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Jimmy Carr
Taken while signing autographs in 2007
Birth name	James Anthony Patrick Carr Jr
Born	(1972-09-15) 15 September 1972 (age 52) Hounslow, Greater London, England
Medium	Stand-up, television, radio, books
Nationality	British/Irish
Years active	2002-present
Genres	Observational comedy, Satire, Deadpan, Black comedy
Subject(s)	Current events, sex
Partner(s)	Karoline Copping
Notable works and roles	8 Out of 10 Cats Distraction
Website	JimmyCarr.com

James Anthony Patrick "Jimmy" Carr, Jr. (born 15 September 1972) is an English comedian, author, actor and presenter of radio and television, known for his deadpan, satirical and often very dark humour.

Carr's comedy career began in 2002. After becoming an established act on the stand-up circuit, he appeared in a number of Channel 4 television shows in 2005, most notably as the host of the hit panel show 8 Out of 10 Cats. As well as his television work and stand-up routines, Carr has also enjoyed success on the radio and as a writer.

Television work

Whilst working at JC Productions with his father, Carr made his first television pilot / short film at Pinewood starring Craig Charles, Roy Dotrice and himself. The mockumentary, The Colour of Funny was essentially a vanity project for Carr. He eventually gained recognition at the Royal Variety Performance, and was chosen by Channel 4 to host game shows such as Distraction and Your Face or Mine? In 2004 he released his first stand up DVD titled simply Jimmy Carr Live, and the following year (2005) his second was released, Jimmy Carr Stand Up. A third DVD Jimmy Carr - Comedian was released late 2007 with a fourth, Jimmy Carr In Concert, released late 2008.

Carr was a guest presenter for one edition of Have I Got News For You; later he joined Ian Hislop's team in the edition of the show first shown 23 November 2007, chaired by Ann Widdecombe with whom he “flirted” outrageously. Widdecombe later vowed "I will never appear on Have I Got News for You again." He has appeared on Never Mind The Buzzcocks twice, as well as on Stephen Fry's QI. He has presented many 100s programmes for Channel 4: 100 Worst Pop Records, 100 Worst Britons, 100 Greatest Cartoon Characters, 100 people who look most like Jimmy Carr (although this was a spoof) and 100 Scary Moments, which have made him the butt of related jokes by comedians, members of the public, and even himself.

In 2004, it was announced Carr would host a United States version of Distraction for Comedy Central. On 10 January 2006, the second season of the United States version of Distraction debuted on Comedy Central, with Carr continuing his hosting duties. Carr was shortlisted for the 2006 Rose d'Or award for best game show host. He currently hosts the quiz show 8 Out of 10 Cats.

During his guest appearance on the BBC motoring show Top Gear, Carr set a new celebrity test track lap record on the 'Star in a Reasonably Priced Car' segment. He was described as "the worst driver we've ever had" and "the luckiest man alive" by Top Gear's test driver The Stig. His re-appearance on Top Gear in May 2006 placed him last in the brand new Reasonably Priced Car, with the slowest time ever. Carr also hosted a highlights edition of the show.

Carr is also a prolific writer as well as performer, with writing credits including Bo' Selecta! (C4), Meet Ricky Gervais (C4) and material for Lily Savage and Frank Skinner.

In the United States, Carr has appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien twice and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno three times. In December 2007 and 2008, Carr presented the fourth Big Fat Quiz of the Year on Channel 4, having also presented the first, second and third. Carr has also appeared on the Irish news comedy show The Panel.

In 2003, Carr was in the music video for the song Proper Crimbo.

He appears at the end credits of Ross Noble's Randomist DVD, where he punches Ross on his way back to the dressing room. The joke was that Ross said in his show how Jimmy only performed for a "weak" 1 hour 20 minutes, as opposed to Ross's 2 and a half hour show. He can also be seen for a few seconds in the audience for Dara O' Briain's live DVD.

In January 2008 Carr appeared on E4 show Big Brother Celebrity Hijack as a hijacker for the day, and also presented the new series of Commercial Breakdown.

Jimmy Carr also appeared on the Royal Variety Performance in December 2008

Radio

Carr is a regular guest and interviewer on Loose Ends (BBC Radio 4) and The Fred MacAulay Show (BBC Radio Scotland). In January 2005, Carr hosted 'It's Been a Terrible Year' — a comedy review of 2004, on BBC Radio 2. Up until July 2006, he had a Sunday morning radio show on XFM, with the mercurial comedian Iain Morris. The show had a strong emphasis on toilet humour, and regularly focused on discussing men that Morris 'accidentally' kissed during the previous week, despite being avowedly heterosexual. Morris also recently announced plans on air to venture into the world of male escorting, but his rates were never confirmed.

Features, of varying popularity, have included:

• Goth Classics — Item lasting about four weeks in which The Sisters of Mercy track 'This Corrosion' was played twice.
• Now That's What I Call A Jukebox — Long running item invented by Iain Morris where a number of songs are selected from a Now That's What I Call Music album, and are put to a vote. The song with the most votes is played.
• The Songs You Should Like And The Songs You Do Like (But You Like The Song You Should Like As Well) — This catchy-titled item consists of playing in sequence one credible but underrated or overlooked song (The first was 'Touch Sensitive' by The Fall) and one guilty pleasure (Liberty X's 'Just A Little Bit' followed) On the 9th of July 2006, the item was renamed 'A Song to Patronise, A Song To Sanitise.' Traditionally, items are carried out with little professionalism, presumably to match the rest of the show content.

In January 2006, Carr made a joke on Radio 4's Loose Ends, the punchline of which implied that Gypsy women smelled. Although the BBC issued an apology, Carr refused and continues to use the joke during his acts.

Jimmy is also a regular guest on The Chris Moyles Show on BBC Radio 1. Recently, his voice can be heard in Lloyds TSB adverts.

Carr was a guest on the Christian O' Connell breakfast show at Absolute Radio on 20 November 2008.

On 22 January 2009, he covered Zane Lowe's evening show on BBC Radio 1 between 7-9pm.

Stand-up comedy

2004 was a successful year for Carr's live work. In 2003 he sold out an entire month's performances of his Edinburgh Festival show Charm Offensive by the second day of the festival, and received 5-star reviews from four major newspapers. In 2004 he performed sold out solo shows at Dublin's Vicar Street, Leicester's Comedy Festival, Glasgow Festival, Kilkenny Cat Laughs and the Galway Festival along with appearances at The Bloomsbury Theatre where he filmed his first live DVD. Also in 2004 he threatened to sue fellow comedian Jim Davidson for using a joke that Carr considered 'his'. The matter was dropped when it became apparent that the joke in question was an old one used for decades by many different comedians. He toured the country with his show, A Public Display of Affection, starting on 9 April 2005 at the Gulbenkian Theatre in Canterbury. He also appeared at the EICC during the Edinburgh Festival in August 2005 with his Off The Telly show. Later on in the year, in late November, he released his second DVD "Jimmy Carr: Stand Up".

In August 2006, he commenced a new tour, Gag Reflex, for which he won the 2006 British Comedy Award for "Best Live Stand up". He released his third DVD, "Jimmy Carr: Comedian" in November 2007. He also performed at the 2006 Just for Laughs festival in Montreal, as well as making a return visit to the Newbury Comedy Festival. In 2003, he was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. In 2007, a poll on the Channel 4 website for 100 Greatest Stand Ups concluded Jimmy Carr was the 12th. A new national tour commenced in autumn 2007 named Repeat Offender, which began at the Edinburgh Festival that year. Since Autumn 2008, Carr has been touring his new show, entitled "Joke Technician". As with his previous tour, he performed many shows at the Edinburgh Festival, even adding an extra date due to ticket demand.

His latest DVD, "Jimmy Carr: In Concert" was released on 3 November 2008.

Personal life

Contrary to other internet sources, Carr was born in Isleworth, Greater London to Irish parents from Limerick, as opposed to himself being born in Limerick, as he stated in an interview on The Chris Moyles Show. However, he does hold an Irish passport. He went to school at RGS High Wycombe.

In March 2004, Carr's father Jim, a self-made millionaire, was arrested by the Metropolitan Police after Jimmy Carr and his brother Colin accused their father of harassment. Mr. Carr Sr was later acquitted of all charges and awarded costs by the Court. Mr. Carr's acquittal was followed by a written apology from the CPS. Later the Metropolitan Police also apologised and paid him substantial damages in an out of court settlement of the false arrest and false prosecution charge.

He often jokes about being the brother of the comedian Alan Carr, to whom he is not related.

During an appearance on BBC's "Would I Lie to You?" (Series 1, Episode 3), Jimmy Carr revealed that he had been a Christian until his mid-twenties, and was a virgin until the age of 26 due to his faith. Carr became aware of the writings of Richard Dawkins and renounced his religion, becoming an atheist. He stated that he felt religion limited people's desires to live their own lives. He is now engaged to long-term girlfriend, Karoline Copping.

Carr attended Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he studied Social and Political Sciences (SPS).

On 22 January, Carr revealed that he dyes his grey hairs. He said "If I didn't dye my hair I would look like Mr. Fantastic".

In February 2009 British entertainers David Baddiel, Bill Bailey, Morwenna Banks, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Jo Brand, Russell Brand, Rob Brydon, Jimmy Carr, Jack Dee, Omid Djalili, Sean Lock, Lee Mack, Alexei Sayle, Meera Syal, Mark Thomas said in an open letter printed in the The Times of London of the Bahá'í leaders to be on trial in Iran: "In reality, their only “crime”, which the current regime finds intolerable, is that they hold a religious belief that is different from the majority…. we register our solidarity with all those in Iran who are being persecuted for promoting the best development of society …(and) with the governments, human rights organisations and people of goodwill throughout the world who have so far raised their voices calling for a fair trial, if not the complete release of the Baha’i leaders in Iran." Echoing the comments earlier in the month made by two hundred and sixty seven non-Bahá'í Iranian academics, writers, artists, journalists and activists from some 21 countries including Iran who signed an open letter of apology posted to Iranian.com and stating they were "ashamed" and pledging their support in Bahá'ís achieving the rights detailed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for the Bahá'ís in Iran. See Persecution of Bahá'ís.

Books

On 2 November 2006, Carr, together with advertising copy-writer friend Lucy Greeves, released a book called The Naked Jape (the U.S. version, re-titled Only Joking, was released on 21 September 2006), a discussion of the art and history of joking. It includes a selection of over 400 of the best jokes ever told. One of Jimmys most recognised appearance was during the start of 2009, where Jimmy came out as gay, live on air during an interview concerning ME sufferers. Jimmy stated ' I would just like to take the time, to tell everyone, im a gay i have been living a lie all my life', This comes after a leaked source from a close friend where he a Jimmy had engaged in a 'Prank' where both men masturbated, and the last person to cum would have to drink his mates sperm. Photos can be viewed on jimmycarr.com, Jimmy has been questioned about his general dress sense and hairdos, now we have established that the way he dresses reflects his homosexual personality.

Second Life

On 21 December 2006, Jimmy announced plans to become the first major comedian to perform in the virtual reality world of Second Life. This was confirmed on his MySpace webpage on 3 January 2007, and a competition launched to choose a select audience from the list of his MySpace friends.

Carr's Second Life show took place on Saturday, 3 February at 7pm, at Adam Street Bar and Members Club in central London. Fifty MySpace friends made up his live audience, with 100 virtual attendees in Second Life itself. The show was enjoyed by both sets of audiences, with excellent feedback received on both Jimmy's MySpace profile and within Second Life.

Carr hinted at the show that he may perform future shows in Second Life.

In March 2007, Laura Jackson from the Guinness Book of World Records confirmed that Jimmy had obtained the world record for being the first comedian in cyberspace, following on from his Second Life show.

Awards

• LAFTA Awards 2007: Best Stand Up
• British Comedy Awards 2006 - Best Live Stand Up
• Rose D'Or Nomination 2006: Best Game Show, 'Distraction'
• LAFTA Awards 2005: Funniest Man
• Rose D'Or Nomination 2004: Best Presenter, 'Distraction'
• Loaded Lafta Award 2004 - Best Stand Up
• Royal Television Society Award Winner: Best On-Screen Newcomer 2003
• Perrier Award Nominee: 2002
• Time Out Award Winner: Best Stand Up 2002

Videography

DVD Releases

• Jimmy Carr: Live (2005)
• Comic Aid: Live And Uncut - A Benefit For The Asian Tsunami Appeal (2005)
• Have I Got News For You: The Best Of The Guest Presenters: Vol.2 (2005)
• 8 out of 10 Cats: Claws Out (2006)
• Stormbreaker (2006)
• Confetti (2006)
• Alien Autopsy (2006)
• Jimmy Carr: Stand Up (2006)
• I Want Candy (2007)
• The F Word: Series 1 & 2 (6 Discs) (2007)
• Jimmy Carr: Comedian (2007)
• Jimmy Carr: In Concert (2008)
• QI The C Series (2 Discs) (2008)
• Jimmy Carr: Telling Jokes (2009)

References

1. "BBC apologises for joke about Gypsy women on radio show". Guardian Unlimited. 5 January 2006.
2. "Stand-ups square up over fat joke". BBC News. 5 August 2004.
3. http://chrismoyles.net/soundvault/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=1672
4. Behind Jimmy Carr's wisecracks, This Is London "Jim was a self-made millionaire who rose to become treasurer of computer giant Unisys in Europe and Africa before setting up his own marketing business."
5. Comedian's father 'given damages'. BBC News. Retrieved on 13 May 2007.
6. Big Fat Quiz Of The Year 2007, Channel 4
7. Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2008
8. http://richarddawkins.net/article,3443,Jimmy-Carr-on-Richard-Dawkins,Psychologies-Magazine
9. "Taboo-buster: the dark side of Jimmy Carr". The Independent. November 18, 2008.
10. "Stand up for Iran's Baha'is - Voices from the arts call for the imprisoned Baha'i leaders in Iran to receive a fair trial", The Times, 2009-02-26{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
11. "We are ashamed!", Iranian.com, Iranian.com, 2009-02-04{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
12. BBC Story on Carr's Second Life performance.

External links

• Jimmy Carr on Chortle, including forthcoming tour dates
• Jimmy Carr at IMDb

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• Living people
• Deaths
• Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
• British stand-up comedians
• English atheists
• English comedians
• English game show hosts
• Old Wycombiensians