Christopher Guest
Encyclopedia
Christopher Haden-Guest, 5th Baron Haden-Guest (born February 5, 1948), better known as Christopher Guest, is an American
screenwriter
, composer
, musician
, director
, actor and comedian
. He is most widely known in Hollywood for having written, directed and starred in several improvisational
"mockumentary
" films that feature a repertory
-like ensemble cast
. In Britain, he holds a peerage, and has publicly expressed a desire to see the House of Lords
reformed as a democratically-elected chamber. Despite initial activity in the Lords, his career there was cut short by the House of Lords Act 1999
. When using his title, he is normally styled
as Lord Haden-Guest.
, a British
United Nations
diplomat who later became the 4th Baron Haden-Guest
, and his second wife, Jean Pauline Hindes, a former vice president of casting at CBS
. Guest's maternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Russia. His paternal grandfather, Leslie, Baron Haden-Guest
, was a Labour Party
politician who was a convert to Judaism
, and his paternal grandmother's father was Colonel
Albert Goldsmid
, a British officer who founded the Jewish Lads' and Girls' Brigade
and the Maccabaeans
. Both of Guest's parents had become atheists, and Guest had no religious upbringing. Nearly a decade before he was born, his uncle David Guest
, a lecturer and Communist Party
member, was killed in the Spanish Civil War
fighting in the International Brigades
.
Guest spent parts of his childhood in his father's native United Kingdom. He attended The High School of Music & Art
(New York City), studying classical music (clarinet). He later took up the mandolin
, became interested in country music
, and played guitar with Arlo Guthrie
. Guest later began performing with bluegrass
bands until he took up rock and roll
.
Guest studied acting at New York University
's Graduate Acting Program at the Tisch School of the Arts
, graduating in 1971.
's Moonchildren
for the play's American premiere at the Arena Stage
in Washington D.C. in November 1971. Guest continued with the production when it moved to Broadway
in 1972. The following year he began making contributions to The National Lampoon Radio Hour
for a variety of National Lampoon audio recordings. He both performed comic characters (Flash Bazbo-Space Explorer, Mr. Rogers, music critic Roger de Swans, and sleazy record company rep Ron Fields) and also wrote, arranged and performed numerous musical parodies (of Bob Dylan, James Taylor and others). He was featured alongside Chevy Chase
and John Belushi
in the Off-Broadway
revue National Lampoon's Lemmings
. One of his earliest films includes a bit part as a uniformed police officer in Death Wish
starring Charles Bronson
.
Guest played a small role in the 1977 All In the Family episode "Mike and Gloria Meet", where in a flashback
sequence Mike and Gloria recall their first blind date, set up by Michael's college buddy Jim (Guest), who dated Gloria's girlfriend Debbie (Priscilla Lopez
).
, Billy Crystal
and Harry Shearer
, Guest was hired as a one-year only cast member for the 1984-85 season on NBC
's Saturday Night Live
. Recurring characters on SNL played by Guest include Frankie, of Willie and Frankie (coworkers who recount in detail physically painful situations in which they have found themselves, remarking laconically "I hate when that happens"); Herb Minkman, a shady novelty toymaker with a brother named Al (played by Crystal); Rajeev Vindaloo, an eccentric foreign man in the same vein as Andy Kaufman
's Latka character from Taxi
; and Senor Cosa, a Spanish ventriloquist often seen on the recurring spoof of The Joe Franklin
Show . He also experimented behind the camera with pre-filmed sketches, notably directing a documentary-style short starring Shearer and Short as synchronized swimmers. In another short film from SNL, Guest and Crystal appear as retired Negro-League baseball players, "The Rooster and the King".
He has appeared as Count Rugen in The Princess Bride
, Charley Ford in The Long Riders
, Lord Cromer in Mrs Henderson Presents and Dr. Stone in A Few Good Men
. He had a cameo role as Dylan, a smarmy pedestrian, in the 1986 musical
remake
of The Little Shop of Horrors
, that also featured his SNL co-star, Steve Martin. As a co-writer and director, Guest made the Hollywood satire The Big Picture
.
Guest's biggest role of the first two decades of his career is likely that of Nigel Tufnel
in the 1984 mockumentary
film
This Is Spinal Tap
. Guest made his first appearance as Tufnel on the 1978 sketch comedy program The TV Show.
Upon his father succeeding to the family peerage in 1987, he was henceforth known as The Hon.
Christopher Haden-Guest in full. This was his official style
and name until he inherited the baron
y in 1996.
His frequent writing partner is Eugene Levy
. Together, Levy, Guest and a small band of other actors have formed a loose repertory
group, which appear across several films. These include Catherine O'Hara
, Michael McKean
, Parker Posey
, Bob Balaban
, Jane Lynch
, John Michael Higgins
, Harry Shearer
, Jennifer Coolidge
, Ed Begley, Jr.
and Fred Willard
. Guest and Levy write backgrounds for each of the characters and notecards for each specific scene, outlining the plot, and then leave it up to the actors to improvise the dialogue, which is supposed to result in a much more natural conversation than scripted dialogue would. Each of these movies also shares a hallmark plot development, where the movie leads up to some kind of a highly anticipated performance, or the outcome of a performance. This could reflect Guest's background in theater, and simply a kind of meta-commentary, as a real performance is of course what is being improvised for the duration. Notably, everyone who appears in these movies receives the same fee, and the same portion of profits.
Despite making a number of mockumentaries, Guest dislikes the term. He maintains that his intention is not to mock anyone, but to explore insular, perhaps obscure communities through his method of filmmaking. When pressed in a 2003 interview by Charlie Rose
, he could not provide a word to substitute for "mockumentary".
He had a guest voice-over role in the animated comedy series SpongeBob SquarePants
as SpongeBob's cousin, Stanley.
Guest appeared in the 2009 comedy The Invention of Lying
.
He is also currently a member of the musical group The Beyman Bros
, which he formed with his childhood friend David Nichtern
and Spinal Tap's current keyboardist CJ Vanston. Their debut album Memories of Summer as a Child was released on January 20, 2009.
In 2010, the United States Census Bureau
paid $2.5 million to have a television commercial directed by Guest shown during television coverage of Super Bowl XLIV
.
The 5th Baron Haden-Guest
, of Saling, in the County of Essex
, when his father died in 1996. He succeeded upon the ineligibility of his older half-brother, Anthony Haden-Guest
, who was born prior to the marriage of his parents. According to an article in The Guardian
, Guest attended the House of Lords
regularly until the House of Lords Act 1999
barred most hereditary peers from their seats. In the article Guest remarked:
in 1984 at the home of their mutual friend Rob Reiner
. They have two adopted
children: The Hon.
Anne (born 1986) and The Hon. Thomas (born 1996). Because Guest's children are adopted, they cannot inherit the family barony under the terms of the letters patent
that created it, though a 2004 Royal Warrant
addressing the style of a peer's adopted children states that they can use courtesy titles. The current heir presumptive
to the barony is Guest's younger brother, the actor The Hon. Nicholas Haden-Guest
.
American people of the United States
The people of the United States, also known as simply Americans or American people, are the inhabitants or citizens of the United States. The United States is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, actor and comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
. He is most widely known in Hollywood for having written, directed and starred in several improvisational
Improvisational theatre
Improvisational theatre takes many forms. It is best known as improv or impro, which is often comedic, and sometimes poignant or dramatic. In this popular, often topical art form improvisational actors/improvisers use improvisational acting techniques to perform spontaneously...
"mockumentary
Mockumentary
A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...
" films that feature a repertory
Repertory
Repertory or rep, also called stock in the United States, is a term used in Western theatre and opera.A repertory theatre can be a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation...
-like ensemble cast
Ensemble cast
An ensemble cast is made up of cast members in which the principal actors and performers are assigned roughly equal amounts of importance and screen time in a dramatic production. This kind of casting became more popular in television series because it allows flexibility for writers to focus on...
. In Britain, he holds a peerage, and has publicly expressed a desire to see the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
reformed as a democratically-elected chamber. Despite initial activity in the Lords, his career there was cut short by the House of Lords Act 1999
House of Lords Act 1999
The House of Lords Act 1999 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. The Act reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. For centuries, the House of Lords had included several hundred members who inherited their seats;...
. When using his title, he is normally styled
Style (manner of address)
A style of office, or honorific, is a legal, official, or recognized title. A style, by tradition or law, precedes a reference to a person who holds a post or political office, and is sometimes used to refer to the office itself. An honorific can also be awarded to an individual in a personal...
as Lord Haden-Guest.
Early years
Guest was born in New York City, the son of Peter Haden-GuestPeter Haden-Guest, 4th Baron Haden-Guest
Peter Haden-Guest, 4th Baron Haden-Guest , was a British United Nations diplomat and member of the British House of Lords...
, a British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
diplomat who later became the 4th Baron Haden-Guest
Baron Haden-Guest
Baron Haden-Guest, of Saling in the County of Essex, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1950 for the Labour politician Leslie Haden-Guest. He had previously represented Southwark North and Islington North in the House of Commons...
, and his second wife, Jean Pauline Hindes, a former vice president of casting at CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
. Guest's maternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Russia. His paternal grandfather, Leslie, Baron Haden-Guest
Leslie Haden-Guest, 1st Baron Haden-Guest
Leslie Haden Haden-Guest, 1st Baron Haden-Guest MC was a British author, journalist, doctor and Labour Party politician.-Life and career:...
, was a Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
politician who was a convert to Judaism
Conversion to Judaism
Conversion to Judaism is a formal act undertaken by a non-Jewish person who wishes to be recognised as a full member of the Jewish community. A Jewish conversion is both a religious act and an expression of association with the Jewish people...
, and his paternal grandmother's father was Colonel
Colonel (UK)
Colonel is a rank of the British forces, ranking below Brigadier, and above Lieutenant Colonel. British Colonels are not usually field commanders; typically they serve as staff officers between field commands at battalion and brigade level. The insignia is two diamond shaped pips below a crown...
Albert Goldsmid
Albert Goldsmid
Colonel Albert Edward Williamson Goldsmid, MVO was a British officer. He was the founder of the Jewish Lads' Brigade and the Maccabaeans.-Personal life:...
, a British officer who founded the Jewish Lads' and Girls' Brigade
Jewish Lads' and Girls' Brigade
The Jewish Lads' and Girls' Brigade is a national Jewish youth organisation.The JLGB is the UK's oldest Jewish youth movement. It was founded in 1895 as the Jewish Lads' Brigade by Colonel Albert E. W. Goldsmid, a senior army officer, to provide an interest for children of the many poor immigrant...
and the Maccabaeans
Maccabaeans
The Maccabaeans is an Anglo-Jewish charity. Started in 1891, it is a friendly society, established in 1894, and registered on the 8th of May, 1901, under the Friendly Societies' Act, as amended 1896...
. Both of Guest's parents had become atheists, and Guest had no religious upbringing. Nearly a decade before he was born, his uncle David Guest
David Guest
David Guest was a Communist British mathematician and philosopher who volunteered to fight in the Spanish Civil War and was killed in Spain in 1938. He had entered Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1929 and studied from 1930 to 1931 in Göttingen in Germany, where he became involved in anti-Nazi...
, a lecturer and Communist Party
Communist Party of Great Britain
The Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...
member, was killed in the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
fighting in the International Brigades
International Brigades
The International Brigades were military units made up of volunteers from different countries, who traveled to Spain to defend the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939....
.
Guest spent parts of his childhood in his father's native United Kingdom. He attended The High School of Music & Art
The High School of Music & Art
The High School of Music & Art, informally known as "Music & Art", was a public alternative high school at 443-465 West 135th Street, New York, New York, USA that existed from 1936 through 1984, and then merged into the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing...
(New York City), studying classical music (clarinet). He later took up the mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
, became interested in country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, and played guitar with Arlo Guthrie
Arlo Guthrie
Arlo Davy Guthrie is an American folk singer. Like his father, Woody Guthrie, Arlo often sings songs of protest against social injustice...
. Guest later began performing with bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
bands until he took up rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
.
Guest studied acting at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
's Graduate Acting Program at the Tisch School of the Arts
Tisch School of the Arts
Tisch School of the Arts is one of the 15 schools that make up New York University ....
, graduating in 1971.
1970s
Guest began his career in theatre during the early 1970s with one of his earliest professional performances being the role of Norman in Michael WellerMichael Weller
Michael Weller is a Brooklyn-based playwright who is best known for his plays Moonchildren and Loose Ends. Weller is one of the founders of the Cherry Lane Theatre's acclaimed Mentor Project, which pairs pre-eminent playwrights with emerging playwrights for a season-long mentorship...
's Moonchildren
Moonchildren
Moonchildren is a play by Brooklyn-based playwright Michael Weller. The play chronicles a year in the life of the "moonchildren" referred to in the title: eight college students living communally together in an off-campus attic in the mid 1960s.-Performances:The work was first performed in 1971...
for the play's American premiere at the Arena Stage
Arena Stage
Arena Stage is a not-for-profit regional theater based in Southwest Washington, D.C. Its declared mission"is to produce huge plays of all that is passionate, exuberant, profound, deep and dangerous in the American spirit. Arena has broad shoulders and a capacity to produce anything from vast epics...
in Washington D.C. in November 1971. Guest continued with the production when it moved to Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in 1972. The following year he began making contributions to The National Lampoon Radio Hour
The National Lampoon Radio Hour
The National Lampoon Radio Hour was a comedy radio show which was created, produced and initially written by staff from National Lampoon magazine. The show ran weekly, for a little over a year, from November 17, 1973 to December 28, 1974...
for a variety of National Lampoon audio recordings. He both performed comic characters (Flash Bazbo-Space Explorer, Mr. Rogers, music critic Roger de Swans, and sleazy record company rep Ron Fields) and also wrote, arranged and performed numerous musical parodies (of Bob Dylan, James Taylor and others). He was featured alongside Chevy Chase
Chevy Chase
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase is an American comedian, writer, and television and film actor, born into a prominent entertainment industry family. Chase worked a plethora of odd jobs before moving into comedy acting with National Lampoon...
and John Belushi
John Belushi
John Adam Belushi was an American comedian, actor, and musician, best known as one of the original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, The Star of the Films National Lampoon's Animal House and the The Blues Brothers and for fronting the American blues and soul...
in the Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
revue National Lampoon's Lemmings
National Lampoon's Lemmings
National Lampoon's Lemmings, a spinoff of the humor magazine National Lampoon, was a 1973 stage show which helped launch the performing careers of John Belushi, Christopher Guest, and Chevy Chase. The show was co-written and co-directed by a number of people including Sean Kelly...
. One of his earliest films includes a bit part as a uniformed police officer in Death Wish
Death Wish (film)
Death Wish is a 1974 crime thriller film loosely based on the novel Death Wish by Brian Garfield. The film was directed by Michael Winner and stars Charles Bronson as Paul Kersey, a man who becomes a vigilante after his wife is murdered and his daughter is sexually assaulted by muggers.The film was...
starring Charles Bronson
Charles Bronson
Charles Bronson , born Charles Dennis Buchinsky was an American actor, best-known for such films as Once Upon a Time in the West, The Magnificent Seven, The Dirty Dozen, The Great Escape, Rider on the Rain, The Mechanic, and the popular Death Wish series...
.
Guest played a small role in the 1977 All In the Family episode "Mike and Gloria Meet", where in a flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
sequence Mike and Gloria recall their first blind date, set up by Michael's college buddy Jim (Guest), who dated Gloria's girlfriend Debbie (Priscilla Lopez
Priscilla Lopez
Priscilla Lopez is an American singer, dancer, and actress.-Early life:Lopez was born in the Bronx, New York to Francisco Lopez, a hotel banquet foreman and Laura , who were moved to New York from their native Puerto Rico...
).
1980s
Along with Martin ShortMartin Short
Martin Hayter Short, CM is a Canadian actor, comedian, writer, singer and producer. He is best-known for his comedy work, particularly on the TV programs SCTV and Saturday Night Live...
, Billy Crystal
Billy Crystal
William Edward "Billy" Crystal is an American actor, writer, producer, comedian and film director. He gained prominence in the 1970s for playing Jodie Dallas on the ABC sitcom Soap and became a Hollywood film star during the late 1980s and 1990s, appearing in the critical and box office successes...
and Harry Shearer
Harry Shearer
Harry Julius Shearer is an American actor, comedian, writer, voice artist, musician, author, radio host and director. He is known for his long-running role on The Simpsons, his work on Saturday Night Live, the comedy band Spinal Tap and his radio program Le Show...
, Guest was hired as a one-year only cast member for the 1984-85 season on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
. Recurring characters on SNL played by Guest include Frankie, of Willie and Frankie (coworkers who recount in detail physically painful situations in which they have found themselves, remarking laconically "I hate when that happens"); Herb Minkman, a shady novelty toymaker with a brother named Al (played by Crystal); Rajeev Vindaloo, an eccentric foreign man in the same vein as Andy Kaufman
Andy Kaufman
Andrew Geoffrey "Andy" Kaufman was an American entertainer, actor and performance artist. While often referred to as a comedian, Kaufman did not consider himself one...
's Latka character from Taxi
Taxi (TV series)
Taxi was an American sitcom that originally aired from 1978 to 1982 on ABC and from 1982 to 1983 on NBC. The series, which won 18 Emmy Awards, including three for "Outstanding Comedy Series", focuses on the everyday lives of a handful of New York City taxi drivers and their abusive dispatcher...
; and Senor Cosa, a Spanish ventriloquist often seen on the recurring spoof of The Joe Franklin
Joe Franklin
Joe Franklin is an American radio and television personality. From New York City, Franklin is sometimes credited with hosting the first television talk show...
Show . He also experimented behind the camera with pre-filmed sketches, notably directing a documentary-style short starring Shearer and Short as synchronized swimmers. In another short film from SNL, Guest and Crystal appear as retired Negro-League baseball players, "The Rooster and the King".
He has appeared as Count Rugen in The Princess Bride
The Princess Bride (film)
The Princess Bride is a 1987 American film based on the 1973 novel of the same name by William Goldman, combining comedy, adventure, romance, and fantasy. The film was directed by Rob Reiner from a screenplay by Goldman...
, Charley Ford in The Long Riders
The Long Riders
The Long Riders is a 1980 western film directed by Walter Hill. It was produced by James Keach, Stacy Keach and Tim Zinnemann and featured an original soundtrack by Ry Cooder. Cooder won the Best Music award in 1980 from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards for this soundtrack...
, Lord Cromer in Mrs Henderson Presents and Dr. Stone in A Few Good Men
A Few Good Men (film)
A Few Good Men is a 1992 drama film directed by Rob Reiner and starring Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, and Demi Moore. It was adapted for the screen by Aaron Sorkin from his play of the same name. A courtroom drama, the film revolves around the trial of two U.S...
. He had a cameo role as Dylan, a smarmy pedestrian, in the 1986 musical
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
remake
Little Shop of Horrors (1986 film)
Little Shop of Horrors is a 1986 American comedy musical film adaptation of the off-Broadway musical comedy of the same name by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman, about a nerdy florist shop worker who raises a vicious plant that feeds on human blood...
of The Little Shop of Horrors
The Little Shop of Horrors
The Little Shop of Horrors is a 1960 American comedy film directed by Roger Corman. Written by Charles B. Griffith, the film is a farce about an inadequate young florist's assistant who cultivates a plant that feeds on human flesh and blood. The film's concept is thought to be based on a 1932...
, that also featured his SNL co-star, Steve Martin. As a co-writer and director, Guest made the Hollywood satire The Big Picture
The Big Picture (film)
The Big Picture is a 1989 comedy film starring Kevin Bacon and directed by Christopher Guest.-Plot:In a fictionalized version of Tinseltown itself, Nick Chapman is an up and coming film director hot off the win of a student academy award for his short film. No sooner does the award bring him into...
.
Guest's biggest role of the first two decades of his career is likely that of Nigel Tufnel
Nigel Tufnel
Nigel Tufnel was the lead guitarist of the rock band Spinal Tap featured in the 1984 mockumentary film This Is Spinal Tap. He was played by actor Christopher Guest.-Character biography:...
in the 1984 mockumentary
Mockumentary
A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
This Is Spinal Tap
This Is Spinal Tap
This Is Spinal Tap is an American 1984 rock musical mockumentary directed by Rob Reiner about the fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap...
. Guest made his first appearance as Tufnel on the 1978 sketch comedy program The TV Show.
Upon his father succeeding to the family peerage in 1987, he was henceforth known as The Hon.
The Honourable
The prefix The Honourable or The Honorable is a style used before the names of certain classes of persons. It is considered an honorific styling.-International diplomacy:...
Christopher Haden-Guest in full. This was his official style
Style (manner of address)
A style of office, or honorific, is a legal, official, or recognized title. A style, by tradition or law, precedes a reference to a person who holds a post or political office, and is sometimes used to refer to the office itself. An honorific can also be awarded to an individual in a personal...
and name until he inherited the baron
Baron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
y in 1996.
1990–present
The experience of having made Spinal Tap would directly inform the second phase of his career. Starting in 1996, Guest began writing, directing and acting in his own series of heavily improvised films. Many of them would come to be definitive examples of what came to be known as "mockumentaries".His frequent writing partner is Eugene Levy
Eugene Levy
Eugene Levy, CM is a Canadian actor, comedian, television director, producer, musician, and writer. He is known for his work in Canadian television series, American movies, and television movies. He is the only actor to have appeared in all eight of the American Pie films, as Noah Levenstein...
. Together, Levy, Guest and a small band of other actors have formed a loose repertory
Repertory
Repertory or rep, also called stock in the United States, is a term used in Western theatre and opera.A repertory theatre can be a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation...
group, which appear across several films. These include Catherine O'Hara
Catherine O'Hara
Catherine Anne O'Hara is a Canadian-American actress and comedienne. She is well known for her comedy work on SCTV, and her roles in the films After Hours, Beetlejuice, Home Alone, and The Nightmare Before Christmas, and also in the mockumentary films written and directed by Christopher Guest...
, Michael McKean
Michael McKean
Michael John McKean is an American actor, comedian, writer, composer and musician, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Squiggy's friend, Leonard 'Lenny' Kosnowski, on the sitcom Laverne and Shirley; and for his work in the Christopher Guest ensemble films, particularly as David St...
, Parker Posey
Parker Posey
Parker Christian Posey is an American actress. She became known during the 1990s after a series of roles in several well-received independent films. As a result, she has often been referred to as the "Queen of the Indies"....
, Bob Balaban
Bob Balaban
Robert Elmer "Bob" Balaban is an American actor, author and director.-Personal life:Balaban was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Eleanor and Elmer Balaban, who owned several movie theatres and later was a pioneer in cable television...
, Jane Lynch
Jane Lynch
Jane Marie Lynch is an American comedian, actress and singer. She gained fame in Christopher Guest's improv mockumentary pictures such as Best in Show and is currently best known for playing the role of Sue Sylvester in the television series Glee...
, John Michael Higgins
John Michael Higgins
John Michael Higgins is an American actor whose film credits include Christopher Guest's mockumentaries, the role of David Letterman in HBO's The Late Shift, and a starring role in the American version of Kath & Kim....
, Harry Shearer
Harry Shearer
Harry Julius Shearer is an American actor, comedian, writer, voice artist, musician, author, radio host and director. He is known for his long-running role on The Simpsons, his work on Saturday Night Live, the comedy band Spinal Tap and his radio program Le Show...
, Jennifer Coolidge
Jennifer Coolidge
Jennifer Coolidge is an American actress best known for playing "Stifler's mom," the older woman in the film American Pie ; Hilary Duff's stepmother in A Cinderella Story ; Paulette, the manicurist in Legally Blonde and its sequel; the voice of Aunt Fanny in the animated feature Robots ; for her...
, Ed Begley, Jr.
Ed Begley, Jr.
Edward James "Ed" Begley, Jr. is an American actor and environmentalist. Begley has appeared in hundreds of films, television shows, and stage performances. He is best known for his role as Dr. Victor Ehrlich, on the television series St...
and Fred Willard
Fred Willard
Fred Willard is an American actor, comedian, and voice over actor, best known for his improvisational comedy skills. He is known for his roles in the Christopher Guest mockumentary films This is Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and For Your Consideration as well as...
. Guest and Levy write backgrounds for each of the characters and notecards for each specific scene, outlining the plot, and then leave it up to the actors to improvise the dialogue, which is supposed to result in a much more natural conversation than scripted dialogue would. Each of these movies also shares a hallmark plot development, where the movie leads up to some kind of a highly anticipated performance, or the outcome of a performance. This could reflect Guest's background in theater, and simply a kind of meta-commentary, as a real performance is of course what is being improvised for the duration. Notably, everyone who appears in these movies receives the same fee, and the same portion of profits.
Despite making a number of mockumentaries, Guest dislikes the term. He maintains that his intention is not to mock anyone, but to explore insular, perhaps obscure communities through his method of filmmaking. When pressed in a 2003 interview by Charlie Rose
Charlie Rose
Charles Peete "Charlie" Rose, Jr. is an American television talk show host and journalist. Since 1991 he has hosted Charlie Rose, an interview show distributed nationally by PBS since 1993...
, he could not provide a word to substitute for "mockumentary".
He had a guest voice-over role in the animated comedy series SpongeBob SquarePants
SpongeBob SquarePants
SpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated television series, created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg. Much of the series centers on the exploits and adventures of the title character and his various friends in the underwater city of "Bikini Bottom"...
as SpongeBob's cousin, Stanley.
Guest appeared in the 2009 comedy The Invention of Lying
The Invention of Lying
The Invention of Lying is a 2009 fantasy romantic comedy film that is written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson. This film is the directorial debut of Gervais. The film stars Ricky Gervais as the first human with the ability to lie...
.
He is also currently a member of the musical group The Beyman Bros
The Beyman Bros
The Beyman Bros are Christopher Guest , David Nichtern and C.J. Vanston . Their music is an instrumental mix of Americana, bluegrass and jazz elements...
, which he formed with his childhood friend David Nichtern
David Nichtern
David Nichtern is an American songwriter and television composer, soundtrack artist and Buddhist teacher.-Biography:Nichtern is the son of broadway producer Claire Nichtern, the first female Tony award winner. He began his career as a professional musician during his college years at Columbia...
and Spinal Tap's current keyboardist CJ Vanston. Their debut album Memories of Summer as a Child was released on January 20, 2009.
In 2010, the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
paid $2.5 million to have a television commercial directed by Guest shown during television coverage of Super Bowl XLIV
Super Bowl XLIV
Super Bowl XLIV was an American football game between the American Football Conference champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference champion New Orleans Saints to decide the National Football League champion for the 2009 season. The Saints defeated the Colts by a score of...
.
Peerage and heirs
Guest became The Rt. Hon.The Right Honourable
The Right Honourable is an honorific prefix that is traditionally applied to certain people in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Anglophone Caribbean and other Commonwealth Realms, and occasionally elsewhere...
The 5th Baron Haden-Guest
Baron Haden-Guest
Baron Haden-Guest, of Saling in the County of Essex, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1950 for the Labour politician Leslie Haden-Guest. He had previously represented Southwark North and Islington North in the House of Commons...
, of Saling, in the County of Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, when his father died in 1996. He succeeded upon the ineligibility of his older half-brother, Anthony Haden-Guest
Anthony Haden-Guest
Anthony Haden-Guest is a British-American writer, reporter, cartoonist, art critic, poet, and socialite who lives in New York and London. He is a frequent contributor to major magazines and has had several books published.-Family:...
, who was born prior to the marriage of his parents. According to an article in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, Guest attended the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
regularly until the House of Lords Act 1999
House of Lords Act 1999
The House of Lords Act 1999 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. The Act reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. For centuries, the House of Lords had included several hundred members who inherited their seats;...
barred most hereditary peers from their seats. In the article Guest remarked:
Personal life
Guest married actress Jamie Lee CurtisJamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis is an American actress and author. Although she was initially known as a "scream queen" because of her starring roles in several horror films early in her career, such as Halloween, The Fog, Prom Night and Terror Train, Curtis has since compiled a body of work that spans many...
in 1984 at the home of their mutual friend Rob Reiner
Rob Reiner
Robert "Rob" Reiner is an American actor, director, producer, writer, and political activist.As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence as Archie and Edith Bunker's son-in-law, Michael "Meathead" Stivic, on All in the Family. That role earned him two Emmy Awards during the 1970s...
. They have two adopted
Adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
children: The Hon.
The Honourable
The prefix The Honourable or The Honorable is a style used before the names of certain classes of persons. It is considered an honorific styling.-International diplomacy:...
Anne (born 1986) and The Hon. Thomas (born 1996). Because Guest's children are adopted, they cannot inherit the family barony under the terms of the letters patent
Letters patent
Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...
that created it, though a 2004 Royal Warrant
Royal Warrant
Royal warrants of appointment have been issued for centuries to those who supply goods or services to a royal court or certain royal personages. The warrant enables the supplier to advertise the fact that they supply to the royal family, so lending prestige to the supplier...
addressing the style of a peer's adopted children states that they can use courtesy titles. The current heir presumptive
Heir Presumptive
An heir presumptive or heiress presumptive is the person provisionally scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question...
to the barony is Guest's younger brother, the actor The Hon. Nicholas Haden-Guest
Nicholas Guest
Nicholas Haden-Guest is an American actor. He primarily works as a voice actor, but is best known for a TV role, as the principal in the NBC teen sitcom, USA High.-Personal life:...
.
Off-stage demeanor
Guest is sometimes off-putting in interviews and promotional appearances (having been described by reviewer Warren Etheredge as, "rude, condescending and intolerable"), as well as with people who have met him outside of the work environment because contrary to expectations of him as a comedian he often seems deadpan, even dour. Of this, Guest has said, "People want me to be funny all the time. They think I'm being funny no matter what I say or do and that's not the case. I rarely joke unless I'm in front of a camera. It's not what I am in real life. It's what I do for a living."Recurring cast members
| Actor | This is Spinal Tap This Is Spinal Tap This Is Spinal Tap is an American 1984 rock musical mockumentary directed by Rob Reiner about the fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap... (1984) |
The Big Picture The Big Picture (film) The Big Picture is a 1989 comedy film starring Kevin Bacon and directed by Christopher Guest.-Plot:In a fictionalized version of Tinseltown itself, Nick Chapman is an up and coming film director hot off the win of a student academy award for his short film. No sooner does the award bring him into... (1989) |
Waiting for Guffman Waiting for Guffman Waiting for Guffman is a mockumentary starring, co-written and directed by Christopher Guest that was released in 1997. Its cast included Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, Fred Willard, Parker Posey and others who would appear in several of the subsequent mockumentaries directed by Guest.The title of... (1996) |
Almost Heroes Almost Heroes Almost Heroes is a 1998 adventure comedy film directed by Christopher Guest, narrated by Guest's friend and frequent collaborator Harry Shearer, and starring Chris Farley and Matthew Perry.-Plot:... (1998) |
Best in Show Best in Show (film) Best in Show is a 2000 independent film that follows five entrants in a prestigious dog show. The film focuses on the slightly surreal interactions among the various owners and handlers as they travel to the show and compete. Much of the dialogue was improvised.Christopher Guest directed; he also... (2000) |
A Mighty Wind A Mighty Wind A Mighty Wind is a 2003 mockumentary about a folk music reunion concert in which three folk bands must reunite for a television performance for the first time in decades. It was directed by Christopher Guest... (2003) |
For Your Consideration For Your Consideration (film) For Your Consideration is a 2006 comedy film directed by Christopher Guest. It was co-written by Guest and Eugene Levy, both also starring in the film.... (2006) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Balaban Bob Balaban Robert Elmer "Bob" Balaban is an American actor, author and director.-Personal life:Balaban was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Eleanor and Elmer Balaban, who owned several movie theatres and later was a pioneer in cable television... |
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| Ed Begley Jr. | |||||||
| Jennifer Coolidge Jennifer Coolidge Jennifer Coolidge is an American actress best known for playing "Stifler's mom," the older woman in the film American Pie ; Hilary Duff's stepmother in A Cinderella Story ; Paulette, the manicurist in Legally Blonde and its sequel; the voice of Aunt Fanny in the animated feature Robots ; for her... |
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| John Michael Higgins John Michael Higgins John Michael Higgins is an American actor whose film credits include Christopher Guest's mockumentaries, the role of David Letterman in HBO's The Late Shift, and a starring role in the American version of Kath & Kim.... |
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| Michael Hitchcock Michael Hitchcock Michael Hitchcock is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and television producer.In 2011, Hitchcock became a writer and consulting producer for season 3 of the FOX television series Glee, where he had guest starred in season 1 as rival glee club director Dalton Rumba.As an actor, he has... |
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| Eugene Levy Eugene Levy Eugene Levy, CM is a Canadian actor, comedian, television director, producer, musician, and writer. He is known for his work in Canadian television series, American movies, and television movies. He is the only actor to have appeared in all eight of the American Pie films, as Noah Levenstein... |
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| Jane Lynch Jane Lynch Jane Marie Lynch is an American comedian, actress and singer. She gained fame in Christopher Guest's improv mockumentary pictures such as Best in Show and is currently best known for playing the role of Sue Sylvester in the television series Glee... |
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| Michael McKean Michael McKean Michael John McKean is an American actor, comedian, writer, composer and musician, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Squiggy's friend, Leonard 'Lenny' Kosnowski, on the sitcom Laverne and Shirley; and for his work in the Christopher Guest ensemble films, particularly as David St... |
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| Larry Miller Larry Miller Larry Miller is the name of:*Larry H. Miller , American businessman, owner of the Utah Jazz 1985–2009*Larry Miller , American comedian, actor and columnist... |
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| Catherine O'Hara Catherine O'Hara Catherine Anne O'Hara is a Canadian-American actress and comedienne. She is well known for her comedy work on SCTV, and her roles in the films After Hours, Beetlejuice, Home Alone, and The Nightmare Before Christmas, and also in the mockumentary films written and directed by Christopher Guest... |
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| Parker Posey Parker Posey Parker Christian Posey is an American actress. She became known during the 1990s after a series of roles in several well-received independent films. As a result, she has often been referred to as the "Queen of the Indies".... |
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| Harry Shearer Harry Shearer Harry Julius Shearer is an American actor, comedian, writer, voice artist, musician, author, radio host and director. He is known for his long-running role on The Simpsons, his work on Saturday Night Live, the comedy band Spinal Tap and his radio program Le Show... |
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| Fred Willard Fred Willard Fred Willard is an American actor, comedian, and voice over actor, best known for his improvisational comedy skills. He is known for his roles in the Christopher Guest mockumentary films This is Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and For Your Consideration as well as... |
Filmography
- The Hot RockThe Hot Rock (film)The Hot Rock is a 1972 comic caper film written by William Goldman and directed by Peter Yates, starring Robert Redford, George Segal and Moses Gunn. The film was based upon Donald E...
(1972) - as policeman - Death WishDeath Wish (film)Death Wish is a 1974 crime thriller film loosely based on the novel Death Wish by Brian Garfield. The film was directed by Michael Winner and stars Charles Bronson as Paul Kersey, a man who becomes a vigilante after his wife is murdered and his daughter is sexually assaulted by muggers.The film was...
(1974) - as Patrolman Jackson Reilly - Billion Dollar Bubble (TV film) (1976)
- Girlfriends (1978) - as Eric
- The Long RidersThe Long RidersThe Long Riders is a 1980 western film directed by Walter Hill. It was produced by James Keach, Stacy Keach and Tim Zinnemann and featured an original soundtrack by Ry Cooder. Cooder won the Best Music award in 1980 from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards for this soundtrack...
(1980) - as Charley Ford - Million Dollar Infield (TV film) (1982) - as Bucky Frische
- This Is Spinal TapThis Is Spinal TapThis Is Spinal Tap is an American 1984 rock musical mockumentary directed by Rob Reiner about the fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap...
(1984) - as Nigel TufnelNigel TufnelNigel Tufnel was the lead guitarist of the rock band Spinal Tap featured in the 1984 mockumentary film This Is Spinal Tap. He was played by actor Christopher Guest.-Character biography:...
(Also Writer) - Little Shop of Horrors (1986) - as The First Customer
- Beyond TherapyBeyond Therapy (film)-Plot:Based on the play Beyond Therapy by Christopher Durang, it focuses on Prudence and Bruce, two Manhattanites who are seeking stable romantic relationships with the help of their respective psychiatrists, lecherous Stuart and scatterbrained Charlotte, each of whom suggests the patient place a...
(1987) - as Bob - The Princess BrideThe Princess Bride (film)The Princess Bride is a 1987 American film based on the 1973 novel of the same name by William Goldman, combining comedy, adventure, romance, and fantasy. The film was directed by Rob Reiner from a screenplay by Goldman...
(1987) - as Count Tyrone Rugen, the six-fingered man - The Big PictureThe Big Picture (film)The Big Picture is a 1989 comedy film starring Kevin Bacon and directed by Christopher Guest.-Plot:In a fictionalized version of Tinseltown itself, Nick Chapman is an up and coming film director hot off the win of a student academy award for his short film. No sooner does the award bring him into...
(1989) - (Writer/Director Only) - A Few Good MenA Few Good Men (film)A Few Good Men is a 1992 drama film directed by Rob Reiner and starring Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, and Demi Moore. It was adapted for the screen by Aaron Sorkin from his play of the same name. A courtroom drama, the film revolves around the trial of two U.S...
(1992) - as Dr. Stone - Waiting for GuffmanWaiting for GuffmanWaiting for Guffman is a mockumentary starring, co-written and directed by Christopher Guest that was released in 1997. Its cast included Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, Fred Willard, Parker Posey and others who would appear in several of the subsequent mockumentaries directed by Guest.The title of...
(1996) - as Corky St. Clair (Also Writer/Director) - Almost HeroesAlmost HeroesAlmost Heroes is a 1998 adventure comedy film directed by Christopher Guest, narrated by Guest's friend and frequent collaborator Harry Shearer, and starring Chris Farley and Matthew Perry.-Plot:...
(1998) (Director only) - Small SoldiersSmall SoldiersSmall Soldiers is a 1998 American action/science fiction film directed by Joe Dante starring Gregory Smith and Kirsten Dunst. The film revolves around two teenagers , who get caught in the middle of a war between two factions of sentient action figures, the Gorgonites and the Commando...
(1998) - Slamfist/Scratch-It (Voice Only) - Best in ShowBest in Show (film)Best in Show is a 2000 independent film that follows five entrants in a prestigious dog show. The film focuses on the slightly surreal interactions among the various owners and handlers as they travel to the show and compete. Much of the dialogue was improvised.Christopher Guest directed; he also...
(2000) - as Harlan Pepper (Also Writer/Director) - A Mighty WindA Mighty WindA Mighty Wind is a 2003 mockumentary about a folk music reunion concert in which three folk bands must reunite for a television performance for the first time in decades. It was directed by Christopher Guest...
(2003) - as Alan Barrows (Also Writer/Director) - Mrs Henderson Presents (2005) - as Lord CromerRowland Baring, 2nd Earl of CromerRowland Thomas Baring, 2nd Earl of Cromer, GCB, GCIE, GCVO, PC, ADC was the son of Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer.During World War I he served as a subaltern in the Grenadier Guards...
- For Your ConsiderationFor Your Consideration (film)For Your Consideration is a 2006 comedy film directed by Christopher Guest. It was co-written by Guest and Eugene Levy, both also starring in the film....
(2006) - as Jay Berman (Also Writer/Director) - SpongeBob SquarePantsSpongeBob SquarePantsSpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated television series, created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg. Much of the series centers on the exploits and adventures of the title character and his various friends in the underwater city of "Bikini Bottom"...
(2007) - as Stanley S. SquarePants (Voice Only) - Night at the Museum: Battle of the SmithsonianNight at the Museum: Battle of the SmithsonianNight at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian is an American adventure comedy film directed by Shawn Levy, and starring Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria, Amy Adams, Owen Wilson, Robin Williams, and Steve Coogan. The film is a sequel to Night at the Museum...
(2009) - as Ivan the Terrible - The Invention of LyingThe Invention of LyingThe Invention of Lying is a 2009 fantasy romantic comedy film that is written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson. This film is the directorial debut of Gervais. The film stars Ricky Gervais as the first human with the ability to lie...
(2009) - as Nathan Goldfrappe
Titles and styles
- 5 February 1948 – 26 May 1987: Mister Christopher Haden-Guest
- 26 May 1987 – 8 April 1996: The Honourable Christopher Haden-Guest
- 8 April 1996 – present: The Right Honourable Baron Haden-Guest
External links
- Christoper Guest bio in The Peerage
- "Nowt so queer as folk". The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
(UK). January 10, 2004. Richard Grant. Interview for release of A Mighty Wind.