With the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2009 set to kick off in just under 2 weeks (7th August) we pay homage to just some of the comedy legends who got their big breaks at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe over the years. We have found clips of each of these comedy superstars to highlight just how funny they are!
John Cleese is just one of the comedy giants discovered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe
[Image credit: Lord Biro]
Graham Chapman & John Cleese
Graham Chapman & John Cleese later went on to become founding members of Monty Python. They first performed in Edinburgh in the early 1960s with a revue by the name of A Clump of Plinths. Chapman died in 1989 aged just 48 and fittingly it was John Cleese who read his hilarious eulogy. Here we have a clip from Monty Python’s Flying Circus to commemorate these two great comedy legends who gained initial notoriety at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Atkinson the lovable rubber faced creator of Mr. Bean, co-creator of (and actor in) Blackadder also got his first critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1976. Atkinson’s facial expressions are often better at conveying a message than words ever could, his comic timing is impeccable as the following clip shows:
Stephen Fry & Hugh Laurie
Stephen Fry & Hugh Laurie are without doubt two globally loved actors and comedians. Fry & Laurie won the very first Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe of 1981 (as part of Cambridge Footlights along with Tony Slattery, Emma Thompson, Penny Dwyer and Paul Shearer). They have performed together often in such series as The Young Ones, Blackadder, A bit of Fry & Laurie and Jeeves & Wooster.
Hugh Laurie is now best known for his central role in House while Stephen Fry hosts the incredibly successful quiz show QI.
The clip that follows shows their comedic genius in A bit of Fry & Laurie
Steve Coogan
Steve Coogan also won the Perrier Award at Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1992. In Britain he’s possibly most loved for the characters Paul Calf and Alan Partridge, whilst our American readers are more likely to know him from films such as Night at the Museum or Tropic Thunder. The clip we have selected to share with you is his first TV appearance in the role of student-bashing, heavy-drinking, smoking and swearing super star Paul Calf.
The League Of Gentlemen
The League of Gentlemen started as a stage show in 1994, in 1997 they too won the Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In the same year their show aired on BBC Radio 4 before getting televised in 1999. The League of Gentlemen is a dark comedy based around the village of Royston Vasey which is home to some very strange characters indeed…
Rory Bremner
Rory Bremner is the only one of our comedy legends to have both been born in Edinburgh and to have made it big at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Best known in the UK for his satirical impressions of politicians and celebrities, Bremner is a master of mimicry. His command of foreign languages may not be so well known though, in this clip he does an impression of George W. Bush in French:
Al Murray
Al Murray is yet another Perrier Award winner in our collection here, though he was short listed in 1996, 1997, 1998 before finally winning the prestigious award in 1999. He is famed for the xenophopic character The Pub Landlord who takes no prisoners in his quest to make certain everyone understands the greatness of Great Britain. In this clip he takes on America…
Rich Hall
Rich Hall is an American comedian who has a great following in the UK, appearing in his own shows as well as numerous panel shows. Hall also won the Perrier Award in 2000 and was short listed in 1996 along with Al Murray. Hall is distinguished as having won the most number of times on Stephen Fry’s quiz show QI. He has spent many years in London and, as he tells in this clip, has met the Queen:
August 19th, 2009 at 8:36 pm
I saw Rowan Atkinson back then. You could tell he was going to be huge. He did a sketch without words where he used an invisible electric razor, with sound effects, to shave – uh – everything, eventually.