Joe Pasquale
Joe Pasquale (b. 20 August 1961) is a British comedian from Grays, Essex, most famous for his high-pitched voice (which he insists is genuine), use of visual gags and more recently being crowned King of the Jungle.
Before Fame
Joe left school at the age of just 15 and had several occupations before turning to the stage. He worked in the Civil Service's Department of Transport, before joining Smithfields meat market. The hours proved too much for a young Joe and he worked for a spell on a building site and at the Ford factory in Dagenham.
For a few years Joe worked as an entertainer at holiday camps across the UK. He became entertainment manager at Torquay. His big break finally came when he entered, and won the New Faces competition in 1987.
On Stage
Joe is one of Britain's top live comedians, selling out at theatres all across the country. Joe's live shows include Live & Squeaky, 1996, Twin Squeaks, 1997, The Crazy Worm of Joe Pasquale, 1999, Bubble & Squeak, 2000 and The Everything I Have Ever Done and the First of Many Goodbye Tours, 2004. The VHS to Live & Squeaky grossed in excess of £1 million, earning Joe an award from The British Video Association.
He has done five Royal Variety performances, most recently in 2005. One year, Joe desribes how he got drunk on the night with the other performers avoiding him for the entire evening. The situation worsened when the queen greeted the performers, including Joe, who was 'the most drunk' he'd ever been.
In recent years Joe has turned his hand to acting on stage. In 1999 he appeared as a lead character in "The Nerd", the show received rave reviews, one source describing it as "rib shatteringly funny". He returned to the stage in Autumn 2004 in the comedy 'Tom, Dick and Harry'.
However Joe is perhaps best known on stage for his pantomimes. For 9 years he played 'Smee' in Peter Pan along side former-soap actor Leslie Grantham. In December '04 and January '05 he played Jack in Jack and the Beanstalk at the Birmingham Hippodrome. The show was a massive success for the Hippodrome, and the shows sold out rapidly thanks to Joe's success in the jungle. Unfortunately tragedy struck in January when, whilst on Stage, he fell and serverely injured his shoulder. Despite the mishaps though, this year Joe takes to the Hippodrome stage in Peter Pan, once again playing 'Smee'.
That Jungle Show
On 6 December 2004 he won the fourth series of the UK television show I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!. Joe beat off competition from butler Paul Burrell and nightclub owner Fran Cosgrave. During his time in the jungle, Joe became well known for his relationship with the two emus and his use of the word Jacobs, a slang term for testicles.
He was the first celebrity to earn full stars in a Bushtucker trial. The special trial saw Joe climb out of an airborne helicopter and climb down a ladder recovering the stars as he went. Later on in the show Joe found himself being buried underground for five minutes with rats in a trial called Danger Down Under.
Before doing the show, Joe made his worries about heading Down Under clear. He insisted it wouldn't be the bushtucker trials that worried him, rather the other 'celebrities'. He claimed he was terrible and shy when it came to meeting new people, and was worried about them not liking him. However, he got on well with the other contestants.
For the 16-day duration of the show, Joe was the bookies favourite for the entire time, so it came as no surprise when the presenters Ant and Dec announced him as the new King of the Jungle.
Since the Jungle
Since the Jungle, Joe regained the spotlight, which he'd held in 1990s, making numerous TV appearances including The Weakest Link, The Paul O'Grady Show and the popular Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway.
On 19 February 2005, ITV1 broadcast An Audience with Joe Pasquale, containing some routines from his stage show — culminating in the Edward Scissorhands inspired snow sequence. A staggering 9 million people tuned in, and ITV have already commissioned Another Audience With Joe Pasquale to be aired in 2006.
In addition Joe is using his fame to raise money and awareness for charitable causes. With other celebrities, he backed the Man Alive 2005 campaign. The campaign, run by Cancer Research, is hoping to alert men of the dangers of being overweight, and hopefully encourage exercise. The main danger being highlighted in the campaign is that obesity/physical inactivity causes cancer in men. The cancer caused by obesity is preventable with a healthy diet and regular exercise.
For months during 2005, Joe toured coastal resorts in the UK with his summer tour, Does He Really Talk Like That?! which is the name of his Autobiography due out in September 2006. The DVD of Joe's 2005 tour was released in time for Christmas 2005.
Joe went back to Birmingham to do panto again from 21st December 2005-29th January 2006. Joe played the part of Mr.Smee in the Qdos entertainments production of Peter Pan
Joe is also touring during the summer this year. He is also directing and producing his musical, 'Rent-A-Ghost', during Spring, and he has also been lined up by ITV to front 'The Price Is Right', last hosted by Bruce Forsyth in 2001. Joe can be seen on the show at 4.30 in the afternoon from May.
Trivial Facts
Joe is a creative director of Creative Results, run by fellow comic Richard Digance, which is the exclusive production company supplying unique programming for Sound TV.
He has celebrity die hard fans, including fellow comics Bradley Walsh, with whom he has worked with several times and Frank Skinner
Likened to Tommy Cooper, he has been called a comic genius.
In 2001 Joe was the only British comedian to star in The Muppets 25th Anniversary show in Los Angeles.
Joe was the victim of Blue Man Group's "human paintbrush" skit at the 2005 Royal Variety Performance [1].
Joe wrote the musical stage version of Rentaghost with his tour manager Ray Tizzard. http://www.rentaghostthemusical.com/