Addison Cresswell (28 June 1960 – 23 December 2013) was a British comedy

talent agent A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds work for actors, authors, broadcast journalists, film directors, musicians, models, professional athletes, screenwriters, writers, dancers, and other professionals in various entertainm ...

and producer. He was notable for finding many stand-up "alternative" comedians at the

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

and at other venues, promoting them and finding spots for them on television and radio over a 30-year period from the 1980s. He has been called "one of the most influential people in British comedy", "arguably the most powerful man in UK comedy" for two decades and "the

Darth Vader Darth Vader () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was first introduced in the original film trilogy as the primary antagonist and one of the leaders of the Galactic Empire. He has become one of the most iconic villain ...

of the Fringe".

Early life

Cresswell was born in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

General Register Office General Register Office or General Registry Office (GRO) is the name given to the civil registry in the United Kingdom, many other Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth nations and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The GRO is the government agency r ...

index of births registered in July, August, September 1960 – Name: Addison L. Cresswell District: Kensington, London Volume: 5C Page: 1732. His father, Peter Cresswell, was the dean of arts at

Goldsmiths College, University of London Goldsmiths, University of London, formerly Goldsmiths College, University of London, is a constituent research university of the University of London. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by ...

. His younger brother,

Luke Luke may refer to: People and fictional characters * Luke (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Luke (surname), including a list of people with the name * Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luk ...

, became a founder of the dance and percussion group

Stomp Stomp may refer to: *Stomp (strike), a downwards kick using the heel Music and dance * ''Stomp'' (album), by Big D and the Kids Table, 2013 *Stomp (jazz), a type of rhythmic jazz tune popular in the 1920s *Stomp (theatrical show), a percussive ph ...

. He was educated at St Luke's Primary School (Brighton),

Longhill High School Longhill High School is a co-educational secondary school for 11 to 16 year-olds, which is located in Rottingdean, Brighton and Hove, East Sussex. The school grounds are served by Brighton & Hove bus routes 2, 22, 72, 72A and 76, 76A. Hist ...

(Rottingdean), and

Brighton Polytechnic The University of Brighton is a public university based in Brighton on the south coast of England. Its roots can be traced back to 1858 when the Brighton School of Art was opened in the Royal Pavilion. It achieved university status in 1992. Th ...

, where he studied

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...

and was the student entertainments officer. As Entertainments Officer at Brighton Polytechnic, he booked bands such as U2,

Killing Joke Killing Joke were an English rock music, rock band formed in Notting Hill, London, in 1979 by Jaz Coleman (vocals, keyboards), Paul Ferguson (drums), Geordie Walker (guitar) and Youth (musician), Youth (bass). Their first album, ''Killing Joke ...

Joy Division Joy Division were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Ian Curtis, guitarist and keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris (musici ...

, New Order and

Madness Madness or The Madness may refer to: Emotion and mental health * Anger, an intense emotional response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat * Insanity, a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns * ...

. He was able to live off the money he made.

Career

He first visited the

Edinburgh Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

in 1982 with Tony Allen. He founded 'The Comedy Boom' with club promoter and comedian

Ivor Dembina Ivor Joseph Dembina (born 14 April 1951) is a British stand-up comedian and writer in the alternative tradition from London. Career Dembina attributed his early "reputation for generally doing some decent gigs" to having "the brains to make su ...

(who he'd viewed as a rival) in Edinburgh in 1987. It was the Edinburgh Festival Fringe's first venue for

stand-up comedy Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage (theatre), stage and delivers humour, humorous and satire, satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical comedy, physical acts. These ...

. They found the venue - the Abercraig Lounge - simply by walking round Edinburgh. The landlord was initially sceptical, but they persuaded him to show them the basement function room and knew it was going to work. The performance poet and comedian

John Hegley John Richard Hegley (born 1 October 1953) is an English performance poet, comedian, musician and songwriter. He has a reputation for wry and surreal humour, mostly performance-oriented or designed for younger audiences, and often sung or acc ...

was Cresswell's first client. He founded a production company called Wonderdog with

Paul Merton Paul James Martin (born 9 July 1957), known by the stage name Paul Merton, is an English comedian who is best known as one of the two regular panellists on the television show '' Have I Got News for You''. Known for his improvisation skill, M ...

and

Julian Clary Julian Peter McDonald Clary (born 25 May 1959) is an English actor, comedian, novelist and presenter. He began appearing on television in the mid-1980s. Since then, he has also acted in films, on television and in stage productions, including n ...

who he had met at 'The Comedy Boom'. His client list went on to include:

Sean Lock Sean Lock (22 April 1963 – 16 August 2021) was an English comedian and actor. He began his comedy career as a stand-up comedian and in 2000, he won the British Comedy Award, in the category of Best Live Comic, and was nominated fo ...

Jon Richardson Jon Joel Richardson (born 26 September 1982) is an English comedian and radio presenter. He is known for his appearances on '' 8 Out of 10 Cats'' and '' 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown'' and his work as co-host with Russell Howard on BBC Rad ...

Jonathan Ross Jonathan Stephen Ross (born 17 November 1960) is an English broadcaster, film critic, comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He presented the BBC One chat show '' Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' during the 2000s and early 2010s, hosted his ow ...

, Lee Evans,

Michael McIntyre Michael Hazen James McIntyre (born 21 February 1976) is a British comedian, writer, and television presenter. In 2012, he was the highest-grossing stand-up comedian in the world. He currently presents the variety and stand-up comedy show '' Mic ...

Alan Carr Alan Graham Carr (born 14 June 1976) is an English comedian, broadcaster, and writer. His breakthrough was in 2001, winning the '' City Life'' Best Newcomer of the Year and the BBC New Comedy Awards. In the ensuing years, Carr's career burgeo ...

Kevin Bridges Kevin Andrew Bridges (born 13 November 1986) is a Scottish stand-up comedian. His 2012 television series ''Kevin Bridges: What's the Story?'' was based on his stand-up routines. He has appeared on many television panel shows, including '' Woul ...

and

Rich Hall Richard Travis Hall (born June 10, 1954) is an American comedian, writer, director, actor, and musician, first coming to prominence as a sketch comedian in the 1980s. He wrote and performed for a range of American networks, in series such as ...

. He was behind '' Live at the Apollo'', which was hosted for the first two series and the first episode of the third by

Jack Dee James Andrew Innes "Jack" Dee (born 24 September 1961) is an English stand-up comedian, actor, presenter, and writer known for his sarcasm, irony, and deadpan humour. He wrote and starred in the sitcom '' Lead Balloon'' and hosts the panel show ...

and '' Stand Up for the Week'' on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

Television from 2010. He founded and ran the

Off the Kerb Off The Kerb Productions is a British talent agency company that mainly works with comedians. The company was owned by Addison Cresswell. The company is responsible for many comedians, including Jack Dee, Lee Evans, Jeremy Hardy, Jo Brand, Al ...

talent agency in 1982 and in 1991 co-founded the independent TV and radio production company,

Open Mike Productions James Andrew Innes "Jack" Dee (born 24 September 1961) is an English stand-up comedian, actor, presenter, and writer known for his sarcasm, irony, and deadpan humour. He wrote and starred in the sitcom ''Lead Balloon'' and hosts the panel show ...

, with comedian

. He organised the Channel 4 Comedy Gala annually in support of

Great Ormond Street Hospital Great Ormond Street Hospital (informally GOSH, formerly the Hospital for Sick Children) is a children's hospital located in the Bloomsbury area of the London Borough of Camden, and a part of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS F ...

. "He liked the idea of being a Svengali figure, like Brian Epstein with The Beatles," said Dembina, but "he wasn't a greedy person. And the thing people forget about Addison is what a brilliant designer he was. He created the most eye-catching posters". He helped his client

secure a

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

contract worth £18m. When Ross became involved in the Sachsgate controversy, and lost the prime-time TV slot, it was taken over by Live at the Apollo, a show produced by Cresswell's TV production company, which helped to launch another of Cresswell's clients,

Death

Cresswell died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

on 23 December 2013 at the age of 53; Cresswell is survived by his wife, Shelley.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cresswell, Addison 1960 births 2013 deaths Alumni of the University of Brighton British talent agents Burials at Highgate Cemetery Mass media people from Brighton and Hove People from Brighton Edinburgh Festival Fringe 20th-century British businesspeople