Lenny Henry dot com - About me : The Story so far...

"TISWAS represented an anarchic, irreverent style of comedy and Chris Tarrant made a big impression on me. It was then that I began to develop my work – I did Three of a Kind straight afterwards and started looking at what other comedians were doing. I remember going to the Comedy Store and realising that I didn't have to rely on impersonations so much and that I could be funnier by being myself!"

Three of a Kind with Lenny, Tracey Ullman and David Copperfield ran for three years on BBC TV. It introduced Lenny to larger television audiences and was followed by two series of the hugely successful Lenny Henry Show, featuring Delbert Wilkins.

From 1991 until 1999 Lenny worked primarily through his own production company, Crucial Films. Lenny's 'Step Forward' workshop for new writers, in conjunction with the BBC, led to a new comedy series for BBC2. Entitled The Real McCoy, it consisted of six half-hour shows and was designed to present a black perspective through humour, sketches and musical numbers. Crucial also produced Funky Black Shorts, a series of 6 x 10-minute short films for BBC2.

Lenny was the first British comic to make a live stand-up comedy film in the tradition of American comedians, such as Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy and Robin Williams. Lenny Henry Live and Unleashed was filmed in front of a live audience at the Hackney Empire and went on general release throughout the UK.

In 1991 Lenny filmed Touchstone/Disney's –True Identity directed by Charles Lane and made on location in LA and New York. Also that year Alive and Kicking, a drama starring Lenny as drug dealer and Robbie Coltrane and a drug counsellor, was shown on BBC1. It was awarded the Monaco Red Cross and the Golden Nymph Award at the Monte Carlo Television Festival.

In 1991 and 1992 he starred in two Christmas specials for BBC1 – Richard Curtis's Bernard and the Genie and Jon Carter's In Dreams . 1993 heralded the first series of Chef! for BBC1 starring Lenny as Head Chef Gareth Blackstock. He presented a South Bank Show special Lenny Hunts the Funk, which chronicled the history of funk music, and a documentary on Channel 4 entitled New Soul Nation. Lenny received the Radio and Television Industry Club Award for BBC Personality of the year in 1993.

In 1994 he appeared in White Goods (ITV), directed by Robert Young and co–starring Ian McShane. Lenny then began recording a second series of chef! which was transmitted in September and went on to do a nationwide tour of his one-man show, LOUD! In October '94. This show also came out on video.

On finishing the tour he began work on a Christmas special of The Lenny Henry Show, transmitted Christmas '94. The new series of The Lenny Henry Show, began production in January 1995 and was transmitted in April on BBC1.

In August Lenny took his one–man show to Australia where he performed to sold–out audiences in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. Lenny completed the year with The Lenny Henry Christmas Special transmitted on BBC1 in December 1995.

In May 1996 Lenny performed a mini tour of the UK with a new one-man show entitled Larger Than Life and by the autumn had also completed a third series of Chef! which was transmitted on September. Over the Christmas season Lenny could be heard as the voice of Fred in the new animated cartoon Famous Fred (Channel 4), written by Posy Simmons and produced by John Coates if The Snowman, as well as performing new sketches in a 'special' called Lenny Henry Gets Wild.

In May 1997, Lenny travelled to the Amazon to film a survival documentary entitled Lenny's Big Amazon Adventure (BBC1) and on his return, hosted the BAFTA Awards.

1998 saw the broadcast of a new television series Lenny Henry Goes to town (BBC1). This was transmitted in September in a prime time Saturday slot. Much more a family show, he visited a different town in the UK every week. Lenny also completed a sell–out tour of Australia and New Zealand with a brand new one–man comedy show, Lenny Henry Large!

During the winter of 1998 Lenny finished production on a Screen One film (BBC1), The Man, written by Jon Canter. Co-starring Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Lenny plays a travel agent from Birmingham whose main aspiration is to perform with his band. This was transmitted on Easter Monday 1999.

Summer 1999 saw the transmission of Lenny's first role in a BBC drama. Written by Lucy Gannon, Lenny played a Head Teacher Ian George in hope and Glory. Series 2 and 3 were transmitted in 2000.

During the autumn of 1999 Lenny completed a sell-out tour of the UK with his one-man stand-up comedy show LARGE '99.

Lenny added yet another string to his bow with his first venture into the classical music world. He breathes fresh life into the story of Prokofeiv's Peter and the Wolf as the narrator. Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, the CD was released in March 2000 (EMI Classics). Later in the year Lenny took to the seas with Tony Bullimore and sailed across the Atlantic Ocean for a two-part documentary, Lenny's Atlantic Adventure (BBC1). He completed work on the third series of Hope and Glory and finished the year with a Christmas special entitled Lenny Henry in Pieces (2000) , which won Lenny the Golden Rose Award at the Montreux Television Festival. Another special of the same show was transmitted at Christmas 2001.

During 2002 the first series of Lenny Henry in Pieces was transmitted on BBC1. Lenny also completed a tour of the UK with his live show Have You Seen This Man which was recorded for release on CD and filmed for the BBC (Lenny Henry – This is My Life)

Lenny recently completed the very successful second series of Lenny Henry in Pieces, which was transmitted on BBC1, Friday nights at 9:00pm.

ABOUT:THE STORY SO FAR... (PART TWO)

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