Jones, Griff(ith) Rhys 1953-

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JONES, Griff(ith) Rhys 1953-

PERSONAL: Born November 16 (some sources cite November 6), 1953, in Cardiff, Wales; son of Elwyn (a doctor) and Gwyneth Margaret (Jones) Rhys Jones; married Joanna Frances Harris (a graphic designer), 1981; children: George, Catherine. Education: Graduate of Emmanuel College, Cambridge.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, BBC Consumer Publishing, BBC Worldwide, Ltd., Woodlands, 80 Wood Lane, London W12 0TT England.

CAREER: Actor, producer, and writer. Former owner, with Mel Smith, of the production company Talkback. Actor in stage productions, including Charley's Aunt, 1983; Trumpets and Raspberries, Phoenix Theatre, London, England, 1985; The Alchemist, Lyric-Hammersmith, London, England, 1985; Arturo Ui, Queens Theatre, London, England, 1987; Small Doses (short plays; includes "Boat People"), 1989; Smith and Jones, 1989; Die Fledermaus (opera), Royal Opera, Theatre at Covent Garden, London, England, 1989; The Wind in the Willows, Royal National Theatre, London, England, 1990; An Absolute Turkey, Globe Theatre, London, England, 1994; The Front Page, Donmar Warehouse Theatre, 1997; The Revengers Comedies, Strand Theatre, London; Not in Front of the Audience, Theatre Royal; and Le Dindon. Director of stage productions, including The Alchemist, Lyric-Hammersmith, London, England, 1985; Twelfth Night, Royal Shakespeare Company, 1991; and Le School Trip, Old Vic Youth Theatre.

Actor in films, including Fundamental Frolics, 1981; (in multiple roles) The Secret Policeman's Other Ball, Miramax, 1982; (as Graham Sweetley) Morons from Outer Space, Universal, 1985; (as Henry Wilt) The Misadventures of Mr. Wilt (also known as Wilt), J. Arthur Rank, 1990; Ex, 1991; (as Touchstone) As You Like It, 1992; (as Graham) Staggered (also known as Mad Wedding), Victor Films, 1994; (as Tino) The Adventures of Pinocchio (also known as Carlo Collodi's Pinocchio and Pinocchio), New Line Cinema, 1996; (as Ray Mason) Up 'n' Under (also known as Up and Under), Entertainment Film Distributors, 1998; (as Caesar) The Testimony of Taliesin Jones, Snake River, 2000; and (as Colonel Stokes) Puckoon, 2002.

Actor in television series, including A View of Harry Clark, British Broadcasting Company (BBC), 1989; (as narrator) Tales from the Poop Deck, beginning c. 1991; (as Ian Deasey) Demob, beginning c. 1993; The Nose at Ten, beginning c. 1996; (as himself) The Sketch Show Story (also known as Victoria Wood's Sketch Show Story), beginning 2001; (series presenter; as himself) Restoration; and Bookworm, BBC-2. Also a regular performer on the television series Not the Nine o'Clock News, BBC-2, 1979-80 and 1982; Alas Smith & Jones, BBC-2, 1984-87, then CBS, 1991; The World according to Smith and Jones, BBC, 1987; Smith and Jones in Small Doses, beginning c. 1989; Smith and Jones, BBC, 1989-92 and 1995; and Smith and Jones: Prime Cuts (compilation series), BBC, 1995.

Actor in television miniseries, including (as Carrington) Porterhouse Blue, Channel 4, 1987. Appeared in television specials, including (as guest speaker from Wembley Stadium) Live Aid, British Television, Music Television (MTV), American Broadcasting Companies (ABC), and syndicated, 1985; The Grand Knockout Tournament, 1987; Comic Relief: The Invasion of the Comic Tomatoes, 1993; Comic Relief: Behind the Nose, Home Box Office (HBO), 1995; (as host) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, 1997; (as presenter) Crystal Balls (documentary), BBC, 1998; Live from the Light-house, 1998; The Book Quiz, 1998; Comic Relief: The Record Breaker, 1999; The "Not the Nine o'Clock News" Story, BBC, 1999; and (in archival footage) The 100 Greatest TV Ads, Tyne Tees, 2000; also appeared in In Search of Happiness (documentary), BBC; They Think It's All Over, BBC-1; The Day Today; and Murder Most Horrid. Actor in television movies, including (as Baron Wasteland) Jack and the Beanstalk, London Weekend Television, 1998; and (as emperor) Aladdin, 2000.

Guest star on television shows, including "Bambi," The Young Ones, BBC-2, 1984; Who Dares Wins, Channel 4, 1984; Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Channel 4, 1988-89; Clive Anderson Talks Back, Channel 4, 1990 and 1994; Rita Rudner, BBC, 1990; Have I Got News for You?, BBC-2, 1992-93; Clive Anderson All Talk, BBC, 1996; Shooting Stars, BBC, 1996; TFI Friday (also known as Thank Four It's Friday), Channel 4, 1997; (as Jeremy Sprangster) "The Curious Tale of Mr. Speakfish," Jonathan Creek, BBC, 1999; Ruby, BBC, 1999; Parkinson, 2000; "Douglas Adams: The Man Who Blew Up the World," Omnibus, BBC, 2001; and Clive Anderson Now, 2001. Producer of television series, including Alas Smith & Jones, BBC-2, 1984-87, then Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), 1991; and Smith and Jones, BBC, 1989-92 and 1995.

Appeared in numerous radio shows, including (and producer) The Griff Rhys Jones Show, BBC Radio 2, Do Go On (spoof talk show), BBC Radio 4, The Cradleys, and The Mitchells. Reader of books on tape, including Porterhouse Blue, Chivers Audio Books, 1987, 1988, and 1993; Ancestral Vices, Chivers Audio Books, 1992; Little Wolf's Book of Badness, Collins, 1996; The Nation's Favourite Comic Poems, BBC Audiobooks, 1998; The BBC Collection of Humorous Poetry, BDD Audio Publishing, 1999; Little Wolf, Forest Detective, Collins Audio Cassette, 2001; One Thousand Years of Laughter: An Anthology of Classic Comic Prose, Naxos AudioBooks, 2002; and To the Baltic with Bob, Penguin Audiobooks, 2003.

AWARDS, HONORS: Capital Radio/Marketing Ad of the Quarter award; Olivier Award, for Le Dindon.

WRITINGS:

(With Mel Smith) Smith and Jones World Atlas, Mitchell Beazley, 1983.

(With Mel Smith) The Lavishly Tooled Smith andJones Instant Coffee Table Book, Fontana (London, England), 1986.

(With Mel Smith) Janet Lives with Mel and Griff, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1988.

(With Mel Smith) Head to Head, foreword by Clive Anderson, Fontana (London, England), 1992.

(Editor, with Mark Wallinger) On the Border, Firstsite (Colchester, England), 1998.

(Editor) The Nation's Favourite Comic Poems, BBC Consumer Publishing (London, England), 1998.

(Editor) The Nation's Favourite Twentieth CenturyPoems, BBC Consumer Publishing, 1999.

Author of foreword, The Nation's Favourite Poems, BBC Consumer Publishing, 1996.

TELEVISION SERIES; WITH OTHERS

Not the Nine o'Clock News, British Broadcasting Company (BBC) 2, 1979-80 and 1982.

Alas Smith & Jones, British Broadcasting Company (BBC) 2, 1984-87, then Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), 1991.

The World according to Smith and Jones, British Broadcasting Company (BBC), 1987.

Smith and Jones in Small Doses, 1989.

Smith and Jones, British Broadcasting Company

(BBC), 1989-92 and 1995.

Smith and Jones: Prime Cuts (compilation series), British Broadcasting Company (BBC), 1995.

RECORDINGS

(With others) Not the Nine o'Clock News, BBC Audiobooks, 1990.

(With Mel Smith) Smith and Jones Live, Listen for Pleasure, 1994.

(With Mel Smith) Smith and Jones Sound Off, BBC Audiobooks, 1997.

The Griff Rhys Jones Show, BBC Consumer Publishing, 2002.

To the Baltic with Bob (travel memoir), Michael Joseph (London, England), 2003.

Also, with Mel Smith, recorded Scratch and Sniff and Bitter and Twisted.

OTHER

(With Mel Smith and Bob Mercer) Morons from OuterSpace (screenplay), Universal, 1985.

Also author of the play Boat People, published in Smith and Jones in Small Doses, 1989; and of the play Smith and Jones, 1989.

Also author of a regular column for the Mail on Sunday, London, England.

SIDELIGHTS: Griff Rhys Jones has long been nearly ubiquitous in British comedy. This success, Michael Wright speculated in the Sunday Times, "is thanks to an irresistible ability to suggest feverish mental activity taking place behind a surpassingly inane grin, and to make lovable the dork who lurks in each of us." Jones first made a name for himself on the hit comedic current events program Not the Nine o'Clock News, and since then he and his frequent collaborator Mel Smith (director of the film Bean) have had several sketch comedy television programs together. Jones also appears frequently on radio (where he has two programs of his own), on stage, and on the big screen. Plus, in recent years, Jones has started to branch out beyond comedy, writing a column for the Mail on Sunday and a memoir about his travels by sailboat and undertaking serious charity work to help preserve historic buildings. "Perhaps I should have been more discriminatory in my career," Jones reflected to Evening Standard reviewer Lina Das, "but I've tended to do things for the pleasure of doing them."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Birmingham Post (Birmingham, England), October 8, 1998, Graham Keal, interview with Jones, p. 16.

Coventry Evening Telegraph (Coventry, England), January 1, 1999, review of The Nation's Favourite Comic Poems, p. 35.

Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland), June 7, 1997, interview with Jones, p. 20; June 15, 2000, Cara Page, "The Pounds 23m Jokers: Smith and Jones Become Millionaires by Selling Off Their TV Production Company," p. 11.

Evening Standard (London, England), April 25, 2002, Fiona Maddocks, interview with Jones, p. 49; March 13, 2003, Lina Das, interview with Jones.

Evening Times (Glasgow, Scotland), June 19, 1997, Brian Beacom, "Smith and Jones Back at Their Best," p. 10; September 9, 1998, Ann Fotheringham, "More Mirth from Mel and Griff," p. 21; September 26, 1998, "Poets Play It for Laughs,"
p. 29; November 27, 2001, "Star Profile: Griff Rhys Jones," p. 23; November 28, 2002, "Star Profile: Griff Rhys-Jones," p. 27.

Guardian (London, England), March 12, 1996, interview with Jones, p. 5; June 21, 2003, Mark Anstead, interview with Jones, p. 11.

Independent (London, England), May 23, 1998, James Rampton, interview with Jones, p. 4; April 7, 1999, interview with Jones, p. 8.

Independent on Sunday (London, England), September 8, 1996, Sue Fox, "How We Met: Griff Rhys Jones and Rory McGrath," p. 74.

Los Angeles Times, September 24, 1985, Michael Wilmington, review of Morons from Outer Space, p. 5.

Marketing, February 14, 1991, Mat Toor, "Mel and Griff: The Winning Combination in Radio Ad Awards," p. 12.

Mirror (London, England), June 14, 1997, Richard Wallace, interview with Jones and Mel Smith, p. 4; May 30, 1998, interview with Jones, p. 3; April 4, 2003, "Head to Head: Sean Hughes and Griff Rhys Jones," p. 10.

People, July 23, 1990, Ralph Novak, review of TheAdventures of Mr. Wilt, p. 11.

Sight and Sound, February, 1998, Geoffrey Macnab, review of Up 'n' Under, pp. 54-55.

Sun (London, England), June 14, 1997, "Mel Has a Hell of a Temper," p. 5.

Sunday Times (London, England), June 15, 1997, Michael Wright, interview with Jones, p. 12; September 12, 1999, Stuart Wavell, interview with Jones, p. 4.

Times (London, England), February 21, 1998, Erica Wagner, "Keeping Up with the Rhys Joneses," p. 8; August 29, 1998, Anna Blundy, interview with Jones, p. 8.

Variety, January 26, 1998, Derek Elley, review of Up'n' Under, p. 67.

Wales on Sunday (Cardiff, Wales), November 25, 2001, "Face of the Day: Griff Rhys Jones," p. 15.