Andy Zaltzman
Encyclopedia
Andrew "Andy" Zaltzman is a British
comedian
and author
who largely focuses on political
material. He has worked extensively with John Oliver
; their work together includes Political Animal
, The Department
and The Bugle
.
and has a degree in Classics
from University College, Oxford
. Whilst at university he was sports editor for The Oxford Student
.
, Russell Howard
and David O'Doherty
.
His debut full length Edinburgh Fringe show Andy Zaltzman versus the Dog of Doom received a nomination for Best Newcomer at the Perrier Comedy Awards in 2001
In 2004 Zaltzman began - initially with John Oliver - hosting Political Animal
, a stand-up show where different acts perform political themed material; Zaltzman has hosted solo since 2006
. Political Animal later transferred to BBC Radio 4
.
Zaltzman also appeared in a late night show with fellow stand-ups Daniel Kitson
, David O'Doherty
and Alun Cochrane
entitled The Honourable Men of Art, at The Stand
in 2006
and 2008.
for the first time in April 2007, winning the coveted Piece of Wood Award
, given to the best show as voted for by other comedians.
for TimesOnline, with John Oliver
.
on a number of projects, these include Transatlantic, a US election special for BBC Radio 4
and several series of Bremner, Bird and Fortune
. In June 2007, BBC2's The Culture Show
commissioned Zaltzman and John Oliver
to write a mock farewell speech for departing Prime Minister Tony Blair
. The speech was then animated by Triffic Films, with the voice of Blair played by Bremner.
In November 2008 his first book, entitled Does Anything Eat Bankers?: And 53 Other Indispensable Questions for the Credit Crunched, was published.
Television
Zaltzman has made an appearance on Channel four's panel show "8 out of 10 cats".
and since November 2008 has written a regular blog for Cricinfo
, named "The Confectionery Stall". The name for the blog comes from the description given by Richie Benaud
, of a shot by Ian Botham
off Terry Alderman
. On air Richie says -
Zaltzman's profile there informs us that.
Zaltzman has appeared as a guest on various TV and radio programmes, including BBC Four
's The Late Edition
as well as The Now Show
and The News Quiz
on BBC Radio 4
.
Zaltzman presents a 4 part BBC Radio 4
program entitled Andy Zaltzman's History of the third millennium, series 1 of 100. Providing a decade by decade comic analysis of a potentially chaotic era.
In the summer of 2009 Zaltzman hosted a Saturday morning show on BBC Radio 5 Live
entitled Yes, It's The Ashes, taking a comic look at the 2009 Ashes
.
He was a regular co-host of the satirical news show 7 Day Sunday
on BBC Radio 5 Live
, along with comedians Chris Addison
, Sarah Millican
and one different guest each week. The series ran from January 2010 to early 2011.
, a popular British podcast
.
Zaltzman is married to Miranda, a barrister
, and has two children: a daughter named Matilda, born in 2007 and a son named Horace, born 15 December 2008. Horace was delivered by Zaltzman himself at home
due to his wife entering labour suddenly; he recounted this on an episode of The Bugle
dated 22 December 2008 and during his 2010 Edinburgh show.
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...
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 author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
who largely focuses on political
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
material. He has worked extensively with John Oliver
John Oliver (comedian)
John Oliver is a British stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. He is best known for his work on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, for which he won an Emmy in 2009. He also plays a recurring character, Professor Ian Duncan, on the television series Community...
; their work together includes Political Animal
Political Animal
Political Animal is a radio show hosted by British comedians John Oliver and Andy Zaltzman in which various stand-up comedians perform political material....
, The Department
The Department
The Department is a satirical comedy on BBC Radio 4 about a secret organisation with the power to influence every aspect of your life.Chris Addison, John Oliver and Andy Zaltzman star as Research Team 32, an eccentric three-man think-tank with the brief to brainstorm new ideas on solving society's...
and The Bugle
The Bugle
The Bugle is a weekly satirical news podcast, hosted by John Oliver and Andy Zaltzman, and distributed by TimesOnline. New episodes of The Bugle are released on Fridays with related material appearing on the official website.- Offshoots :...
.
Early life
Andy Zaltzman is the son of sculptor Zack Zaltzman and is of Lithuanian Jewish ancestry. He attended the private Tonbridge SchoolTonbridge School
Tonbridge School is a British boys' independent school for both boarding and day pupils in Tonbridge, Kent, founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judd . It is a member of the Eton Group, and has close links with the Worshipful Company of Skinners, one of the oldest London livery companies...
and has a degree in Classics
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
from University College, Oxford
University College, Oxford
.University College , is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2009 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £110m...
. Whilst at university he was sports editor for The Oxford Student
The Oxford Student
The Oxford Student is a newspaper produced by and for students of the University of Oxford; it is sometimes abbreviated to The OxStu. The paper was established in 1992 by the Oxford University Student Union...
.
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Zaltzman has been performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe since 1999 when he was a finalist in the prestigious So You Think You're Funny? new act competition along with Josie LongJosie Long
Josie Long is an English comedian.-Background:Long spent her early life in Orpington, South East London, where she attended Newstead Wood School for Girls in Swift House. She also attended GIFT Ltd. summer schools. She began performing stand-up comedy at 14, winning the BBC New Comedy Awards at...
, Russell Howard
Russell Howard
Russell Joseph Howard is an English comedian best known for his TV show Russell Howard's Good News and his appearances on the topical panel TV show Mock The Week...
and David O'Doherty
David O'Doherty
David Nicholas O'Doherty is a Perrier Award winning Irish stand-up comedian, author, musician, actor and playwright. His stand-up has won two awards at the Edinburgh Fringe, Best Newcomer first of all and the if.comedy award in 2008 for his show Let's Comedy. He has been nominated twice more for...
.
His debut full length Edinburgh Fringe show Andy Zaltzman versus the Dog of Doom received a nomination for Best Newcomer at the Perrier Comedy Awards in 2001
2001 Edinburgh Festival Fringe
The 2001 Edinburgh Festival Fringe was the 54th Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The Fringe ran from 5–27 August 2001 and presented 1462 shows over 176 venues.-Scotsman Fringe First Awards:Week One:*Gagarin Way*Runt*Like Thunder*Bedbound...
In 2004 Zaltzman began - initially with John Oliver - hosting Political Animal
Political Animal
Political Animal is a radio show hosted by British comedians John Oliver and Andy Zaltzman in which various stand-up comedians perform political material....
, a stand-up show where different acts perform political themed material; Zaltzman has hosted solo since 2006
2006 Edinburgh Festival Fringe
-Events:2006 was the first Fringe following the introduction of the new legislation banning smoking indoors. During a photocall at the Assembly Rooms for a play in which he was playing Winston Churchill, the actor Mel Smith lit a cigar, flouting the ban...
. Political Animal later transferred to BBC 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...
.
Zaltzman also appeared in a late night show with fellow stand-ups Daniel Kitson
Daniel Kitson
Daniel Kitson is an English stand-up comedian.-Career:Born to a lecturer father and primary school head teacher mother, Kitson began performing comedy at the age of 16. He was a pupil at Scissett Middle School and Shelley College in Yorkshire, England...
, David O'Doherty
David O'Doherty
David Nicholas O'Doherty is a Perrier Award winning Irish stand-up comedian, author, musician, actor and playwright. His stand-up has won two awards at the Edinburgh Fringe, Best Newcomer first of all and the if.comedy award in 2008 for his show Let's Comedy. He has been nominated twice more for...
and Alun Cochrane
Alun Cochrane
Alun "The Cockerel" Cochrane is a Scottish stand-up comedian. He was born in Glasgow and raised in Mirfield, West Yorkshire.-Stand-up comedy:...
entitled The Honourable Men of Art, at The Stand
The Stand Comedy Club
The Stand Comedy Club are three stand-up comedy venues in the cities of Edinburgh, Glasgow and Newcastle upon Tyne.-History:The Stand hosted its first regular club night on Thursday 21st September 1995: seven people came and the total box office was £22....
in 2006
2006 Edinburgh Festival Fringe
-Events:2006 was the first Fringe following the introduction of the new legislation banning smoking indoors. During a photocall at the Assembly Rooms for a play in which he was playing Winston Churchill, the actor Mel Smith lit a cigar, flouting the ban...
and 2008.
| Year | Show name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | So You Think You're Funny So You Think You're Funny So You Think You're Funny? is an annual stand-up comedy competition for new acts. The competition began in 1988 and has become the longest running best comedy newcomer award in Great Britain.... |
New act competition. Finalist |
| 2000 | The Comedy Zone | New act showcase |
| 2001 2001 Edinburgh Festival Fringe The 2001 Edinburgh Festival Fringe was the 54th Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The Fringe ran from 5–27 August 2001 and presented 1462 shows over 176 venues.-Scotsman Fringe First Awards:Week One:*Gagarin Way*Runt*Like Thunder*Bedbound... |
Andy Zaltzman versus the Dog of Doom | Nominated for Best Newcomer at the Perrier Comedy Awards |
| 2002 | Andy Zaltzman Unveils the 2002 Catapult of Truth | |
| 2003 2003 Edinburgh Festival Fringe The 2003 Edinburgh Festival Fringe was the 56th Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The Fringe ran from 3–25 August 2003 and presented 1541 shows over 207 venues... |
Edinburgh and Beyond | Showcase. With John Oliver John Oliver (comedian) John Oliver is a British stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. He is best known for his work on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, for which he won an Emmy in 2009. He also plays a recurring character, Professor Ian Duncan, on the television series Community... and Rob Deering Rob Deering Rob Deering is an English stand-up comedian, guitarist and writer.Deering was the host and writer of three series of Out to Lunch on BBC Radio 2... |
| 2004 | Erm... It's About The World... I Think You'd Better Sit Down | With John Oliver |
| Political Animal | With John Oliver | |
| 2005 | John Oliver and Andy Zaltzman issue a list of demands and await your response with interest | With John Oliver |
| Political Animal | With John Oliver | |
| 2006 2006 Edinburgh Festival Fringe -Events:2006 was the first Fringe following the introduction of the new legislation banning smoking indoors. During a photocall at the Assembly Rooms for a play in which he was playing Winston Churchill, the actor Mel Smith lit a cigar, flouting the ban... |
Andy Zaltzman Detonates 70 Minutes Of Unbridled Afternoon | |
| The Honourable Men of Art | With Daniel Kitson Daniel Kitson Daniel Kitson is an English stand-up comedian.-Career:Born to a lecturer father and primary school head teacher mother, Kitson began performing comedy at the age of 16. He was a pupil at Scissett Middle School and Shelley College in Yorkshire, England... , Alun Cochrane Alun Cochrane Alun "The Cockerel" Cochrane is a Scottish stand-up comedian. He was born in Glasgow and raised in Mirfield, West Yorkshire.-Stand-up comedy:... and David O'Doherty David O'Doherty David Nicholas O'Doherty is a Perrier Award winning Irish stand-up comedian, author, musician, actor and playwright. His stand-up has won two awards at the Edinburgh Fringe, Best Newcomer first of all and the if.comedy award in 2008 for his show Let's Comedy. He has been nominated twice more for... |
|
| Political Animal | ||
| 2007 | Andy Zaltzman, 32, Administers His Emergency Dose Of Afternoon Utopia, Steps Back And Waits To See What Happens | |
| Political Animal | ||
| 2008 | Andy Zaltzman Boldly Unbuttons The Cloak Of Civilisation, But Is Perplexed And Perturbed By What He Finds Lurking Beneath | |
| The Honourable Men of Art | with Daniel Kitson, Alun Cochrane and David O'Doherty | |
| Political Animal | ||
| 2010 | Andy Zaltzman Swears to Tell the Truth, Half the Truth, and Everything But the Truth | |
| 2011 | Andy Zaltzman: Armchair Revolutionary |
Melbourne International Comedy Festival
Zaltzman performed at the Melbourne International Comedy FestivalMelbourne International Comedy Festival
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival is the third-largest international comedy festival in the world and the largest cultural event in Australia. Established in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks in April typically opening on or around April Fool's Day...
for the first time in April 2007, winning the coveted Piece of Wood Award
Piece of Wood Award
Founded in 1998 by comedian Greg Fleet, the Piece of Wood Award is awarded during the Melbourne International Comedy Festival to the best show as voted by a committee of comedians which includes all past winners of the award...
, given to the best show as voted for by other comedians.
The Bugle
Since October 2007 Zaltzman has co-hosted The Bugle, a weekly satirical comedy podcastPodcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
for TimesOnline, with John Oliver
John Oliver (comedian)
John Oliver is a British stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. He is best known for his work on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, for which he won an Emmy in 2009. He also plays a recurring character, Professor Ian Duncan, on the television series Community...
.
Writing
Zaltzman has worked with Rory BremnerRory Bremner
Roderick "Rory" Keith Ogilvy Bremner, FKC is a Scottish impressionist, playwright and comedian, noted for his work in political satire...
on a number of projects, these include Transatlantic, a US election special for BBC 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...
and several series of Bremner, Bird and Fortune
Bremner, Bird and Fortune
Bremner, Bird and Fortune is an award-winning satirical British television programme produced by Vera Productions for Channel Four, uniting the longstanding satirical team of John Bird and John Fortune with the satirical impressionist Rory Bremner.The show started in 1999. The fourteenth series...
. In June 2007, BBC2's The Culture Show
The Culture Show
The Culture Show is a weekly BBC Two Arts magazine programme. It is broadcast in the UK on Thursday nights at 7pm, focusing on the best of the week's arts and culture news, covering books, art, film, architecture, music, visual fashion and the performing arts...
commissioned Zaltzman and John Oliver
John Oliver (comedian)
John Oliver is a British stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. He is best known for his work on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, for which he won an Emmy in 2009. He also plays a recurring character, Professor Ian Duncan, on the television series Community...
to write a mock farewell speech for departing Prime Minister Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
. The speech was then animated by Triffic Films, with the voice of Blair played by Bremner.
In November 2008 his first book, entitled Does Anything Eat Bankers?: And 53 Other Indispensable Questions for the Credit Crunched, was published.
Television
Zaltzman has made an appearance on Channel four's panel show "8 out of 10 cats".
Other work
Zaltzman is a huge fan of cricketCricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
and since November 2008 has written a regular blog for Cricinfo
Cricinfo
ESPNcricinfo is believed to be the largest cricket-related website on the World Wide Web. Content includes news,articles, live scorecards,live text commentary and a comprehensive and searchable database called 'StatsGuru', of historical matches and players from the 18th century to the present...
, named "The Confectionery Stall". The name for the blog comes from the description given by Richie Benaud
Richie Benaud
Richard "Richie" Benaud OBE is a former Australian cricketer who, since his retirement from international cricket in 1964, has become a highly regarded commentator on the game....
, of a shot by Ian Botham
Ian Botham
Sir Ian Terence Botham OBE is a former England Test cricketer and Test team captain, and current cricket commentator. He was a genuine all-rounder with 14 centuries and 383 wickets in Test cricket, and remains well-known by his nickname "Beefy"...
off Terry Alderman
Terry Alderman
Terence Michael Alderman is a former Australian cricketer.He began his first-class career in 1974 with Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield and came to international prominence when he was chosen for the Australian national team to tour England in 1981...
. On air Richie says -
Don't bother looking for that, let alone chasing it. It's gone straight into the Confectionery Stall and out again. A beautiful hit
.
Zaltzman's profile there informs us that.
Zaltzman's love of cricket outshone his aptitude for the game by a humiliating margin. He once scored 6 in 75 minutes in an Under-15 match, and failed to hit a six between the ages of 9 and 23. He would have been ideally suited to TestTest cricketTest cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
s, had not a congenital defect left him unable to play the game to anything above genuine village standard. Aged 21, when fielding at deep midwicket, he dropped the same batsman three times in fifteen minutes, and has not been selected by England before or since.
Zaltzman has appeared as a guest on various TV and radio programmes, including BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
's The Late Edition
The Late Edition
The Late Edition was a British television programme broadcast on BBC Four. It took the form of a topical chat show in the vein of The Daily Show, presented by comedian Marcus Brigstocke...
as well as The Now Show
The Now Show
The Now Show is a British radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4, which satirises the week's news. The show is a mixture of stand-up, sketches and songs presented by Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis...
and The News Quiz
The News Quiz
The News Quiz is a topical panel game broadcast on British radio BBC Radio 4.-History:It was first broadcast in 1977 with Barry Norman as chairman. Subsequently it was chaired by Simon Hoggart, Barry Took , and then again by Simon Hoggart until March 2006. Hoggart was replaced by Sandi Toksvig in...
on BBC 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...
.
Zaltzman presents a 4 part BBC 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...
program entitled Andy Zaltzman's History of the third millennium, series 1 of 100. Providing a decade by decade comic analysis of a potentially chaotic era.
In the summer of 2009 Zaltzman hosted a Saturday morning show on BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
entitled Yes, It's The Ashes, taking a comic look at the 2009 Ashes
Australian cricket team in England in 2009
The Australia national cricket team toured Great Britain to play a series of cricket matches during the 2009 English cricket season. The team played five Test matches – one in Wales – seven one-day internationals and two Twenty20 internationals against England. The Australians also...
.
He was a regular co-host of the satirical news show 7 Day Sunday
7 Day Sunday
7 Day Sunday is a British comedy radio talk show hosted by Chris Addison on BBC Radio 5 Live. Broadcast weekly on Sunday mornings, the show takes an irreverent look at the topical news stories of the past seven days. Addison is joined by regular guests Sarah Millican and Andy Zaltzman, and a fourth...
on BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
, along with comedians Chris Addison
Chris Addison
Chris Addison is an English stand-up comedian, writer and actor. He is known for his lecture-style comedy shows, two of which he later adapted for BBC Radio 4...
, Sarah Millican
Sarah Millican
Sarah Millican is an English stand-up comedian. Millican won the if.comedy award for Best Newcomer at the 2008 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.-Career:...
and one different guest each week. The series ran from January 2010 to early 2011.
Personal life
Zaltzman is the older brother of Helen Zaltzman, co-host of Answer Me This!Answer Me This!
Answer Me This! is a weekly comedy podcast by Helen Zaltzman and Olly Mann in which they answer questions submitted by the general public. Recorded in Zaltzman's living-room in Crystal Palace, it began in January 2007 and has since become one of the UK's most successful independently-produced...
, a popular British podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
.
Zaltzman is married to Miranda, a barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
, and has two children: a daughter named Matilda, born in 2007 and a son named Horace, born 15 December 2008. Horace was delivered by Zaltzman himself at home
Midwifery
Midwifery is a health care profession in which providers offer care to childbearing women during pregnancy, labour and birth, and during the postpartum period. They also help care for the newborn and assist the mother with breastfeeding....
due to his wife entering labour suddenly; he recounted this on an episode of The Bugle
The Bugle
The Bugle is a weekly satirical news podcast, hosted by John Oliver and Andy Zaltzman, and distributed by TimesOnline. New episodes of The Bugle are released on Fridays with related material appearing on the official website.- Offshoots :...
dated 22 December 2008 and during his 2010 Edinburgh show.