Greg Fleet
Encyclopedia
Early life
Greg was born in MichiganMichigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. His father moved the family to Australia when Greg was four. He grew up in Geelong and as a teenager boarded at Geelong Grammar School
Geelong Grammar School
Geelong Grammar School is an independent, Anglican, co-educational, boarding and day school. The school's main campus is located at Corio, on the northern outskirts of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, overlooking Corio Bay and Limeburners Bay....
. Fleet briefly attended Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art
National Institute of Dramatic Art
The National Institute of Dramatic Art is an Australian national training institute for students of theatre, film, and television, based in the Sydney suburb of Kensington. It is supported by the federal Office for the Arts, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. NIDA is located adjacent...
(NIDA), but was kicked out after a year for poor performance.
Career
Greg began his acting career in the early 1980s with several performances in Australian television series and telemovies. He was 'Delivery Man 2' in an episode of PrisonerPrisoner (TV series)
Prisoner is an Australian television soap opera which was set in the Wentworth Detention Centre, a fictional women's prison. The series was produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation and ran on Network Ten for 692 episodes from 27 February 1979 to 11 December 1986.The series was inspired by the 1970s...
in 1985 and also starred in Matthew & Son alongside Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Mary Kidman, AC is an American-born Australian actress, singer, film producer, spokesmodel, and humanitarian. After starring in a number of small Australian films and TV shows, Kidman's breakthrough was in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm...
in 1984. Greg went on to star in A Thousand Skies, an Australian mini-series, as Lt Scott Harris.
In 1988, after a guest appearance in The Flying Doctors
The Flying Doctors
The Flying Doctors is an Australian drama series produced by Crawford Productions that revolved around the everyday lifesaving efforts of the real Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia....
, Greg went on to star as Dave Summers in the Australian soap, Neighbours
Neighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
, where he killed the popular character of Daphne
Daphne Clarke
Daphne Rose Clarke is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Elaine Smith. She made her first on-screen appearance in the serial's first episode on 18 March 1985. Daphne a stripper hired for Des Clarke's bucks party and she moved in him. She and Des fell in love...
. Greg also appeared in the popular Australian sketch show, Full Frontal
Full Frontal
Full Frontal may refer to:* Full Frontal , an Australian sketch comedy series which debuted in 1993* Full Frontal , a 2001 film by Kyle Schickner* Full Frontal , a 2002 film by Steven Soderbergh...
.
Since then, Greg has been a regular stand-up comedian around Australia and has appeared on many TV and radio comedy programs including, The Comedy Channel
The Comedy Channel
The Comedy Channel is an Australian subscription television channel available on Foxtel, Austar and Optus Television.-History:...
's Stand Up Australia!
Stand Up Australia
Stand Up Australia was an Australian comedy TV program locally produced by The Comedy Channel from 2006 to 2008.It was hosted by Cameron Knight, and featured four Australian or international comedians on each one hour show...
.
Greg also starred as the Announcer/Narrator for the comedy series Real Stories
Real Stories
Real Stories is an Australian satirical television comedy series produced by Carlton Television for Network Ten. It was created by Hamish Blake and Andy Lee. The series was first broadcast on 22 August 2006....
on the Ten Network
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
.
He could often be heard on Triple M
Triple M
The Triple M Network is an active rock radio network in Australia owned by media company Austereo, who also own the Today Network.- History :...
's Get This
Get This
Get This was an Australian radio comedy show which aired on Triple M and was hosted by Tony Martin and Ed Kavalee, with contributions from panel operator, the late Richard Marsland...
as a frequent guest co-host alongside Tony Martin
Tony Martin (comedian)
Tony Francis Martin is a comedian and writer from Te Kuiti, New Zealand who has had a successful TV, radio, stand-up and film career in Australia.- Career :...
, Ed Kavalee
Ed Kavalee
Edward Robert Kavalee is an Australian actor and radio host. He is currently co-host of a comedy program on the Nine Network, The Joy of Sets, with Tony Martin....
and Richard Marsland
Richard Marsland
Richard Kemble Marsland was an Australian comedy writer, actor, comedian and radio personality.-Radio:...
. He sometimes filled in as a last-minute replacement guest as he lived a short distance away from the Triple M
Triple M
The Triple M Network is an active rock radio network in Australia owned by media company Austereo, who also own the Today Network.- History :...
studio.
He voices "Sandy" the Yellow Labrador
Labrador
Labrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...
in TV commercials for the Home Hardware hardware store chain.
In 2011 Fleet commissioned a DVD containing segments of some of his best known performances. The DVD is sold as "Bootlegs and Jumperpants" and has been sold for $20 Australian dollars. Fleet has alluded to the funds from this DVD going towards financing his filming of his classic 1995 show"Thai Die". This will be filmed on the 7th of November, 2011, at The Comics Lounge in Melbourne.
Personal life
When Fleet was 10, his father faked his own death only to reappear later in his life. His father changed name, married and fathered a child during this absence. Fleet's father eventually returned to the US. He expanded upon these experiences in his live show "I Wish You Were DFleet has also fought a long battle with heroin addiction, a subject he covered in many media interviews, his live show "10 Years in a Long Sleeved Shirt" and on the 1997 ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
television program "Smallest Room in the House" Fleet had claimed to be drug-free, However in an interview in April 2011 he admitted that he was stoned during that performance.
In 2007, Gregory "Medallions of Meat" Fleet had gone into rehab, and on the 2 April episode of Get This
Get This
Get This was an Australian radio comedy show which aired on Triple M and was hosted by Tony Martin and Ed Kavalee, with contributions from panel operator, the late Richard Marsland...
he had returned from his stint in rehab.
Greg is a passionate long-distance supporter of Hibernian Football Club.