Rory McGrath

Infobox Comedian
name = Rory McGrath


imagesize = 150px
caption = Rory McGrath in 2007
birth_date = birth date and age|1956|3|3|df=y
birth_place = Cornwall, United Kingdom
nationality = British

Patrick Rory McGrath (born 17 March 1956) is a British comedian.

He studied at Redruth Grammar School and Emmanuel College, Cambridge, from which he received a third class degree. He became a member of the Cambridge Footlights. He is best known for his appearances as a panel member on the BBC comedy sports quiz "They Think It's All Over". He was also a cast member of the British Channel 4 comedy series "Who Dares Wins" and "Chelmsford 123". He was presenter of the series "Rory's Commercial Breakdown", where humorous adverts were shown from different countries. In 1990, he hosted the game show "Trivial Pursuit" on BBC1.

He was cofounder, with Denise O'Donoghue and Jimmy Mulville, of the independent British TV production company Hat Trick Productions. However he left the company in 1992.cite web | title = Rory McGrath punched on TV | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/entertainment/tv_and_radio/1781905.stm | publisher = BBC | accessdate = April 14 | accessyear = 2007]

He has written jokes for many comedians including Frankie Howerd. One of his early writing projects was "Black Cinderella Two Goes East" with Clive Anderson for BBC Radio 4 in 1978.

McGrath supports Arsenal. He and Peter Cook (a Tottenham supporter) used to have a friendly rivalry over their respective clubs. On the night that Cook died, Tottenham had beaten Arsenal. McGrath found out about his friend's death by the fact that he hadn't received the traditional abusive phonecall the next morning.McGrath has made 2 football DVDs titled: "Own Goals and Gaffs - The Premiership" in 2002 and "More Own Goals and Gaffs" in 2003.

His appearance on the quiz show "QI" made him one of the highest-scoring contestants, particularly due to his seemingly endless knowledge of cormorants and the Latin names of birds, although this knowledge left him open to severe mocking from the other guests. (Stephen Fry jokingly informed him that the show "was not an autistic quiz".)

Rory was one of the "Three Men in a Boat" in the 2005 BBC reinterpretation of the travelogue by Jerome K. Jerome along with fellow rowers Griff Rhys Jones and Dara Ó Briain. He also starred in the sequel, "Three Men in Another Boat", shown on BBC television in January 2008.

Rory has written many songs over the years and intends recording an album in the near future. To mark 40 years since 1967, the psychedelic summer of love, he decided to write a nostalgic ditty in remembrance of those strange days: "Where have all the Hippies Gone?" [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFTa5g4M-4k#GU5U2spHI_4 Rory McGrath - Where Have All The Hippies Gone] ] .

His first book, "Bearded Tit - Confessions of a Birdwatcher", was published by Ebury Press on 1 May 2008 and was serialised by BBC Radio 4.

First airing in August 2008, McGrath co-starred in a new television series along with British comedian Paddy McGuinness, broadcast on Channel Five, "Rory and Paddy's Great British Adventure". This is a four-part series in which Paddy and Rory embark on a nationwide road-trip, “on a mission to explore Britain’s sporting heritage by probing the hidden life of its towns and villages”. The series focuses on arcane sports such as cheese rolling, toe wrestling and swamp soccer.

Bibliography

* cite book
date = 1 May 2008
title = Bearded Tit
last = McGrath
first = Rory
publisher = Ebury Press
id = ISBN 9780091922696

References

External links

*
* [http://www.beardedtit.co.uk The Bearded Tit website]