Name Tim Ferguson | Role Comedian Spouse Stephanie Mills (m. 2012) | |
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Full Name Timothy Dorcen Langbene Ferguson Occupation Television presenter, comedian Known for Don't Forget Your ToothbrushDoug Anthony All Stars Website www.cheekymonkeycomedy.com Books Carry a Big Stick: A Funny, Fearless Life of Friendship, Laughter and MS Albums DAAS Icon, DAAS Bootleg – Live in Edinburgh, Dead & Alive Similar Richard Fidler, Paul Livingston, Paul McDermott | ||
Carry a big stick by tim ferguson
Timothy Dorcen Langbene "Tim" Ferguson (born 16 November 1963) is an Australian comedian, film director, screenwriter, author and screenwriting teacher.
Contents
- Carry a big stick by tim ferguson
- Booktopia presents carry a big stick by tim ferguson interview with caroline baum
- Background
- Early career
- Film
- Comedy
- Teaching
- WritingProducing
- Other
- Personal life
- Political candidacy
- References
Booktopia presents carry a big stick by tim ferguson interview with caroline baum
Background
Ferguson grew up on a rural property near the town of Perthville, New South Wales and spent three years at All Saints College, Bathurst, before moving to Canberra, where he attended the radical free-school School Without Walls and Narrabundah College. He is the son of Tony Ferguson, who was a Vietnam War correspondent, the first reporter to release news of the Tet Offensive to the world media. Tony became executive producer of This Day Tonight and Four Corners at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and network liaison for the ABC's managing director, David Hill.
Early career
His first major appearance was as a member of the musical comedy trio Doug Anthony All Stars, along with Paul McDermott and Richard Fidler, on the UK Channel 4 television show Friday Night Live and then the ABC television show, The Big Gig, where they quickly gained a following. This was soon followed by their sci-fi sitcom DAAS Kapital.
In 1995-96, Ferguson appeared in Funky Squad, again on ABC television, and hosted Don't Forget Your Toothbrush on the Nine Network.
Ferguson's novel, Left, Right and Centre: A Tale of Greed, Sex and Power (ISBN 0-14-026579-1), was published by Penguin in 1997.
Ferguson starred in Australian commercials advertising the video game console Nintendo 64.
Ferguson co-wrote and hosted eight series and twelve one-hour specials of his comedy clip show Unreal TV.
He was creator, co-writer and co-producer of the sitcom Shock Jock with Marc Gracie and Chris Thompson.
He has written various opinion pieces and articles for The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Times. He most notably penned an alternative to the Australian Constitution Preamble.
Film
Ferguson is co-director (with Marc Gracie) of the feature film "SPIN OUT". Spin Out is a romantic comedy based at a Bachelor and Spinster Ball. Ferguson co-wrote the movie with Edwina Exton. Producers: Marc Gracie & David Redman. SPIN OUT follows a slow-burning attraction between two long-time friends, Billy (Xavier Samuel) and Lucy (Morgan Griffin). The movie is based at a Ute Muster and B&S Ball. "Spin Out"was shot in Shepparton in August 2015. Sony Pictures Releasing, who have worldwide rights, released the film in cinemas in 2016.
Ferguson appeared in the movie Fat Pizza as the magician "David Cockerfield."
Comedy
In 2014, Ferguson joined Paul McDermott and Paul Livingston to reform the Doug Anthony All Stars with Livingston replacing Richard Fidler as the group's guitarist. Ferguson still tours internationally with the reformed Doug Anthony Allstars (DAAS). DAAS won the prestigious Edinburgh Festival Spirit Of The Fringe Award in 2016.
In 2012 he toured his live standup comedy show "Carry a Big Stick", featuring tales and songs from his life on the 'comedy warpath'. The title alludes to his experiencing multiple sclerosis, and needing to use a walking stick.
Teaching
From 2016, Ferguson teaches comedy screenwriting at New York University (NYU).
Ferguson is a sessional lecturer in Screenwriting and Writing TV Comedy at RMIT University and the Australian Film TV & Radio School (AFTRS). He has taught thousands of writers the principles of writing narrative comedy through his Cheeky Monkey Comedy writing courses.
Writing/Producing
He produced and co-wrote the orchestral performance piece Billie & The Dinosaurs with Chris Thompson & composer Geoff Willis.
Ferguson was Series Script Editor for the ABCTV sitcom 'Ricketts Lane' starring Sammy J & Randy.
Ferguson's autobiography Carry a Big Stick: A Life of Laughter, Friendship and MS was published by Hachette in September 2013. It features the stories of his childhood, life as an international touring comedian, network TV celebrity, comedy feature film & sitcom writer and comedy screenwriting lecturer. It also presents a his ways of overcoming the challenges of multiple sclerosis (MS).
In 2010, Ferguson published The Cheeky Monkey-Writing Narrative Comedy (published by Currency Press), a comedy writing manual for screenwriters and comedians. The book offers "a revolutionary approach to comedy writing" and features what Ferguson calls "primal comedy".
In 2001, Ferguson branched out into production when he created, the TV1 comedy series Shock Jock.
In 2003, he hosted a talk back radio show on 3AK and was the host of Big Brother Australia 2003's Big Brother The Insider.
In 2010, Ferguson was executive producer, writer and host of the independent tonight show WTF – With Tim Ferguson on C31 Melbourne. WTF is directed by Marc Gracie (Full Frontal, Unreal TV).
Ferguson was script producer for the AWGIE-nominated web series Forgettherules. He co-wrote and hosted eight series and multiple 1-hour specials of Network Ten's Unreal TV and Foxtel's long-running sci-fi fan-show "Space Cadets".
Other
Tim Ferguson is one of Australia's top corporate event performers, hosting events and conferences for Australasia's leading corporations.
He played the role of Frankenfurter in the long-running The Rocky Horror Show, directed by Nigel Triffit.
In early 2014, Ferguson teamed with Maynard to start a podcast named Bunga Bunga.
Tim Ferguson is Patron of MS Australia and Music for Canberra.
Personal life
Ferguson announced on an episode of Good News Week in 2010 that he has multiple sclerosis (MS), which required him to occasionally use a walking cane. Ferguson has experienced MS symptoms since age 19. His show at the 2012 Melbourne International Comedy Festival was called "Carry a Big Stick", an allusion to his MS. Ferguson's condition has since progressed further and he now uses a wheelchair.
He owns the third largest Star Wars toy collection in the southern hemisphere.
On 22 March 2017, Ferguson featured on Julia Zemiro's Home Delivery, with host Julia Zemiro taking him on a tour of his childhood home and schools in Bathurst and Canberra.
Political candidacy
On the ABC's Q&A program on 4 May 2013, Ferguson announced his candidacy for the Australian Senate in the 2013 Australian federal election. He said that he would have no policies, and that he wanted someone for whom he could vote. Ferguson nominated for the Senate for New South Wales, as a member of the Senator Online party.
In the 1990 Australian federal election, Ferguson stood as an independent candidate for the seat of Kooyong, against the Leader of the Opposition, Andrew Peacock. Following a "Vote For Tim" campaign conducted by the Allstars on The Big Gig, he gained 3.7% of the vote.