Big Red Book
Celebrating television's This Is Your Life
Russ ABBOT (1947-)
THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Russ Abbot, comedian and actor, was surprised by Michael Aspel on his 50th birthday in the tea room of Wentworth Golf Course ahead of a gala dinner at the Langham Hotel in central London, from where the programme was then recorded.
Russ, who was born in Chester, joined the comedy showband The Black Abbots as a drummer in the mid-1960s. They were the resident band at the Royalty Theatre, Chester, where Russ also worked as a stagehand and first developed his comedy skills while performing in sketches. The band's 1969 appearance on the ITV talent show Opportunity Knocks established them as one of the country's top acts throughout the 1970s.
After the band split up, Russ developed a solo career with appearances in pantomimes and summer seasons and on television in his own show, which ran for 17 years from 1980 and won him the Funniest Man on Television award five times. In addition, he had chart success with the single Atmosphere in 1985 and appeared in a revival of the musical Little Me in 1984.
"I don't know what to say! Oh dear! What about the game - I'm playing so well!"
programme details...
- Edition No: 977
- Subject No: 952
- Broadcast date: Mon 22 Sep 1997
- Broadcast time: 7.00-7.30pm
- Recorded: Thu 18 Sep 1997
- Venue: The Langham Hotel, London
- Series: 38
- Edition: 4
- Code name: Monk
on the guest list...
- Erika - daughter
- Chris - son
- Richard - son
- Gary - son
- Trish - wife
- Bernard Gallacher
- Don Hewitt
- Bruce Forsyth
- Sherrie Hewson
- Jeffrey Holland
- Lisa Maxwell
- Bella Emberg
- Trevor Francis - in audience
- Pat Jennings - in audience
- Alice - aunt
- Charlie - uncle
- Stuart - brother
- Don - brother
- Derek - brother
- John - brother
- Barry Hollinshead
- Bobby Turner
- Dennis Critchley
- Les Dennis
- Lynda Baron
- Roy Walker
- Margaret - aunt
- Eric Sykes Filmed tributes:
- Kevin Keegan
- Anthea Turner
- Nigel Mansell
- Freddie Starr
- Bob Monkhouse
related appearances...
- Margaret Hayles - Feb 1989
- Norman Painting - Nov 1991
- Les Dawson - Dec 1992
- Barry Cryer - Jan 1995
- Les Dennis - Feb 1997
- Roy Walker - Sep 1998
- Lisa Maxwell - Apr 2003
- Anthony Andrews - May 2003
production team...
- Researcher: Jo Grant
- Writer: Ian Brown
- Directors: John Gorman, Steve Docherty
- Associate Producer: Liz Rawlings
- Executive Producer: John Longley
- Series Producer: Jack Crawshaw
- Producer: Sue Green
- names above in bold indicate subjects of This Is Your Life
it's all about the comedy
Screenshots of Russ Abbot This Is Your Life
Series 38 subjects
Jeremy Guscott | Magnus Magnusson | Maureen Rees | Russ Abbot | Sally Gunnell | Graham Cole | James HatfieldCarol Vorderman | Trevor Baylis | Bryan Mosley | Murray Walker | Cheryl Baker | Errol Brown | Peter Snow
Nadim Sawalha | Clive Hornby | Trevor Bannister | Mary Ward | Brian Murphy | Robert Winston
Duncan Goodhew | Julia Watson | Anne Robinson | Bill Giles | Tim Healy | Raymond Baxter