Tony Robinson

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For other persons named Tony Robinson, see Tony Robinson (disambiguation).
Tony Robinson
Image:TimeTeam2007.jpg
Tony Robinson (left) with Mick Aston and Guy de la Bédoyère on a Time Team shoot in 2007
Born15 August 1946 (1946-08-15) (age 62)
Leytonstone, London, England
OccupationActor, broadcaster and political campaigner
ChildrenTwo (one son, one daughter)

Tony Robinson (born 15 August 1946) is an English actor, broadcaster and political campaigner, known for playing the part of Baldrick in the BBC TV series Blackadder and for hosting a number of shows on Channel 4, the most noteworthy being Time Team. In addition to his television work, Robinson is also a member of the Labour Party and served on its National Executive Committee. He is also a respected author of 16 children's books.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Born in Leytonstone, London, Robinson attended Wanstead High School in what is now the London Borough of Redbridge. His first professional acting experience came at the age of 12, when he appeared as a member of Fagin's gang in the original production of the musical Oliver!, including a stint as the Artful Dodger, with Robinson being promoted when the boy playing the Artful Dodger didn't turn up.[1]

At school, Robinson passed four O Levels (English Language, English Literature, History and Geography) and went on to study for A Levels, but decided to study at a drama school instead. Too young to attend the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Robinson studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama..After leaving, he spent several years in repertory theatre, including a period at Chichester Festival Theatre and a period in theatre management [1]

In the early 1970s he starred in the children's educational programme Sam on Boff's Island, which was about a man who falls asleep while eating his breakfast cereal and ends up transported to an island which looks just like his cereal. He was also one of the Who Dares Wins comedy performers.

[edit] Blackadder period (1983-1989)

Image:Baldrick series 3.jpg
Tony Robinson as Baldrick in Blackadder.

Robinson came to prominence in 1983 for his role in the British historical sitcom Blackadder, as Edmund Blackadder's dogsbody Baldrick. In the first series, broadcast as The Black Adder, he was quite astute, whilst his master was an idiot. Later series (Blackadder II, Blackadder the Third, Blackadder Goes Forth) moved the duo through history and switched the relationship: the Edmund of Blackadder II was an Elizabethan schemer, whereas Baldrick had devolved into an intellectually challenged buffoon whose catch phrase was "I have a cunning plan" (which he never did).

In addition to his acting on Blackadder, he also wrote and narrated several Jackanory-style children's programmes, encouraged by Richard Curtis[2]. These programmes would see Robinson bounding about the place acting out all the parts. Programmes in this style included Tales From Fat Tulip's Garden (continued in Fat Tulip Too), Odysseus: The Greatest Hero of Them All (a retelling of the Iliad and the Odyssey), and Blood and Honey (tales from the Old Testament, filmed on location).

In the late 1980s he created the children's comedy TV series Maid Marian and her Merry Men, a loose retelling of the legend of Robin Hood in which he appeared as the Sheriff of Nottingham. Four series were broadcast on BBC1 during 1989-94. With its modern spin on ancient times, the hugely popular series was considered by many to be a junior equivalent of Blackadder.[citation needed]

[edit] Beyond Blackadder (1989 - present)

After Blackadder, Robinson became the narrator and one of the lead-actors for the British animated series, Nellie the Elephant, based on a song of the same name. The series ran from 1989 to 1991 and was shown on Children's ITV.

Robinson also presented the early-Saturday evening series Stay Tooned for BBC1, which featured a selection of classic Warner Brothers and MGM cartoons. The series ran for several years.

In 1994, Robinson began presenting Time Team, a TV programme devoted to archaeological investigations limited to 3 days (the outcome is never guaranteed, varying from spectacular to disappointing). As of 2006, the series has been re-commissioned through 2007, with Robinson being drafted in to present other history based shows on Channel 4, including The Worst Jobs in History, re-enacting some of the more horrible jobs of the past millennium. He also took this show on tour around the country along with an autobiographical question and answer session. This first series was followed by 'The Worst Christmas Jobs in History' in December 2005 and then a second series of The Worst Jobs in History on Channel 4 in April 2006.

In 1999, Robinson returned to star in a one-off Blackadder short film to celebrate the millennium, titled Blackadder: Back & Forth. This short film was shown in the Millennium Dome throughout 2000 and was later aired on BBC One in 2003.

Tony Robinson's Cunning Night Out, a largely improvised stage show, followed in early 2005 and included a mix of the many themes from his career for which Robinson is famous. He also edited and presented The Real Da Vinci Code, a documentary for Channel 4's Weird World series which countered the claims made by Dan Brown in his novel The Da Vinci Code.

In addition to telling his own stories, Tony narrated the abridged audio book versions of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels. Nigel Planer, Celia Imrie and Stephen Briggs narrated the unabridged versions. He also provided the voicing for several characters in the videogame Discworld: The trouble with dragons. Tony followed on this Discworld work by gratefully playing a role in the live action television dramatisation of Hogfather, broadcast on Sky over the Christmas season in 2006 .

Robinson also presented Classic FM's Friendly Guide to Classical Music which aired on a Sunday afternoon at 4pm. The whole 16-episode series was repeated on 26 December, 2006. His favourite piece is Finlandia by Sibelius however his appreciation of music is broad. He is quoted as saying "Well, today, my favourite piece is 'Finlandia', but tomorrow it’ll be something by The Killers,".

Robinson has also recently (2007) narrated television advertisements for car manufacturer Honda, in the humorous style of his Tales From Fat Tulip's Garden programme. The advertisements feature plasticine cars with rather expressive facial expressions (similar to Thomas the Tank Engine).

Recently he discovered his Jewish ancestry through his grandmother's surname 'Levy' [3].

[edit] DVD and Live Tour

In the Spring of 2007 Tony visited 30 towns in the UK with his one man show 'A Cunning Night Out'. The show was such a success it was snapped up and released on DVD in the Autumn of 2007.

[edit] Politics and outside interests

Robinson (and his partner Mary) were active in Bristol Labour politics from the early 1980s.

From 1996 to 2000, he was vice-president of the actors' union Equity, helping with a massive restructuring programme which turned a £500,000 deficit into a small surplus.[4] Since leaving, he was elected to the Labour Party's National Executive Committee, a position he held from 2000 to 2004.[2]

He was also active in the "Make Poverty History" campaign during early 2005, in the lead-up to the G8 summit in Scotland, and is currently the patron for UK based charity Street Child Africa.

In 2006 he appeared in Tony Robinson: Me and My Mum, a documentary surrounding Tony's decision to put his mother into a nursing home, and the difficulty he had with doing so. It controversially showed his mother's death in the home. It also featured stories from other families in similar situations. It appeared as part of Channel 4's short season of programmes entitled The Trouble With Old People.

He previously supported Tottenham Hotspur F.C. and Stoke City F.C., but now supports Bristol City F.C.[5]

He also follows Spanish La Liga side Valencia CF, where he often spends his holidays. [6] He is honorary President of the Young Archaeologists' Club of the Council for British Archaeology.[7]

[edit] Awards

In 1999 he was awarded an honorary Master of Arts by the University of Bristol for his services to drama and archaeology.

In 2002 he was awarded an honorary Master of Arts by the University of East London.[8]

In 2005 he was awarded an honorary Doctorate by the Open University for his contribution to the educational or cultural well-being of society[9] and an honorary Doctor of Laws by the University of Exeter for his active involvement in politics.[10]

In 2006 he was awarded an honorary Doctorate by Oxford Brookes University.[11]

[edit] Trivia

This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2007)
  • He is allergic to cats, feathers, red wine, stinging nettles and cod.
  • He stands 5'4" (1.63 m) in height
  • He is left-handed
  • He appeared in the 1991 series of The Krypton Factor in a special series filmed for the observation round as the hapless bank manager who becomes involved in a robbery at his own bank in "Where is Don Day?"

[edit] Selected filmography

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Unofficial Tony Robinson Website : Biography
  2. ^ a b Tony Robinson's Cunning Plan : BBC News Online
  3. ^ The Daily Telegraph: 'Whoever would have thought that archives could be sexy?'
  4. ^ Absolute Speakers - Tony Robinson
  5. ^ Road to glory strewn with potholes
  6. ^ My Hols: Tony Robinson
  7. ^ Young Archaeologists' Club
  8. ^ Tony Robinson awarded Honorary Master of Arts degree from UEL
  9. ^ Tony Robinson honoured by Open University
  10. ^ Doctorate for Time Team presenter
  11. ^ Honorary graduates for 2006

[edit] External links

nl:Tony Robinson pl:Tony Robinson sv:Tony Robinson

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