Gary Wilmot

Gary Wilmot
Gary Wilmot; MBE
Born	Harold Owen Wilmot; 8 May 1954; Lambeth, London, England
Occupation	Singer, presenter, actor, comedian, writer, director
Children	Katie Wilmot , Georgia Wilmot
Website	garywilmot.co.uk

Harold Owen "Gary" Wilmot, MBE (born 8 May 1954) is a British singer, actor, comedian, presenter, writer and director who rose to fame as a contestant on New Faces.[1] As a television presenter, he is best known as the host of You and Me, So You Want To Be Top and Showstoppers. His West End credits include Me and My Girl, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and The Prince of Egypt.

Wilmot was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2018 Birthday Honours for services to drama and charity.[2]

Early life

Wilmot was born in Lambeth, London, into a mixed-race household; his mother was English, and his father, Harry, was Jamaican and arrived in Britain on the Empire Windrush in 1948. Harry was a member of vocal harmony group The Southlanders,[3] but died of a brain tumour in 1961, when his sons were still young.[3][4] Despite these show business roots, Wilmot's upbringing was outside of the limelight. He worked on building sites and in factories, but soon realised manual labour was not a career he wished to pursue.[5]

Television

Wilmot started his career in entertainment after a friend informed an agent of his talent, and soon began to perform as part of the variety circuit. However, his big break came when he featured as part of a comedy double act with Judy McPhee on New Faces; the pair were later finalists. This would lead to numerous television appearances on Copy Cats, Knees Ups, Cue Gary!, and The Keith Harris Show. One of his most notable television roles was with the BBC children's quiz show So You Want To Be Top, which he co-presented with Leni Harper.[6]

In 1994, Wilmot hosted Showstoppers, a programme which featured him performing songs from musicals alongside special guests.[7] Originally commissioned as a one-off series in which celebrities were given ten days to learn and perform a song, Wilmot was asked to record a further series of six spectaculars due to popular demand. He also starred in and directed a tour of Showstoppers which proved so popular that its original sixty dates were increased to one hundred and sixty.[8]

Theatre

In 1989, Wilmot made a move into musical theatre debuting in the West End production of Me and My Girl, playing the role of Bill Snibson at the Adelphi Theatre.[4] He played the role to critical acclaim for two years, with Jack Tinker describing him as a "Musical Talent of the Highest Order". Wilmot was subsequently nominated in the "Best Actor" category at the Olivier Awards, and theatre tour of a new comedy, Teething Troubles followed. He was also cast as Joe in Carmen Jones at the Old Vic before starring in the world premiere of the Barry Manilow musical Copacabana at London's Prince of Wales Theatre.

In 2001 Wilmot joined The New Shakespeare Company to play Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park, and the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance national tour with Sue Pollard as Ruth, in 2001-2002. The national tour of Giles Havergal's adaptation of the Graham Greene novel Travels with My Aunt followed. In 2003, he was Caractacus Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the London Palladium, taking over from Michael Ball,[9] and returning in 2006 and 2007 on the UK tour. Wilmot also played Billy Flynn in the national touring company of Chicago.[10]

Other stage productions he has appeared in include H.M.S. Pinafore, Santa Claus the Musical,[11] Oliver!,[12] Half a Sixpence, The Wizard of Oz, The Goodbye Girl, One for the Road, Confusions, Lord Arthur Saville's Crime, and a national tour of the successful Watermill Newbury Theatre production of Radio Times.[13]

He has recently appeared in Flowers for Mrs Harris at Chichester Festival Theatre, Little Miss Sunshine at the Arcola Theatre, Mr Gum and the Dancing Bear - the Musical! at the National Theatre, London and The Prince of Egypt at the Dominion Theatre in the West End.

Wilmot has also appeared in many pantomimes since 1986. Most recently he has appeared as the dame in the London Palladium pantomimes for Qdos Entertainment such as Dick Whittington (2017) Snow White (2018) and Goldilocks and the Three Bears (2019) co-starring Julian Clary, Paul Zerdin and Nigel Havers.[14]

Music

Wilmot's solo albums include Love Situation, The Album, and Double Standards.[15] In 2004 he embarked on his own national concert tour My Kind of Music taking him to many major concert venues throughout the country.[16]

Filmography

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Director	Theatre
1989-91	Me and My Girl	Bill Snibson	Mike Ockrent	Adelphi Theatre, London[17]
1991	Carmen Jones	Joe	Simon Callow	The Old Vic, London[18]
1991	Teething Troubles			UK Tour
1993	Me and My Girl	Bill Snibson	Mike Ockrent	UK Tour
1994	Copacabana	Stephen / Tony		[19]
1995	Me and My Girl	Bill Snibson		UK Tour
1997	The Goodbye Girl	Elliot Garfield		Albery Theatre, London[20]
1997-98	The Goodbye Girl	Elliot Garfield		UK Tour[21]
1998-99	Oliver!	Fagin		UK Tour[22]
1999-2000	One for the Road		Andy Hay	Bristol Old Vic[23]
2000	One for the Road			UK Tour[24]
2001	Confusions			UK Tour [25]
2001	A Midsummer Night's Dream	Bottom		Regents Park Open Air Theatre[26]
2001	Pirates of Penzance	The Pirate King		Regents Park Open Air Theatre[27]
2002	Travels with my Aunt	Henry		UK Tour[28]
2003-04	Chitty Chitty Bang Bang	Caracticus Potts	Adrian Noble	London Palladium[29]
2005	HMS Pinafore	Dick Deadeye		Regents Park Open Air Theatre[30]
2005-06	Santa Claus the Musical			Southampton Mayflower[31]
2006	Chitty Chitty Bang Bang	Caracticus Potts	Adrian Noble	Birmingham Hippodrome[32]
2006-07	Peter Pan	Hook		[33]
2007-08	Half a Sixpence	Arthur Kipps		UK Tour[34]
2007-08	The Wizard of Oz	The Scarecrow		Southampton Mayflower[35]
2008	The Wizard of Oz	The Lion	Jude Kelly	Royal Festival Hall[36]
2009	Chicago	Billy Flynn		UK Tour[37]
2010	Lord Arthur Savile's Crime	Septimus Podgers		UK Tour[38]
2010-11	The Invisible Man	Thomas Marvel		Menier Chocolate Factory[39]
2011	Radio Times	Sammy Shaw		Watermill Theatre[40]
2012	Radio Times	Sammy Shaw		UK Tour[41]
2012	Bowl of Cherries		Andrew C Wadsworth	Charing Cross Theatre[42]
2013-14	Snow White	Dame		Birmingham Hippodrome
2014	The Pajama Game	Vernon Hines		Shaftesbury Theatre, London[43]
2014	Dirty Rotten Scoundrels	Andre	Jerry Mitchell	Savoy Theatre, London[44]
2014-15	Jack and the Beanstalk	Dame		Birmingham Hippodrome
2015	Oklahoma!	Ali Hakim	Rachel Kavanaugh	UK Tour[45]
2015	Dirty Rotten Scoundrels	Andre		UK Tour[46]
2017	The Wind in the Willows	Badger	Rachel Kavanaugh	London Palladium[47]
2016	End of the Rainbow	Anthony	Daniel Buckroyd	UK Tour[48]
2016	Big The Musical	George McMillan		Theatre Royal[49]
2017-2018	Dick Whittington	Sarah the Cook	Michael Harrison	London Palladium
2018	Flowers for Mrs Harris	Major / Monsieur Armande	Daniel Evans	Chichester Festival Theatre[50]
2018	Sweet Lorraine	-	Writer, Director	Regis Centre [51]
2018-2019	Snow White	Mrs Crumble	Michael Harrison	London Palladium
2019	Little Miss Sunshine	Grandpa	Mehmet Ergen	Arcola Theatre[52]
2019	Mr Gum and the Dancing Bear	Jonathan Ripples	Amy Hodge	The Royal National Theatre[53]
2019-20	Goldilocks and the Three Bears	Dame Betty Barnum	Michael Harrison	London Palladium
2020	The Prince of Egypt	Jethro	Scott Schwartz	Dominion Theatre[54]
2020	Pantoland at the Palladium	Dame	Michael Harrison	London Palladium

Television

Year	Title	Role	Channel / Production	Notes
1970s	New Faces	Himself
1983-85	So you want to be Top	Presenter	BBC
1983	Chas & Dave's Knees-Up		LWT
1984	Mike Reid's Mates and Music	Himself	ITV
1984	You and Me	Presenter	BBC
1985	The Bob Monkhouse Show	Himself	BBC
1985-86	Copy Cats	Himself	LWT
1985	The Keith Harris Show	Himself	BBC
1986	Saturday Gang	Himself	LWT	Writer[55]
1986	This is Your Life[56]	Himself	ITV
1987	Aspel & Company	Himself	LWT
1987-88	Cue Gary	Himself	ITV	Writer[57]
1989	The Book Tower	Presenter	Yorkshire Television
1989	Fun with Numbers	Presenter	Carlton Home Entertainment	VHS only
1992-93	Junglies	Various Characters (Voice)	ITV
1994-95	Showstoppers	Presenter	BBC
1999	Hetty Wainthropp Investigates	Guest Appearance	BBC	Comic Relief Special
2001	An Audience with Des O'Connor	Himself	LWT
2003	Never Mind the Buzzcocks	Himself	BBC	Series 13, Episode 8
2017	The Keith and Paddy Picture Show	Winston Zeddmore	BBC	Series 1, Episode 2: 'Ghostbusters'
2020	Dr Seuss' The Grinch Musical!	Grandpa Who	NBC	[58]
2020	Jane McDonald and friends	Himself	Channel 5	[59]

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	Lollipop Dragon: The Great Christmas Race	Lollipop Dragon / Hairy Troll (Voice)	Television Film[60]
1986	Lollipop Dragon: The Magic Lollipop Adventure	Lollipop Dragon (Voice)	Television Film[61]
1994-95	Lazarus		[62]
1997	The Tony Ferrino Phenomenon	Himself	Television Film

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] "Stage Star Gary Wilmot Has Come a Long Way Since Talent Show Days".

[2] ttps://www.gov.uk/government/news/the-queens-birthday-honours-list-2018 Queen's birthday honours 2018

[notts_chicago-3] "Gary Wilmot talks Chicago". Nottingham Evening Post. Nottingham Post Media Group Ltd. 26 June 2009. Archived from the original on 21 January 2010. Retrieved 21 January 2010.

[official_bio-4] "Gary Wilmot official site - biography". Archived from the original on 21 January 2010. Retrieved 21 January 2010.

[5] "Revelations: Gary Wilmot - Goodbye Dad, hello showbiz".

[6] "Gary Wilmot: A fruitful career - Features - The Stage". 1 March 2012.

[7] "Gary Wilmot Talks Chicago".

[8] "West End star Gary tunes in as Radio Times hits city stage".

[9] "Wilmot Takes Over from Ball as Chitty's Caractacus".

[10] "Aberdeen, North & Tayside". STV News.

[11] "Santa Claus The Musical".

[12] "BBC - Birmingham - Entertainment - Gary Wilmot takes control of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang". www.bbc.co.uk.

[13] "Gary Wilmot Credits". Archived from the original on 20 May 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2012.

[14] "Pantomime Archive Hall of Fame Gary Wilmot". pantoarchive. Retrieved 2 August 2020.

[15] "gary wilmot". www.eastside.org.uk.

[16] "Archive news from the York Press". www.yorkpress.co.uk.

[17] ttp://www.garywilmot.co.uk/bio.php

[18] ttp://www.garywilmot.co.uk/bio.php

[19] ttp://www.thisistheatre.com/londonshows/copacabana.html

[20] ttp://www.thisistheatre.com/londonshows/goodbyegirl.html

[21] ttp://www.garywilmot.co.uk/bio.php

[22] ttp://www.garywilmot.co.uk/bio.php

[23] ttp://www.garywilmot.co.uk/bio.php

[24] ttp://www.garywilmot.co.uk/bio.php

[25] ttps://www.performingartistes.co.uk/artistes/gary-wilmot

[26] ttps://openairtheatreheritage.com/productions/a-midsummer-nights-dream/VaUcVSAAAB8A4Ud0

[27] ttps://openairtheatreheritage.com/productions/the-pirates-of-penzance/XhXJOBAAACUARBs2

[28] ttps://www.cambridgenetwork.co.uk/events/562311

[29] ttps://www.londontheatre.co.uk/theatre-news/news/gary-wilmot-will-star-as-caractacus-potts-in-chitty-from-21-july-03

[30] ttps://www.londontheatre.co.uk/theatre-news/news/casting-confirmed-for-open-air-theatre-regents-park-2005-season

[31] ttps://www.uktw.co.uk/archive/musical/santa-clause-the-musical/S202046420/#T1920447473

[32] ttp://www.bbc.co.uk/birmingham/content/articles/2006/07/31/chitty_feature.shtml

[33] ttp://www.garywilmot.co.uk/bio.php

[34] ttps://www.uktw.co.uk/archive/Tour/Musical/Half-a-Sixpence/T01354826613/

[35] ttp://www.bbc.co.uk/hampshire/content/articles/2007/12/12/wizard_of_oz_feature.shtml

[36] ttps://www.theguardian.com/stage/2008/jul/30/theatre2

[37] ttps://www.broadwayworld.com/westend/article/Gary-Wilmot-Joins-Cast-Of-CHICAGO-UK-National-Tour-As-Billy-Flynn-6151121-20090331

[38] ttp://leemead-timeline.co.uk/files/stage/lord-arthur-saviles-crime/2010-uk-tour.html

[39] ttps://www.londontheatre.co.uk/theatre-news/news/cast-update-for-the-invisible-man-at-menier-chocolate

[40] ttps://www.watermill.org.uk/radio_times

[41] ttps://www.watermill.org.uk/radio_times_september_2012

[42] ttps://www.westendtheatre.com/16454/news/show-photos/photos-a-bowl-of-cherries-at-the-charing-cross-theatre/

[43] ttps://www.whatsonstage.com/london-theatre/reviews/the-pajama-game-shaftesbury-theatre_34424.html

[44] ttps://www.westendtheatre.com/30205/news/dirty-rotten-scoundrels-bonnie-langford-and-gary-wilmot-to-join-cast/

[45] ttps://musicaltheatrereview.com/oklahoma-uk-irish-tour-full-cast-announced/

[46] ttps://www.whatsonstage.com/aberdeen-theatre/news/gary-wilmot-joins-dirty-rotten-scoundrels-tour_37979.html

[47] ttps://www.willowsmusical.com

[48] ttps://britishtheatre.com/end-of-the-rainbow-uk-tour/

[49] ttps://www.whatsonstage.com/london-theatre/news/cast-announced-for-big-the-musical_40758.html

[50] ttps://www.cft.org.uk/archive/flowers-for-mrs-harris

[51] ttps://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/arts-and-culture/theatre-and-stage/gary-wilmots-romantic-thriller-sweet-lorraine-premieres-bognor-regis-559034

[52] ttps://www.arcolatheatre.com/whats-on/little-miss-sunshine/

[53] ttps://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/mr-gum-and-the-dancing-bear

[54] ttps://www.theprinceofegyptmusical.com/about/#cast-creative

[55] ttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt0296407/

[56] "Gary Wilmot". Bigredbook.info. Retrieved 21 January 2021.

[57] ttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt0813678/

[58] ttps://www.whatsonstage.com/london-theatre/news/the-grinch-musical-broadcast-casting_52781.html

[59] ttps://www.whatsonstage.com/london-theatre/news/the-grinch-musical-broadcast-casting_52781.html

[60] ttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt1179275/

[61] ttps://letterboxd.com/film/lollipop-dragon-the-magic-lollipop-adventure/

[62] ttps://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7e1cc3fc