Jim Tavaré (born 1963) is a British stand-up comedian,

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

, and musician. He is best known for his work on ''

The Sketch Show ''The Sketch Show'' is a British television sketch comedy programme, featuring many leading British comedians. It aired on ITV between 2001 and 2004. The show was first commissioned in 2001 and was co-produced by a company owned by Steve C ...

'' on ITV, which won a BAFTA award. He played the role of Tom (the owner of the Leaky Cauldron) in ''

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ''Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling and is the third in the '' Harry Potter'' series. The book follows Harry Potter, a young wizard, in his third year at Hogwarts School of ...

'', and has appeared in several music videos, including

Roots Manuva Rodney Hylton Smith, better known by his stage name Roots Manuva (born 9 September 1972), is a British rapper and producer. Since his debut in 1994, he has produced numerous albums and singles on the label Big Dada, achieving commercial succ ...

's "Too Cold",

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's "It's All About You" (for BBC

Comic Relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic epis ...

), Phoenix Foundation's "Thames Soup", and

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's "Banshee".

Life and career

Tavaré was born in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1963. He is a cousin of former international cricketer Chris Tavaré. When he was 7, he and his family moved to Cheshire, where he eventually attended

art school An art school is an educational institution with a primary focus on the visual arts, including fine art – especially illustration, painting, photography, sculpture, and graphic design. Art schools can offer elementary, secondary, post-second ...

in Northwich. After finishing his art studies, he moved to London, where he worked with

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. As a result, he successfully auditioned for and attended the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...

. Tavaré's first film appearance was as a student in '' Another Country'' (1984) with

Rupert Everett Rupert James Hector Everett (; born 29 May 1959) is an English actor, director and producer. Everett first came to public attention in 1981 when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film '' Another Country'' (1984) as a gay pupi ...

and Colin Firth. Although uncredited, he was a featured extra appearing in numerous scenes throughout the film. Tavaré was Colin Firth's stand-in for the duration of the film. Charles Spencer, Diana, Princess of Wales's brother, was also an uncredited extra. Tavaré eventually branched out into stand-up comedy with a unique act which featured his

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...

, an instrument he had learned to play during his childhood. In 1995, Tavaré wrote and starred in a series of short silent films for BBC2, titled ''Jim Tavaré Pictures Presents''. On Channel Five, he had a skit series of his own that he co-wrote with Ricky Gervais, called ''The Jim Tavaré Show''. He appeared three times in the Royal Variety Performance and subsequently worked for Prince Charles at several private engagements, including at a private Christmas party and at a gala held at Highgrove in front of Queen Elizabeth II and 13 other crowned heads of state. He became renowned in the UK as Prince Charles's favourite comedian. Following an appearance at the Montreal Just For Laughs festival, CBS commissioned a special episode of the American series ''

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expre ...

'' based on and written entirely around his comedy act. Tavaré starred in this episode, which was called "Take My Life Please". Tavaré co-wrote and appeared in the BAFTA-winning ITV series ''

'', alongside

Lee Mack Lee Gordon McKillop (born 4 August 1968), known by his stage name Lee Mack, is an English comedian, actor, podcaster and presenter. He is known for his quick wit, writing and starring in the sitcom '' Not Going Out'', being a team captain on th ...

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, Karen Taylor, and Kitty Flanagan. In 2004, Tavaré appeared in ''

'' as Tom the Innkeeper. In 2008, he finished in fourth place on the American show ''

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'', having been the only overseas act ever to have reached the final show. He performed a 63-date national tour with the other four ''Last Comic Standing'' finalists throughout the US. He appeared in the fifth series of the

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comedy-drama ''

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'' as an English butler to a hip-hop mogul played by

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frontman RZA. He made a guest-star appearance in season 5 of the comedy and spy drama ''

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'', the TV show ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', and on Comedy Central's ''Tosh.0''. In September 2013, he began filming the role of The Dog Catcher in

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Entertainment's feature film '' Pudsey: The Movie'' alongside

David Walliams David Edward Williams (born 20 August 1971), known professionally as David Walliams, is an English comedian, actor, writer, and television personality. He is best known for his work with Matt Lucas on the BBC sketch comedy series ''Little Br ...

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, and

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. In 2017, Tavaré was in an

intensive care unit 220px, Intensive care unit An intensive care unit (ICU), also known as an intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit (ITU) or critical care unit (CCU), is a special department of a hospital or health care facility that provides intensi ...

after being injured in a collision with a car. After suffering catastrophic injuries (over 30 broken bones, including 14 broken ribs, collapsed lungs, multiple fractures, broken neck and a hand that detached from the wrist) Tavare returned to the stage with a new show about his experiences entitled “From deadpan to bedpan”.

References

Sources

* ''Sit-Down Comedy'' (contributor to anthology, ed.

Malcolm Hardee Malcolm Hardee (5 January 1950 – 31 January 2005) was an English comedian and comedy club proprietor. His high reputation among his peers rests on his outrageous publicity stunts and on the help and advice he gave to successful British Altern ...

& John Fleming) Ebury Press/Random House, 2003. ; {{DEFAULTSORT:Tavare, Jim 1963 births Living people 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors 20th-century English comedians 21st-century English comedians People from Northwich Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art English double-bassists Male double-bassists English male comedians English male film actors English male television actors Last Comic Standing contestants Male actors from Essex 21st-century double-bassists 21st-century British male musicians