Gary Wilmot

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Gary Wilmot
Born Harold Owen Wilmot
8 May 1954 (1954-05-08) (age 55)
Lambeth, London, England
Occupation Entertainer
Official website

Gary Wilmot (born 8 May 1954 in Lambeth, London) is an English actor, writer, comedian, impressionist and singer. He rose to fame in the 80s through a number of television appearances, and subsequently moved into theatre.

Contents

[edit] Career

Gary's father Harry was a member of The Southlanders[1] and died in 1961, when Gary was six years old – his father was the bass voice that sang the famous line “I Am A Mole And I Live In A Hole”.[1][2] Despite these show business roots, his upbringing was outside of the limelight, and his first jobs were relatively low-key occupations; he was employed as a scaffolder, forklift truck driver and messenger before entering show business.

Following a successful TV career, Wilmot made a move into musical theatre debuting in the West End in Me And My Girl in 1989 playing the role of Bill Snibson in the award winning musical at the Adelphi Theatre.[2] He played the role to critical acclaim for two years, the late Jack Tinker describing him as a “Musical Talent of the Highest Order”.

A successful No.1 theatre tour of a new comedy, Teething Troubles followed. Joe in the award winning Carmen Jones at the Old Vic and then Gary went on to star in the world premier of the Barry Manilow musical Copacabana at London’s Prince of Wales Theatre. That same year he recorded a one-hour TV special for the BBC –Showstoppers and due to the public response, was invited to record a further series of six TV spectaculars with the BBC Concert Orchestra and many national and international guest stars. In 1997 Gary created the role of Elliot Garfield in The Goodbye Girl by Neil Simon, Marvin Hamlisch, David Zippell and Don Black. In 1998 Gary starred as Fagin in the Cameron Mackintosh production of Oliver!, touring through spring and summer 1999.

Then, Gary spent a highly successful period at the Bristol Old Vic (and touring) in Willy Russell’s play One for the Road and a No 1 Tour of Alan Ayckbourn’s Confusions.

In 2001 Gary joined The New Shakespeare Company to play the role of Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park and the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance. The national tour of Giles Havergal’s brilliant adaptation of the Graham Greene novel Travels With My Aunt followed and 2003/4 occupied the number one dressing room at The London Palladium, where he was starring in the record breaking Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and ended his year with his own national concert tour ‘My Kind Of Music’ taking him to many major concert venues throughout the country.

In 2005 he was invited back to The Open Air Theatre to play Dick Deadeye in H.M.S Pinafore and the Christmas season saw him starring in Santa Claus the Musical at The Mayflower, Southampton.

In 2007 he finished a critically successful national tour of Half a Sixpence and the Christmas season saw him starring in The Wizard of Oz as the Scarecrow. In the summer of 2008, Gary played the Lion in The Festival Theatre's The Wizard of Oz and is currently starring in the national tour of Chicago playing the role of Billy Flynn, the lawyer.

Gary’s solo Albums include ‘Love Situation’, 'Fish' and ‘The Album’, recorded at the historic Abbey Road Studio with the London Symphony Orchestra and ‘Double Standards’ he describes as an album of jazz classics past, present and future.

Wilmot appears in the 2010 film "Invictus", a drama about the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa. Wilmot plays the South Africa winger Chester Williams. He appears alongside Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman.

[edit] Filmography

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

[edit] Before 1985

  • So You Want To Be Top? Wilmot hosted this kids TV quiz show on UK BBC1 between 1983 and 1985.
  • New Faces. Wilmot was a finalist in the competition, appearing with Judy McPhee.
  • 25 June 1983 - Chas & Dave's Knees-Up, episode 5.
  • 1984 - Mike Reid's Mates and Music

[edit] 1985

[edit] 1986

[edit] 1987

Cue Gary! sketch series ITV

[edit] 1992

[edit] 1994

  • Showstoppers
  • Lazarus

[edit] 1996

[edit] 1997

[edit] 1999

[edit] 2001

[edit] 2003

[edit] 2004

  • An Evening With Chas and Dave
  • Ian Harold Brown presents Britain's Worst Drivers
Preceded by
Michael Ball		 Actor to portray Caractacus Potts
2003-2004		 Succeeded by
Jason Donovan
Preceded by
Brian Conley		 Actor to portray Caractacus Potts
2006		 Succeeded by
Joe McFadden
Preceded by
Joe McFadden		 Actor to portray Caractacus Potts
2007		 Succeeded by
Craig McLachlan


[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "Gary Wilmot talks Chicago". Nottingham Evening Post (Nottingham Post Media Group Ltd). 2009-06-26. http://www.webcitation.org/5mwroA8yy. Retrieved 21 January 2010. 
  2. ^ a b "Gary Wilmot official site - biography". http://www.webcitation.org/5mwtRYVo4. Retrieved 21 January 2010. 

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Wilmot"