The Convention Crasher
Encyclopedia
The Convention Crasher is the title of a documentary
originally broadcast in the United Kingdom
on 25 January 2007 on Channel 4
. The one-off documentary followed Justin Lee Collins
as he entered the world of celebrity lookalikes and attempted to become one himself before visiting a convention for them.
The show returned on January 17, 2008 for a series with Justin Lee Collins this time crashing three conventions, each on magic
, ventriloquism
and clown
ing.
Collins, who hails from Bristol
, England
, admitted in the documentary that he had always secretly harbored the ambition to be a singer. This project, employing the talents of his UK production company film crew, brought him the opportunity to transform himself into a celebrity impersonator for one of the premiere showcase events of the industry, the Sunburst Convention of Celebrity Impersonators. The convention, produced annually in Orlando, Florida
by producers and performers Gregory & Jackie Thompsonhttp://www.VagabondTroupe.com, provides both seasoned professionals as well as interested newcomers to the business an opportunity to showcase their unique acts before a substantial group of talent agent
s and buyers.
Collins began his pursuit of the project by seeking the advice of a number of UK-based professionals, including a Neil Diamond
doppelganger
, and with the direction of music industry experts, he settled on Tom Jones
as his chosen alter ego
. Upon arriving in America at the Convention, a nervous Justin chatted with various impressive celebrity lookalikes before bravely performing on stage himself as the Welsh legend. Amazingly, after Collins' performance of Delilah
and It's Not Unusual
, the agents and judges were sufficiently impressed to offer him bookings.
In the first episode Justin was to crash a Magic Convention in Canton, Ohio
and take part in The Battle of Magicians for a cash prize. Justin only had four weeks to decide what magic tricks he would like to perform within his 10 minute slot and to learn how to perform them. On the day he performed at the convention as Justin Illusion and came 3rd overall winning a cash prize of $150. The episode attracted 1.1 million viewers and a 6% audience share.
The second episode saw Justin crashing a ventriloquism convention, eventually taking part in an open mic slot in front of an audience of fellow ventriloquists, an industry agent and a panel of judges. Again, Justin only had four weeks to select a puppet, prepare a routine and test it out on some of the UK's most established expert ventriloquists (such as Keith Harris and Paul Zerdin
), before heading off to Kentucky
to perform at the largest ventriloquist convention in the world - the VentHaven Ventriloquist Convention. This episode attracted the same number of viewers as the previous (1.1 million), this time giving it a higher audience share of 7%.
The third episode in the series saw Justin travelling to a Clowning Convention in Houston, Texas
where he would compete for the prize of Clown of the Year. Justin got some tips on clowning with the UK's best clown, Mooky The Clown
, at the Tower Circus in Blackpool, England and came up with the clowning alter ego of Wonky, having to shave off his beard in the process. Once at the convention he had to compete in the clown equivalent of the Olympic Games
where he was judged on Costume and Make-up, Balloon Modelling, Paradability and finally perform a Solo Skit in front of a panel of judges. Being disappointed by the poor quality of the competition, Collins felt he had a chance of winning the main prize, but his Solo Skit was disqualified for running over time and involving a member of the audience (thus making it technically not a "solo" performance). He did however win a bronze medal in the Costume and Make-up category. This, the final episode of the second series attracted a 6% audience share - again, 1.1 million viewers.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
originally broadcast in the United Kingdom
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...
on 25 January 2007 on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
. The one-off documentary followed Justin Lee Collins
Justin Lee Collins
Justin Lee Collins, commonly known as JLC, is an award-winning English comedian and television presenter.A Bristolian, he's well known for his strong West Country accent, shaggy appearance and colourful shirts....
as he entered the world of celebrity lookalikes and attempted to become one himself before visiting a convention for them.
The show returned on January 17, 2008 for a series with Justin Lee Collins this time crashing three conventions, each on magic
Magic (illusion)
Magic is a performing art that entertains audiences by staging tricks or creating illusions of seemingly impossible or supernatural feats using natural means...
, ventriloquism
Ventriloquism
Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is an act of stagecraft in which a person manipulates his or her voice so that it appears that the voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered "dummy"...
and clown
Clown
Clowns are comic performers stereotypically characterized by the grotesque image of the circus clown's colored wigs, stylistic makeup, outlandish costumes, unusually large footwear, and red nose, which evolved to project their actions to large audiences. Other less grotesque styles have also...
ing.
Celebrity Impersonator
Aired: 26 January 2007, 10pmCollins, who hails from Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, England
England
England 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, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, admitted in the documentary that he had always secretly harbored the ambition to be a singer. This project, employing the talents of his UK production company film crew, brought him the opportunity to transform himself into a celebrity impersonator for one of the premiere showcase events of the industry, the Sunburst Convention of Celebrity Impersonators. The convention, produced annually in Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
by producers and performers Gregory & Jackie Thompsonhttp://www.VagabondTroupe.com, provides both seasoned professionals as well as interested newcomers to the business an opportunity to showcase their unique acts before a substantial group of talent agent
Talent agent
A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds jobs for actors, authors, film directors, musicians, models, producers, professional athletes, writers and other people in various entertainment businesses. Having an agent is not required, but does help the artist in getting jobs...
s and buyers.
Collins began his pursuit of the project by seeking the advice of a number of UK-based professionals, including a Neil Diamond
Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades from the 1960s until the present....
doppelganger
Doppelgänger
In fiction and folklore, a doppelgänger is a paranormal double of a living person, typically representing evil or misfortune...
, and with the direction of music industry experts, he settled on Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
as his chosen alter ego
Alter ego
An alter ego is a second self, which is believe to be distinct from a person's normal or original personality. The term was coined in the early nineteenth century when dissociative identity disorder was first described by psychologists...
. Upon arriving in America at the Convention, a nervous Justin chatted with various impressive celebrity lookalikes before bravely performing on stage himself as the Welsh legend. Amazingly, after Collins' performance of Delilah
Delilah (1968 song)
"Delilah" is a song recorded by Welsh singer Tom Jones in 1968. It was written by Barry Mason, with music by Les Reed.-Success:It reached No 1 in the charts of several countries including Germany and Switzerland. It reached No 2 in the British charts in March 1968 and was the sixth best selling...
and It's Not Unusual
It's Not Unusual
"It's Not Unusual" is a song written by Les Reed and Gordon Mills, first recorded by a then-unknown Tom Jones after having first been offered to Sandie Shaw. Jones recorded what was intended to be a demo for Shaw, but when she heard it she was so impressed with Jones' delivery that she declined the...
, the agents and judges were sufficiently impressed to offer him bookings.
Magician
Aired: 17 January 2008, 10pmIn the first episode Justin was to crash a Magic Convention in Canton, Ohio
Canton, Ohio
Canton is the county seat of Stark County in northeastern Ohio, approximately south of Akron and south of Cleveland.The City of Caton is the largest incorporated area within the Canton-Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area...
and take part in The Battle of Magicians for a cash prize. Justin only had four weeks to decide what magic tricks he would like to perform within his 10 minute slot and to learn how to perform them. On the day he performed at the convention as Justin Illusion and came 3rd overall winning a cash prize of $150. The episode attracted 1.1 million viewers and a 6% audience share.
Ventriloquist
Aired: 24 January 2008, 10pmThe second episode saw Justin crashing a ventriloquism convention, eventually taking part in an open mic slot in front of an audience of fellow ventriloquists, an industry agent and a panel of judges. Again, Justin only had four weeks to select a puppet, prepare a routine and test it out on some of the UK's most established expert ventriloquists (such as Keith Harris and Paul Zerdin
Paul Zerdin
Paul Zerdin is an English comedian/ventriloquist. That Paul should choose a career in the entertainment industry is not entirely unexpected as both his parents attended drama school and his mother went on to become a BBC Radio 2 presenter and his father a producer for the BBC World Service.When...
), before heading off to Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
to perform at the largest ventriloquist convention in the world - the VentHaven Ventriloquist Convention. This episode attracted the same number of viewers as the previous (1.1 million), this time giving it a higher audience share of 7%.
Clown
Aired: 31 January 2008, 10pmThe third episode in the series saw Justin travelling to a Clowning Convention in Houston, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
where he would compete for the prize of Clown of the Year. Justin got some tips on clowning with the UK's best clown, Mooky The Clown
Mooky The Clown
Laci Endresz Jr. is an English circus performer who performs as the circus clown Mooky the Clown.-Background:Endresz was born in Eastbourne, East Sussex, England. His father, Laci Endresz Sr., was born in Hungary and is the director of the Tower Circus at Blackpool Tower, a position he has held...
, at the Tower Circus in Blackpool, England and came up with the clowning alter ego of Wonky, having to shave off his beard in the process. Once at the convention he had to compete in the clown equivalent of the Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
where he was judged on Costume and Make-up, Balloon Modelling, Paradability and finally perform a Solo Skit in front of a panel of judges. Being disappointed by the poor quality of the competition, Collins felt he had a chance of winning the main prize, but his Solo Skit was disqualified for running over time and involving a member of the audience (thus making it technically not a "solo" performance). He did however win a bronze medal in the Costume and Make-up category. This, the final episode of the second series attracted a 6% audience share - again, 1.1 million viewers.