Lenny Henry
Encyclopedia
Lenworth George "Lenny" Henry, (born 29 August 1958) is a British
actor, writer, comedian
and occasional television presenter
.
n immigrants
, was born at Burton Road Hospital in Dudley
in 1958. He was a pupil at St John's Primary School and later The Blue Coat School
outside Dudley, before completing his school education at W.R. Tuson College (now Preston College
).
, who signed him in 1975 and gave him the opportunity to perform as part of the Luff-produced touring stage version of The Black and White Minstrel Show
. In July 2009, Lenny Henry stated he was contractually obliged to perform and regretted his part in the show.
Shortly before this, on 17 December 1974, the then 16-year-old Henry had been voted Britain's top non-smoker for his declaration aimed at teenagers that smoking
was not fashionable.
His earliest television appearance was on the New Faces
talent show, which he won in 1975 with an impersonation of Stevie Wonder
. The following year he appeared with Norman Beaton
in LWT
's sitcom The Fosters
, Britain's first comedy series with predominantly black performers. His formative years were spent in working men's club
s, where his act was as a young black man impersonating white characters such as the Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
character Frank Spencer (whom he impersonated on New Faces). He also made guest appearances on television programmes including Celebrity Squares, Seaside Special
and The Ronnie Corbett
Show.
with Cannon and Ball
. He has since said that "the summer season was the first time [he] felt that [his] act had received a proper response from an audience". Around the same time, he co-hosted the children's programme Tiswas
from 1978 until 1981, and subsequently performed and wrote for the show Three of a Kind, with comedians Tracey Ullman
and David Copperfield
.
Also in 1980, he teamed up with The Comic Strip
where he met his wife, comedienne Dawn French. She encouraged him to move over to the fledgling alternative comedy
scene, where he established a career as a stand-up comedy performer and character comedian. He introduced characters who both mocked and celebrated black British culture, such as Theophilus P. Wildebeeste (an homage to Teddy Pendergrass
using the 'TP' initials), Brixton pirate radio disc jockey DJ Delbert Wilkins and Trevor MacDoughnut (a parody of Trevor McDonald
). His stand-up material, which sold well on LP, owed much to the writing abilities of Kim Fuller
. During this time he also spent three years as a DJ on BBC Radio 1
, playing soul and electro tracks and introducing some of the characters that he would later popularise on television. He made a guest appearance in the final episode of The Young Ones
as The Postman, in 1984.
The first series of The Lenny Henry Show
appeared on the BBC in 1984. The show featured stand up, spoofs like his send up of Michael Jackson's Thriller video, and many of the characters he had developed during Summer Season, including Theophilus P. Wildebeeste and Delbert Wilkins. A principal scriptwriter for his television and stage shows during the 1990s was Jon Canter
. The Lenny Henry Show ran for a further 20 years in various incarnations.
Prior to the 1987 general election (UK), Henry lent his support to Red Wedge
by participating in a comedy tour organised by the campaign.
In 1987, he appeared in a TV film Coast to Coast
. It was a comedy thriller with John Shea
about two DJ's with a shared passion for Motown music being chased across Britain. The film has a strong following, but contractual problems have prevented it from being distributed on video or DVD.
, in which his character pretended to be a white person (using make-up, prostheses
, and a wig) in order to avoid the mob. The film was not commercially successful.
In 1991, he starred in a BBC drama alongside Robbie Coltrane
called Alive and Kicking, in which he played a heroin addict, which was based on a true story.
Also in 1991, he starred in the Christmas comedy Bernard and the Genie
along side Alan Cumming
and Rowan Atkinson
.
Henry is known as the choleric chef
Gareth Blackstock from the 1990s television comedy series Chef!
, or from his 1999 straight-acting lead role in the BBC
drama Hope And Glory
. He was co-creator with Neil Gaiman
and producer of the 1996 BBC drama serial Neverwhere
.
Henry tried his hand at soul singing, appearing, for example, as a backing singer on Kate Bush
's album The Red Shoes
(1993) and, backed by David Gilmour
of Pink Floyd
, at Amnesty International
's Big 3-0
fund raising concert. He would later say that neither move showed him at his best, and that he felt most comfortable with character comedy. Henry would occasionally return to singing, performing in small local venues in the West Midlands. Henry returned to the BBC to do Lenny Henry in Pieces
, a character-based comedy sketch
show which was followed by The Lenny Henry Show
, in which he combined stand-up, character sketches and song parodies.
as one of the fifty funniest acts in British comedy.
In 2004, he was listed in The Sunday Times
as the fifteenth funniest black performer of all time. Henry is associated with the British Comic Relief charity organisation, along with his former wife, comedienne Dawn French, and Griff Rhys Jones
, and has hosted the show and also presented filmed reports from overseas on the work of the charity. He was the voice of the British speaking clock
for two weeks, 10–23 March 2003, in aid of Comic Relief.
He was the voice of the "shrunken head
" on the Knight Bus in the 2004 movie Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and read the audio book version of Neil Gaiman
's Anansi Boys
. He also voices a character on the children's show Little Robots
.
Henry appeared in advertisements for butter products in New Zealand, commissioned by the company now known as Fonterra
, as well as portraying Saint Peter
in the Virgin Mobile
advertising campaign in South Africa. In the UK, he used his character of Theophilus P. Wildebeeste to advertise Alpen
muesli
, and promoted the non-alcohol
ic lager
, Kaliber.
In June 2001, for a BBC documentary, he sailed a trimaran from Plymouth to Antigua, Jamaica with yachtsman Tony Bullimore. His motive was to as he put it, "have one last adventure".
In 2005, he appeared in Birmingham
, as an act for "Jasper Carrott's Rock with Laughter". He appeared alongside performers such as Bill Bailey
, Jasper Carrott
, Bonnie Tyler
, Bobby Davro
and the Lord of the Dance
troupe.
In 2006, Henry starred in the BBC programme Berry's Way. He did the voice of Dark Nebula in Kirby: Squeak Squad
. On 16 March 2007, Henry made a cameo appearance
as himself in a sketch with Catherine Tate
, who appeared in the guise of her character Geordie Georgie from The Catherine Tate Show
. The sketch was made for the BBC Red Nose Day fund raising programme of 2007.
On 16 June 2007, Lenny appeared with Chris Tarrant
and Sally James to present a 25th Anniversary episode of Tiswas
. The show lasted 90 minutes and featured celebrities discussing their enjoyment of Tiswas as children, as well as appearances from kids and people who had appeared on the original show.
In the summer of 2007, he presented Lenny's Britain, a comedy documentary tour made with the Open University on BBC1 on Tuesday nights.
In late 2007, he hosted a stand-up comedy tour of the UK.
In early 2008, his show lennyhenry.tv was broadcast on BBC One
. The programme has an accompanying website of the same name and broadcasts strange, weird and generally amusing on-line videos and CCTV
clips. He starred in the Radio 4
show Rudy's Rare Records.
On 31 December 2008 and 1 January 2009, he appeared on Jools Holland
's Hootenanny on BBC Two, singing part of the song Mercy
along with singer Duffy
.
In January 2009, he appeared on the BBC's comedy show, Live at The Apollo, in which he played host for the night, introducing Andy Parsons
and Ed Byrne
, where he referred to Wikipedia as "Wrongopedia" for containing incorrect information about his life.
In October 2009, Lenny Henry reprised his role of Deakus to feature in comedy shorts about story writing alongside Nina Wadia
, Tara Palmer Tomkinson and Stephen K. Amos
. He also offers his own writing tips and amusing anecdotes in the writing tips video clip on BBC raw words - story writing.
He also supplies the voices of both Big and Small in the BBC
CBeebies
Children's programs Big & Small
. And provides the voices of Elephant,Buffalo and Cougar in Tinga Tinga Tales
.
In 2009, he became the face of budget hotel operator Premier Inn, and continues to star in adverts for them.
In 2011, he presented a Saturday night magic series called The Magicians
on BBC1.
In March 2011, he appeared with Angela Rippon
, Samantha Womack and Reggie Yates
in the BBC fundraising documentary for Comic Relief
called Famous, Rich and in the Slums, where the four celebrities were sent to Kibera
in Kenya
, Africa's
largest slum
.
Henry was criticised for his opening sketch for the 2011 Comic Relief, during which he spoofed the film The King's Speech and grew impatient with Colin Firth
's portrayal of King George VI as he stammered over his speech. The Sun reported that the British Stammering Association
had branded the sketch as "a gross and disgusting gleefulness at pointing out someone else's misfortune.
Henry said: "I thought the King's Speech sketch was funny. Very funny. I make no apologies for it".
He recently presented the Teachers Awards on television.
production of Othello
, in the title role, at the West Yorkshire Playhouse
in Leeds
. Directed by Barrie Rutter
, who, before the production opened, said of the decision to cast him, "knives might be out at me or at Lenny. I don't care. This has come about from a completely genuine desire to do a piece of theatrical work. Bloody hell, how long has the Donmar had Hollywood stars going there for £200? He's six foot five. He's beautifully black. And he's Othello".
Henry received widespread critical acclaim in the role. The Daily Telegraph said "This is one of the most astonishing debuts in Shakespeare I have ever seen. It is impossible to praise too highly Henry's courage in taking on so demanding and exposed a role, and then performing it with such authority and feeling." Michael Billington
in The Guardian
noted "Henry's voice may not always measure up to the rhetorical music of the verse, but there is a simple dignity to his performance that touches one". Lynne Walker
of The Independent
said of Henry that his "emotional dynamism is in no doubt. The frenzy within his imagination explodes into rage and, finally, wretchedness. It’s not a subtle reading but it works powerfully in this context."
Henry has said he saw parallels between himself and Othello. "I’m used to being the only black person wherever I go...There was never a black or Asian director when I went to the BBC. Eventually I thought ‘where are they all?’ I spent a lot of time on my own. Things have changed a bit, but rarely at the BBC do I meet anyone of colour in a position of power."
The production was scheduled to transfers to the West End of London
from 11 September to 12 December 2009, to be performed at the Trafalgar Studios
in Whitehall
.
He was introduced to Shakespeare when he made the 2006 Radio 4
series Lenny and Will. Which saw him going "in search of the magic of Shakespeare in performance." This was where he first met Barrie Rutter.
circuit. They married in 1984 in Westminster
, London; they have an adopted daughter, Billie (born 1991)
Henry graduated in English Literature
, (BA Hons), with the Open University
in 2007.
Henry studied for an MA at Royal Holloway, University of London in screenwriting for television and film, where he received a distinction and where he is now studying for a PhD
on the role of black people
in the media.
On 6 April 2010, it was announced that Henry and French were to separate after 25 years of marriage. It is believed that the separation was amicable, and they decided to split in October 2009, but postponed it as they were still in discussion over the separation. They were officially divorced in October 2010.
Articles
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...
actor, writer, 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...
and occasional television presenter
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
.
Early life
Henry, the son of JamaicaJamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n immigrants
Immigration to the United Kingdom since 1922
Immigration to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland since 1922 has been substantial, in particular from Ireland and the former colonies and other territories of the British Empire - such as India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Caribbean, South Africa, Kenya and Hong Kong - under...
, was born at Burton Road Hospital in Dudley
Dudley
Dudley is a large town in the West Midlands county of England. At the 2001 census , the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the 26th largest settlement in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without...
in 1958. He was a pupil at St John's Primary School and later The Blue Coat School
The Blue Coat School, Dudley
The Blue Coat School was a mixed secondary school located in Dudley, England. It was opened in 1869 within buildings in Bean Road, several hundred yards east of Dudley town centre...
outside Dudley, before completing his school education at W.R. Tuson College (now Preston College
Preston College
Preston College is a further education college in the city of Preston, Lancashire, England. The college originally opened as W.R. Tuson College in September 1974 and was renamed on 1 September 1989.-Campus:...
).
Early career
His first manager was Robert LuffRobert Luff
Robert Charles William Luff, CBE was a theatrical agent and producer. He was most notable for producing the stage version of The Black and White Minstrel Show and being the former agent of Lenny Henry, the Tiller Girls and Beryl Reid...
, who signed him in 1975 and gave him the opportunity to perform as part of the Luff-produced touring stage version of The Black and White Minstrel Show
The Black and White Minstrel Show
The Black and White Minstrel Show was a British light entertainment show that ran on BBC television from 1958-1978 and was a popular stage show. It was a weekly light entertainment and variety show presenting traditional American minstrel and Country songs, as well as show and music hall numbers,...
. In July 2009, Lenny Henry stated he was contractually obliged to perform and regretted his part in the show.
Shortly before this, on 17 December 1974, the then 16-year-old Henry had been voted Britain's top non-smoker for his declaration aimed at teenagers that smoking
Smoking
Smoking is a practice in which a substance, most commonly tobacco or cannabis, is burned and the smoke is tasted or inhaled. This is primarily practised as a route of administration for recreational drug use, as combustion releases the active substances in drugs such as nicotine and makes them...
was not fashionable.
His earliest television appearance was on the New Faces
New Faces
New Faces was a British television talent show popular in the 1970s and 1980s, presented originally by Derek Hobson. It was produced by ATV Network Limited for the ITV Network. The first run of the show was from 29 September 1973 to 2 April 1978 and was recorded at the ATV Centre, Birmingham...
talent show, which he won in 1975 with an impersonation of Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
. The following year he appeared with Norman Beaton
Norman Beaton
Norman Lugard Beaton was a Guyanese actor long resident in the United Kingdom....
in LWT
London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
's sitcom The Fosters
The Fosters
The Fosters is a British sitcom, produced by London Weekend Television which aired on ITV from 9 April 1976, until 9 July 1977.It was created and developed by Jon Watkins, who adapted the American sitcom, Good Times, developed by Norman Lear, and created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans...
, Britain's first comedy series with predominantly black performers. His formative years were spent in working men's club
Working men's club
Working men's clubs are a type of private social club founded in the 19th century in industrial areas of the United Kingdom, particularly the North of England, the Midlands and many parts of the South Wales Valleys, to provide recreation and education for working class men and their families.-...
s, where his act was as a young black man impersonating white characters such as the Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em was a BBC situation comedy, written by Raymond Allen and starring Michael Crawford and Michele Dotrice.The series followed the accident-prone Frank Spencer and his tolerant wife Betty through Frank's various attempts to hold down a job, which frequently end in...
character Frank Spencer (whom he impersonated on New Faces). He also made guest appearances on television programmes including Celebrity Squares, Seaside Special
Seaside Special
Seaside Special was a BBC light entertainment show broadcast from the mid-late 1970s. It was an outside broadcast and was always filmed in a big top in a British seaside resort. Originally the big top belonged to various circuses , but in later seasons, the BBC purchased their own big top to act...
and The Ronnie Corbett
Ronnie Corbett
Ronald Balfour "Ronnie" Corbett, OBE is a Scottish actor and comedian of Scottish and English parentage who had a long association with Ronnie Barker in the British television comedy series The Two Ronnies...
Show.
1980s
In 1980, he performed in Summer Season in BlackpoolBlackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
with Cannon and Ball
Cannon and Ball
Cannon and Ball are an English comedy double act consisting of Tommy Cannon and Bobby Ball. The duo met in the early 1960s while working as welders in Oldham, Lancashire...
. He has since said that "the summer season was the first time [he] felt that [his] act had received a proper response from an audience". Around the same time, he co-hosted the children's programme Tiswas
Tiswas
Tiswas was a Saturday morning children's British television series which ran from 5 January 1974 to 3 April 1982 and was produced for the ITV network by ATV Network Limited....
from 1978 until 1981, and subsequently performed and wrote for the show Three of a Kind, with comedians Tracey Ullman
Tracey Ullman
Tracey Ullman is a British stage and television actress, comedienne, singer, dancer, screenwriter and author ....
and David Copperfield
David Copperfield (comedian)
David Copperfield is best known from the BBC 1980s sketch show Three of a Kind, in which he starred alongside Tracey Ullman and Lenny Henry. His real name is Stanley Barlow. He was born and raised in Yorkshire, where he began his professional career performing in various cabaret venues. His big...
.
Also in 1980, he teamed up with The Comic Strip
The Comic Strip
The Comic Strip is a group of British comedians, known for their television series The Comic Strip Presents.... The core members are Adrian Edmondson, Dawn French, Rik Mayall, Nigel Planer, Peter Richardson and Jennifer Saunders, with frequent appearances by Keith Allen, Robbie Coltrane and...
where he met his wife, comedienne Dawn French. She encouraged him to move over to the fledgling alternative comedy
Alternative comedy
Alternative comedy is a term that originated in the 1980s for a style of comedy that makes a conscious break with the mainstream comedic style of an era, and typically avoids relying on a standardised structure of a sequence of jokes with punch lines. Patton Oswalt defines it as "comedy where the...
scene, where he established a career as a stand-up comedy performer and character comedian. He introduced characters who both mocked and celebrated black British culture, such as Theophilus P. Wildebeeste (an homage to Teddy Pendergrass
Teddy Pendergrass
Theodore DeReese "Teddy" Pendergrass was an American R&B/soul singer and songwriter. Pendergrass first rose to fame as lead singer of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes in the 1970s before a successful solo career at the end of the decade...
using the 'TP' initials), Brixton pirate radio disc jockey DJ Delbert Wilkins and Trevor MacDoughnut (a parody of Trevor McDonald
Trevor McDonald
Sir Trevor McDonald OBE is a Trinidadian-British newsreader and journalist. He had a long career as a news presenter with ITN...
). His stand-up material, which sold well on LP, owed much to the writing abilities of Kim Fuller
Kim Fuller
Kim Fuller is a British writer for film, radio and television. His brother Simon Fuller is Britain's most successful music manager as manager of Annie Lennox and The Spice Girls amongst others and creator of the Idol Series...
. During this time he also spent three years as a DJ on BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
, playing soul and electro tracks and introducing some of the characters that he would later popularise on television. He made a guest appearance in the final episode of The Young Ones
The Young Ones (TV series)
The Young Ones is a British sitcom, first broadcast in 1982, which ran for two series on BBC2. Its anarchic, offbeat humour helped bring alternative comedy to television in the 1980s and made household names of its writers and performers...
as The Postman, in 1984.
The first series of The Lenny Henry Show
The Lenny Henry Show
The Lenny Henry Show is a comedy sketch show featuring Lenny Henry. In its first incarnation it ran for two seasons on BBC 1, in 1984 and 1985. Each season had six episodes. A 40-minute special was aired in December 1987...
appeared on the BBC in 1984. The show featured stand up, spoofs like his send up of Michael Jackson's Thriller video, and many of the characters he had developed during Summer Season, including Theophilus P. Wildebeeste and Delbert Wilkins. A principal scriptwriter for his television and stage shows during the 1990s was Jon Canter
Jon Canter
Jon Canter is an English television comedy writer for Lenny Henry and other leading comedians. Canter was born and brought up in the Jewish community of Golders Green, North London and studied law at the University of Cambridge where he became President of Footlights.After a spell in advertising...
. The Lenny Henry Show ran for a further 20 years in various incarnations.
Prior to the 1987 general election (UK), Henry lent his support to Red Wedge
Red Wedge
Red Wedge was a collective of musicians who attempted to engage young people with politics in general, and the policies of the Labour Party in particular, during the period leading up to the 1987 general election, in the hope of ousting the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher.Fronted by...
by participating in a comedy tour organised by the campaign.
In 1987, he appeared in a TV film Coast to Coast
Coast to Coast (1987 film)
Coast to Coast is a 1987 comedy thriller starring Lenny Henry, John Shea, with cameos from Peter Vaughan, Pete Postlethwaite and Cherie Lunghi. It was directed by Sandy Johnson from a script by Stan Hey...
. It was a comedy thriller with John Shea
John Shea
John Victor Shea III is an American actor and director who has starred on stage, television and in film. He is best known for his role as Lex Luthor in the 1990s TV series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and also starred in the short lived 1990s TV series WIOU as Hank Zaret...
about two DJ's with a shared passion for Motown music being chased across Britain. The film has a strong following, but contractual problems have prevented it from being distributed on video or DVD.
1990s
In the early 1990s, Henry starred in the Hollywood film True IdentityTrue Identity
True Identity is a 1991 American comedy film directed by Charles Lane and starring Lenny Henry, Frank Langella and Anne-Marie Johnson. The plot revolves around a black man , who disguises himself as a white man to escape the mob....
, in which his character pretended to be a white person (using make-up, prostheses
Facial prosthetic
A facial prosthetic or facial prosthesis is an artificial device used to change or adapt the outward appearance of a person's face or head....
, and a wig) in order to avoid the mob. The film was not commercially successful.
In 1991, he starred in a BBC drama alongside Robbie Coltrane
Robbie Coltrane
Robbie Coltrane, OBE is a Scottish actor, comedian and author. He is known both for his role as Dr...
called Alive and Kicking, in which he played a heroin addict, which was based on a true story.
Also in 1991, he starred in the Christmas comedy Bernard and the Genie
Bernard and the Genie
Bernard and the Genie is a seventy-minute British TV movie co-produced by Attaboy and Talkback for BBC Television. It was first shown on BBC1 on 23 November 1991...
along side Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming, OBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actor, singer, writer, director, producer and author. His roles have included the Emcee in Cabaret, Boris Grishenko in GoldenEye, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United, Mr. Elton in Emma, and Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids trilogy...
and Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show Not The Nine O'Clock News, and the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line...
.
Henry is known as the choleric chef
Chef
A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ...
Gareth Blackstock from the 1990s television comedy series Chef!
Chef!
Chef! is a British situation comedy starring Lenny Henry that aired as twenty episodes over three series from 1993 to 1996 on the BBC. The show was created and primarily written by Peter Tilbury based on an idea from Lenny Henry and produced for the BBC by Henry's production company, Crucial...
, or from his 1999 straight-acting lead role in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
drama Hope And Glory
Hope and Glory (TV series)
Hope and Glory is a BBC television drama about a comprehensive school struggling with financial, staffing and disciplinary problems, and faced with closure...
. He was co-creator with Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
and producer of the 1996 BBC drama serial Neverwhere
Neverwhere
Neverwhere is an urban fantasy television series by Neil Gaiman that first aired in 1996 on BBC Two. The series is set in "London Below", a magical realm coexisting with the more familiar London, referred to as "London Above". It was devised by Neil Gaiman and Lenny Henry, and directed by Dewi...
.
Henry tried his hand at soul singing, appearing, for example, as a backing singer on Kate Bush
Kate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
's album The Red Shoes
The Red Shoes
The Red Shoes is a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen.The Red Shoes may also refer to:in film:* The Red Shoes , by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, inspired by the fairy tale, one of the BFI's Top 10 British films...
(1993) and, backed by David Gilmour
David Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour, CBE, D.M. is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of...
of Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
, at Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
's Big 3-0
The Secret Policeman's Balls
The Secret Policeman's Balls is the collective name informally used to describe the long-running series of benefit shows staged in England to raise funds for the human rights organisation Amnesty International...
fund raising concert. He would later say that neither move showed him at his best, and that he felt most comfortable with character comedy. Henry would occasionally return to singing, performing in small local venues in the West Midlands. Henry returned to the BBC to do Lenny Henry in Pieces
Lenny Henry in Pieces
Lenny Henry in Pieces was a British stand-up and sketch show by comedians Lenny Henry and Gina Yashere. It aired on BBC One between 2000 and 2003....
, a character-based comedy sketch
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
show which was followed by The Lenny Henry Show
The Lenny Henry Show
The Lenny Henry Show is a comedy sketch show featuring Lenny Henry. In its first incarnation it ran for two seasons on BBC 1, in 1984 and 1985. Each season had six episodes. A 40-minute special was aired in December 1987...
, in which he combined stand-up, character sketches and song parodies.
2000s
In 2003, Henry was listed in The ObserverThe Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
as one of the fifty funniest acts in British comedy.
In 2004, he was listed in The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
as the fifteenth funniest black performer of all time. Henry is associated with the British Comic Relief charity organisation, along with his former wife, comedienne Dawn French, and Griff Rhys Jones
Griff Rhys Jones
Griffith "Griff" Rhys Jones is a Welsh comedian, writer, actor, television presenter and personality. Jones came to national attention in the early 1980s for his work in the BBC television comedy sketch shows Not the Nine O'Clock News and Alas Smith and Jones along with his comedy partner Mel Smith...
, and has hosted the show and also presented filmed reports from overseas on the work of the charity. He was the voice of the British speaking clock
Speaking clock
A speaking clock service is a recorded or simulated human voice service, usually accessed by telephone, that gives the correct time. The first telephone speaking clock service was introduced in France, in association with the Paris Observatory on 14 February 1933.The format of the service is...
for two weeks, 10–23 March 2003, in aid of Comic Relief.
He was the voice of the "shrunken head
Shrunken head
A shrunken head is a severed and specially prepared human head that is used for trophy, ritual, or trade purposes.Headhunting occurred in many regions of the world. But the practice of headshrinking has only ever been recorded in the northwestern region of the Amazon rain forest...
" on the Knight Bus in the 2004 movie Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and read the audio book version of Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
's Anansi Boys
Anansi Boys
Anansi Boys is a novel by Neil Gaiman, a spin-off of Gaiman's earlier novel American Gods. In Anansi Boys we discover that 'Mr. Nancy' has two sons, and the two sons in turn discover each other...
. He also voices a character on the children's show Little Robots
Little Robots
Little Robots is a stop-motion animated children's TV series, produced by Cosgrove Hall Films for Create TV and Film Limited and broadcast on CBeebies . The fiction series was based on the eponymous book by Mike Brownlow, published by Ragged Bears Publishing...
.
Henry appeared in advertisements for butter products in New Zealand, commissioned by the company now known as Fonterra
Fonterra
Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited is a New Zealand multinational dairy co-operative owned by almost 10,500 New Zealand farmers. The company is responsible for approximately 30% of the world's dairy exports and with revenue exceeding NZ$19.87 billion, is New Zealand's largest company.- History :In...
, as well as portraying Saint Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
in the Virgin Mobile
Virgin Mobile
Virgin Mobile is a brand used by many mobile phone service providers across the globe; its headquarters are based in the United Kingdom. Virgin Mobile has local operations in Australia, Canada, France, India, South Africa, Greece, United Kingdom and the United States. It briefly also had operations...
advertising campaign in South Africa. In the UK, he used his character of Theophilus P. Wildebeeste to advertise Alpen
Alpen (food)
Alpen is a line of muesli varieties manufactured by the Weetabix cereal company of Kettering, Northamptonshire, England.-Introduction into the United States:...
muesli
Muesli
Muesli is a popular breakfast cereal based on uncooked rolled oats, fruit and nuts. It was developed around 1900 by Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner for patients in his hospital...
, and promoted the non-alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
ic lager
Lager
Lager is a type of beer made from malted barley that is brewed and stored at low temperatures. There are many types of lager; pale lager is the most widely-consumed and commercially available style of beer in the world; Pilsner, Bock, Dortmunder Export and Märzen are all styles of lager...
, Kaliber.
In June 2001, for a BBC documentary, he sailed a trimaran from Plymouth to Antigua, Jamaica with yachtsman Tony Bullimore. His motive was to as he put it, "have one last adventure".
In 2005, he appeared in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, as an act for "Jasper Carrott's Rock with Laughter". He appeared alongside performers such as Bill Bailey
Bill Bailey
Bill Bailey is an English comedian, musician and actor. As well as his extensive stand-up work, Bailey is well known for his appearances on Black Books, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Have I Got News for You, and QI.Bailey was listed by The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy in...
, Jasper Carrott
Jasper Carrott
Jasper Carrott OBE is a British comedian, actor, television presenter and personality.-Early life:...
, Bonnie Tyler
Bonnie Tyler
Bonnie Tyler is a Welsh singer, most notable for her hits in the 1970s and 1980s including "It's a Heartache", "Holding Out for a Hero" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart".-Early life:...
, Bobby Davro
Bobby Davro
Bobby Davro is a British actor and comedian. He is mainly known for his work as an impressionist...
and the Lord of the Dance
Lord of the Dance (musical)
Lord of the Dance is an Irish musical and dance production that was created, choreographed, and produced by Irish-American dancer Michael Flatley, who also took a starring role...
troupe.
In 2006, Henry starred in the BBC programme Berry's Way. He did the voice of Dark Nebula in Kirby: Squeak Squad
Kirby: Squeak Squad
Kirby: Squeak Squad, known in Europe as Kirby: Mouse Attack and in Japan as , is a 2006-07 platforming video game developed by Flagship and Natsume and published by Nintendo and HAL Laboratory for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console.Unlike the previous Nintendo DS title, Kirby: Canvas...
. On 16 March 2007, Henry made a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
as himself in a sketch with Catherine Tate
Catherine Tate
Catherine Tate is an English actress, writer, and comedian. She has won numerous awards for her work on the sketch comedy series The Catherine Tate Show as well as being nominated for an International Emmy Award and four BAFTA Awards...
, who appeared in the guise of her character Geordie Georgie from The Catherine Tate Show
The Catherine Tate Show
The Catherine Tate Show is a British television sketch comedy written by Catherine Tate and Aschlin Ditta. Tate also stars in all but one of the show's sketches, which feature a wide range of characters. The Catherine Tate Show airs on BBC Two and is shown worldwide through the BBC...
. The sketch was made for the BBC Red Nose Day fund raising programme of 2007.
On 16 June 2007, Lenny appeared with Chris Tarrant
Chris Tarrant
Christopher John "Chris" Tarrant, OBE is an English radio and television broadcaster, now best known for hosting the first version of the television game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in the United Kingdom and later Ireland, as the two national versions of the show merged in 2002.Chris...
and Sally James to present a 25th Anniversary episode of Tiswas
Tiswas
Tiswas was a Saturday morning children's British television series which ran from 5 January 1974 to 3 April 1982 and was produced for the ITV network by ATV Network Limited....
. The show lasted 90 minutes and featured celebrities discussing their enjoyment of Tiswas as children, as well as appearances from kids and people who had appeared on the original show.
In the summer of 2007, he presented Lenny's Britain, a comedy documentary tour made with the Open University on BBC1 on Tuesday nights.
In late 2007, he hosted a stand-up comedy tour of the UK.
In early 2008, his show lennyhenry.tv was broadcast on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
. The programme has an accompanying website of the same name and broadcasts strange, weird and generally amusing on-line videos and CCTV
Closed-circuit television
Closed-circuit television is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors....
clips. He starred in the Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
show Rudy's Rare Records.
On 31 December 2008 and 1 January 2009, he appeared on Jools Holland
Jools Holland
Julian Miles "Jools" Holland OBE, DL is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer, and television presenter. He was a founder of the band Squeeze and his work has involved him with many artists including Sting, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, The Who, David Gilmour and Bono.Holland is a...
's Hootenanny on BBC Two, singing part of the song Mercy
Mercy (song)
"Mercy" is a soul song performed by Welsh blue-eyed soul singer Duffy, released as the second single from her debut album, Rockferry . Co-written by Duffy and Steve Booker and produced by Booker, it was released over 2008 worldwide to critical acclaim and unprecedented chart success...
along with singer Duffy
Duffy (singer)
Aimée Ann Duffy , known as Duffy, is a Welsh singer-songwriter. Her 2008 debut album Rockferry entered the UK Album Chart at number one. It was the best-selling album in the United Kingdom in 2008 with 1.68 million copies sold...
.
In January 2009, he appeared on the BBC's comedy show, Live at The Apollo, in which he played host for the night, introducing Andy Parsons
Andy Parsons
Andy Parsons is an English comedian and writer, who regularly appears on Mock the Week. With comedy partner Henry Naylor, he has written and presented nine seasons of Parsons and Naylor’s Pull-Out Sections for BBC Radio 2.-Early life:...
and Ed Byrne
Ed Byrne
Ed Byrne is a Perrier Award-nominated, Irish stand-up comedian, voice over artist and actor. He has presented television shows Uncut! Best Unseen Ads and Just for Laughs, and is a regular guest on various television panel games...
, where he referred to Wikipedia as "Wrongopedia" for containing incorrect information about his life.
In October 2009, Lenny Henry reprised his role of Deakus to feature in comedy shorts about story writing alongside Nina Wadia
Nina Wadia
-Television and film:Wadia first came to prominence in BBC sketch show Goodness Gracious Me, playing characters such as Mrs "I can make it at home for nothing!" and one half of The Competitive Mothers...
, Tara Palmer Tomkinson and Stephen K. Amos
Stephen K. Amos
Stephen Kehinde Amos is a British stand-up comedian of Nigerian origin. A regular on the international comedy circuit, he is known for including his audience members during his shows...
. He also offers his own writing tips and amusing anecdotes in the writing tips video clip on BBC raw words - story writing.
He also supplies the voices of both Big and Small in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
CBeebies
CBeebies
CBeebies is the brand used by the BBC for programming aimed at children 6 years and under. It is used as a themed strand in the UK on terrestrial television, as a separate free-to-air domestic British channel and used for international varients supported by advertising, subscription or both...
Children's programs Big & Small
Big & Small
Big & Small is a British children's television series aimed at preschoolers. Big & Small is a co-production between Kindle Entertainment and 3J's Productions, produced in association with the BBC, Treehouse TV, and Studio 100. The first series was deemed a success worldwide and a second series was...
. And provides the voices of Elephant,Buffalo and Cougar in Tinga Tinga Tales
Tinga Tinga Tales
Tinga Tinga Tales is a Kenyan/British 78 episodes children's series based on African folk tales and aimed at 4- to 6-year olds. It was commissioned by the BBC for its CBeebies channel, and by Disney Channel for its Disney Junior block....
.
2010s
In 2010, Henry produced and starred in a five-part web series for the BBC Comedy website, Conversations with my Wife, about a fictional couple conversing over Skype while the wife is away on business leaving the husband (played by Henry) to hold the fort at home.In 2009, he became the face of budget hotel operator Premier Inn, and continues to star in adverts for them.
In 2011, he presented a Saturday night magic series called The Magicians
The Magicians (TV series)
The Magicians is a British family entertainment television show, first broadcast throughout January 2011 on BBC One. The show features magicians Luis de Matos,Barry and Stuart, and Chris Korn performing a number of magic tricks with guest celebrities, competing for audience support...
on BBC1.
In March 2011, he appeared with Angela Rippon
Angela Rippon
Angela M. Rippon, OBE, born 12 October 1944, Plymouth, Devon, England, is an English television journalist, newsreader, writer and presenter. Rippon presented radio and television news programmes in South West England before moving to BBC One's Nine O'Clock News, becoming a regular presenter in 1975...
, Samantha Womack and Reggie Yates
Reggie Yates
Reginald "Reggie" Yates is a British actor, television presenter and radio DJ of Ghanaian descent. He went to Central Foundation Boys' School.-Early career:...
in the BBC fundraising documentary for Comic Relief
Comic Relief
Comic Relief is an operating British charity, founded in 1985 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Lenny Henry in response to famine in Ethiopia. The highlight of Comic Relief's appeal is Red Nose Day, a biennial telethon held in March, alternating with sister project Sport Relief...
called Famous, Rich and in the Slums, where the four celebrities were sent to Kibera
Kibera
Kibera is a division of Nairobi Area, Kenya, and neighbourhood of the city of Nairobi, located from the city centre. Kibera is the largest slum in Nairobi, and the second largest urban slum in Africa...
in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Africa's
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
largest slum
Slum
A slum, as defined by United Nations agency UN-HABITAT, is a run-down area of a city characterized by substandard housing and squalor and lacking in tenure security. According to the United Nations, the percentage of urban dwellers living in slums decreased from 47 percent to 37 percent in the...
.
Henry was criticised for his opening sketch for the 2011 Comic Relief, during which he spoofed the film The King's Speech and grew impatient with Colin Firth
Colin Firth
SirColin Andrew Firth, CBE is a British film, television, and theatre actor. Firth gained wide public attention in the 1990s for his portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the 1995 television adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice...
's portrayal of King George VI as he stammered over his speech. The Sun reported that the British Stammering Association
British Stammering Association
The British Stammering Association , a charity since 1978, is a national membership organisation in the United Kingdom for adults and children who stammer...
had branded the sketch as "a gross and disgusting gleefulness at pointing out someone else's misfortune.
Henry said: "I thought the King's Speech sketch was funny. Very funny. I make no apologies for it".
He recently presented the Teachers Awards on television.
Shakespeare
In February 2009, Henry appeared in the Northern BroadsidesNorthern Broadsides
Northern Broadsides is a theatre company formed in 1992 and based at Dean Clough Mill in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. The founder and artistic director is Barrie Rutter. The company performs in Halifax and on tour, a mix of Shakespeare and other productions. Music is specially written for...
production of Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
, in the title role, at the West Yorkshire Playhouse
West Yorkshire Playhouse
The West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds, England is a theatre which opened in March 1990 as part of the regeneration of the Quarry Hill area of the city...
in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
. Directed by Barrie Rutter
Barrie Rutter
Barrie Rutter is an English actor and the founder and Artistic Director of the Northern Broadsides theatre company based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England....
, who, before the production opened, said of the decision to cast him, "knives might be out at me or at Lenny. I don't care. This has come about from a completely genuine desire to do a piece of theatrical work. Bloody hell, how long has the Donmar had Hollywood stars going there for £200? He's six foot five. He's beautifully black. And he's Othello".
Henry received widespread critical acclaim in the role. The Daily Telegraph said "This is one of the most astonishing debuts in Shakespeare I have ever seen. It is impossible to praise too highly Henry's courage in taking on so demanding and exposed a role, and then performing it with such authority and feeling." Michael Billington
Michael Billington
Michael Billington may refer to:* Michael Billington , British film and television actor* Michael Billington , drama critic of The Guardian* Michael Billington , author and activist in the LaRouche movement...
in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
noted "Henry's voice may not always measure up to the rhetorical music of the verse, but there is a simple dignity to his performance that touches one". Lynne Walker
Lynne Walker (critic)
Lynne Walker was a British music and theatre critic who also had experience as a broadcaster.Born in Edinburgh, she attended the Mary Erskine School. She won a medal at the end of her time at Napier College in 1976, and gained a degree from the Huddersfield School of Music...
of The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
said of Henry that his "emotional dynamism is in no doubt. The frenzy within his imagination explodes into rage and, finally, wretchedness. It’s not a subtle reading but it works powerfully in this context."
Henry has said he saw parallels between himself and Othello. "I’m used to being the only black person wherever I go...There was never a black or Asian director when I went to the BBC. Eventually I thought ‘where are they all?’ I spent a lot of time on my own. Things have changed a bit, but rarely at the BBC do I meet anyone of colour in a position of power."
The production was scheduled to transfers to the West End of London
West End of London
The West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...
from 11 September to 12 December 2009, to be performed at the Trafalgar Studios
Trafalgar Studios
Trafalgar Studios, formerly The Whitehall Theatre until 2004, is a West End theatre in Whitehall, near Trafalgar Square, in the City of Westminster, London....
in Whitehall
Whitehall
Whitehall is a road in Westminster, in London, England. It is the main artery running north from Parliament Square, towards Charing Cross at the southern end of Trafalgar Square...
.
He was introduced to Shakespeare when he made the 2006 Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
series Lenny and Will. Which saw him going "in search of the magic of Shakespeare in performance." This was where he first met Barrie Rutter.
Personal life
Henry met Dawn French on the alternative comedyAlternative comedy
Alternative comedy is a term that originated in the 1980s for a style of comedy that makes a conscious break with the mainstream comedic style of an era, and typically avoids relying on a standardised structure of a sequence of jokes with punch lines. Patton Oswalt defines it as "comedy where the...
circuit. They married in 1984 in Westminster
City of Westminster
The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...
, London; they have an adopted daughter, Billie (born 1991)
Henry graduated in English Literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
, (BA Hons), with the Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
in 2007.
Henry studied for an MA at Royal Holloway, University of London in screenwriting for television and film, where he received a distinction and where he is now studying for a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
on the role of black people
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
in the media.
On 6 April 2010, it was announced that Henry and French were to separate after 25 years of marriage. It is believed that the separation was amicable, and they decided to split in October 2009, but postponed it as they were still in discussion over the separation. They were officially divorced in October 2010.
Filmography
- The Suicide Club (1988)
- Work ExperienceWork Experience (film)Work Experience is a 1989 short comedy film directed by James Hendrie. It won an Academy Award in 1990 for Best Short Subject.-Cast:* Lenny Henry - Terence Weller* Kathy Burke - Sally* Neil Pearson - Greg* Shelagh Fraser* Neil McCaul...
(1989) - Lenny Live and Unleashed
- True IdentityTrue IdentityTrue Identity is a 1991 American comedy film directed by Charles Lane and starring Lenny Henry, Frank Langella and Anne-Marie Johnson. The plot revolves around a black man , who disguises himself as a white man to escape the mob....
(1991) - Alive and KickingAlive and KickingAlive and Kicking may refer to:* Alive & Kicking an African social enterprise* Alive N Kickin', a U.S. band formerly known as Alive and Kicking* "Alive and Kickin'", a song by Mr.Big from the 1991 album Lean into It...
(1991) - Bernard and the GenieBernard and the GenieBernard and the Genie is a seventy-minute British TV movie co-produced by Attaboy and Talkback for BBC Television. It was first shown on BBC1 on 23 November 1991...
(1991) - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of AzkabanHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is a 2004 fantasy film directed by Alfonso Cuarón and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the third instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Steve Kloves and produced by Chris Columbus, David Heyman and Mark Radcliffe...
(voice) (2004) - Kirby & the Amazing Mirror 2 (2007)
- Penelope (2008)
External links
- Official website
- Interview with Lenny Henry and Barrie Rutter on BBC News
- Lenny Henry at the BFIBritish Film InstituteThe British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
's ScreenonlineScreenonlineScreenonline is a Web site devoted to the history of British film and television, and to social history as revealed by film and television. The project has been developed by the British Film Institute and funded by a £1.2 million grant from the National Lottery New Opportunities Fund.Reviews... - Lenny Henry at the MBCMuseum of Broadcast CommunicationsThe Museum of Broadcast Communications is an American museum that currently exists exclusively on the Internet and not in any physical capacity. Its stated mission is "to collect, preserve, and present historic and contemporary radio and television content as well as educate, inform and entertain...
's Encyclopedia of Television - Lenny Henry at the bbc.co.ukBbc.co.ukBBC Online is the brand name and home for the BBC's UK online service. It is a large network of websites including such high profile sites as BBC News and Sport, the on-demand video and radio services co-branded BBC iPlayer, the pre-school site Cbeebies, and learning services such as Bitesize...
Guide to Comedy - Learn how to write stories with Lenny Henry BBC raw words
Articles