Sam Simmons (comedian)
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Sam Simmons (born ) is an Australian comedian, actor, and radio and TV presenter. He has toured extensively with his stand-up shows, as well as many appearances on TV in Australia, the US, and the UK. He has won and been nominated for many awards, and won the Helpmann Award for Best Comedy Performer in 2014.


Early life and education

Sam Simmons was born in in
Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
,
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
. He was raised in Adelaide by a single working mother, and has hinted in his shows that he was somewhat neglected as a child. His best friend described his childhood as "troubled". Going through a tough time as a 13-year-old, he attempted suicide. He watched a lot of
The Goodies The Goodies were a trio of British comedians: Tim Brooke-Taylor (17 July 1940 – 12 April 2020), Graeme Garden (b. 18 February 1943) and Bill Oddie (b. 7 July 1941). The trio created, wrote for and performed in their The Goodies (TV series), ...
, ''
Monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes. Thus monkeys, in that sense, co ...
'', and
Benny Hill Alfred Hawthorne "Benny" Hill (21 January 1924 – 18 April 1992) was an English comedian, actor and scriptwriter. He is best remembered for his television programme, ''The Benny Hill Show'', a comedy-variety show whose amalgam of slapstick, bu ...
as a child, and says was also very influenced by
John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and Television presenter, presenter. Emerging from the Footlights, Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinbur ...
's character in ''
Fawlty Towers ''Fawlty Towers'' is a British television sitcom written by John Cleese and Connie Booth, originally broadcast on BBC Two in 1975 and 1979. Two series of six episodes each were made. The series is set in Fawlty Towers, a dysfunctional fictional ...
'',
Basil Fawlty Basil Fawlty is the main character of the 1970s British sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'', played by John Cleese. The proprietor of the hotel Fawlty Towers, he is a cynical and misanthropic snob, desperate to attract hotel guests from the British upper ...
: "Rage and silliness combined. What a mix!".


Career


Live

Simmons' first performed comedy in 2001, at a benefit show for a friend whose handbag had been stolen. Performing as a duo with another young man, they presented ''Smutty and Pert'', like Ernie and Bert (from ''
Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...
''. Later, working at Greasy Joe's in St Kilda, he would perform for the patrons of the café, who were a diverse audience. He then began to perform in comedy rooms, "just doing my own thing", which was not
stand-up 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 ...
, according to Simmons. Janet McLeod gave him a contract to perform for two months at her Local Laughs night. In 2003, he presented ''The Steve Promise Story'' at the
Melbourne International Comedy Festival The Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) is the largest stand-alone comedy festival and the largest international comedy festival in the world. First held in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks, typically starti ...
(MICF). He performed at TEDxSydney in 2014. In the same year, he developed and performed his show ''Death of a Sails-Man'', which one reviewer described as "an extremely quirky one-man monologue... a man live on stage having a breakdown, singing, reflecting and joking with his sub-conscious". His 2015 award-winning show, ''Spaghetti for Breakfast'' featured his usual "silly" (self-described) pieces, followed by a deeply personal reference to how he nearly committed suicide as a young adolescent. When in Los Angeles, he did regular shows with Dr Brown (Phil Burgers), and they worked together on developing a TV series. In 2015, they performed together at the
Soho Theatre Soho Theatre is a theatre and registered charity in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, and Soho Theatre Walthamstow in north-east London. It produces and presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret, across three pe ...
in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, in a show called ''Ceremony'', which Burgers described as "two idiots playing with the idea of ceremony". In March 2016, Simmons performed a new show, ''Not a People Person'', at MICF. After living for some time across three cities (
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
,
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, and
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, he announced early in 2019 that he was going to quit touring with live comedy for a while after his current commitments with his new show, ''26 Things You're Doing Wrong with Sam Simmons'', although still intending to do some acting and write TV scripts. At several comedy festivals in 2019, Simmons performed a new show, ''26 Things You're Doing Wrong with Sam Simmons'' about unconventional
life hack A life hack (or life hacking) is any trick, shortcut, skill, or novelty method that increases productivity and efficiency, in all walks of life. The term was primarily used by computer experts who suffer from information overload or those with a p ...
s. In December 2019, he performed for 10 nights at the Soho Theatre in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, and in 2020 was working on a solo show called ''FUNT'' there. In 2021, he performed a show in the
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at the Adelaide Fringe entitled ''Sam Simmons is Putting Things on His Knee to Raise Awareness for People Who Not have Good Knees'', based on fictional stories about celebrities. In 2022, he performed ''Be a Verb'' at the Garden of Unearthly Delights in the
Adelaide Fringe Adelaide Fringe, formerly Adelaide Fringe Festival, is Australia’s biggest arts festival and is the world's second-largest annual arts festival (after the Edinburgh Festival Fringe), held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Between ...
. In March 2024, Simmons performed his new show ''Man With A Fork In A World Full Of Soup'' at the Adelaide Fringe, which earned good reviews. John Bailey wrote in ''
The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...
'' in 2016: "...an hour with Simmons is a tour of the comic spectrum: physical comedy, musical comedy, sketch and character work, puns, one-liners, shaggy dog stories, mime, crowd work, visual gags, observational comedy, meta-comedy and more, all delivered with the kind of pummelling intensity...".


TV and radio

Simmons has also made regular appearances on TV since 2003, as a stand-up comedian, as a guest, in
comedy sketch Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...
shows, and as an actor (including a main role in the comedy series ''
Squinters ''Squinters'' is an Australian television comedy series which first screened on the ABC on Wednesday 7 February 2018. All six episodes were also loaded on the ABC's iView catch up service on the same date. A second series went to air in 2019. ...
''). Network appearances include
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,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...
,
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
, and other Australian networks. He appeared on '' Conan'' in the US in 2013, after moving to
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
in June of that year. Host
Conan O'Brien Conan Christopher O'Brien (born April 18, 1963) is an American television host, comedian, writer, actor, and producer. He is best known for having hosted Late-night talk show, late-night talk shows, beginning with ''Late Night with Conan O'B ...
called him "a very strange fellow". Simmons said that the US show allowed him greater freedom in presenting his "weird" stuff."Conan O'Brien was so impressed by Sam Simmons' stand-up that he's invited him to perform on his talk show for a second time"
news.com.au, 27 October 2013
He has also appeared on another American TV show, '' Adam Devine's House Party'', as well as the British shows ''
8 Out of 10 Cats ''8 Out of 10 Cats'' (stylised as ''8 out of 10 CATS'') is a British comedy panel show that aired from 3 June 2005 to 17 January 2021. It was first broadcast on Channel 4 from 2005 to 2015, then More4 from 2016 to 2017, and finally E4 from ...
'', ''
Room 101 The Ministry of Truth, the Ministry of Peace, the Ministry of Love, and the Ministry of Plenty are the four ministries of the government of Oceania in the 1949 dystopian novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'', by George Orwell. The use of contradictor ...
''. On radio, Simmons started as a regular guest on the morning show ''The Pinch'' on Triple R (Melbourne) in 2003. He became a regular host on
Triple J Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...
radio station from 2005. He was a regular guest host and contributor on JTV from 2007 to 2009 This led to his first television show, '' The Urban Monkey with Murray Foote'', in 2009. In 2012, Simmons followed up with a sketch-style TV series ''
Problems A problem is a difficulty which may be resolved by problem solving. Problem(s) or The Problem may also refer to: People * Problem (rapper), (born 1985) American rapper Books * ''Problems'' (Aristotle), an Aristotelian (or pseudo-Aristotelian) co ...
'', with a tone more similar to that of his surrealist stand-up shows. After moving from Adelaide to
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, in 2013 he filmed a US pilot in
Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...
with David Quirk, described by Simmons as "a reality show about animals". In 2017, he provided the voice of Mr Wallaby in ''
Peppa Pig ''Peppa Pig'' is a British preschool animated television series created by Neville Astley and Mark Baker. Produced by Hasbro Entertainment and Karrot Animation and formerly produced by Astley Baker Davies, the show follows Peppa, an anthro ...
''. In 2020, he appeared in the Australian comedy series '' LOL: Last one Laughing''. Since 2022 and , Simmons has hosted the podcast ''Niche as Quiche'', a regular deep-dive into various niche subjects and stream-of-consciousness topics. Simmons has appeared on the comedy quiz show ''
Dirty Laundry Live ''Dirty Laundry Live'' is an Australian comedy panel television quiz show hosted by Lawrence Mooney. The first of 22 episodes in Season 1 screened live on Thursday 16 May 2013 at 9.30pm AEST on ABC2 (with repeats on ABC1 later in the week). It r ...
''.


Awards and nominations


Awards

*2003: Moosehead Award for ''The Steve Promise Story'' *2006: The Groggy Squirrel Critics' Award for ''Tales from the Erotic Cat'' *2008: MICF Directors' Choice Award for ''Where can I win a bear around here?'' *2010: MICF Golden Gibbo Award for ''The Incident'' with David Quirk *2010: MICF Piece of Wood Award for ''Fail'' *2011:
Adelaide Fringe Adelaide Fringe, formerly Adelaide Fringe Festival, is Australia’s biggest arts festival and is the world's second-largest annual arts festival (after the Edinburgh Festival Fringe), held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Between ...
Best Comedy Award for ''Sam Simmons and the Precise History of Things'' *2011: ''
The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...
'' M Award for Best Comedy *2014:
Sydney Comedy Festival The Sydney Comedy Festival is held annually in Sydney, Australia. Launched in 2005 as The Cracker Sydney Comedy Festival at a number of inner city venues, the Festival has grown quickly and now attracts 111,000 patrons every year at venues all ...
Director's Choice Award for ''Death of a Sails-Man'' *2014: Helpmann Award for Best Comedy Performer *2015: Co-winner, Underbelly Edinburgh Award at the Adelaide Fringe, for ''Spaghetti For Breakfast'' *2015: Barry Award at MICF, for ''Spaghetti for Breakfast'' *2015: Winner,
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 ...
Comedy award, for ''Spaghetti for Breakfast'' **Note: The Barry Award and Edinburgh Comedy Award are regarded as the two top comedy prizes, and at this point Simmons was one of only two people ever to have won both for the same show, the other being American comedian Phil Burgers ("Dr Brown").


Nominations

*2003: National finalist, Triple J
Raw Comedy Raw Comedy, stylised as RAW Comedy, is an Australian annual competition for emerging stand-up comedians held by Melbourne International Comedy Festival. History and description The Raw Comedy competition was established at the Melbourne Inter ...
Competition *2005: Golden Gibbo, MICF *2006: MICF Barry Award for ''Tales from the Erotic Cat'' *2011: MICF Barry Award for ''Precise History of Things'' *2011: Edinburgh Best Comedy Award for ''Meanwhile'' *2012: Helpmann Award for Best Comedy Performer *2014: Edinburgh Best Comedy Award for ''Death of a Sails-man''


Personal life

Simmons married Roslyn Durnford. In February 2019, Simmons revealed that he was father to a baby, and wanted to spend some time enjoying family life. He said that he loves LA, with its "weird hippie thing" where he attends yoga classes and does not drink alcohol, whereas in other places he would drink too much. He has
synaesthesia Synesthesia (American English) or synaesthesia (British English) is a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. People with sy ...
. He loves animals, and has considered a career in animal husbandry or zookeeping. He said that he would love to make animal documentaries, like
David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and writer. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Studios Natural History Unit, the nine nature d ...
. His oldest friend, Stuart Peevor, described him as a "generous" and "warm" person.


Filmography


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Simmons, Sam Living people Comedians from Adelaide Triple J announcers Year of birth missing (living people) Australian stand-up comedians Helpmann Award winners Australian male comedians