Charlie Higson - Revision history

TobyMcDonald at 16:39, 27 June 2022

2022-06-27T16:39:13Z

TobyMcDonald at 17:11, 9 October 2021

2021-10-09T17:11:20Z

JohnnyCanuck: today's game

2019-11-19T22:46:15Z

today's game

Launchballer: fix

2019-04-25T22:43:21Z

fix

JamesL25: ACTUAL small biography

2019-04-25T21:48:07Z

ACTUAL small biography

Ray Wilding: New guest, someone else can write the description

2019-04-25T14:33:23Z

New guest, someone else can write the description

Sfyris123: Created page with "Charles Murray "Charlie" Higson (born 3 July 1958) is an English actor, comedian, author, and former singer. He has also written and produced for television and is the author of ..."

2019-04-25T12:03:23Z

Created page with "Charles Murray "Charlie" Higson (born 3 July 1958) is an English actor, comedian, author, and former singer. He has also written and produced for television and is the author of ..."

New page

Charles Murray "Charlie" Higson (born 3 July 1958) is an English actor, comedian, author, and former singer. He has also written and produced for television and is the author of The Enemy book series.

Charlie Higson
Charlie Higson 2013.jpg
Higson at the 2013 British Comedy Awards
Born
Charles Murray Higson
3 July 1958 (age 60)
Frome, Somerset, England
Occupation
Actor, comedian, author
Years active
1980–present
Spouse(s)
Victoria L Fullick (1995–present)
Children
3 children
Contents
Early life and education
Edit

Born in Frome, Somerset, Higson was educated at Sevenoaks School, Kent and at the University of East Anglia in Norwich (where his brother taught from 1986 to 2008, latterly as Professor of Film Studies) where he met Paul Whitehouse, David Cummings and Terry Edwards. Higson, Cummings and Edwards formed the band The Higsons of which Higson was the lead singer from 1980 to 1986. They released two singles on the Specials' 2 Tone Records label. This was after he had formed the punk band The Right Hand Lovers, wherein he performed as "Switch".[1] Higson then started squatting in London[2] and became a decorator – including decorating the house of Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie[3] – before he turned to writing for Harry Enfield with Paul Whitehouse and performing comedy. He came to public attention as one of the main writers and performers of the BBC Two sketch show The Fast Show (1994–2000). He worked with Whitehouse on the radio comedy Down the Line and is to work with him again on a television project, designed to be a spoof of celebrity travel programmes.[4]

Career
Edit

In 1994 Higson co-wrote (with Lise Mayer) the screenplay for the film thriller Suite 16.

He worked as producer, writer, director and occasional guest star on Randall & Hopkirk from 2000 to 2001. Subsequent television work has included writing and starring in BBC Three's Fast Show spin-off sitcom Swiss Toni. He has starred in Tittybangbang on BBC Three[citation needed] and appeared as a panellist on QI. In 2010 he co-directed and starred in the series Bellamy's People. In 2017, Higson appeared as Ian Winterman in series three of Broadchurch, and as Ronnie Maguire in series three of Grantchester.

Higson published many novels through the early to mid-1990s which take a slightly dystopian look at everyday life and have a considerably more adult tone than his other work, with characters on the margins of society finding themselves spiralling out of control. This has led Time Out to describe him as "The missing link between Dick Emery and Bret Easton Ellis".[5]

In 2004, it was announced that Higson would pen the Young Bond series of James Bond novels, aimed at younger readers and concentrating on the character's school-days at Eton. Higson was himself educated at Sevenoaks School, where he was a contemporary of Jonathan Evans, former Director General of MI5. The first novel, SilverFin, was released on 3 March 2005 in the UK and on 27 April 2005 in the US. A second novel, Blood Fever, was released on 5 January 2006 in the UK and 1 June in the US. The third novel, Double or Die, was published on 4 January 2007 having had its title announced the day before. The next, Hurricane Gold, came out in hardcover in the UK in September 2007.[6] In this year he also made a debut performance on the panel show QI. His final Young Bond novel, By Royal Command, was released in hardcover in the UK on 4 September 2008.[7]

Higson is currently writing a post-apocalyptic, zombie-horror series of books for young adults. The eponymous first book in the series, titled The Enemy, was released in the UK by Puffin Books in 2009 and in the US by Disney-Hyperion in 2010. Book 2, The Dead, was released in the UK in September 2010. Book 3, The Fear, was published on 15 September 2011. Book 4, The Sacrifice, was released 20 September 2012. Book 5, The Fallen, was released 12 September 2013.[8] At a school event at Abingdon School on 14 September 2011, Charlie told children: "Originally it was going to be three books and then my publisher, Puffin, said make it five, and now we're up to it being seven."[9] At another, in John Lyon's School, he revealed that the last book in his series would be called The End. The Hunted was published on 1 January 2014[10] and The End was published in October 2015.[11]

In 2011, Higson appeared with the original cast (with the exception of Mark Williams) in an online-only version of The Fast Show sponsored by Foster's Lager.[12]

In June 2013 Higson wrote a television adaptation of A Caribbean Mystery, the story that inspired Ian Fleming to give the protagonist of his novel "Casino Royale" a name. He also portrayed the ornithologist James Bond in the production.[citation needed]

In 2015 Higson adapted the novel Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson for ITV Studios into a ten part adventure series set in the 1930s titled Jekyll and Hyde.

In 2018 Higson wrote a Fighting Fantasy gamebook entitled The Gates Of Death, which was published by Scholastic books as part of their campaign to relaunch the Fighting Fantasy franchise. He is a long term FF enthusiast, having attended Fighting Fantasy Fest 2 in London the previous year and also made a cameo appearance in the Ian Livingstone gamebook Blood Of The Zombies.[13]

Personal life
Edit

Higson lives in London with his wife and three sons.[14] On his website Higson describes himself as "lazy enough to steal his own bio from Wikipedia!"[15]

Filmography
Edit

Film
Edit
Year Film Role Director Notes
1996 Shooting Stars: Unviewed and Nude Alan Ball / Hans Solo Uncredited
1998 The Land Girls Subaltern Uncredited
1998 The Fast Show Live Various characters
2013 Appearance Charlie Higson Short film
2014 The Red Line Barman Short film
2017 The Ministry of Stories Anthology of Horror Hydra
Television
Edit
Year Title Role Notes
1990-1991 Vic Reeves Big Night Out Various characters 9 episodes
1990 The Craig Ferguson Show Various characters Television film
1990-1992 Harry Enfield's Television Programme Various characters 4 episodes
1993-1995 The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer Robert DeNiro
Swiss Toni
Various characters 10 episodes
1994-2014 The Fast Show Swiss Toni
Various characters 25 episodes
1997 It's Ulrika! Various characters Television film
1998 Ted & Ralph Ralph Mayhew
Aunt Cecilia
Ralph's Father Television film
1999 Bang, Bang, It's Reeves and Mortimer Various characters 6 episodes
1999 You Ain't Seen All These, Right? Various characters Television film
2000-2001 Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) Various characters 12 episodes
2001 Fun at the Funeral Parlour Nutkins 1.04 "The Mountains of Doom"
2001 Happiness Bryan the Counsellor 1.04 "Desperate Dan"
2003 The Fast Show Farewell Tour Various characters Television film
2003-2004 Swiss Toni Swiss Toni 16 episodes
2004 Catterick Pat Television miniseries
2010 Bellamy's People Various characters 1.01 "Episode One"
2010-2012 Ruddy Hell! It's Harry and Paul Bunny 5 episides
2011 The Fast Show Faster Swiss Toni / Various characters 3 episodes
2013 Marple James Bond 6.01 "A Caribbean Mystery"
2014 The Incredible Adventures of Professor Branestawm The Mayor Television film
2015 Professor Branestawm Returns Mayor Television film
2017 Broadchurch Ian Winterman 7 episodes
2017 Grantchester Ronnie Maguire 2 episodes
Bibliography
Edit

Novels
Edit
King of the Ants (1992) ISBN 0-349-11103-0
Happy Now (1993) ISBN 978-0-241-13363-7
Full Whack (1995), ISBN 0-241-00287-7
Getting Rid of Mister Kitchen (1996) ISBN 0-316-88106-6
Monstroso (2010) ISBN 978-0-14-132845-4
The Enemy
Edit
The Enemy novels
Edit
The Enemy (2009) ISBN 0-14-138464-6
The Dead (2010) ISBN 978-0-14-138465-8
The Fear (2011) ISBN 0-14-138466-2
The Sacrifice (2012) ISBN 978-0-14-133612-1
The Fallen (2013) ISBN 978-0-14-133614-5
The Hunted (2014) ISBN 9780141336107
The End (2015) ASIN B00Z8PHRKS[16]
The Enemy short story
Edit
Geeks vs. Zombies (2012) ISBN 9780141344249 (This companion book in the series, released by Disney Hyperion,[17] portrays an exclusive scene from The Fear, on World Book Day.[18])
Young Bond
Edit
SilverFin (2005), ISBN 0-14-131859-7
Blood Fever (2006), ISBN 0-14-131860-0
Double or Die (2007), ISBN 0-14-132203-9
Hurricane Gold (2007), ISBN 0-14-138391-7
By Royal Command (2008), ISBN 0-14-138451-4
SilverFin: The Graphic Novel (2008), ISBN 978-0-14-132253-7 (with Kev Walker)
Danger Society: The Young Bond Dossier (2009), ISBN 978-0-14-132768-6 (authored short story included in book)
Fighting Fantasy
Edit
The Gates of Death (2018)
Non-fiction
Edit
The 'Fast Show' Book (1996), ISBN 0-7522-2267-8 (with Paul Whitehouse)
Short stories
Edit
"The Red Line" in The 'Time Out' Book of Short Stories , edited by Maria Lexton,(1993), ISBN 0-14-023085-8
References

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{guest|debut_episode=Episode 7135|debut_date=8 August 2019|latest_episode=Episode 7139|latest_date=14 August 2019|appearances=5}}
+{{guest|debut_episode=Episode 7135|debut_date=8 August 2019|latest_episode=Episode 7139|latest_date=14 August 2019}}
-'''Charlie Higson''' is a guest on ''[[Countdown]]''. He is a comedian and author, best known for his role on {{w|BBC Two}}'s ''{{w|The Fast Show}}''.
+'''Charlie Higson''' is a guest on ''[[Countdown]]'', who also appeared as a [[contestant]] in [[Celebrity Countdown Series 2|Series 2]] of ''[[Celebrity Countdown]]''. He is a comedian and author, best known for his role on {{w|BBC Two}}'s ''{{w|The Fast Show}}''.
 ==Episodes==
 {{episode table}}
-{{ep | C10 | 19/11/2019 | CC |Charlie Higson| 70 - 78 |[[Rufus Hound]]|[[Anna Richardson]]|[[Susie Dent]]|120}}
+{{ep | C10 | 19/11/2019 | CC |Charlie Higson| 70 – 78 |[[Rufus Hound]]|[[Anna Richardson]]|[[Susie Dent]]|120}}
 {{episode table end}}
@@ Line 14: / Line 12: @@
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Higson, Charlie}}
 [[Category:Dictionary Corner Guests]]
-[[Category:Contestants in Celebrity Countdown]]
+[[Category:Contestants in Celebrity Countdown Series 2]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{guest|debut_episode=Episode 7135|debut_date=8 August 2019|latest_episode=Episode 7139|latest_date=14 August 2019|appearances=5}}
-'''Charlie Higson''' is a guest on ''Countdown''. He is a comedian and author, best known for his role on ''The Fast Show''.
+'''Charlie Higson''' is a guest on ''[[Countdown]]''. He is a comedian and author, best known for his role on {{w|BBC Two}}'s ''{{w|The Fast Show}}''.
-In 2019, he appeared as a contestant in the revived ''[[Celebrity Countdown]]''.
+In 2019, he appeared as a [[contestant]] on the revived ''[[Celebrity Countdown]]''.
 ==Episodes==

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{guest|debut_episode=Episode 7135|debut_date=8 August 2019|latest_episode=Episode 7139|latest_date=14 August 2019|appearances=5}}
 '''Charlie Higson''' is a guest on ''Countdown''. He is a comedian and author, best known for his role on ''The Fast Show''.
 ==External Links==
@@ Line 7: / Line 14: @@
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Higson, Charlie}}
 [[Category:Dictionary Corner Guests]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{guest|debut_episode=Episode 7135|debut_date=8 August 2019|latest_episode=Episode 7139|latest_date=14 August 2019|appearances=5}}
-'''Charlie Higson''' is a guest on ''Countdown''. He is a comedian and author, best known for his role on ''''The Fast Show''''.
+'''Charlie Higson''' is a guest on ''Countdown''. He is a comedian and author, best known for his role on ''The Fast Show''.
 ==External Links==

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{guest|debut_episode=Episode 7135|debut_date=8 August 2019|latest_episode=Episode 7139|latest_date=14 August 2019|appearances=5}}
-'''Charlie Higson''' is a guest on ''Countdown''.
+'''Charlie Higson''' is a guest on ''Countdown''. He is a comedian and author, best known for his role on ''''The Fast Show''''.
 ==External Links==