Image:the_it_crowd_denholm.jpg|Chris Morris in The IT Crowd
Christopher Morris (born 5 September 1965 in
BristolBristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, west of London, and east of Cardiff.With an estimated population of 416,400 for the unitary authority in mid-2007, and a surrounding urban area with an estimated 561,500 residents, it is England's sixth, and...
) is an
EnglishEngland 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 and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
comedianA comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain members of 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...
,
writerA writer is anyone who creates a written work, though the word usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, as well as those who have written in many different forms.-Profession:...
,
directorA television director directs the activities involved in making a television episode.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or filmed/taped .In both types of productions, the director is responsible for supervising the placement of cameras ,...
,
actorAn actor or actress is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and former radio DJ.
Morris began his career in
radioRadio is the transmission of signals by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
before moving into
televisionTelevision is a widely used telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images, either monochromatic or color, usually accompanied by sound. "Television" may also refer specifically to a television set, television programming or television transmission...
. He found fame in the nineties fronting the spoof current affairs shows
The Day TodayThe Day Today is a surreal British parody of television news programmes. It is an adaptation of the radio programme On the Hour. The series is composed of six half-hour episodes and a selection of shorter, five-minute slots recorded as promotion trailers for the longer segments. Only six episodes...
and
Brass EyeBrass Eye is a UK television series of satirical spoof documentaries. A single series of six episodes aired on Channel 4 in 1997, with a further special episode in 2001....
and became known for his intelligent yet often highly-controversial brand of comedy. Morris tends to stay out of the public eye and has become one of the more enigmatic figures in British comedy.
Early life
Morris grew up in
CambridgeshireCambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
; his parents were doctors. He was educated at
Stonyhurst CollegeStonyhurst College is an independent, Roman Catholic school in the Jesuit tradition. It is located on the Stonyhurst Estate near Clitheroe in rural Lancashire, England, where it occupies a Grade I listed building....
, a
JesuitThe Society of Jesus is a Catholic religious order of clerks regular whose members are called Jesuits.Jesuits are the largest male religious order in the Catholic Church, with 18,815 members—13,305 priests, 2,295 scholastic students, 1,758 brothers and 827 novices—as of January 2008, although the...
boys' boarding school in
LancashireLancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Lancashire County Council is based in Preston. However, Lancaster is still considered to be the county town...
, and studied
zoologyZoology, also spelled zoölogy, is the branch of biology that focuses on the structure, function, behavior, and evolution of animals. The zoologist's pronunciation of "zoology" is , though a common spelling pronunciation is .-Systems of classification:...
at the
University of BristolThe University of Bristol is a university in Bristol, England. One of the so-called "red brick" universities, it received its Royal Charter in 1909, although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol, had been in existence since 1876...
.
Radio career
On graduating, Morris took up a traineeship with
BBC Radio CambridgeshireBBC Radio Cambridgeshire is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Cambridgeshire. It broadcasts from studios on Hills Road close to the train station in Cambridge and a studio on Priestgate in Peterborough...
, where he took advantage of access to editing and recording equipment to create elaborate
spoofsA parody , in contemporary usage, is a work created to mock, comment on, or poke fun at an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
and
parodiesA parody , in contemporary usage, is a work created to mock, comment on, or poke fun at an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
. He also spent time in early 1987 hosting a 2–4pm afternoon show and finally ended up presenting Saturday morning show
I.T.. In July 1987, he moved on to
BBC Radio BristolBBC Radio Bristol is the BBC Local Radio service for the English city of Bristol and the surrounding former Avon area. Launched in September 1970, it broadcasts from its studios in Bristol on FM frequencies 94.9 MHz , 104.6 MHz , 103.6 MHz , on AM 1548 kHz and on DAB.The Mendip...
to present his own show "No Known Cure", and later joined, from its launch,
Greater London RadioBBC London 94.9 is London's BBC Local Radio station, and part of BBC London. Broadcasting across Greater London and beyond on 94.9 FM, DAB, Virgin Media Channel 930, Sky Digital Channel 0152 and also online. Previously known as BBC London Live, GLR and Radio London...
(GLR). Until 1990, he was presenting Friday night and Saturday morning shows on Radio Bristol and a Sunday morning show on GLR.
In 1991, Morris reduced his work as a mainstream disc jockey and devoted himself to comedy with his radio project
On the HourOn the Hour was a British radio programme that parodied current affairs broadcasting, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1991 and 1992.Written by Chris Morris, Patrick Marber, Eric Weinstein, Armando Iannucci, Steven Wells, Andrew Glover, Stewart Lee, Richard Herring and David Quantick, it starred...
. Working with
Armando IannucciArmando Giovanni Iannucci is a Scottish comedian, writer, director, performer and radio producer.- Early life :...
,
Patrick MarberPatrick Albert Crispin Marber is an English comedian, playwright, director, actor and screenwriter.-Early years:Marber was born in London, England, the son of a financial analyst, and was raised in Wimbledon...
,
Richard HerringRichard Keith Herring is a British comedian and writer. He has been described, by the British Theatre Guide, as "one of the leading hidden masters of modern British comedy" and by The Guardian as "a reliable Fringe pleasure"...
,
Stewart LeeStewart Graham Lee is an English stand-up comedian, writer and director probably best known for being one half of the 1990s comedy duo Lee and Herring, and for co-writing and directing the critically-acclaimed and controversial stage show Jerry Springer - The Opera. He grew up in the West...
,
Steve CooganStephen John "Steve" Coogan is an English comedian, actor, writer and producer. His best known character in the United Kingdom is Alan Partridge, the grotesque sports reporter-turned-television chat show host-turned-regional radio presenter who featured in several television series, such as The...
and others, he created a spoof news show on
BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a domestic UK radio station that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967.-Outline:...
. In 1994, Morris began a weekly evening show on
BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the BBC which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock or interviews. It is aimed...
alongside
Peter BaynhamPeter Baynham is an Academy Award-nominated screenwriter and a British comedian, writer, and performer. He often collaborates with Armando Iannucci and Chris Morris and has worked with Stewart Lee and Richard Herring. He is first heard on Morris' early radio DJ slots, often going out to places...
. In the shows, Morris perfected the spoof interview style that would become a central component of his
Brass EyeBrass Eye is a UK television series of satirical spoof documentaries. A single series of six episodes aired on Channel 4 in 1997, with a further special episode in 2001....
programme. The show's pranks left BBC bosses nonplussed, and a profanity-laden mid-afternoon show on Boxing Day was his last.
In the same year, Morris teamed up with
Peter CookPeter Edward Cook was a British satirist, writer and comedian. He is widely regarded as the leading figure in the British satire boom of the 1960s...
, as
Sir Arthur Streeb-GreeblingSir Arthur Streeb-Greebling was a fictional character played by British comedian Peter Cook throughout his career. Streeb-Greebling was a stereotype of the upper class English duffer. He was usually presented in the form of interviews with various comedians acting as the interviewer...
, in a series of improvised conversations for
BBC Radio 3BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music, but jazz, world music, drama and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation Artists scheme...
, entitled
Why Bother?Why Bother? was a Talkback production for BBC Radio 3, consisting of five 10-minute long radio interviews between Chris Morris and Peter Cook's character Sir Arthur Streeb-Greebling, recorded in late 1993 and originally broadcast from 10 January – 14 January 1994. The complete series was released...
. Morris followed this with
Blue JamBlue Jam was an ambient radio comedy programme created and directed by Chris Morris. It aired on BBC Radio 1 in the early hours of the morning from 1997 to 1999....
, a late-night
ambient musicAmbient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
and sketch show on Radio 1, which was later reworked for television as
Channel 4Channel 4 is a UK public-service television broadcaster which began working on November 2, 1982. Although commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station owned now and operated by the Channel Four Television...
's
JamJam was a postmodern British comedy television series created, written and directed by Chris Morris, and broadcast on Channel 4 during March and April 2000...
. He is also credited with studio/sound help for the
Flight Of The ConchordsFlight of the Conchords is a New Zealand comedy duo composed of Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. Billing themselves as "Formerly New Zealand's fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo", the group uses a combination of witty observation, characterisation and...
6-part
Radio 2BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the UK. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
series.
Move into television and film
In 1994, a
BBC 2
television series based on
On the Hour was broadcast under the name
The Day TodayThe Day Today is a surreal British parody of television news programmes. It is an adaptation of the radio programme On the Hour. The series is composed of six half-hour episodes and a selection of shorter, five-minute slots recorded as promotion trailers for the longer segments. Only six episodes...
.
The Day Today made a star of Morris, and helped to launch the careers of
Patrick MarberPatrick Albert Crispin Marber is an English comedian, playwright, director, actor and screenwriter.-Early years:Marber was born in London, England, the son of a financial analyst, and was raised in Wimbledon...
and
Steve CooganStephen John "Steve" Coogan is an English comedian, actor, writer and producer. His best known character in the United Kingdom is Alan Partridge, the grotesque sports reporter-turned-television chat show host-turned-regional radio presenter who featured in several television series, such as The...
.
The
black humourBlack comedy is a sub-genre of comedy and satire in which topics and events that are usually regarded as taboo are treated in a satirical or humorous manner while retaining their seriousness...
which had featured in
On the Hour and
The Day Today became more prominent in
Brass EyeBrass Eye is a UK television series of satirical spoof documentaries. A single series of six episodes aired on Channel 4 in 1997, with a further special episode in 2001....
, another spoof current affairs television documentary, shown on
Channel 4Channel 4 is a UK public-service television broadcaster which began working on November 2, 1982. Although commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station owned now and operated by the Channel Four Television...
.
Brass Eye became known for tricking celebrities and politicians into throwing support behind public awareness campaigns for made-up issues that were often absurd or surreal (such as a drug called
cake and an
elephantElephants are large land mammals in two genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta. Three species of elephant are living today: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant and the Asian Elephant...
with its trunk stuck up its
anusThe anus is an opening at the opposite end of an animal's digestive tract from the mouth. Its function is to expel feces, unwanted semi-solid matter produced during digestion, which, depending on the type of animal, may be one or more of: matter which the animal cannot digest, such as bones; food...
). In 2001, a reprise of
Brass Eye on the moral panic that surrounds
paedophiliaThe term pedophilia has a range of definitions as found in psychiatry, psychology, law enforcement, and the vernacular. As a medical diagnosis, it is defined as a psychological disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a sexual preference for prepubescent children...
led to a record-breaking number of complaints – it still remains the third highest on UK television after
Celebrity Big Brother 2007Celebrity Big Brother 2007 was the highly controversial fifth series of the United Kingdom reality television series Celebrity Big Brother, a spin-off of Big Brother. The series was broadcast on Channel 4 in the UK , and involved a number of celebrities referred to as 'housemates', who live in the...
and
Jerry Springer: The OperaJerry Springer: The Opera is a British musical written by Stewart Lee and Richard Thomas, based on the television show The Jerry Springer Show. The musical is notable for its profanity, its irreverent treatment of Judeo-Christian themes, and surreal images such as a troupe of tap-dancing Ku Klux...
– as well as heated discussion in the press. Many complainants, some of whom later admitted to not having seen the programme (notably
Beverley HughesBeverley June Hughes is a British politician, and member of Parliament for Stretford and Urmston . She is a member of the governing Labour Party and a member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom since 2004...
, a government minister), felt the satire was directed at the victims of paedophilia, which Morris denies. Channel 4 defended the show, insisting the target was the media and its hysterical treatment of paedophilia, and not victims of crime.
Morris also wrote and directed
JamJam was a postmodern British comedy television series created, written and directed by Chris Morris, and broadcast on Channel 4 during March and April 2000...
, a television reworking of his radio show
Blue JamBlue Jam was an ambient radio comedy programme created and directed by Chris Morris. It aired on BBC Radio 1 in the early hours of the morning from 1997 to 1999....
. Darker and more unsettling than his previous work, the show explored such
tabooA taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and forbidden. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society. The term comes from the Tongan language, and appears in many Polynesian cultures...
s as infant mortality,
incestIncest is any sexual activity between close relatives irrespective of the ages of the participants and irrespective of their consent, that is illegal or socially taboo. The type of sexual activity and the nature of the relationship between persons that constitutes a breach of law or social taboo...
,
anal sexAnal sex most often refers to the sex act involving insertion of the penis into the anus. The term anal sex can also sometimes include other sexual acts involving the anus, including Anal–oral sex and fingering...
,
rapeRape, also referred to as sexual assault, is an assault by a person involving sexual intercourse with or without sexual penetration of another person without that person's consent....
,
suicideSuicide is the intentional killing of one's self. Many dictionaries also note the metaphorical sense of "willful destruction of one's self-interest"...
and sadomasochism through a series of unsettling, dreamlike sketches with a soundtrack of ambient music. This was followed by a 'remix' version,
Jaaaaam.
In 2002, Morris ventured into
filmFilm encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....
, directing the short
My Wrongs #8245–8249 & 117, adapted from a
Blue Jam monologue about a man led astray by a sinister talking dog. It was the first film project of
Warp FilmsWarp Films, a sister company of Warp Records, was set up in 1999 with funding from NESTA. It is based in Sheffield, England with a further office in London and has 14 full-time staff....
, a branch of
Warp RecordsWarp, commonly referred to as Warp Records, is a pioneering independent English record label, founded in Sheffield in 1989, notable for discovering some of the most enduring artists in electronic music....
. In 2002 this won the
BAFTAThe British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a British charity that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation...
for best short film. In 2005 Morris worked on a sitcom entitled
Nathan BarleyNathan Barley is a Channel 4 sitcom written by Charlie Brooker and Chris Morris, starring Nicholas Burns, Julian Barratt and Claire Keelan. The series of six weekly episodes began broadcasting on 11 February 2005 on Channel 4...
, based on the character created by
Charlie BrookerCharlton Brooker, commonly known as Charlie Brooker, is a British journalist, comic writer and broadcaster. His style of humour is savage and profane, with surreal elements and a consistent satirical pessimism...
for his website
TVGoHomeTVGoHome was a website which parodied the television listings style of the British magazine Radio Times. It was produced fortnightly from 1999 to 2001, and sporadically until 2003, by Charlie Brooker. The site now exists only in archive form...
. Co-written by Brooker and Morris, the series was broadcast on
Channel 4Channel 4 is a UK public-service television broadcaster which began working on November 2, 1982. Although commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station owned now and operated by the Channel Four Television...
in early 2005.
Morris is currently directing his feature film debut,
Four LionsFour Lions, also known as Boilerhouse is an upcoming debut feature film from director Chris Morris and is written by Morris, Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong...
, a satire based on a group of Islamist terrorists in the North of England which he also wrote.
Recent work
Morris was a cast member in
The IT CrowdThe IT Crowd is a British sitcom, written by Graham Linehan and produced by Ash Atalla for Channel 4. The series has won BAFTA and International Emmy awards...
, a
Channel 4Channel 4 is a UK public-service television broadcaster which began working on November 2, 1982. Although commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station owned now and operated by the Channel Four Television...
sitcomA situation comedy, usually referred to as a sitcom, is a genre of comedy programs which originated in radio. Today, sitcoms are found almost exclusively on television as one of its dominant narrative forms...
focusing on the office and home lives of two ‘
geekThe word geek is a slang term, noting individuals as "a peculiar or otherwise odd person, especially one who is perceived to be overly obsessed with one or more things including those of intellectuality, electronics, etc." Formerly, the term referred to a carnival performer often billed as a wild...
s’ who work in the
information technologyInformation technology , as defined by the Information Technology Association of America , is "the study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware." IT deals with the use of electronic...
department of the fictional company Reynholm Industries. The series is written and directed by
Graham LinehanGraham Linehan is an Irish television writer, actor and director who, often in partnership with Arthur Mathews, has written or co-written a number of popular television comedies...
(writer of
Father TedFather Ted is a situation comedy television programme produced by Hat Trick Productions for Channel 4. The show depicts the lives of three Irish Catholic priests on the remote fictional Craggy Island off the west coast of Ireland. It ran for three series, totalling 25 episodes, between 21 April...
and
Black BooksBlack Books is a British sitcom broadcast on Channel 4 starring Dylan Moran, Bill Bailey and Tamsin Greig. It was written by Dylan Moran, Graham Linehan, Arthur Mathews, Kevin Cecil and Andy Riley and produced by Nira Park...
, with whom Morris collaborated on
The Day Today,
Brass Eye and
Jam) and produced by
Ash AtallaAsh Atalla is an Egyptian television producer responsible for producing several British TV series such as The IT Crowd , The Office and Man Stroke Woman. He has also made cameo appearances in productions such as Ricky Gervais' Politics...
(
The OfficeThe Office is a British television comedy that first aired in the UK on BBC Two on 9 July 2001.Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough, Berkshire branch of the fictitious Wernham Hogg Paper Company...
). Morris played Denholm Reynholm, the eccentric managing director of the company. This marked the first time Morris has acted in a substantial role in a project which he hasn't developed himself and is more mainstream than his earlier work. Morris's character appeared to leave the series during episode two of the second series. His character made a brief return in the first episode of the third series.
The GuardianThe Guardian is a British daily newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. Founded in 1821, it is unique among major British newspapers in being owned by a foundation .The Guardian Weekly, which circulates worldwide, provides a compact digest of four newspapers...
reported that Morris is working on a film satirising terrorism and suicide bombers for
Channel 4Channel 4 is a UK public-service television broadcaster which began working on November 2, 1982. Although commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station owned now and operated by the Channel Four Television...
. The project, titled
BoilerhouseFour Lions, also known as Boilerhouse is an upcoming debut feature film from director Chris Morris and is written by Morris, Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong...
(working title
Four Lions) was turned down by both the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
and
Channel 4Channel 4 is a UK public-service television broadcaster which began working on November 2, 1982. Although commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station owned now and operated by the Channel Four Television...
for its controversial subject matter, but has been picked up by Film Four. Morris told
The Sunday TimesThe Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
that the film will seek to do for Islamic terrorism what
Dad's ArmyDad's Army is a British sitcom about the Home Guard in the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977. The series ran for 9 series and 80 episodes in total, plus a radio series, a feature film and a stage show...
, the classic BBC comedy, did for the Nazis by showing them as "scary but also ridiculous".
In November 2007, Morris wrote an article for
The ObserverThe Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In about the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a left-liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-History:The...
in response to
Ronan BennettRonan Bennett is a Northern Irish novelist and screenwriter. He was born and raised in a devout Roman Catholic family at the picturesque Merville Garden Village in Whitehouse, Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland. Since its creation in the late 1940s, Merville has always been a mixed Roman...
's article published six days earlier in
The GuardianThe Guardian is a British daily newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. Founded in 1821, it is unique among major British newspapers in being owned by a foundation .The Guardian Weekly, which circulates worldwide, provides a compact digest of four newspapers...
. Bennett's article, "
Shame on us'", accused the novelist
Martin AmisMartin Louis Amis is an English novelist, literary critic, professor, and short story writer. He is the son of Sir Kingsley Amis. His works include such novels as Money , London Fields and The Information...
of
racismRacism is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race. In the case of institutional racism, certain racial groups may be denied rights or benefits, or get preferential treatment...
. Morris's response, "
The absurd world of Martin Amis", was also highly critical of Amis; although he didn't accede to Bennett's accusation of racism, Morris likened Amis to the Muslim cleric
Abu HamzaAbu Hamza al-Masri is an Egyptian Sunni Muslim activist known for his preaching against non-Muslims. He is currently incarcerated in the United Kingdom for various offences.-Early life:...
(who was jailed for
inciting racial hatredIncitement to racial or ethnic hatred is a crime under the laws of a number of countries.-United Kingdom:Under the Law of the United Kingdom, "incitement to racial hatred" was established as an offence by the provisions of §§ 17-29 of the Public Order Act 1986. It was first established as a...
in 2006), suggesting that both men employ "mock erudition, vitriol and decontextualised quotes from the Koran" to incite hatred.
Morris served as script editor for the 2009 series
Stewart Lee's Comedy VehicleStewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle is a 2009 comedy series created by Stewart Lee.The BBC Two series debuted on 16 March 2009, and featured stand-up routines and sketches performed by Simon Munnery, Kevin Eldon and Paul Putner amongst others. Peter Serafinowicz recorded voice-over parts. The series is...
, working with former colleagues
Stewart LeeStewart Graham Lee is an English stand-up comedian, writer and director probably best known for being one half of the 1990s comedy duo Lee and Herring, and for co-writing and directing the critically-acclaimed and controversial stage show Jerry Springer - The Opera. He grew up in the West...
, the actor
Kevin EldonKevin Eldon is an English actor and comedian. He has appeared prominently in several of the most critically-acclaimed British comedy television shows of the 1990s, notably Fist of Fun, I'm Alan Partridge, Big Train, Brass Eye and Jam.Eldon is a Soka Gakkai Buddhist.-Early career and Lee &...
and
Armando IannucciArmando Giovanni Iannucci is a Scottish comedian, writer, director, performer and radio producer.- Early life :...
.
Music
Morris often co-writes and performs incidental music for his television shows, notably with
Jam and the 'extended remix' version,
Jaaaaam. Morris supplied sketches for British band
Saint EtienneSaint Etienne are an English indie dance act, fronted by Sarah Cracknell . Former music journalists Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs are the other regular members of the band...
's 1993 single "
You're in a Bad Way"You're in a Bad Way" is a song by British pop group Saint Etienne. It appears on their 1992 album So Tough and was released as a single in 1993. It is one of the group's biggest hits, reaching #12 on the UK Singles Chart...
" (the sketch 'Spongbake' appears at the end of the 4th track on the CD single).
In 2000, he collaborated by mail with
Amon TobinAmon Adonai Santos de Araújo Tobin , better known as Amon Tobin, is a Brazilian electronic musician and DJ. He is best known for his use of sampling. Tobin is also credited with helping to create the emerging "trip hop" genre in the late 1990s...
to create the track "Bad Sex", which was released as a B-side on the Tobin single "Slowly".
British band
StereolabStereolab were an alternative music band formed in 1990 in London, England. The band originally comprised songwriting team Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier , both of whom remained at the helm across many lineup changes. Other long-time members include Andy Ramsay and Mary Hansen...
's song "Nothing to Do with Me" from their 2001 album
Sound-DustSound-Dust is an album by the band Stereolab, released in late 2001. It was recorded with producer Jim O'Rourke and John McEntire.'Nothing To Do With Me' features lyrics derived from sketches by British satirist Chris Morris....
featured various lines from Chris Morris sketches as lyrics. He has also been sampled by The Orb.
Recognition
In 2003, Morris was listed in
The ObserverThe Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In about the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a left-liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-History:The...
as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. In 2005,
Channel 4Channel 4 is a UK public-service television broadcaster which began working on November 2, 1982. Although commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station owned now and operated by the Channel Four Television...
aired a show called
The Comedian's Comedian in which foremost writers and performers of comedy ranked their 50 favourite acts. Morris was at number eleven.
An influential figure, he is frequently mentioned outside of his work by several colleagues including
Graham LinehanGraham Linehan is an Irish television writer, actor and director who, often in partnership with Arthur Mathews, has written or co-written a number of popular television comedies...
,
Noel FieldingNoel Fielding is an English artist, comedian and actor. He is known for his role as Vince Noir in The Mighty Boosh, which he also co-writes with fellow actor Julian Barratt.-Career:...
and
Julian BarrattJulian Barratt is an English comedian, musician, music producer and actor. Barratt is best known for playing the character of Howard Moon in the cult comedy The Mighty Boosh.-The Mighty Boosh:...
.
Personal life
Morris lives in
BrixtonBrixton is an area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is predominantly residential with a prominent street market and substantial retail sector...
, with literary agent Jo Unwin, and has two sons, both of whom were born in
LambethThe London Borough of Lambeth is a London borough in South London, England and forms part of Inner London.-History:The London Borough of Lambeth was formed in 1965 from the former area of the Metropolitan Borough of Lambeth and part of the former area of the Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth...
,
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
: Charles Peter (born 1996) and Frederick Rudolf (born 1999). Not much is known about Morris's personal life, as he has given very few interviews. He is a very private man.
Morris can be heard as himself in a podcast for
CERNThe European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , , is the world's largest particle physics laboratory, situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border, established in 1954...
.
He is brother to
National TheatreNational Theatre may refer to:*Croatian National Theatre, one of several theatres in Croatia*Deutsches Nationaltheater in Weimar, Germany*Finnish National Theatre in Helsinki, Finland*Ivan Vazov National Theatre in Sofia, Bulgaria...
associate director Tom Morris and television director Ben Morris.
Works
- Various works at BBC Radio Cambridgeshire
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Cambridgeshire. It broadcasts from studios on Hills Road close to the train station in Cambridge and a studio on Priestgate in Peterborough...
(1986–1987) (presenter)
- It's Only TV (198?)
- No Known Cure (July 1987 – March 1990, BBC Radio Bristol
BBC Radio Bristol is the BBC Local Radio service for the English city of Bristol and the surrounding former Avon area. Launched in September 1970, it broadcasts from its studios in Bristol on FM frequencies 94.9 MHz , 104.6 MHz , 103.6 MHz , on AM 1548 kHz and on DAB.The Mendip...
) (presenter)
- Chris Morris (1988–1993, BBC GLR
BBC London 94.9 is London's BBC Local Radio station, and part of BBC London. Broadcasting across Greater London and beyond on 94.9 FM, DAB, Virgin Media Channel 930, Sky Digital Channel 0152 and also online. Previously known as BBC London Live, GLR and Radio London...
) (presenter)
- Loose Ends
Loose Ends is a British radio programme originally broadcast on Saturday mornings, and then transmitted early Saturday evenings from 1998 by BBC Radio 4. It was hosted by Ned Sherrin until he became ill in late 2006 with a reported throat infection, and later throat cancer...
(1989, BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a domestic UK radio station that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967.-Outline:...
)
- Up Yer News (1990, BSB
British Sky Broadcasting is a company that operates Sky Digital, a subscription television service in the UK and Ireland. It produces TV content, and owns several TV channels. It is the UK's largest pay TV provider...
)
- The Chris Morris Christmas Show (25 December 1990, BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the BBC which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock or interviews. It is aimed...
)
- On The Hour
On the Hour was a British radio programme that parodied current affairs broadcasting, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1991 and 1992.Written by Chris Morris, Patrick Marber, Eric Weinstein, Armando Iannucci, Steven Wells, Andrew Glover, Stewart Lee, Richard Herring and David Quantick, it starred...
(1991–1992, BBC Radio 4) (co-writer, performer)
- Why Bother?
Why Bother? was a Talkback production for BBC Radio 3, consisting of five 10-minute long radio interviews between Chris Morris and Peter Cook's character Sir Arthur Streeb-Greebling, recorded in late 1993 and originally broadcast from 10 January – 14 January 1994. The complete series was released...
(1994, BBC Radio 3BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music, but jazz, world music, drama and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation Artists scheme...
) (performer, editor)
- The Day Today
The Day Today is a surreal British parody of television news programmes. It is an adaptation of the radio programme On the Hour. The series is composed of six half-hour episodes and a selection of shorter, five-minute slots recorded as promotion trailers for the longer segments. Only six episodes...
(1994, BBC 2
) (co-writer, performer)
- The Chris Morris Music Show (1994, BBC Radio 1) (presenter)
- Brass Eye
Brass Eye is a UK television series of satirical spoof documentaries. A single series of six episodes aired on Channel 4 in 1997, with a further special episode in 2001....
(1997, Channel 4Channel 4 is a UK public-service television broadcaster which began working on November 2, 1982. Although commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station owned now and operated by the Channel Four Television...
) (writer, performer)
- I'm Alan Partridge
I'm Alan Partridge is a BBC situation comedy starring Steve Coogan of which two series of six episodes were produced, the first in 1997 and the second in 2002....
(1997, BBC 2) (performer, 1 episode)
- Blue Jam
Blue Jam was an ambient radio comedy programme created and directed by Chris Morris. It aired on BBC Radio 1 in the early hours of the morning from 1997 to 1999....
(1997–1999, BBC Radio 1) (writer, director, performer, editor)
- Big Train
Big Train is a surreal British television comedy sketch show created by Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan, writers of the successful sitcom Father Ted...
(1999, BBC 2) various sketches. (additional director, voice actor (1 sketch))
- Second Class Male/Time To Go
"Second Class Male" and "Time To Go" were a series of 12 spoof newspaper columns written by Chris Morris and Robert Katz that appeared in The Observer in 1999....
(1999, newspaper column for The ObserverThe Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In about the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a left-liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-History:The...
)
- Jam
Jam was a postmodern British comedy television series created, written and directed by Chris Morris, and broadcast on Channel 4 during March and April 2000...
/JaaaaamJam was a postmodern British comedy television series created, written and directed by Chris Morris, and broadcast on Channel 4 during March and April 2000...
(2000, Channel 4) (main writer, director, performer)
- Brass Eye Special (2001, Channel 4) (writer, performer)
- The Smokehammer (2002, website)
- Absolute Atrocity Special (2002, newspaper pullout for The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In about the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a left-liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-History:The...
)
- Bushwhacked
The "Bushwhacked" MP3 files are satirical speeches created from parts of United States president George W. Bush's orations. The recordings were created by UK comedian Chris Morris, who has used similar techniques in the past, most notably in his edited version of the eulogy at the funeral of Diana,...
(2002)
- My Wrongs #8245–8249 & 117 (2002, short film) (writer, director, voice of Rothko)
- Nathan Barley
Nathan Barley is a Channel 4 sitcom written by Charlie Brooker and Chris Morris, starring Nicholas Burns, Julian Barratt and Claire Keelan. The series of six weekly episodes began broadcasting on 11 February 2005 on Channel 4...
(2005, Channel 4) (writer, director)
- The IT Crowd
The IT Crowd is a British sitcom, written by Graham Linehan and produced by Ash Atalla for Channel 4. The series has won BAFTA and International Emmy awards...
(2006–2008, Channel 4) (performer)
- Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle
Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle is a 2009 comedy series created by Stewart Lee.The BBC Two series debuted on 16 March 2009, and featured stand-up routines and sketches performed by Simon Munnery, Kevin Eldon and Paul Putner amongst others. Peter Serafinowicz recorded voice-over parts. The series is...
(2009, BBC 2) (script editor)
- Boilerhouse/Four Lions
Four Lions, also known as Boilerhouse is an upcoming debut feature film from director Chris Morris and is written by Morris, Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong...
(2009, film) (writer, director)
External links
- The Smokehammer, a site by Chris Morris
- BESTBAR(NONE), a spoof bar guide compiled by Chris Morris for Warp Records
- trashbat.co.ck, a website referred to throughout Nathan Barley which, notionally, is the creation of the titular character (who vocalises it “trash bat dot cock”). The .co
.co is the Internet country code top-level domain for Colombia. It is administered by Universidad de los Andes."co" is also frequently used as a second-level domain within other country-code domains, in which registrants may register second-level domains of the form .co.xx, where xx is the ccTLD...
.ck.ck is the Internet country code top-level domain for the Cook Islands.Registrations are within these second-level categories:* .co.ck: business organisations* .org.ck: not-for-profit organisations...
domain is as a result of the second level domain for companyA company is a form of business organization.In the United States, a company is a corporation—or, less commonly, an association, partnership, or union—that carries on an industrial enterprise." Generally, a company may be a "corporation, partnership, association, joint-stock company,...
and the top level domain for the Cook IslandsThe Cook Islands are a self-governing parliamentary democracy in free association with New Zealand. The fifteen small islands in this South Pacific Ocean country have a total land area of 240 square kilometres , but the Cook Islands Exclusive Economic Zone covers 1.8 million square kilometres...
- Cook'd and Bomb'd, a site devoted to the work of Chris Morris and his collaborators
- Chris Morris: Brass Neck BBC Profile of Morris