Hal Roach (comedian)
Encyclopedia
Hal Roach is a prominent Irish
comedian
. He has spent over 60 years in show business, and was featured in the Guinness Book of Records
for the longest-running engagement of a comedian at the same venue: 26 years at Jury's Irish Cabaret, Jury's Ballsbridge
Hotel, Dublin.
. He initially toured with an illusionist and specialised in magic, but later moved to comedy.
A typical Hal Roach joke is as follows: "He told me that I have a cult following, at least I think that's what he said".
Another-
"There is a man sitting in the middle of the road casting his fishing line... now none of us is perfect, but c'mon! So I asked him, "How many have you caught today?" He said, "You're the ninth."
Perhaps his most famous catchphrase is "Write it down, it's a good one!".
.
Roach is popular particularly with American tourists visiting Ireland. His act plays heavily on traditional tourist imagery of Ireland and on Irish jokes
. Several of his shows have been released on cassette and CD
, and they are popular with tour bus
drivers in several English-speaking countries who play them to passengers to help pass the time between destinations.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
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 has spent over 60 years in show business, and was featured in the Guinness Book of Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
for the longest-running engagement of a comedian at the same venue: 26 years at Jury's Irish Cabaret, Jury's Ballsbridge
Ballsbridge
Ballsbridge is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland, named for the bridge spanning the River Dodder on the south side of the city. The sign on the bridge still proclaims it as "Ball's Bridge" in recognition of the fact that the original bridge in this location was built and owned by a Mr...
Hotel, Dublin.
Career
Born John Roach, he began his career after winning a local talent competition as a boy sopranoSoprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
. He initially toured with an illusionist and specialised in magic, but later moved to comedy.
A typical Hal Roach joke is as follows: "He told me that I have a cult following, at least I think that's what he said".
Another-
"There is a man sitting in the middle of the road casting his fishing line... now none of us is perfect, but c'mon! So I asked him, "How many have you caught today?" He said, "You're the ninth."
Perhaps his most famous catchphrase is "Write it down, it's a good one!".
Influence
Roach has been cited as a major influence by other comedians such as Brendan GraceBrendan Grace
Brendan Grace is an Irish comedian and singer. He is known for his comedy schoolboy character "Bottler", the role of Murphy in the 1995 movie Moondance, and his 1996 appearance in the Irish TV sitcom Father Ted as Father Fintan Stack.-Background:Born in the heart of Dublin in 1951, Brendan was...
.
Roach is popular particularly with American tourists visiting Ireland. His act plays heavily on traditional tourist imagery of Ireland and on Irish jokes
Irish jokes
Irish jokes are a class of jokes, generally based on a stereotypes of the Irish people.Although, in Ireland there used be a tradition of telling such jokes about a Kerryman, someone from County Kerry. This tradition has largely fallen away...
. Several of his shows have been released on cassette and CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
, and they are popular with tour bus
Tour bus
A tour bus service is a bus service that takes visitors sightseeing, with routes around tourist attractions. Double-decker buses and/or open top buses are commonly used, for their good views....
drivers in several English-speaking countries who play them to passengers to help pass the time between destinations.
Albums
- The King of Blarney Irish Records
- We Irish Talk Like That Irish Records/Ceol
- He Must Be Joking Irish Records/Ceol/Rajon
- An Audience With Irish Records/Ceol/Rajon
- The Best Of Irish Humour Grainne Music/Ceol/Rajon
- Hal Roach & Friends Ovation
- Write It Down Grainne Music/Rajon
- It's That Man Again! Grainne Music/Rajon
- He's At It Again Grainne Music/BMG/Rajon
DVDs/videos
- Hal Roach It's himself Live at Jurys Cabaret Sony BMG
- An Audience With Hal Roach, The King of Blarney Emdee
- Hal Roach The King of Irish Comedy (2005) Irish Records (double-DVD)
- Tony Kenny's Ireland - The Green Island (guest appearance)
Books
- Ireland's International Comedian: Hal Roach (His Greatest Collection of Irish Humor and Wit, Featuring the "Unnecessary Sayings" of the Irish in conversation) (1995) Folens
- Party Laughs (1995) Grainne Music
External links
- Hal Roach on IMDb