Bill Oddie

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bill Oddie

A display featuring a Bill Oddie cut out
Born 7 July 1941 (1941-07-07) (age 66)
Rochdale, Lancashire, England
Other names William Edgar Oddie
Occupation Actor, writer, composer, musician, comedian, ornithologist, conservationist, television presenter
Known for The Goodies, Ornithology
Spouse Jean Hart (divorced)
Laura Beaumont
Children 3 daughters — Bonnie,
Kate Hardie and Rosie

William Edgar Oddie, OBE (born 7 July 1941) is an English comedian, author, illustrator, composer and musician. He became famous as one of the The Goodies.

A birdwatcher since his childhood in Birmingham, Oddie has now established a reputation for himself as an ornithologist, conservationist and television presenter on wildlife issues. Some of his books are illustrated with his own paintings and drawings.

Oddie's wildlife programmes for the BBC include: Springwatch / Autumnwatch, How to Watch Wildlife, Wild In Your Garden, Birding with Bill Oddie, Britain Goes Wild with Bill Oddie and Bill Oddie Goes Wild.

Contents

[edit] Career

[edit] Comedy

After firstly attending Halesowen Grammar School (now The Earls High School, Halesowen) then King Edward's School, Birmingham, Oddie studied English Literature at Pembroke College at the University of Cambridge, where he appeared in several Cambridge University Footlights Club productions. One of these, a revue called A Clump of Plinths, was so successful during its run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival that it was renamed Cambridge Circus and transferred to the West End in London, then New Zealand and Broadway in September 1964. Meanwhile, still at Cambridge, Oddie wrote scripts for TV's That Was The Week That Was. It was at this point that Oddie became interested in Marxism

His first television appearance was in Bernard Braden's On The Braden Beat in 1964. Subsequently, he was a key member of the performers in the cult BBC radio series I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (ISIRTA; 1965), where many of his musical compositions were featured. Some were released on the album Distinctly Oddie (Polydor, 1967). He was possibly one of the first performers to parody a rock song, arranging the traditional Yorkshire folk song "On Ilkla Moor Baht'at" in the style of Joe Cocker's hit rendition of the Beatles' "With a Little Help from My Friends" (released on John Peel's Dandelion Records in 1970 and featured in Peel's special box of most-treasured singles), and singing "Andy Pandy" in the style of a brassy soul number such as Wilson Pickett or Geno Washington might perform. In many shows he would do short impressions of Hughie Green.

In one song on I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again, Oddie performed "What a Wonderful World" with a voice fully reminiscent of Louis Armstrong. During the course of the song, the rest of the cast attributed the gravelly quality of his voice to a sore throat. In the background, during the rest of the song, it is possible to hear the cast dispense cough medicine, then call for a doctor, the arrival of the doctor and his decision that Oddie should go into hospital, the trip to hospital in an ambulance, and the operation extracting his tonsils. After this, the sound of his voice changed to a sound closer to that of Harry Secombe. He thanked the cast for curing him.

On television Oddie was co-writer and performer in the comedy series Twice a Fortnight with Graeme Garden, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Jonathan Lynn. Later, he was co-writer and performer in the comedy series Broaden Your Mind with Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden, for which Oddie became a cast member for the second series.

Oddie, Brooke-Taylor and Garden then co-wrote and appeared in their television comedy series The Goodies. With long hair and a poster of Che Guevara in his corner, Bill portrayed the rebel, to Brooke-Taylor's patriotic conservative and Garden's boffin. The Goodies also released records, including "Father Christmas Do Not Touch Me"/"The In-Betweenies", "Funky Gibbon", and "Black Pudding Bertha", which were hit singles in 1974-5. They reformed, briefly, in 2005, for a successful 13-date tour of Australia. Tim, Bill and Graeme also voiced characters on the 1983 animated children's programme Bananaman, in which Oddie voiced the characters of "Crow", "Chief O'Reilly", "Doctor Gloom", "Eric" and "The Weatherman".

Appearing, with Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden, in the Amnesty International show A Poke In The Eye (With A Sharp Stick), they sang their hit song "Funky Gibbon". The trio also appeared on "Top of the Pops" with the song. Oddie co-wrote many of the episodes of the television comedy series Doctor in the House with Graeme Garden (who is a qualified doctor). Bill and Graeme wrote most of the episodes for the first season of "Doctor in the House" and wrote all of the episodes for the second season. He has occasionally appeared on the BBC Radio 4 panel game I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, on which Garden and Brooke-Taylor are regular panellists. In 1982 Garden and Oddie wrote, but did not perform in, a 6-part science fiction sitcom called Astronauts for Central and ITV. The show was set in an international space station in the near future

[edit] Natural history

Oddie has hosted a number of very successful nature programmes for the BBC, many produced by Stephen Moss, including:

On its first evening of broadcast, Britain Goes Wild set a record for its timeslot of 8pm on BBC Two of 3.4 million viewers, one million more than the Channel 4 programme showing at that time. It also created a run on nest boxes for wild birds and bumble bees, bird baths and bird feed from suppliers, likened to the Delia power phenomenon created when Delia Smith mentioned the tools and ingredients she was using on her cooking programme Delia's How to Cook. Oddie presented an update later in 2004.

[edit] Music

He played the drums and saxophone and appeared as Cousin Kevin in a production of The Who's rock opera Tommy at the Rainbow Theatre, Finsbury Park, London on 9 December 1972. He has also contributed vocals to a Rick Wakeman album, "Criminal Record".

Oddie took part in the English National Opera production of the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera The Mikado, in which he appeared in the role of the "Lord High Executioner", taking over the role from Eric Idle. During the early 1990s, Oddie was a DJ for London based jazz radio station, 102.2 Jazz FM, but was dismissed after criticising the management on air after they told him he was playing too much jazz on his show. [1]

In 2007 Oddie appeared on the BBC series Play It Again.[1] In the episode he attempts to realise his dream of becoming a rock guitarist. Initially teacher Bridget Mermikides tries to teach him using traditional methods but he rebels: instead he turns to old friends Albert Lee, Dave Davies (The Kinks) and Mark Knopfler for advice and strikes out on his own. He succeeds in the target of playing lead guitar for his daughter Rosie's band at her 21st birthday party, and even manages to impress his erstwhile teacher.

[edit] Other television and audio appearances

Oddie appeared as the hapless window cleaner in the Eric Sykes' comedy story The Plank in 1967.

In the 1990s he became better known as a presenter of birdwatching, and later wildlife related programmes such as Springwatch. Although he remains almost unknown to US audiences, in 1992 he was a guest star in the US comedy television series Married with Children for a 3-part episode set in England.[2]

He was the compère of a daytime BBC gameshow, History Hunt (in 2003); and has appeared in the Doctor Who audio drama Doctor Who and the Pirates. In 2004, he appeared in the BBC show Who Do You Think You Are?, in which he looked into his ancestry. In 2005, he took part in Rolf on Art — the big event at Trafalgar Square. In the fictional world of comedy character Alan Partridge, Oddie is an unseen presence in Alan's life, bothering him with prank phone calls, and buying him gifts like dressing gowns.

In 2006 Oddie appeared in the BBC show Never Mind The Buzzcocks.[3] and also appeared on the topical quiz show 8 out of 10 Cats. Bill also is the voice behind many B&Q adverts throughout 2006/2007. On May 25, 2007, Oddie made a cameo appearance on Ronni Ancona's new comedy sketch show, Ronni Ancona & Co.

He hosted the genealogy based series My Famous Family, broadcast on UKTV History in 2007.

[edit] Conservation and birdwatching

Oddie's first published work was an article about the bird life of Birmingham's Bartley Reservoir in the West Midland Bird Club's 1962 Annual Report. He has since written a number of books about birds and bird watching, as well as articles for many specialist publications including British Birds, Birdwatching Magazine and Birdwatch. He became president of the West Midland Bird Club in 1999, having been Vice-President since 1991, and is a former member of the council of the RSPB. Oddie is also a vice-president of the League Against Cruel Sports.

In "serious" ornithological writing, Oddie's name is usually given formally, as "W. E. Oddie".

[edit] Personal life

[edit] Early life

Oddie was born in Rochdale on 7 July 1941 to Lilian and Harry, who also had a daughter, Margaret Jean Oddie, but she died at age 5 days on 21 January 1940.[4] Oddie lived at Oak Tree Crescent, Quinton, Birmingham from about age 6 to 15, brought up by his father, Harry, and his father's mother, his aunt, Emily.[4] Oddie has no memory of his mother, Lilian, living at home.[4] As a child she worked in a cotton mill under harsh conditions.[4] She suffered from a chronic mental illness, perhaps manic depression or schizophrenia, and abandoned Oddie at an early age.[4] She a was a long-term inpatient in Barnsley Hall Hospital, Bromsgrove, for more than 20 years, having been first admitted as a voluntary patient at the age of 36 years.[4] When Harry was 17 years old his father, Wilkinson Oddie, died of heart failure on 23 February 1927, a post-operative death, after an operation for carcinoma of the left tonsil, which used chloroform as an anaesthetic.[4] Oddie developed a hobby in bird spotting, and his father encouraged school education.[4]

[edit] Family

Oddie is married to Laura Beaumont, with whom he has worked on a variety of projects for children, including film scripts, drama and comedy series, puppet shows and books. They have a daughter, Rosie, and live in Hampstead, London.

Bill Oddie also has two daughters from his first marriage (to Jean Hart), Bonnie, and the actress Kate Hardie, and a grandson, Lyle.

[edit] Depression

Oddie is known throughout the industry for his mood swings and often truculent behaviour, which contrasts sharply with his 'loveable' public image. He himself has often acknowledged that he has been a life-long sufferer of clinical depression.[2]

[edit] Honours

In 2001, Oddie became the third person to turn down the "red book" and declined to appear on This Is Your Life. He changed his mind a few hours later though and agreed to appear on the show. On 16 October 2003, Oddie was made an OBE for his service to Wildlife Conservation in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace. He played down the event, choosing to wear a camouflage shirt and crumpled jacket to receive his medal. In June 2004, Oddie and Johnny Morris were jointly profiled in the first of a three part BBC Two series, The Way We Went Wild, about television wildlife presenters. In May 2005, he received the British Naturalists' Association's Peter Scott Memorial Award, from BNA president David Bellamy, "in recognition of his great contribution to our understanding of natural history and conservation".

[edit] Bibliography

(incomplete list)

  • Bill Oddie's Colouring Guide to Birds (Piccolo, 1991)
  • Bill Oddie's Little Black Bird Book
  • Bill Oddie's Little Black Bird Book (paperback with additional material)
  • Bill Oddie's Gone Birding
  • The Big Bird Race (with David Tomlinson; Collins, 1983)
  • Follow That Bird!
  • Gripping Yarns
  • Bird in the Nest
  • Bill Oddie's How to Watch Wildlife

Bill Oddie also co-wrote the Springwatch & Autumnwatch book with Kate Humble and Simon King.

Co-written with the other members of The Goodies:

  • The Goodies File
  • The Goodies Book of Criminal Records
  • The Goodies Disaster Movie

Co-written with Laura Beaumont:

[edit] Contributions

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Play It Again: Bill Oddie grapples with the electric guitar. BBC.
  2. ^ "Married...With Children." — BBC Guide to Comedy (Retrieved on: July 30, 2007)
  3. ^ Jupitus comments on Oddie's appearance on "Never Mind The Buzzcocks"
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h "Who Do You Think You Are? with Bill Oddie". Who Do You Think You Are?. BBC. BBC Two. 2004-10-12.

[edit] References

  • Wilmut, Roger (1980). From Fringe to Flying Circus — Celebrating a Unique Generation of Comedy 1960-1980. London: Eyre Methuen. ISBN 0-413-46950-6. 
  • Hewison, Robert (1983). Footlights! — A Hundred Years of Cambridge Comedy. London: Methuen. ISBN 0-413-51150-2. 

[edit] External links

 The external links in this article may not follow Wikipedia's content policies or guidelines.
Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links.


The Goodies — The Goodies TV series
Tim Brooke-Taylor — Graeme Garden — Bill Oddie


I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again
Tim Brooke-Taylor — John Cleese — Graeme Garden — David Hatch — Jo Kendall — Bill Oddie
Twice a Fortnight
Graeme Garden — Terry Jones — Jonathan Lynn — Bill Oddie — Michael Palin


Persondata
NAME Oddie, Bill
ALTERNATIVE NAMES William Edgar Oddie
SHORT DESCRIPTION Actor, writer, composer, musician, comedian, ornithologist, conservationist, television presenter
DATE OF BIRTH 7 July 1941
PLACE OF BIRTH Rochdale, Lancashire, England
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH
Languages