Mark Arden
Encyclopedia
Mark Arden is an English
comedian
and actor
, best known for being one half of comic double act "The Oblivion Boys
" with Stephen Frost
.
Arden and Frost came to prominence in the late 1970s alternative comedy
boom, and became recognisable to a national audience with regular spots on Saturday Live. In the early 1980s they were instrumental in the forming of long-running North London
comedy show News Revue and shortly afterwards began appearing as a pairing in episodes of series such as The Black Adder
and The Young Ones
. They are perhaps most remembered for a long-running and award-winning series of commercials for Carling Black Label lager
, one of which involved Arden and Frost stripping entirely naked.
Arden has had roles in Bottom
, Blackadder II
and London's Burning
. He and Frost also played the title roles in the surrealist police sitcom Lazarus and Dingwall.
He appeared in the 1992 film Carry On Columbus
.
He continues to perform with Frost in comedy clubs, although did not follow his partner into the genre of improvisation.
As well as appearing in all the above listed projects Mark also has a successful theatre
career, appearing in acclaimed play The Long, the Short and the Tall. He also played the title role in An Inspector Calls
at the Garrick Theatre
as well as playing the role of Pop in Queen
and Ben Elton
's musical, We Will Rock You
at London
's Dominion Theatre
.
He played Bryan on the ITV
sitcom
Teenage Kicks
, which was shown on Friday nights at 9.30pm on ITV1
from 28 March to 16 May 2008.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
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 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...
, best known for being one half of comic double act "The Oblivion Boys
The Oblivion Boys
The Oblivion Boys was a comedy double act primarily from the 1980s consisting of Mark Arden and Stephen Frost. As well as appearances on Saturday Live and The Young Ones they also became familiar to TV viewers in the UK as the frontmen for a series of Carling Black Label lager adverts....
" with Stephen Frost
Stephen Frost
Stephen Frost , also known as Steve Frost, is an English comedian.Frost is known for his work in the 1980s with Mark Arden as part of the double act The Oblivion Boys on Saturday Live...
.
Arden and Frost came to prominence in the late 1970s 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...
boom, and became recognisable to a national audience with regular spots on Saturday Live. In the early 1980s they were instrumental in the forming of long-running North London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
comedy show News Revue and shortly afterwards began appearing as a pairing in episodes of series such as The Black Adder
The Black Adder
The Black Adder is the first series of the BBC situation comedy Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson, directed by Martin Shardlow and produced by John Lloyd...
and 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...
. They are perhaps most remembered for a long-running and award-winning series of commercials for Carling Black Label 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...
, one of which involved Arden and Frost stripping entirely naked.
Arden has had roles in Bottom
Bottom (TV series)
Bottom was a British sitcom television series that originally aired on BBC2 between 1991 and 1995. It was written by comic duo Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson who star as Richie and Eddie, two flatmates living on the dole in Hammersmith, London...
, Blackadder II
Blackadder II
Blackadder II is the second series of the BBC situation comedy Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 9 January 1986 to 20 February 1986...
and London's Burning
London's Burning
London's Burning was a British television drama programme produced by London Weekend Television for the ITV network that focused on the lives of members of the London Fire Brigade, principally those of the Blue Watch at a fictional fire station called Blackwall.It was broadcast between 1986 and...
. He and Frost also played the title roles in the surrealist police sitcom Lazarus and Dingwall.
He appeared in the 1992 film Carry On Columbus
Carry On Columbus
Carry On Columbus is the 31st and last film in the Carry On series, following 1978's Carry On Emmannuelle. The only main series regulars present are Jim Dale , Bernard Cribbins , Leslie Phillips , Jon Pertwee and June Whitfield...
.
He continues to perform with Frost in comedy clubs, although did not follow his partner into the genre of improvisation.
As well as appearing in all the above listed projects Mark also has a successful theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
career, appearing in acclaimed play The Long, the Short and the Tall. He also played the title role in An Inspector Calls
An Inspector Calls
An Inspector Calls is a play written by English dramatist J. B. Priestley, first performed in 1945 in the Soviet Union and 1946 in the UK. It is considered to be one of Priestley's best known works for the stage and one of the classics of mid-20th century English theatre...
at the Garrick Theatre
Garrick Theatre
The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster. It opened on 24 April 1889 with The Profligate, a play by Arthur Wing Pinero. In its early years, it appears to have specialised in the performance of melodrama, and today the theatre is a...
as well as playing the role of Pop in Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
and Ben Elton
Ben Elton
Benjamin Charles "Ben" Elton is an English comedian, author, playwright and director. He was a leading figure in the British alternative comedy movement of the 1980s, as a writer on such cult series as The Young Ones and Blackadder, as well as also a successful stand-up comedian on stage and TV....
's musical, We Will Rock You
We Will Rock You (musical)
We Will Rock You is a jukebox musical, based on the songs of Queen and named after their hit single of the same name. The musical was written by British comedian and author Ben Elton in collaboration with Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor...
at London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's Dominion Theatre
Dominion Theatre
The Dominion Theatre is a West End theatre on Tottenham Court Road close to St Giles Circus and Centre Point Tower, in the London Borough of Camden.-History:...
.
He played Bryan on the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
Teenage Kicks
Teenage Kicks (TV series)
Teenage Kicks is a British sitcom starring Adrian Edmondson, Ed Coleman and Laura Aikman, filmed at Teddington Studios. Originally as a radio show for BBC Radio 2 in 2007, it was turned into a TV series by Phil McIntyre Productions for ITV...
, which was shown on Friday nights at 9.30pm on ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
from 28 March to 16 May 2008.