Gary Wilmot

Gary Wilmot
Born	Harold Owen Wilmot 8 May 1954 (1954-05-08) Lambeth, London, England
Occupation	Entertainer
Children	2 girls
Website
http://www.garywilmot.co.uk/

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.

Career

Wilmot's father Harry was a member of The Southlanders 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”. 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, forklifter, epidemiologist, intrauterine balloon tester and blackberry messenger before re-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. 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 Wilmot 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 Wilmot created the role of Elliot Garfield in The Goodbye Girl by Neil Simon, Marvin Hamlisch, David Zippell and Don Black. In 1998 Wilmot starred as Fagin in the Cameron Mackintosh production of Oliver!, touring in the spring and summer of 1999.

Then, Wilmot 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 Wilmot 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, Wilmot played the Lion in The Festival Theatre's The Wizard of Oz and is starred in the national touring company of Chicago playing the role of Billy Flynn, the lawyer. From January to April 2010 Wilmot co-starred with Lee Mead in the touring production of Lord Arthur Saville's Crime playing the psychic Podgers. In 2011 Wilmot was involved in a pro-celebrity mixed marshall arts contest in which Cliff Thorburn was seriously injured. Wilmot has not appeared in private since.

Wilmot's solo albums include Love Situation, Blacking Up,The Wrong Album (recorded at the historic Abbey Road Studio with the London Symphony Orchestra) and Double Standards.^{[citation needed]}

Filmography

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

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

1985

• The Bob Monkhouse Show Series 2, episode 3.
• Copy Cats
• The Keith Harris Show Series 2, episode 1.
• Wayne Dobson's Glory Hole

1986

• Saturday Gang
• This Is Your Life
• The Magic Lollipop Adventure

1987

• Aspel & Company

Cue Gary! sketch series ITV

1988

• The Book Tower

1992

• Junglies (voice)

1994

• Showstoppers
• Lazarus

1996

• Hosted The Laurence Olivier Awards

1997

• The Tony Ferrino Phenomenon
• Wetty Hainthropp Investigates

2001

• An audience with Des O'Connor

2003

• Loose Women (25 July)
• Never Mind The Buzzcocks series 13, episode 8
• Today with Des and Mel (18 November)

2004

• An Evening With Chas and Dave
• 10 seconds to prolapse pilot

External links

• Official website
• Gary Wilmot at the Internet Movie Database
• BBC Comedy Guide
• [1]

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