Stewart Francis is a Canadian comedian, actor and writer. Known for his

deadpan Deadpan, dry humour, or dry-wit humour is the deliberate display of emotional neutrality or no emotion, commonly as a form of Comedy, comedic delivery to contrast with the ridiculousness or absurdity of the subject matter. The delivery is meant t ...

delivery of irreverent one-liners and humorous wordplay, Francis has toured worldwide as a stand up, particularly in the US, the UK, and in his native Canada. He has made numerous appearances on mainstream

British television Television broadcasts in the United Kingdom began in 1932, however, regular broadcasts would only begin four years later. Television began as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transm ...

in shows such as Live at the Apollo and

Mock the Week ''Mock the Week'' is a topical satirical celebrity panel show, created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson. It was produced by Angst Productions for BBC Two, and was broadcast from 5 June 2005 to 4 November 2022. Presenter Dara Ó Briain and pan ...

. In the US, he was a regular guest on ''

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish actor and comedian Craig Ferguson. This was the third iteration of the The Late Late Show (American talk show), ''Late Late Show'' franchise, airi ...

.''

Early life

Francis was born in St. Joseph's Health Centre in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, and attended Eatonville Junior School, in

Etobicoke Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district and former city within Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west end, Etobicoke is bordered on the south by Lake Ontario, on the east by the Humber River (Ontario), Humber River, on the ...

. Both of Francis' parents are British.

Career

Stand-up

Francis has headlined all over North America and the United Kingdom. He has also performed in numerous venues worldwide, including Hong Kong, South Africa, and throughout Europe. On 6 June 2009 he performed on the

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

section of '' Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow''. Francis was the support act for

Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, television producer and filmmaker. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office (British TV series), The Office'' (2001–2003) ...

on his Science tour, performing in such places as Portsmouth Guildhall, New Theatre, Oxford,

Brighton Centre Brighton Centre is a conference and exhibition centre located in Brighton, England. It is the largest of its kind in southern England, and is regularly used for conferences of the UK political parties and other bodies of national importance. ...

and the O2 Arena in Dublin in late 2009 and early 2010. He has also made 12 appearances on popular British panel show ''

''. He appeared on '' Live at the Apollo'' on 9 December 2010 and 14 December 2012. In 2012 he won the annual award for the funniest joke of 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 ...

. He announced his final standup tour would take place during 2018 and 2019. His final stand up appearance was on 7 December 2019.

Acting

Stewart starred as a series regular on '' An American in Canada'' and also acted in '' Kevin Hill''. In 2007, he appeared in an episode of the

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 ...

sitcom ''

Not Going Out ''Not Going Out'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom created, written by and starring Lee Mack. It has aired on BBC One since 2006 and is the second-longest-running British sitcom, behind ''Last of the Summer Wine'' (1973–2010). Th ...

'' as Hilary Allison. (The producers said in an interview that he had been considered for the part of recurring character Guy, but rejected because he was too young and given this role instead.) He also made a brief appearance in '' The Omid Djalili Show''.

Writing

Stewart has written for ''

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the fourth and sixth installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Jay Leno, it aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009, replacing ''The Ton ...

'', '' The Gemini Awards'' and '' Puppets Who Kill'', as well as having his work published in ''

The Hockey News ''The Hockey News'' (''THN'') is a Canadian-based ice hockey magazine. ''The Hockey News'' was founded in 1947 by Ken McKenzie and Will Cote and has since become the most recognized hockey publication in North America. The magazine has a reader ...

''.

Television work

In the US he was a regular guest on ''

'' and he was the host of trivia game show '' You Bet Your Ass''. In the UK, his TV appearances include ''

The Comedy Store The Comedy Store is an American comedy club opened in April 1972. It is located in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. An associated club is located in La Jolla, San Diego, California. History The Comedy ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''The Big Stage'', ''For One Night Only'' and '' Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow''. After his first appearance on ''Mock the Week'' as an almost unknown, he was so successful he was asked back three more times in the series that followed. In 2010 Stewart appeared in a special

Children in Need ''BBC Children in Need'' is the BBC's UK Charitable organization, charity dedicated to supporting disadvantaged children and young people across the country. Established in 1980, the organisation has raised over £1 billion by 2023 through its ...

episode of ''

Mastermind Mastermind, Master Mind or The Mastermind may refer to: Fictional characters * Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde), a fictional supervillain in Marvel Comics, a title also held by his daughters: ** Martinique Jason, the first daughter and successor of the ...

'' where his specialist subject was the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

Stand-up DVDs

* ''Live – Tour de Francis'' (22 November 2010) * ''Live: Outstanding in His Field'' (26 November 2012) * ''Pun Gent'' (28 November 2016)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Francis, Stewart Living people Canadian game show hosts Canadian stand-up comedians Canadian male television actors Canadian people of British descent Canadian sketch comedians Canadian male television writers Canadian television writers Canadian male comedians Comedians from Toronto 1959 births