Dave Thornton

Dave Thornton (born 13 December 1979) is a stand-up comedian, actor and radio and TV presenter. He has performed Stand-up comedy throughout Australia, in Edinburgh, Singapore and New York. He has also appeared on Australian Television and Radio.^[1]

Background and education

Thornton was born in Geelong, Victoria to Ineke and Peter Thornton. He attended Belmont High School and studied Design and Art at the Gordon Institute of TAFE. He now resides in Melbourne.

Career

Stand-up comedy

Thornton began working in stand-up comedy at the Geelong heats of RAW comedy in 2002. He debuted his solo hour-long show Euro:mission, which was based on his experiences as a backpacking traveler, at the 2007 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, where he was nominated for 'Best Newcomer'.^[2] Thornton has performed at the MICF every year since,^{[3][4][5][6][7]} and in 2009 debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with a new show, Allow Me to Introduce Myself.^[8][9]

He has also performed stand-up comedy on TV shows including Good Morning Australia (Network 10) in 2006, Stand Up Australia (Comedy Channel Australia) in 2007 and Rove (Network 10) in 2008.

Radio

In October 2009, Dave Thornton began hosting a Sunday evening show on Nova 100 in Melbourne. He then became a fill-in co-host for Nova nationally on the breakfast shift during December leading up to Christmas hosting with Dylan Lewis and Sophie Monk. In 2010 he co-hosted Nova 106.9 in Brisbane for 6 weeks with Tim Blackwell and Meshel Laurie. In July 2010, Thornton started hosting a Saturday morning breakfast show 'Saturday Sessions' nationally on Nova from 10am – 12pm with comedian Melinda Buttle.

Television

In 2007 Thornton debuted on Channel 9's ''Comedy Inc. as a replacement for Jim Russell. This was followed the next year with a role in the ABC television drama Bed of Roses, as Shannon Atherton, an injured 24 year-old AFL player who had found himself in trouble and returned home to the series fictional town Rainbow’s End and to his mum (played by Kerry Armstrong.)

He also hosted the first 3 seasons of Studio A, a live chat show produced at RMITV studios. Featuring guests such as Rove McManus, Tony Martin^{[disambiguation needed ]} and the former Melbourne Mayor John So, the show won 'Programme of the Year' at the 2009 Channel 31 Antenna Awards.

Since 2008, Thornton has made many guest appearances on Panel shows including Good News Week (Network 10), ADbc (SBS) and Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation (Network 10).

In 2010 he was a regular panelist on The White Room (Channel 7).

Partial Television

• Comedy Inc. (20 episodes, 2007)
• Bed of Roses (3 episodes, 2008)
• Good News Week (3 episodes, 2008, 2010, 2011)
• Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation (1 episode, 2009)
• The Breast Darn Show in Town (2009) (TV)
• ADbc (1 episode, 2010)
• The 7PM Project (1 episode, 2010)
• The White Room (2 episodes, 2010)

Recognition

In his review of the 2006 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Tim Hunter of The Age wrote "Dave Thornton is the funniest. He's self-deprecating and engaging, and delivered the biggest laugh of the show: an impersonation of Dave Hughes, which is a worry in itself."^[3] Erin White of Australian Stage noted that "Thornton’s performance is quintessentially Australian".^[6] Melissa Phillips of East Torrens Messenger wrote of Thornton's A Different Type of Normal, that "Thornton's show has a real soft side and it’s his family stories that hit home with plenty of honesty,"^[10] while Melissa Mack of The Independent Weekly' wrote "Thornton tackles an interesting subject which is surprising and at times confronting, but always witty. His show is mostly about family and his very Australian style of comedy also has a deeply personal touch".^[11] Rove Daily writes that "Dave Thornton is one of Australia’s most exciting young stand-up comics".^[12]

Awards & nominations

• 2005, Search For Funny Bone Winner^[13]
• 2005, Angling For a Laugh Winner^[13]
• 2006, Campus Comedian of the Year (TREV Awards) Winner^[13]
• 2007, Nominated for 'Best Newcomer' at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival^[2]

References

1. ^ "Dave Thornton official bio". Comedy Acts. http://www.comedyacts.com.au/comedian-dave-thornton.html. Retrieved 16 May 2010. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Martin, Tania (31 July 2007). "Stand-up rolls on". Star News Group. http://www.starnewsgroup.com.au/story/46055. Retrieved 16 May 2010. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Hunter, Tim (18 April 2006). "Eye Candy". The Age. http://www.theage.com.au/news/arts-reviews/eye-candy/2006/04/18/1145126093415.html. Retrieved 16 May 2010. 
4. ^ Ziffer, Daniel (20 March 2008). "Comedy gala". The Age. http://www.theage.com.au/news/arts/motormouths-channel-motorhead-in-comedy-speedway/2008/03/19/1205602481527.html. Retrieved 16 May 2010. 
5. ^ "Melbourne Comedy Festival Roadshow". Sunshine Coast Daily. 20 May 2008. http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/story/2008/05/20/melbourne-comedy-festival-roadshow/. Retrieved 16 May 2010. 
6. ^ ^{a b} White, Erin (17 May 2008). "2008 Melbourne Comedy Festival Roadshow". Australian Stage. http://www.australianstage.com.au/reviews/brisbane/2008-melbourne-comedy-festival-roadshow-1466.html. Retrieved 16 May 2010. 
7. ^ Ziffer, Daniel (12 April 2008). "The winners of the comedy festival are …". The Age. http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/the-winners-of-the-comedy-festival-are-133/2008/04/11/1207856836953.html. Retrieved 16 May 2010. 
8. ^ Plater, Diana (12 September 2009). "Feel the vibe, follow the buzz of Edinburgh's Fringe". Australian Associated Press. Taranaki Daily News. http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/features/travel/2856434/Feel-the-vibe-follow-the-buzz-of-Edinburghs-Fringe. Retrieved 16 May 2010. ^{[dead link]}
9. ^ "Aussies shine at Edinburgh". Sydney Morning Herald. 7 September 2009. http://www.smh.com.au/news/entertainment/arts/aussies-shine-at-edinburgh/2009/09/06/1252201211938.html. Retrieved 16 May 2010. 
10. ^ Phillips, Melissa (11 March 2010). "Fringe Review: Dave Thornton – A Different Type of Normal". East Torrens Messenger. http://east-torrens-messenger.whereilive.com.au/lifestyle/story/fringe-review-dave-thornton-a-different-type-of-normal-comedian/. Retrieved 16 May 2010. 
11. ^ Mack, Melissa (9 March 2010). "Fringe review: Dave Thornton". The Independent Weekly. http://www.independentweekly.com.au/news/local/news/entertainment/fringe-review-dave-thornton/1771657.aspx. Retrieved 16 May 2010. 
12. ^ "Dave Thornton". Rove Daily. http://www.rovedaily.com.au/the-show-guest-dave-thornton.htm. Retrieved 16 May 2010. ^{[dead link]}
13. ^ ^{a b c} "Dave Thornton bio at Speaker's Bureau". http://www.icmi.com.au/Entertainer/MCs_Entertaining/Dave_Thornton/Biography. Retrieved 16 May 2010. 

External links

• Dave Thornton at the Internet Movie Database
• Official Website
• Comedy Acts
• Austrailian Stage online
• Melbourne International Comedy Festival homepage

Persondata
Name	Thornton, Dave
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	13 December 1979
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death