Hamish Blake
Encyclopedia
Hamish Donald Blake is an Australian comedian
, actor
, author
and bodybuilder from Melbourne
, Australia
. Since 2003, he has worked with Andy Lee
as part of the comedy duo Hamish and Andy. The pair have performed live and on television and radio, most notably with their drive-time
radio program Hamish & Andy
. As a solo performer, Blake has appeared on various Australian television programs, including the Melbourne International Comedy Festival
's televised 2008 Great Debate, and has been a regular guest on Spicks and Specks, Rove and Thank God You're Here
.
suburb of Glen Waverley. He is a middle child; his older brother, Lachlan, is a solicitor and his sister, Sophie, has completed an arts degree. His parents, Noel and Kerry, separated when Blake was 17, with his father eventually remarrying. As a child, Blake says he was a fan of British comedy such as Monty Python
, Fawlty Towers
and Blackadder
; as a teenager he "worshipped" comedians Tony Martin
and Mick Molloy
. Blake was a member of the National Boys Choir of Australia during the late 1980s. He attended school at Caulfield Grammar School
and later at St Leonard's College, graduating in 1999.
After a gap year, Blake enrolled at the University of Melbourne
in a Science/Commerce double degree. "I'm interested in artificial intelligence and computer science. That stuff still fascinates me," he says. However, a few weeks into the semester he met Andy Lee: "That was the turning point. The wheels quickly fell off my academic career." Blake eventually dropped out of university to pursue a career in comedy alongside Lee. Blake's first experience with comedy was when he entered a competition at university. He was broke at the time, and hoped to win the $500 first prize. His stand-up performance earned him third place and qualified him for a statewide universities' final, which he did win.
Blake currently has four tattoos on his upper left arm. One is of a small anchor to symbolise Hamish & Andy's trip on a tall ship to Tasmania, which was modified by placing the letters 'FR' to the left of the anchor producing the phonetic sound 'Franchor' in honour of Frank Stallone's Birthday. During the Perth show of the 'Thank You Tour' Hamish revealed the letters TH situated above the anchor to produce the phonetic sound 'Thanchor' in thanks to the listeners of the show for the past 5 years. Another of a frog smoking a joint on a skateboard, which was designed and tattooed by Pink
, as well as the Olympic rings to symbolise Hamish and Andy's Bi Bi Tri Bi-atholon.The last tattoo is THURS 8:30 (the time-slot of his show, 'Hamish and Andy's Gap Year') which utilises the TH previously tattooed. Hamish is an avid supporter of the Melbourne Football Club
..
He was selected as one of the entrants to the Who's Who in Australia
2011 edition.
's SYN Radio
, gaining a drive-time shift, and created a show called Radio Karate for RMITV
on community-access television station Channel 31, which they created in collaboration with Ryan Shelton
and several other school friends. Radio Karate won an Antenna Award for best comedy program at the inaugural National Community Television Awards in February 2004, and one month later were offered a national comedy program on Australia's Seven Network
.
The Hamish and Andy Show premiered on the Seven Network in March 2005, but failed to achieve ratings success and was cancelled after two weeks. Reviewers acknowledged the duo's talent, but criticised the show as "poorly executed". Blake says that while working on the show was a fun experience, they had little control over what happened and the way it went forward. Following the cancellation of The Hamish and Andy Show, they created a short mockumentary
titled The Greystone 2800 about a couple who accidentally bought an open display home after failing to read the fine print on a housing purchase. The film won the Melbourne Comedy Festival Short Film competition and attracted the attention of comedian Rove McManus
. This led to some small spots on McManus' Network Ten
show Rove Live.
McManus's company, Roving Enterprises
, also helped the duo develop Real Stories
, a mock current affairs show that aired on Network Ten in 2006. Blake says that the experience of creating Real Stories was much more enjoyable than The Hamish and Andy Show because they had greater control over the series. Blake and Lee wrote, acted, directed, filmed and produced the show with input from Ryan Shelton and Tim Bartley.
In 2006, Blake and Lee debuted a national drive-time radio show titled Hamish & Andy on the Today Network
. The show quickly gained popularity, finishing 2006 with almost one million Melbourne listeners, ahead of 3AW
's popular radio host Derryn Hinch
. As of August 2008, Blake and Lee's show was rating number one in four out of Australia's five major capital cities. As of the beginning of 2009, the show is broadcast in all capital cities as well as many regional centres across the country.
In September 2008, it was announced that they would make a guest appearance on Ten's Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?, which is hosted by Rove McManus. In the same year they also made a guest appearance on the Australian soap opera
Neighbours
.
On Wednesday 19 November at 7.30pm, 2008, Hamish and Andy aired their own one time episode, brought to you by Rove : Hamish & Andy Re-gifted, a very early Christmas Special. This was to re-present everything they had accomplished in 2008 on Rove.
Hamish and Andy have also appeared on Channel Ten's Good News Week and 7pm Project several times.
, Australia's Brainiest Comedian, The Librarians
, The Panel, Rove, Talkin' 'bout your Generation
and The Footy Show
. He has also featured in the British version of Thank God You're Here
. In 2008 he was a speaker for the negative team in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival's annual televised Great Debate.
He has a monthly column in the Australian women's magazine Cosmopolitan
. He was also the winner of the TV Fugly Award for Spunkiest Male TV Personality in 2008.
Hamish Blake was voted the comedian of the year in 2007 by the Eather corporation. His compatriot Andy Lee was placed 14th for 2007.
Blake also came first in 'Television's most powerful celebrity' for 2009, Lee came 19th.
On 20 January 2010 it was announced Hamish will be writing a column for the Herald Sun.
Hamish, along with Zoe Foster, have written a book on dating called "Textbook Romance"
After retiring from his daily radio show, Hamish has taken on several side projects over the summer. In 2011, Blake will make an appearance in a new ABC comedy called Twentysomething
, starring real life best friends Jess Harris and Josh Schmidt. He will also co-starring in his first feature film with Bret McKenzie (Flight of the Concords) in Two Little Boys, shot in New Zealand
Hamish jokes: “I don’t feel comfortable about cheating on Andy but now it’s all out there. We’ve always had an open comedic relationship, but it was for one-night stands only, no exchange of phone numbers. I’ve heard them [Andy and Jemaine Clement, Bret’s comedic partner] whispering on the phone, plotting to do their own movie to release on the same day to sink ours.”
. Lee played for Victoria and Blake played for the All Stars. Blake scored the winning goal for the All Stars in 2008, and two goals in 2009.
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
, actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and bodybuilder from Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Since 2003, he has worked with Andy Lee
Andy Lee (comedian)
Andrew Thomas "Andy" Lee is an Australian comedian. He usually works alongside Hamish Blake as part of the comedy duo Hamish & Andy.-Personal background:...
as part of the comedy duo Hamish and Andy. The pair have performed live and on television and radio, most notably with their drive-time
Drive time
Drive time is the daypart analog to prime time for radio broadcasting. It consists of the morning hours when listeners wake up, get ready, and/or head to work or school, and the afternoon hours when they are heading home and before their evening meal. These are the periods where the number of...
radio program Hamish & Andy
Hamish & Andy (radio show)
The Hamish & Andy Show , is an Australian radio show created by and starring comedic duo Hamish Blake & Andy Lee. It was broadcast on the Today Network to every state in Australia as well as the ACT for two hours in the key weekday afternoon drivetime slot. Since December 3, 2010, it has moved to...
. As a solo performer, Blake has appeared on various Australian television programs, including the Melbourne International Comedy Festival
Melbourne International Comedy Festival
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival is the third-largest international comedy festival in the world and the largest cultural event in Australia. Established in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks in April typically opening on or around April Fool's Day...
's televised 2008 Great Debate, and has been a regular guest on Spicks and Specks, Rove and Thank God You're Here
Thank God You're Here
Thank God You're Here is an Australian television improvised comedy program created by Working Dog Productions, which premiered on Network Ten on 5 April 2006, and aired for the first three seasons with Seven for the fourth season...
.
Personal Life & Background
Hamish Blake grew up in the MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
suburb of Glen Waverley. He is a middle child; his older brother, Lachlan, is a solicitor and his sister, Sophie, has completed an arts degree. His parents, Noel and Kerry, separated when Blake was 17, with his father eventually remarrying. As a child, Blake says he was a fan of British comedy such as Monty Python
Monty Python
Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
, Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers is a British sitcom produced by BBC Television and first broadcast on BBC2 in 1975. Twelve television program episodes were produced . The show was written by John Cleese and his then wife Connie Booth, both of whom played major characters...
and Blackadder
Blackadder
Blackadder is the name that encompassed four series of a BBC1 historical sitcom, along with several one-off instalments. All television programme episodes starred Rowan Atkinson as anti-hero Edmund Blackadder and Tony Robinson as Blackadder's dogsbody, Baldrick...
; as a teenager he "worshipped" comedians 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 :...
and Mick Molloy
Mick Molloy
Michael "Mick" Molloy is an Australian comedian, writer and producer who has been active in the fields of radio, television, stand-up and film.-Biography:...
. Blake was a member of the National Boys Choir of Australia during the late 1980s. He attended school at Caulfield Grammar School
Caulfield Grammar School
Caulfield Grammar School is an independent, co-educational, Anglican, day and boarding school, located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1881 as a boys' school, Caulfield began admitting girls exactly one hundred years later...
and later at St Leonard's College, graduating in 1999.
After a gap year, Blake enrolled at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
in a Science/Commerce double degree. "I'm interested in artificial intelligence and computer science. That stuff still fascinates me," he says. However, a few weeks into the semester he met Andy Lee: "That was the turning point. The wheels quickly fell off my academic career." Blake eventually dropped out of university to pursue a career in comedy alongside Lee. Blake's first experience with comedy was when he entered a competition at university. He was broke at the time, and hoped to win the $500 first prize. His stand-up performance earned him third place and qualified him for a statewide universities' final, which he did win.
Blake currently has four tattoos on his upper left arm. One is of a small anchor to symbolise Hamish & Andy's trip on a tall ship to Tasmania, which was modified by placing the letters 'FR' to the left of the anchor producing the phonetic sound 'Franchor' in honour of Frank Stallone's Birthday. During the Perth show of the 'Thank You Tour' Hamish revealed the letters TH situated above the anchor to produce the phonetic sound 'Thanchor' in thanks to the listeners of the show for the past 5 years. Another of a frog smoking a joint on a skateboard, which was designed and tattooed by Pink
Pink (singer)
Alecia Beth Moore , better known by her stage name Pink , is an American singer-songwriter, musician and actress....
, as well as the Olympic rings to symbolise Hamish and Andy's Bi Bi Tri Bi-atholon.The last tattoo is THURS 8:30 (the time-slot of his show, 'Hamish and Andy's Gap Year') which utilises the TH previously tattooed. Hamish is an avid supporter of the Melbourne Football Club
Melbourne Football Club
The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....
..
He was selected as one of the entrants to the Who's Who in Australia
Who's Who in Australia
The Who's Who in Australia is an Australian biographical reference first published by Fred Johns in 1906 as Johns's Notable Australians. It has been used by academics as a resource that identifies Australia's leading individuals, and has been analysed when studying the social backgrounds –...
2011 edition.
Hamish and Andy
Blake has collaborated with fellow comedian Andy Lee as the duo Hamish and Andy since 2003, when they performed their breakout show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, a stage production about a trip they had taken to North Queensland in Blake's old car. Soon after, they trained with RMITRMIT University
RMIT University is an Australian public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. It has two branches, referred to as RMIT University in Australia and RMIT International University in Vietnam....
's SYN Radio
Student Youth Network
SYN Media is a youth-run media organisation that provides training and broadcast opportunities for young people.Commonly referred to as SYN, the organisation produces new and independent media that is made by and for Melbourne's young people...
, gaining a drive-time shift, and created a show called Radio Karate for RMITV
RMITV
RMITV is a not-for-profit community access television production facility based at RMIT University City Campus in Melbourne, Australia.It is one of the members of the Melbourne Community Television Consortium; the not-for-profit consortium that operates the community access channel Channel 31 in...
on community-access television station Channel 31, which they created in collaboration with Ryan Shelton
Ryan Shelton
Ryan Shelton is an Australian comedian, actor, radio presenter, television personality, host and writer.- Biography :He attended St Leonards College for some of his schooling, where he met Hamish Blake...
and several other school friends. Radio Karate won an Antenna Award for best comedy program at the inaugural National Community Television Awards in February 2004, and one month later were offered a national comedy program on Australia's Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
.
The Hamish and Andy Show premiered on the Seven Network in March 2005, but failed to achieve ratings success and was cancelled after two weeks. Reviewers acknowledged the duo's talent, but criticised the show as "poorly executed". Blake says that while working on the show was a fun experience, they had little control over what happened and the way it went forward. Following the cancellation of The Hamish and Andy Show, they created a short mockumentary
Mockumentary
A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...
titled The Greystone 2800 about a couple who accidentally bought an open display home after failing to read the fine print on a housing purchase. The film won the Melbourne Comedy Festival Short Film competition and attracted the attention of comedian Rove McManus
Rove McManus
John Henry Michael "Rove" McManus is an Australian comedian, television presenter, producer and media personality. He was the host of the self-titled variety show Rove, and is the owner of the production company Roving Enterprises...
. This led to some small spots on McManus' Network Ten
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...
show Rove Live.
McManus's company, Roving Enterprises
Roving Enterprises
Roving Enterprises is an Australian television production company, run by comedian Rove McManus. The company is responsible for producing many shows and events, mainly for Network Ten...
, also helped the duo develop 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....
, a mock current affairs show that aired on Network Ten in 2006. Blake says that the experience of creating Real Stories was much more enjoyable than The Hamish and Andy Show because they had greater control over the series. Blake and Lee wrote, acted, directed, filmed and produced the show with input from Ryan Shelton and Tim Bartley.
In 2006, Blake and Lee debuted a national drive-time radio show titled Hamish & Andy on the Today Network
Today Network
The Today Network is a network of Contemporary Hit Radio stations run by Southern Cross Austereo in Australia.-Affiliates:-History:The Today Network started when the Austereo Radio Network secured the first commercial FM licence in Adelaide in 1980. Austereo launched a station called Double SA FM,...
. The show quickly gained popularity, finishing 2006 with almost one million Melbourne listeners, ahead of 3AW
3AW
3AW is a talkback radio station in Melbourne, Australia on 693 kHz AM. It began transmission on 22 February 1932 as Melbourne's fifth commercial radio station.-History:...
's popular radio host Derryn Hinch
Derryn Hinch
Derryn Nigel Hinch is an Australian media personality best known for his work on Melbourne radio. He is currently the host of 3AW's drive time radio show...
. As of August 2008, Blake and Lee's show was rating number one in four out of Australia's five major capital cities. As of the beginning of 2009, the show is broadcast in all capital cities as well as many regional centres across the country.
In September 2008, it was announced that they would make a guest appearance on Ten's Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?, which is hosted by Rove McManus. In the same year they also made a guest appearance on the Australian soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
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...
.
On Wednesday 19 November at 7.30pm, 2008, Hamish and Andy aired their own one time episode, brought to you by Rove : Hamish & Andy Re-gifted, a very early Christmas Special. This was to re-present everything they had accomplished in 2008 on Rove.
Hamish and Andy have also appeared on Channel Ten's Good News Week and 7pm Project several times.
Solo work
Blake has appeared on various Australian television series, including Spicks and Specks, Thank God You're HereThank God You're Here
Thank God You're Here is an Australian television improvised comedy program created by Working Dog Productions, which premiered on Network Ten on 5 April 2006, and aired for the first three seasons with Seven for the fourth season...
, Australia's Brainiest Comedian, The Librarians
The Librarians (TV series)
The Librarians is an Australian television comedy series which premiered on 31 October 2007 on ABC TV. In Ireland the show airs on RTÉ Two. The series is produced and written by Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope who are also the principal cast members. Hope is also the series' director. The first...
, The Panel, Rove, Talkin' 'bout your Generation
Talkin' 'bout your Generation
Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation is an Australian game show produced by Granada Productions which premiered on Network Ten on 5 May 2009. It is hosted by Shaun Micallef....
and The Footy Show
The AFL Footy Show
The Footy Show is a Logie Award winning Australian sports television program, shown on the Nine Network and its affiliates.This show, which is dedicated to the AFL and Australian rules football, made its debut on 24 March 1994 at the same time as the other version which relates to the NRL and rugby...
. He has also featured in the British version of Thank God You're Here
Thank God You're Here (UK TV series)
Thank God You're Here was a partially improvised comedy based on the original Australian show with the same name. In the show, four guests are placed into a scene they have no knowledge about and have to improvise...
. In 2008 he was a speaker for the negative team in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival's annual televised Great Debate.
He has a monthly column in the Australian women's magazine Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan (magazine)
Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...
. He was also the winner of the TV Fugly Award for Spunkiest Male TV Personality in 2008.
Hamish Blake was voted the comedian of the year in 2007 by the Eather corporation. His compatriot Andy Lee was placed 14th for 2007.
Blake also came first in 'Television's most powerful celebrity' for 2009, Lee came 19th.
On 20 January 2010 it was announced Hamish will be writing a column for the Herald Sun.
Hamish, along with Zoe Foster, have written a book on dating called "Textbook Romance"
After retiring from his daily radio show, Hamish has taken on several side projects over the summer. In 2011, Blake will make an appearance in a new ABC comedy called Twentysomething
Twentysomething (TV series)
-Production Background:Twentysomething is an Australian television comedy series which premiered at 9pm on 6 September on ABC2. The six-part comedy series is created by and stars Jess Harris and Josh Schmidt...
, starring real life best friends Jess Harris and Josh Schmidt. He will also co-starring in his first feature film with Bret McKenzie (Flight of the Concords) in Two Little Boys, shot in New Zealand
Hamish jokes: “I don’t feel comfortable about cheating on Andy but now it’s all out there. We’ve always had an open comedic relationship, but it was for one-night stands only, no exchange of phone numbers. I’ve heard them [Andy and Jemaine Clement, Bret’s comedic partner] whispering on the phone, plotting to do their own movie to release on the same day to sink ours.”
EJ Whitten Legends match
In 2008 and 2009, Blake and working partner Lee played in the EJ Whittens Legends GameE. J. Whitten Legends Game
The E. J. Whitten Legends Game is an annual charity Australian rules football All-star game, where retired star players are reunited, along with selected non-footballing celebrities, in a State of Origin interstate game, between Victoria and the All Stars .-History:E. J...
. Lee played for Victoria and Blake played for the All Stars. Blake scored the winning goal for the All Stars in 2008, and two goals in 2009.