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Bob Mortimer

Born:	May 23, 1959 Middlesbrough, England
Occupation:	Actor, writer, comedian

Robert "Bob" Renwick Mortimer (born May 23, 1959 in Middlesbrough, England), is an English comedian and actor who is best known for his double act with Vic Reeves (see Vic and Bob).

Contents 1 Early life 2 Partnership with Vic Reeves 3 Solo career 4 Tittybangbang 5 Trivia

Mortimer's father died when he was very young, and as a result, he and his three brothers were brought up by their mother, Eunice. He trialed for the Middlesbrough F.C. youth team (but could not take this up professionally due to his arthritis), later leaving school with three A-levels and going on to study law at the Universities of Sussex and Leicester. There Mortimer became involved in political causes and the punk movement, starting a band called Dog Dirt. After leaving University, he moved to London and became a solicitor.

In 1986, in an attempt to drown his sorrows after finding his girlfriend in bed with a Hells Angel, Mortimer met up with an old friend who persuaded him to go to the Goldsmith's Tavern to see a new show by someone called Vic Reeves. Mortimer was impressed by the performance, particularly the character Tappy Lappy, which was Reeves attempting to tap dance whilst wearing a Bryan Ferry mask and planks on his feet. Mortimer approached Reeves after the show, and the two began writing material for the next week's show together. They also became good friends, even forming a band called The Potter's Wheel. Mortimer began to perform on the show, which was christened Vic Reeves Big Night Out, creating such characters as the Singing Lawyer, Graham Lister, Judge Nutmeg, and the Man With the Stick.

The show became very successful in south London and eventually outgrew Goldsmith's Tavern, moving in 1988 to the Albany Empire in Deptford. Mortimer soon became an integral part of the performance, providing him with a weekly break from the legal work which had begun to disillusion him.

Mortimer and Reeves made their television debut on the short lived 1989 comedy/chat show One hour with Jonathan Ross, in the game show segment known as knock down ginger.

Later that year they made their first television pilot together, Vic Reeves Big Night Out, in late 1989. The television show remained true to the nightclub act's variety show format. Bob took a 10-week break from his legal job to film the series and never returned.

In 2000, Mortimer played the part of Randall in the remake of Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), opposite Reeves as Hopkirk and Emilia Fox as Jeannie.

In 2003, Mortimer and Reeves were listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, they were voted the 9th greatest comedy act ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders.

In July 2002, Mortimer fought and defeated Les Dennis in the BBC's first Celebrity Boxing match. He produced and presented the second match, The Fight, a year later, which saw Grant Bovey face Ricky Gervais.

In 2005, he hosted his first major TV series without Vic Reeves, a comedy panel game for BBC One, called 29 Minutes of Fame.

Mortimer is now penning his first novel, provisionally titled "Have Her Over My Hedge (You've Never Trimmed It)", with Charles Higson. He lives in Kent, in a partially sunken house (ground floor, first floor, basement, sub-basement and bunker), which he purchased from the estate of Frankie Howerd in 2001.

Mortimer co-writes the BBC3 television sketch comedy Tittybangbang with Jill Parker. Tittybangbang has been in production and airing since 2005.

• Mortimer sang on Middlesbrough F.C.'s F.A. Cup song in 1997, a cover of Chris Rea's "Let's Dance". Rea is a fellow Middlesbrough fan.
• Mortimer suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, which gives him great pain when he is stressed, especially before making a TV series or embarking on a tour. On those occasions, he controls the illness with steroids.

• He is a keen amateur birdwatcher.

• He is a fan of the band Radiohead.

• Mortimer represented Jarvis Cocker at the police station following the Pulp singer's arrest at the Brit Awards in 1997 (after Cocker had pretended to flash his bottom in protest at Michael Jackson's performance at the ceremony).