Lenny Henry Biography (1958-)

Full name, Lenworth George Henry; born August 29 (some sources cite August 28), 1958, in Dudley, West Midlands, England; parents, Jamaican; married Dawn French (an actress and comedian), October 20, 1984; children: (adopted) Billie. Addresses: Contact: -PBJ Management, Ltd., 5 Soho Square, London W1V5DE, England.

Nationality: British
Gender: Male
Occupation: Comedian, actor, writer
Birth Details: August 29, 1958; Dudley, West Midlands, United Kingdom

Famous Works

CREDITS
Film Appearances
Cam, The Suicide Club, 1988
Work Experience, 1989
Lenny Live and Unleashed (also known as Lenny Henry Live and Unleashed), 1989
Miles Pope, True Identity, 1991
Robo Vampire (also known as Counter Destroyer), 1993
Fred the cat, Famous Fred, 1996
The doctor in Lenny Henry show sketch, Comic Relief: Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death (also known as Doctor Who: The Curse of Fatal Death), 1999
(Uncredited) Voice of Dimco announcer, French & Saunders Live,French & Saunders, 2000
Television Appearances
Series
The Summer Show, 1975
Sonny Foster, The Fosters, 1976
Himself, TISWAS, 1977-1981
Himself, Three of a Kind, BBC, 1981-1983
Himself, OTT, 1982
Himself, The Lenny Henry Show, BBC, 1984
Various roles, Lenny Henry Tonite, BBC, 1986
Delbert Wilkins, The Lenny Henry Show, BBC, 1987-1988
Gareth Blackstock, Chef!, BBC, 1993-1996
Himself, The Lenny Henry Show, BBC, 1994
Funky Black Shorts, 1994
The Nose at Ten, 1996
Himself, Lenny Goes to Town, BBC, 1998
Ian George, headmaster, Hope and Glory, BBC, 1999-2000
The Sketch Show Story (also known as Victoria Wood's Sketch Show Story), BBC, 2001
Voice of Sporty, Little Robots (animated), 2003
Movies
Ritchie Lee, Coast to Coast, 1987
Josephus, the Genie, Bernard and the Genie, BBC, 1991
Stevie "Smudger" Smith, Alive and Kicking (also known as ScreenOne: Alive and Kicking), BBC, 1991
In Dreams, 1992
Charlie Collins, White Goods, ITV, 1994
Dennis Jackson, The Man, 1999
The Nearly Complete and Utter History of Everything, BBC, 1999
Roy Buchanan, Goodbye Mr. Steadman, 2001
Episodic
(Television debut) Himself, New Faces, 1975
The Ronnie Corbett Special, BBC, 1979
Blankety Blank, Ten Network, 1981
Postman, "Summer Holiday," The Young Ones, BBC, 1984
Hollywood Hobo, "Cassie," Happy Families, BBC, 1985
Himself, Scoff, 1988
French and Saunders, BBC, 1988
"Lenny Henry," The South Bank Show, ITV, 1988

Warder, "South Atlantic Raiders: Part 1," The Comic Strip Presents, Channel 4, 1990
Steve Wild, "Oxford," The Comic Strip Presents, Channel 4, 1990
"Lenny Henry Hunts the Funk," The South Bank Show, ITV, 1992
"Darker Than Me," The South Bank Show, ITV, 1994
Himself, Sunday Night Clive (also known as Clive James), PBS, 1994
"The Quick and the Dead," French and Saunders, BBC, 1996
(Uncredited) Voice, "Dr. Quimn, Mad Woman," French and Saunders, BBC, 1996
"Comic Relief: 10th Anniversary," Omnibus, BBC, 1996
Parkinson, 1999
Richard and Judy, Channel 4, 2003
The Kumars at No. 42, BBC, 2003
Televison Appearances
Specials
Comic Relief (also known as The Utterly Utterly Rude Video Live), BBC, 1986
The Secret Policeman's Third Ball, Arts and Entertainment, 1987
Spitting Image: The Ronnie and Nancy Show, NBC, 1987
A Night of Comic Relief 2, 1989
Hysteria 2!, 1989
The Secret Policeman's Biggest Ball, Arts and Entertainment, 1990
Lenny Go Home, 1991
Host, Comic Relief: Red Nose Day 3: The Stonker, 1991
The Real McCoy, 1992
Comic Relief: The Invasion of the Comic Tomatoes (also known as Total Relief), 1993
Lenny Hunts the Funk, 1994
New Soul Nation, Channel 4, 1994
Comic Relief: Behind the Nose, 1995
The Story of Bean (documentary), 1997
Comic Relief, 1997
Comic Relief: The Record Breaker, 1999
2000 Today, BBC, 1999
Lenny Henry in Pieces, BBC, 2000
Narrator, Steve Martin Seriously Funny (documentary), Comedy Central, 2000
Lenny's Big Atlantic Adventure (documentary), 2000
Comic Relief: Short Pants, 2001
(In archive footage) Night of a Thousand Faces, BBC, 2001
Comic Relief: Say Pants to Poverty, BBC, 2001
(In archive footage) I Love Christmas (documentary), BBC, 2001
Host, Party at the Palace: The Queen's Concerts, Buckingham Palace, BBC, 2002
Host, Comic Relief 2003: The Big Hair Do, 2003
Major Tours
Loud!, 1994, Australian cities, 1995
Large!, Australian cities, 1998
Large '99, British cities, 1999
Have You Seen This Man?, British cities, 2001
Radio Appearances
Appeared on Whose Line Is It Anyway?
RECORDINGS
Albums
Stand-Up Get Down, 1984
Lenny Live and Unleashed, Island, 1989
WRITINGS
Screenplays
Lenny Live and Unleashed, 1989
Television Miniseries
(With Neil Gaiman) NeverWhere, BBC, 1996
Television Specials
Comic Relief (also known as The Utterly Utterly Rude Video Live), HBO, 1986
Lenny Henry in Pieces, BBC, 2000
Television Composer
Specials
"Big Love," Comic Relief (also known as The Utterly Utterly Rude Video Live), HBO, 1986
Books
Lenny Henry's Well-Hard Paperback, Virgin Books, 1989
The Quest for the Big Woof (autobiographical), 1991
Children's Books
Charlie and the Big Chill, Gollancz, 1995
Charlie Queen of the Desert, Gollancz, 1996

Further Reference

OTHER SOURCES

Books

Margolis, Jonathon, Lenny Henry: A Biography, 1995

Periodicals

The Look in the Mirror, September 5, 1998, pp. 20-21
Publishers Weekly, December 2, 1996, p. 60
Radio Times, September 12, 1998, pp. 22-23

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