Rory Bremner

Rory Bremner
Bremner at the Savoy Hotel, London
Born	Roderick Keith Ogilvy Bremner 6 April 1961 (1961-04-06) Edinburgh, Scotland
Occupation	Comedian/Playwright
Years active	1985–present
Spouse	Susan Shackelton (1987-1995) Tessa Campbell Fraser (m. 11 September 1999)

Roderick "Rory" Keith Ogilvy Bremner, FKC (born 6 April 1961) is a Scottish impressionist, playwright and comedian, noted for his work in political satire. He was also a permanent panelist for two seasons on the British comedy show Mock The Week.

Early life

Born in Edinburgh, Rory Bremner was the second son born to Major Donald Stuart Ogilvy Bremner (March 1908–1979) (who was 53 years old at Rory's birth) and his second wife Ann Simpson (1922–2001). Bremner was educated at Clifton Hall School and Wellington College and then studied Modern Languages at King's College London. He was awarded Honorary Life Membership of King's College London Students' Union in the early 2000s. In 2005 he accepted an Honorary Fellowship at King's. Additionally, he was awarded an honorary fellowship by Queen Mary, University of London in 2008.

Career

Bremner first came into the limelight in 1985, when his single, N-N-Nineteen Not Out (released under the name, "The Commentators") was a big hit in the British charts. It was a parody of Paul Hardcastle's number one hit, 19, with Bremner impersonating cricket commentators, including Richie Benaud and Brian Johnston, and replacing references to the Vietnam War with references to the England cricket team's disastrous 1984 home series against the West Indies in which the England captain David Gower had averaged 19.

Bremner contributed to Spitting Image and Week Ending and by 1987 he had his own BBC Two show: Now - Something Else. He later moved to Channel 4 with Rory Bremner, Who Else? where his output became more satirical and the sporting commentators gradually came to represent a smaller proportion of his repertoire. Having teamed up with veterans, John Bird and John Fortune, he now hosts Bremner, Bird and Fortune, which (along with its predecessor Rory Bremner, Who Else?) has won numerous awards. Occasional one-off specials are also shown, with Bremner impersonating Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and various other government figures. In the 1990s he became a semi-regular cameo turn on the Channel 4 improvisation show Whose Line Is It Anyway? and in 2005 he was a team captain on the BBC2 improvisational satire show Mock The Week. Bremner now regularly performs on Sunday AM, impersonating politicians, with a review of recent political events. He has also presented a BBC Radio 4 series, Rory Bremner's International Satirists, in which Bremner talks to comedians and impressionists from various European countries. In September 2009, he presented a BBC Four documentary, Rory Bremner and the Fighting Scots, about the history of Scots serving in the British Army. In the run-up to the 2010 UK General Election he undertook a 20-date Election Battlebus Tour, his first stand-up comedy tour in five years.

Bremner has translated two operas into English: Der Silbersee by Kurt Weill and Carmen by Georges Bizet. He has also translated a Bertolt Brecht play into English.

Strictly Come Dancing

Bremner took part in the 2011 series of Strictly Come Dancing.. His dance partner in the series was Erin Boag.

Personal life

Bremner's first marriage was to Susan Shackleton, a teacher, in 1987, the couple divorcing in 1995. On 11 September 1999 Rory married Tessa Campbell Fraser, and has two daughters, Ava and Lila. They live in the Oxfordshire hamlet of Eaton Hastings.

Rory Bremner supported Reg Keys in the 2005 election when he stood against Tony Blair as an anti-war candidate.

He was placed at 49 on ITV's list of TV's 50 Greatest Stars, and in 2008 received the James Joyce Award of the Literary and Historical Society.

Bremner speaks French, German and Spanish. He is also studying Russian in order to read Russian poetry better in the original . He is also a big fan of Formula One. Bremner has appeared on television (on The One Show) talking about his diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. In the interview, he said this could actually be quite a useful disorder for a comedian to have. He has also talked about his diagnosis on Radio Four.

Prank call to Margaret Beckett

In February 2007 he entered the news after it emerged that he had managed to get through to Margaret Beckett whilst impersonating Gordon Brown, with her revealing "embarrassing indiscretions".

On 3 May 2005, Bremner dressed up as Michael Howard and walked along the campaign trail in the marginal seat of Wellingborough. He eventually caught up with Howard himself.

The Big Brecht Fest

In April 2007, he was also involved in The Big Brecht Fest at the Young Vic Theatre in London celebrating the work of German dramatist Bertolt Brecht, where a series of newly-translated versions of some of his short plays were performed. One of the plays that was staged, the short comedy of manners A Respectable Wedding, was retranslated by Bremner, who also penned the title to the series. His translation had a positive reception from critics, although it did draw the ire of some for the removal of any class-conflict edge to the play, directed by Joe Hill-Gibbins as a squirming farce that relies heavily on the comic value of embarrassment.

External links

• Profile at the BBC
• Rory Bremner at TED Conferences
• Rory Bremner at the Internet Movie Database
• Works by or about Rory Bremner in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Profile at Who Do You Think You Are