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{{Infobox Person
|name = Bill Oddie
|image = Bill Oddie in a Garden Centre.jpg‎
|caption = A display featuring a Bill Oddie cut out
|image_size =
|other_names = William Edgar Oddie
|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1941|07|7|df=yes}}
|birth_place = [[Rochdale]], [[Lancashire]], [[England]]
|known_for = ''[[The Goodies]]'', Ornithology
|occupation = [[Actor]], [[writer]], [[composer]], [[musician]], [[comedian]], [[Ornithology|ornithologist]], [[conservationist]], [[television presenter]]
|yearsactive = 1960s-present
|spouse = Jean Hart (divorced)<br />Laura Beaumont
|children = 3 daughters &mdash; Bonnie, <br>[[Kate Hardie]] and [[Rosie Oddie|Rosie]]
}}
'''William Edgar Oddie''', [[Order of the British Empire|OBE]] (born [[7 July]] [[1941]]) is an [[England|English]] [[comedian]], [[author]], [[illustrator]], [[composer]] and [[musician]]. He became famous as one of the ''[[The Goodies]]''.

A [[birdwatching|birdwatcher]] since his childhood in [[Birmingham]], Oddie has now established a reputation for himself as an [[Ornithology|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 with Bill Oddie|Springwatch]]'' / ''Autumnwatch'', ''[[Bill Oddie's How to Watch Wildlife|How to Watch Wildlife]]'', ''[[Wild In Your Garden]]'', ''[[Birding with Bill Oddie]]'', ''[[Britain Goes Wild with Bill Oddie]]'' and ''[[Bill Oddie Goes Wild]]''.

== Career ==
===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, Cambridge|Pembroke College]] at the [[University of Cambridge]], where he appeared in several [[Footlights|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 (comedy)|Cambridge Circus]]'' and transferred to the [[West End theatre|West End]] in [[London]], then [[New Zealand]] and [[Broadway theatre|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 (TV 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 (TV 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]] [[Situation comedy|sitcom]] called ''[[Astronauts (television)|Astronauts]]'' for [[Central Independent Television|Central]] and [[ITV]]. The show was set in an international [[space station]] in the near future

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

*''The Great Kenyan Bird Safari''
*''Favourite Walks''
*''Wild Weekends''
*''The Bird Business''
*''Flight to Eilat''
*''The Big Bird Race''
*''Oddie in Paradise'' (1993)
*''Bird in the Nest'' (two series)
*''[[Birding with Bill Oddie]]'' (three series, 1997, 1998 and 2000)
*''[[Bill Oddie Goes Wild]]'' (three series, 2001, 2002 and 2003)
*''[[Wild In Your Garden]]'' (2003)
*''[[Britain Goes Wild with Bill Oddie|Britain Goes Wild]]'' (2004)
*''[[Bill Oddie's How to Watch Wildlife]]'' (two series, 2005 and 2006; also on [[DVD]])
*''[[Seven Natural Wonders]]'' (London edition) (2005)
*''[[The Truth About Killer Dinosaurs]]'' (2005; also on [[DVD]])
*''[[Springwatch with Bill Oddie|Springwatch]]'' (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008) and ''Autumnwatch'' (2006 and 2007)
*''[[Bill Oddie In Tiger Country]]''
*''[[Bill Oddie Back in the USA]]''
*''[[Bill Oddie's Top Ten Birds]]'' (2007, BBC4)
*''[[Bill Oddie's Wild Side]]'' (2008)
*''100 years of wildlife films

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 box]]es for [[List of British birds: passerines|wild birds]] and [[bee|bumble bees]], [[bird bath]]s 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.

===Music===
He played the [[drums]] and [[saxophone]] and appeared as Cousin Kevin in a production of [[The Who]]'s rock opera [[Tommy (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. [http://www.groove4dayz.com/peoplespeak/index.html]

In 2007 Oddie appeared on the BBC series ''[[Play It Again]]''.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/playitagain/programmes/series1/billoddie/ | title = Play It Again: Bill Oddie grapples with the electric guitar | publisher = [[BBC]] }}</ref> 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.

===Other television and audio appearances===

Oddie appeared as the hapless window cleaner in the [[Eric Sykes]]' comedy story ''[[The Plank (1967 film)|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.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/m/marriedwithchild_1299002005.shtml "Married...With Children."] &mdash; BBC Guide to Comedy (Retrieved on: [[July 30]], [[2007]])</ref>

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]]'' &mdash; 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]]''.<ref>[http://news.independent.co.uk/people/profiles/article2636212.ece Jupitus comments on Oddie's appearance on "Never Mind The Buzzcocks"]</ref> 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.

==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 (Magazine)|''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".

==Personal life==
===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.<ref name="wdytya BO"/> Oddie lived at Oak Tree Crescent, [[Quinton, Birmingham]] from age 6 to 15, brought up by his father, Harry, and his father's mother, his auntie, Emily.<ref name="wdytya BO"/> Oddie has no memory of his mother, Lilian, living at home.<ref name="wdytya BO"/> As a child she worked in a [[cotton mill]] under harsh conditions.<ref name="wdytya BO"/> She suffered from a chronic mental illness, perhaps [[manic depression]] or [[schizophrenia]], and abandoned Oddie at an early age.<ref name="wdytya BO"/> 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.<ref name="wdytya BO"/> 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.<ref name="wdytya BO"/> Oddie developed a hobby in [[Birdwatching|bird spotting]], and his father encouraged school education.<ref name="wdytya BO">{{cite episode |title=Who Do You Think You Are? with Bill Oddie |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/familyhistory/get_started/wdytya_s1_celeb_gallery_01.shtml
|series=Who Do You Think You Are? | serieslink=Who Do You Think You Are? |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC Two]] |airdate=2004-10-12}}</ref>

===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 Oddie|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.

=== 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]].[http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,,1885499,00.html]

===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 [[Order of the British Empire|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".

==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 (journalist)|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:
*''The Toilet Book (or 11 & 1/2 minutes a day and how not to waste them)'' ([[Methuen Publishing|Methuen]], 1984, ISBN 9780413569103)

===Contributions===
*''Bird in the Yorkshire Museum'', Michael Denton; [[North Yorkshire County Council]], 1995. ISBN 0 905807 10 3 (foreword)
*''Bird Brain of Britain'', Charles Gallimore & [[Tim Appleton]]; [[Christopher Helm Publishers|Christopher Helm]], 2004. ISBN 0-7136-7036-3 (foreword)
*''Blokes and Birds'', Stephen Moss; [[New Holland Publishers]]. ISBN 1-84330-484-8 (foreword)
*''The New Birds of the West Midlands'', Graham and Janet Harrison ([http://www.westmidlandbirdclub.com/biblio/NBotWM.htm]; [[West Midland Bird Club]], 2005) (foreword)

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*{{cite book | last = Wilmut | first = Roger | year = 1980 | title = From Fringe to Flying Circus&nbsp;&mdash; Celebrating a Unique Generation of Comedy 1960-1980 | publisher = Eyre Methuen | location = London | id = ISBN 0-413-46950-6}}
*{{cite book | last = Hewison | first = Robert | authorlink = Robert Hewison | year = 1983 | title = Footlights!&nbsp;&mdash; A Hundred Years of Cambridge Comedy | publisher = Methuen | location = London | id = ISBN 0-413-51150-2}}

== External links ==
{{External links|{{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}}}}
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/familyhistory/get_started/wdytya_s1_celeb_gallery_01.shtml Bill Oddie's family history at the BBC website for the programme ''Who Do You Think You Are?'']
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/programmes/who/bill_oddie.shtml Biography on BBC's nature website]
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/programmes/tv/bill_oddie Bill Oddie Goes Wild] &mdash; on BBC's Science and Nature website
*[http://www.westmidlandbirdclub.com/archive/bartley-62.htm Bartley Reservoir article from West Midland Bird Club's archive]
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2004/06_june/23/wild.shtml BBC Press release reviewing ''Britain Goes Wild'']
*[http://prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=144823 Bill Oddie to receive Peter Scott Memorial Award]
*{{imdb name|id=0643919|name=Bill Oddie}}
*[http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?ID=12211 Bill Oddie] at the [[Internet Broadway Database]]
*[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2005/04/28/ftoddie28.xml In-depth interview, The Telegraph, [[28 April]] [[2005]]]
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4099820.stm BBC 'Face of the week' article]
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/talent/o/oddie_bill.shtml Oddie in the BBC Guide to Comedy]
*[http://www.nyt.co.uk/bill-oddie.htm Oddie as a celebrity speaker]
*[http://www.gigrin.co.uk/bill-oddie.html Gigrin Farm chapter from Gripping Yarns]
*[http://www.loadofold.com/boots/oddie.html Oddie's actor profile]
*[http://www.uktv.co.uk/?uktv=standarditem.index&aID=528034 Oddie on UKTV]
*[http://www.comedy-zone.net/standup/comedian/o/oddie-bill.htm Bill Oddie] - Comedy Zone
*[http://www.tmcentertainment.co.uk/speaker-index.html?speakerid=225 Bill Oddie] at the TMC Entertainment
*[http://greentourism.org.uk/Default.aspx.LocID-008new00a.ReftLocID-008015003.Lang-EN.htm New Wildlife Website Takes off with Bill Oddie]
*[http://orangecow.org/pythonet/otherprepythonshows.html The Origin of Monty Python] &mdash; mentions Bill and ISIRTA

<br>
{{TheGoodies}}
<br>
<center>
{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0"
|- bgcolor="lightblue"
! <font size="2">[[I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again]]</font size>
|-
| [[Tim Brooke-Taylor]] &mdash; [[John Cleese]] &mdash; [[Graeme Garden]] &mdash; [[David Hatch]] &mdash; [[Jo Kendall]] &mdash; '''Bill Oddie'''
|- bgcolor="lightblue"
! <font size="2">[[Twice a Fortnight]]</font size>
|-
| [[Graeme Garden]] &mdash; [[Terry Jones]] &mdash; [[Jonathan Lynn]] &mdash; '''Bill Oddie''' &mdash; [[Michael Palin]]
|}

</center>

<!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] -->

{{Persondata
|NAME= Oddie, Bill
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=William Edgar Oddie
|SHORT DESCRIPTION= [[Actor]], [[writer]], [[composer]], [[musician]], [[comedian]], [[Ornithology|ornithologist]], [[conservationist]], [[television presenter]]
|DATE OF BIRTH= 7 July 1941
|PLACE OF BIRTH= [[Rochdale]], [[Lancashire]], [[England]]
|DATE OF DEATH=
|PLACE OF DEATH=
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oddie, Bill}}
[[Category:Bird artists]]
[[Category:English ornithologists]]
[[Category:English television presenters]]
[[Category:English comedians]]
[[Category:English comedy writers]]
[[Category:English illustrators]]
[[Category:English nature writers]]
[[Category:English radio actors]]
[[Category:English radio writers]]
[[Category:English television actors]]
[[Category:English television writers]]
[[Category:English voice actors]]
[[Category:Cambridge Footlights]]
[[Category:Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:People from Rochdale]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:1941 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]

[[simple:Bill Oddie]]

Revision as of 21:15, 9 June 2008

CUNT

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