Howard Read
Encyclopedia
Howard Oliver Drinkwater Read is a British
comedian
, animator
and aspiring song writer best known for his work with his animated sidekick, Little Howard. His other creations include an angry manager with a conversational style and the worldview of Bernard Manning
, Roger T Pigeon, and H:BOT 2000, a robot from the future. Each of these characters interact with both Big Howard and each other.
Howard Read is also known for his on-stage human Guess Who?
act: the audience guesses who he has drawn on a large pad of paper, sitting down as their questions exclude those of a certain appearance until only one person is left standing.
In 1993, Howard Read invented NikNakNoodles - an amalgamation of Golden Wonder's Pot Noodle and Golden Wonder's other oddly-flavoured product,
Nik Naks. Unfortunately, due to Howard's poor marketing skills, the product was never mass produced.
Read is a regular contributor to Robin Ince
's Book Club.
, interacting either with Big Howard, the audience, or with other animated characters (including the pigeon Roger, his manager, and H:BOT 2000 (named as MOTHER on Little Howard's Big Question), a funny robot from the future). He is adept at interrupting Big Howard, dealing with hecklers and doing tarot readings with a pack of Top Trumps
. His favourite food is fish and chips
and he is currently learning the ukulele
.
.
In 2005, Read staged his own Comeback Special where he performed his first solo Festival show.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
comedian
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...
, animator
Animator
An animator is an artist who creates multiple images that give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence; the images are called frames and key frames. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, video games, and the internet. Usually, an...
and aspiring song writer best known for his work with his animated sidekick, Little Howard. His other creations include an angry manager with a conversational style and the worldview of Bernard Manning
Bernard Manning
Bernard John Manning was an English comedian and nightclub owner. He was born and raised in Manchester in northwest England....
, Roger T Pigeon, and H:BOT 2000, a robot from the future. Each of these characters interact with both Big Howard and each other.
Howard Read is also known for his on-stage human Guess Who?
Guess Who?
Guess Who? is a two-player guessing game created by Ora and Theo Coster, also known as Theora Design, first manufactured by Milton Bradley in 1979 in Great Britain. It was brought to the United States in 1982.-Game play:...
act: the audience guesses who he has drawn on a large pad of paper, sitting down as their questions exclude those of a certain appearance until only one person is left standing.
In 1993, Howard Read invented NikNakNoodles - an amalgamation of Golden Wonder's Pot Noodle and Golden Wonder's other oddly-flavoured product,
Nik Naks. Unfortunately, due to Howard's poor marketing skills, the product was never mass produced.
Read is a regular contributor to Robin Ince
Robin Ince
Robin Ince is an English stand-up comedian, actor and writer. He is best known for presenting the BBC radio show The Infinite Monkey Cage .-Stand-up comedy:...
's Book Club.
Little Howard
Little Howard is a sketched cartoon child aged 6 who is a "standing-up comedian". He appears on a laptop or projection screen except on his own TV showLittle Howard's Big Question
Little Howard's Big Question is a 2009–11 BBC One/CBBC children's edutainment programme starring Howard Read as Big Howard and his six-year-old animated friend, Little Howard. The programme was first broadcast on 8 January 2009, running for a series of 13 episodes...
, interacting either with Big Howard, the audience, or with other animated characters (including the pigeon Roger, his manager, and H:BOT 2000 (named as MOTHER on Little Howard's Big Question), a funny robot from the future). He is adept at interrupting Big Howard, dealing with hecklers and doing tarot readings with a pack of Top Trumps
Top Trumps
Top Trumps is a card game. Each card contains a list of numerical data, and the aim of the game is to compare these values in order to try to trump and win an opponent's card...
. His favourite food is fish and chips
Fish and chips
Fish and chips is a popular take-away food in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada...
and he is currently learning the ukulele
Ukulele
The ukulele, ; from ; it is a subset of the guitar family of instruments, generally with four nylon or gut strings or four courses of strings....
.
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
The Big Howard and Little Howard Show was nominated for a Perrier Award at the 2003 Edinburgh Festival Fringe2003 Edinburgh Festival Fringe
The 2003 Edinburgh Festival Fringe was the 56th Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The Fringe ran from 3–25 August 2003 and presented 1541 shows over 207 venues...
.
In 2005, Read staged his own Comeback Special where he performed his first solo Festival show.
TV credits
- 2004 "Celebdaq" (BBC Choice/BBC3)
- 2005 "The World Stands Up" (Paramount Comedy/BBC America)
- 2005-06 Two Posh Old Men (UKTV G2)
- 2006 "Stairlift To Heaven" (CBBC/BBC1)
- 2007 Comedy CutsComedy CutsComedy Cuts is a comedy programme on the British TV channel ITV2 that aims to provide an opportunity for new comedy performers to present their talents. Featuring 40 performers demonstrating a mix of stand up and sketches, the series is shot entirely on location...
(ITV2) - 2007 The Royal Variety Performance (ITV1)
- 2009 Little Howard's Big QuestionLittle Howard's Big QuestionLittle Howard's Big Question is a 2009–11 BBC One/CBBC children's edutainment programme starring Howard Read as Big Howard and his six-year-old animated friend, Little Howard. The programme was first broadcast on 8 January 2009, running for a series of 13 episodes...
(BBC1/CBBC/BBC2)
Theatre credits
- 2002 Words and Pictures
- 2003 The Big Howard and Little Howard Show
- 2004 At Home With The Howards
- 2005 The Little Howard Appeal
- 2005 2005 Comeback Special
- 2007 Little Howard And The Magic Pencil Of Life And Death
Radio credits
- 2005 The Milk Run (Radio 1)
- 2007 An A-Z Of The British Countryside (BBC 7)
- 2007 Peacefully In Their SleepsPeacefully in their SleepsPeacefully in Their Sleeps is a BBC Radio 4 comedy series written by Chris Chantler and Howard Read. Paying tribute to fictional celebrities, it lampoons postwar popular culture using fake archive footage and interviews...
(Radio 4)