Tom Gleisner
Encyclopedia
Tom Gleisner is an Australian director, producer, writer, comedian, occasional actor and author. He was educated at Xavier College
in Melbourne, Australia.
and Rob Sitch
, Gleisner wrote and performed in the 1985 Melbourne University Revue Too Cool for Sandals, and was credited as a writer on The D-Generation
(1986–87) but not as a regular performer. He did, however, turn up on numerous occasions as a guest star (he featured more prominently in the second season, to fill in for Rob Sitch who was juggling writing/performing for the show with his studies), and on the album The Satanic Sketches. Gleisner would go on to perform in the D-Gen’s late-eighties Triple M radio show (and its spin-off album The Breakfast Tapes), and then starred in, and wrote for, ABC’s The Late Show
(1992–1993). He is remembered in The Late Show as the newsreader of Late Show News, the co-host of Countdown Classics with Jane Kennedy
and the interviewer of stuntman Rob Sitch in Shitscared, although he appeared in various other sketches (including a recurring role as brainless bush-traveler "Wallaby Jack").
When The Late Show finished, Gleisner starred as mute cop Poncho in 1994’s ABC show Funky Squad
, a comedy which he co-created and served on as one of the writer/producer/directors. A co-founder of Working Dog Productions
(along with Santo Cilauro
, Jane Kennedy
and Rob Sitch), Gleisner was also a writer/producer/director on Frontline
which ran on the ABC from 1994 until 1997. He also had a minor role in the programme as photocopier repairman Colin Konica. Gleisner co-wrote the Working Dog films The Castle
(1997) and The Dish
(2000). He also hosted and co-executive produced the popular Network Ten
program The Panel, (1998–2003). Gleisner has also appeared with Rob Sitch as a presenter of the ABC TV fly-fishing documentary A River Somewhere
(1997–98). He also wrote and directed the Glenn Robbins
comedy, All Aussie Adventures
(2001–02), is the judge on the improvised comedy program Thank God You're Here
(2006–), and co-wrote/co-produced Working Dog's The Hollowmen
(2008).
, The Warwick Todd Diaries (1997), Warwick Todd: Back in the Baggy Green (1998), Warwick Todd Goes The Tonk (2001) and Warwick Todd – Up in the Block Hole (2009). Gleisner has appeared in his Warwick Todd persona in guest appearances on TV. Gleisner has also written a number of fly fishing
books along with Rob Sitch, and along with Sitch and Santo Cilauro, is responsible for the travel guide parodies in the "Jetlag Travel Guide" series. As of 2006, this series stands at the Eastern Europe
send-up of Molvanîa
: A Land Untouched by Modern Dentistry, parody of Southeast Asia
n destinations Phaic Tăn
: Sunstroke on a Shoestring and Central American send up San Sombrèro
: A Land of Carnivals, Cocktails and Coups.
Gleisner is the chairman of Challenge, an Australian cancer support organisation.
Xavier College
Xavier College is a Roman Catholic, day and boarding school predominantly for boys, with its main campus located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
in Melbourne, Australia.
Television, radio and film
A law student in Melbourne University in 1983 when he began working with Santo CilauroSanto Cilauro
Santo Cilauro is an Australian television and feature film producer, screenwriter, actor, author, comedian and cameraman, a co-founder of The D-Generation...
and Rob Sitch
Rob Sitch
Robert Ian Sitch , is an Australian director, producer, screenwriter, actor and comedian.-Early life:Sitch attended St Kevin's College and graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery from the University of Melbourne, where he resided at Trinity College. He worked at the Royal Womans Hospital...
, Gleisner wrote and performed in the 1985 Melbourne University Revue Too Cool for Sandals, and was credited as a writer on The D-Generation
The D-Generation
The D-Generation was a popular and influential Australian TV sketch comedy show, produced and broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation for two series, between 1986 and 1987...
(1986–87) but not as a regular performer. He did, however, turn up on numerous occasions as a guest star (he featured more prominently in the second season, to fill in for Rob Sitch who was juggling writing/performing for the show with his studies), and on the album The Satanic Sketches. Gleisner would go on to perform in the D-Gen’s late-eighties Triple M radio show (and its spin-off album The Breakfast Tapes), and then starred in, and wrote for, ABC’s The Late Show
The Late Show (Australian TV series)
The Late Show was a popular Australian comedy show, which ran for two seasons on ABC from 18 July 1992 to 30 October 1993.-Cast:The Late Show has its roots in the 1980s comedy group, The D-Generation...
(1992–1993). He is remembered in The Late Show as the newsreader of Late Show News, the co-host of Countdown Classics with Jane Kennedy
Jane Kennedy (actor)
Jane Kennedy is an Australian actress, comedian, radio presenter, and television producer best known for her work with the Working Dog Productions – a tight-knit group of performers responsible for a variety of television and films....
and the interviewer of stuntman Rob Sitch in Shitscared, although he appeared in various other sketches (including a recurring role as brainless bush-traveler "Wallaby Jack").
When The Late Show finished, Gleisner starred as mute cop Poncho in 1994’s ABC show Funky Squad
Funky Squad
Funky Squad was a short-lived 1995 Australian comedy television series which satirised '70s-era U.S. police television dramas, such as The Mod Squad. Only 7 half-hour episodes were produced, which were broadcast on the ABC...
, a comedy which he co-created and served on as one of the writer/producer/directors. A co-founder of Working Dog Productions
Working Dog Productions
Working Dog Productions is a small film and television production company based in Melbourne, Australia. It was originally known as Frontline Television Productions Pty Ltd...
(along with Santo Cilauro
Santo Cilauro
Santo Cilauro is an Australian television and feature film producer, screenwriter, actor, author, comedian and cameraman, a co-founder of The D-Generation...
, Jane Kennedy
Jane Kennedy (actor)
Jane Kennedy is an Australian actress, comedian, radio presenter, and television producer best known for her work with the Working Dog Productions – a tight-knit group of performers responsible for a variety of television and films....
and Rob Sitch), Gleisner was also a writer/producer/director on Frontline
Frontline (Australian TV series)
Frontline is an Australian comedy television series which satirised Australian television current affairs programmes and reporting. It ran for three series of 13 half-hour episodes and was broadcast on ABC TV in 1994, 1995 and 1997.-Production:...
which ran on the ABC from 1994 until 1997. He also had a minor role in the programme as photocopier repairman Colin Konica. Gleisner co-wrote the Working Dog films The Castle
The Castle (film)
The Castle is a 1997 Australian comedy film directed by Rob Sitch. It starred Michael Caton, Anne Tenney, Stephen Curry, Sophie Lee, Eric Bana and Charles 'Bud' Tingwell. The screenwriting team comprised Sitch, Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner and Jane Kennedy of Working Dog Productions.The Castle was...
(1997) and The Dish
The Dish
The Dish is a 2000 Australian film that tells the story of how the Parkes Observatory was used to relay the live television of man's first steps on the moon, during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969...
(2000). He also hosted and co-executive produced the popular 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...
program The Panel, (1998–2003). Gleisner has also appeared with Rob Sitch as a presenter of the ABC TV fly-fishing documentary A River Somewhere
A River Somewhere
A River Somewhere was an Australian documentary television series originally broadcast by ABC TV in 1997 and 1998. It was produced by Working Dog Productions, and was hosted by Tom Gleisner and Rob Sitch...
(1997–98). He also wrote and directed the Glenn Robbins
Glenn Robbins
Glenn Maxwell Robbins is an Australian comedian, writer and actor.Robbins attended Strathmore Secondary College and graduated in 1975...
comedy, All Aussie Adventures
All Aussie Adventures
All Aussie Adventures is an Australian mockumentary television series that parodied the travel-adventure genre. Glenn Robbins plays Russell Coight, a survival and wildlife expert who charts his disastrous travels through Australia, spreading misinformation and causing accidents...
(2001–02), is the judge on the improvised comedy program 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...
(2006–), and co-wrote/co-produced Working Dog's The Hollowmen
The Hollowmen
The Hollowmen is an Australian television comedy series set in the offices of the Central Policy Unit, a fictional political advisory unit personally set up by the Prime Minister to help him get re-elected. Their brief is long term vision; to stop worrying about tomorrow's headlines, and focus on...
(2008).
Books
Gleisner has written four comedic books in the persona of a fictitious cricketer, Warwick ToddWarwick Todd
rightWarwick Todd is a fictional character created by author and comedian Tom Gleisner. Todd is the author of four fictional cricket diaries: The Warwick Todd Diaries , Warwick Todd: Back in the Baggy Green , Warwick Todd Goes the Tonk and Warwick Todd - Up in the Block Hole...
, The Warwick Todd Diaries (1997), Warwick Todd: Back in the Baggy Green (1998), Warwick Todd Goes The Tonk (2001) and Warwick Todd – Up in the Block Hole (2009). Gleisner has appeared in his Warwick Todd persona in guest appearances on TV. Gleisner has also written a number of fly fishing
Fly fishing
Fly fishing is an angling method in which an artificial 'fly' is used to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. Casting a nearly weightless fly or 'lure' requires casting techniques significantly different from other forms of casting...
books along with Rob Sitch, and along with Sitch and Santo Cilauro, is responsible for the travel guide parodies in the "Jetlag Travel Guide" series. As of 2006, this series stands at the Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
send-up of Molvanîa
Molvanîa
Molvanîa: a Land Untouched by Modern Dentistry is a book parodying travel guidebooks. The guide describes the fictional country Molvanîa, in Eastern Europe, a nation described as "the birthplace of the whooping cough" and "owner of Europe's oldest nuclear reactor"...
: A Land Untouched by Modern Dentistry, parody of Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
n destinations Phaic Tăn
Phaic Tan
Phaic Tăn is a parody travel guidebook examining imaginary country Phaic Tăn. The book's full title is Phaic Tăn: Sunstroke on a Shoestring and was written by Australians Tom Gleisner, Santo Cilauro, and Rob Sitch...
: Sunstroke on a Shoestring and Central American send up San Sombrèro
San Sombrèro
San Sombrèro is a parody travel guide book examining the eponymous fictional country, described as the birthplace of tinted sunglasses and sequins...
: A Land of Carnivals, Cocktails and Coups.
Gleisner is the chairman of Challenge, an Australian cancer support organisation.