Gary Delaney (born 16 April 1973) is an English writer and stand-up comedian. His style of humour is one-liners involving puns. He is known for delivering them in a slightly deadpan manner.

Gary Delaney
Delaney in 2013
Birth nameGary Delaney
Born (1973-04-16) 16 April 1973 (age 50)
MediumStand-up comedy
NationalityBritish
Alma materLondon School of Economics
Spouse
(m. 2013)
Websitegarydelaney.com

Early life edit

Gary Delaney received a degree in Economics from the London School of Economics, owing to his childhood desire to be a bond trader.[1]

Career edit

Before his comedy career, Delaney fixed photocopiers, worked at banks, and did custodian work at garages.[1]

He writes for Birmingham-based FM radio station Kerrang! 105.2 and also appeared in the horror-comedy film Trash House.[2] A lot of his material was allegedly plagiarised on the humour website Sickipedia. When Delaney complained, the site removed the material and replaced it with a notice saying "joke removed due to a copyright complaint by Gary Delaney" and a link to his website. He received abuse and death threats from the site's users. However, his actions led the website to begin to attribute authorship of the jokes appearing on its site.[3][4]

In 2003, Delaney toured the UK supporting Jerry Sadowitz, performing at venues including Manchester University and Shepherd's Bush Empire, London.[5][6] His first Edinburgh Festival Fringe show, Purist, won generally positive reviews, including four stars from comedy website Chortle,[7] and The Independent newspaper.[8] Delaney had two of his gags included in the top ten of the third annual Dave Award for the Funniest Joke Of The Fringe,[9] the first comedian to do so. Following an increased profile due to appearances on Mock the Week and Dave's One Night Stand, Delaney toured Purist in 2013.[10]

In July 2012, Delaney appeared on Mock the Week. Some residents of Jersey were offended when he joked that people from Jersey were "trying to shake off their tax avoidance tag and get back to their traditional reputation as Nazi sympathisers." The BBC, however, reiterated that Mock the Week contains irreverent humour and that the comment was "obviously tongue-in-cheek".[11]. Delaney went on to make a total of 18 appearances on the show.

Contributing to the topical podcast No Pressure to be Funny, in May 2013, he described himself as a "right-wing libertarian".[12]

Personal life edit

Delaney began a relationship with fellow stand-up comedian Sarah Millican in 2006.[13] The couple moved in together in 2013 and married in December 2013.[13][14]

As of February 2015, Delaney lived in Cheshire.[1]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Mellor, Joe (25 February 2015). "TLE meets…Gary Delaney". The London Economic. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  2. ^ "Comedy with guts: Mock horror film gets DVD release". Chortle: The UK Comedy Guide. 19 September 2005.
  3. ^ Richardson, Jay (9 November 2009). "Abused for taking on the joke thieves". Chortle. Retrieved 10 November 2009.
  4. ^ Green, Chris (11 November 2009). "Plagiarism is no laughing matter for comedians". The Independent. London. Retrieved 11 November 2009.
  5. ^ McCann, Alex (2003). "Jerry Sadowitz". Designer Magazine.
  6. ^ "Brewery Barrel of Laughs Comedy Club". BBC Cumbria. March 2004.
  7. ^ Bennett, Steve (7 August 2010). "Gary Delaney: Purist". Chortle. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  8. ^ Hall, Julian (19 August 2010). "Gary Delaney: Purist, Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh". The Independent. London. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  9. ^ "Fringe's funniest joke prize awarded to Tim Vine". BBC News. 23 August 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  10. ^ Stephenson, John-Paul (9 May 2013). "Review: Gary Delaney: Purist – Newcastle Stand". Giggle Beats. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  11. ^ Burgess, Gary (2 July 2012). "Outraged to be called "Nazi sympathisers"". Channel TV. Archived from the original on 24 February 2014.
  12. ^ James O'Brien (5 May 2013). "No Pressure to Be Funny: Series 5, Episode 4 (5th May 2013)". No Pressure to be Funny (Podcast). British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 6 May 2013..
  13. ^ a b McNally, Kelby (4 January 2014). "Sarah Millican marries fellow comedian Gary Delaney in secret ceremony".
  14. ^ Methven, Nicola (7 March 2012). "Sarah Millican reckons she has got domestic bliss sorted". Daily Record. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2013.

External links edit