Paul Zerdin

Paul Zerdin (born 21 August 1972)[1] is a British comedian and ventriloquist from London. He was the winner of the 10th season of America's Got Talent.

Paul Zerdin
Born (1972-08-21) 21 August 1972
London, England
NationalityBritish
OccupationVentriloquist, comedian
Years active
  • 1996
  • 2008
  • 2015–present
Agenthttps://intertalentgroup.com/
Notable work
America's Got Talent (season 10) (Winner)
TelevisionSee list
Websitewww.paulzerdin.com

Career

When Zerdin was 10, a family friend made him a puppet theatre which he used to put on shows. Having failed his GCSEs, Zerdin got a job in a magic shop, developing his magic skills along the way. Simultaneously, he was also developing a sideline as a children's entertainer.

Zerdin made his TV debut as a magician on the BBC's Tricky Business. Shortly afterwards, at the age of 20, Zerdin landed a two-year contract presenting the Disney produced kids' programme Rise and Shine for GMTV.[2]

In 1996, Zerdin was the first outright winner – by over 100,000 votes – of LWT's The Big Big Talent Show, hosted by Jonathan Ross. The experience introduced him to Nigel Lythgoe, who took Zerdin under his wing, paving the way for appearances on shows including Tonight at the London Palladium and Generation Game. He secured him a spot on the Prince's Trust Gala Show in 1997.[3] In the 2016-17 Christmas season he played Cinderella's sidekick "Buttons" in the London Palladium production of the pantomime "Cinderella," leading the Radio Times to dub him "inspired casting. His quick wit, rapport with the crowd and astonishing skills with puppet Sam turn the often toe-curling audience participation bits (don’t sit in the front row) into genuinely hilarious moments."[4]

Got Talent

In 2015, Zerdin auditioned for the tenth season of America's Got Talent, successfully earning a place in the live rounds of the contest, before eventually winning the finals on 16 September 2015. Alongside winning $1 million, Zerdin was given his own headline show in Las Vegas. Entitled "Mouthing Off", it ran for four months in 2016, between 14 May to 4 September, at Planet Hollywood, before closing due to low attendance figures.[5] In 2019, Zerdin returned to partake in the programme's spin-off contest, America's Got Talent: The Champions, in January, and the spin-off contest, Britain's Got Talent: The Champions, in July later that year, but failed to reach the final of either show.

Filmography

Television
Year Title Role Notes
1996 The Big Big Talent Show Himself Winner
Sooty & Co. Little Cousin Paul
2008 The Convention Crasher Himself
2015 America's Got Talent Winner
2016 Himself and Guest NBC
Newzoids Himself ITV
2017 Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? Himself and Guest ABC
2019 Britain's Got Talent: The Champions Himself ITV
2019 Tenable All Stars (Christmas Special) Himself ITV

Stage
Year Title Role Venue/ Place Notes
1998 Paul Zerdin in Paradise Himself Blackpool Pleasure Beach Paradise Room in The Casino (11 July - 7 November)
2017, 2018, 2020 Paul Zerdin LIVE Himself Butlins (Minehead, Bognor and Skegness) School summer holidays only & February Half term (2018 only) [6]
2016 Cinderella Buttons The London Palladium
2017 Paul Zerdin All Mouth Himself UK Tour
2017 Dick Whittington Idle Jack The London Palladium
2018 Snow White Muddles The London Palladium
2019 Goldilocks & the three bears Silly Billy The London Palladium

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2018 Karts in Suzuka Sam Zerdin

See also

References
  1. Paul Zerdin [@paulzerdin] (21 August 2015). "Thanks for the #birthday wishes. I'm 23 again!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. "British ventriloquist Paul Zerdin wins America's Got Talent". The Telegraph. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  3. Paul Zerdin's biography – Paul Zerdin
  4. "Cinderella review: Paul O'Grady and Julian Clary are spectacularly bonkers ★★★★". RadioTimes. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  5. "Zerdin's 'Mouthing Off' to go silent at Planet Hollywood". 24 August 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  6. "February Half Term Breaks - UK Holidays 2019 - Butlins". Butlins. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
Preceded by
Mat Franco		 America's Got Talent winner
Season 10 (Summer 2015)		 Succeeded by
Grace VanderWaal
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