expressed in rambling, surreal monologue and self-referential pantomime. In addition to touring, he is also a television, stage and film actor, and is active in charity work.
Izzard was born in Aden, Yemen, the youngest son of an English couple - Dorothy Ella, a midwife and nurse, and Harold John Izzard, an accountant. His mother died of cancer in March of 1968, which had a tremendous effect on the young Izzard.
In 2005, Izzard provided the voiceover (again, in his unique 'rambling' style) for the British government's series of television advertisements promoting recycling. The tagline of the ads was "Recycling. The possibilities are endless!"
Izzard also performed with Scottish musician Midge Ure at Live8 in Edinburgh, Scotland. He played the piano accompaniment for the song "Vienna".
In 1994, Izzard made his West End drama debut as the lead in the world premiere of David Mamet's The Cryptogram with Lindsay Duncan, in the production at London's Comedy Theatre. The success of that role led to his second starring role in David Beaird's black comedy 900 Oneonta. In 1995, he portrayed the title character in Christopher Marlowe's Edward II."
Although much of his humour deals with sensitive issues, with special emphasis on religion, it is generally not intended as mean-spirited or rude. Instead, Izzard focuses on the creative possibilities of thinking through absurd situations in real time. He also turns much of the attention on himself and his personality, including his cross-dressing ("it is my manifest destiny to wear a dress on all seven continents"). Contemporary pop culture (Harry Potter, Star Wars, etc.), is also a frequent subject, brought up both to critique its weaknesses and as to enhance his anecdotes.
Izzard comedy routines also frequently contain the following elements: references to jam, sponge, banjos, bananas, badgers, squirrels, and monkeys with guns, and the names Jeff, Kev, Kenny and Steve; world history; being a transvestite; the Bible, using an impression of James Mason to portray God; pantomime; mumbling; Britishness or American-ness; and foreign languages, sometimes actually performing in French, German and Latin for English-speaking audiences (calling back to earlier points in the show and also during a language tape routine).
Izzard describes himself as an "executive" or "action" transvestite, as "a male tomboy" or "male lesbian" rather than a "weirdo" transvestite (he cites J. Edgar Hoover as an example of the latter). He regularly cross-dresses both on and off stage and makes it clear that cross-dressing is, for him, not a sexual thing — he simply enjoys wearing make-up and clothing which is traditionally perceived in the West as female-only. He remarks in one of his shows, "Women wear what they want and so do I." According to Izzard, "Most transvestites fancy girls." He dismisses claims that he is homosexual, saying he is either a straight transvestite or a "male lesbian". He has also described himself as "a lesbian trapped in a man's body," but this is not generally taken to mean that he actually identifies as a transgender lesbian.
Izzard has engaged in campaigning work. He is especially well-known as a pro-European Union campaigner supporting the further integration of the UK into the Union. In May 2005 he appeared on the BBC's political debate show Question Time, describing himself as a 'British-European', comparing this to other cultural identities such as 'African-American'. As part of his integration campaigning, he was one of the first people to spend a euro in London. This pan-European approach has influenced his work: he regularly performs in French, an acquired language, and occasionally in German, in addition to English.
He has also campaigned unsuccessfully against the closure of the departments of Drama and Languages, Linguistics and Translation at the University of East Anglia.
On July 20, 2006, he received an honorary doctorate in Letters from the Faculty of Arts at the University of Sheffield, where he spent one year on an Accounting and Financial Management course in the early 80s. During his time at the University he established the now-defunct Alternative Productions Society in the Union of Students with the aim of promoting fringe-based arts.
On March 18, 2007, Izzard was listed as number 3 of the 100 Greatest Comedians as part of Channel 4's ongoing 100 Greatest... series. In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, Izzard was voted amongst the top 20 greatest comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders. He was number 75 in Comedy Central's 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time. During the 1999 television special It's... the Monty Python Story, which Izzard hosted, John Cleese said Izzard was the "Lost Python"; Izzard furthered that meme via his substitution for the late Graham Chapman in public performance of Python material with the rest of the original members of the troupe. |
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