UK
Comic / character actor. Born
Russ Roberts in 1947.
Tall,
twinkly-eyed, Chester-born comedian and
impressionist who entered showbiz as a member of the Black
Abbots cabaret group. His TV breaks came from
appearances in who do you do?, The Comedians and Bruce
Forsytes Big Night and led to a series he shared with its
named star, Freddie Starr's Variety Madhouse. With Starr's
departure, the show became Russ Abbot's Madhouse in
1980 (sometimes Saturday Madhouse) and allowed Abbot
to begin introducing the farcical creations for which he
became famous, such as inept superhero Cooperman
(an exaggerated impersonation of Tommy Cooper),
detective Barratt Holmes, air ace Boggles, Irish crooner
Val Hooligan, rock'n'roller Vince Prince, secret agent
Basildon Bond, and C. U. Jimmy, the indecipherable,
kilted Scotsman.
The same format was applied when the
show switched to BBC 1 in 1986 and became The Russ
Abbot Show. Back on ITV in 1994, Abbot pioneered some
new creations, including the Noisy Family, Clueless
Cleric and the good folk of
Pimpletown, such
as Percy Pervert and Mrs Verruca. In his sketch work he has been
well supported by the likes of Bella
Emberg, Les Dennis,
Dustin Gee, Michael Barrymore and Jeffrey Holland, but
Abbot has also featured in serious and sitcom roles, most
notably as retired teacher Ted Fenwick in september song, and as shoe salesman Ted Butler in Married for
Life.
