Tim Ferguson

108
Tim Ferguson bigraphy, stories - Australian comedian and writer

Tim Ferguson : biography

16 November 1963 –

Timothy Dorcen Langbene "Tim" Ferguson (born 16 November 1963 in Sydney, NSW) is an Australian comedian and television presenter.

Personal life

Ferguson announced on an episode of Good News Week that he has Multiple Sclerosis (MS), requiring him to occasionally use a walking cane., The Weekly Review, 10 June 2010 Ferguson has experienced MS symptoms since age 19. His new show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2012 is "Carry a big stick", in allusion to his MS., 7.30, ABC News Online, 28 March 2012, accessed 29 March 2012

He owns the third largest Star Wars toy collection in the southern hemisphere.

Political candidacy

In the 1990 Australian federal election, Ferguson stood as an independent candidate for the seat of Kooyong, against the Leader of the Opposition, Andrew Peacock. Following a "Vote For Tim" campaign conducted by the Allstars on The Big Gig, he gained 3.7% of the vote.

Ferguson has announced his candidacy in the Australian federal election, 2013, for the Australian Senate. He says that he will have no policies, and that he wanted someone for whom he could vote.

Background

Tim Ferguson grew up in the country town of Blayney, New South Wales before moving to Canberra, where he attended the radical free-school School Without Walls and Narrabundah College. He is the son of Tony Ferguson, who was a Vietnam War correspondent, the first reporter to release news of the Tet Offensive to the world media. Tony became executive producer of This Day Tonight and Four Corners at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and network liaison for the ABC’s managing director, David Hill.Lewes, Jacqueline Lee: Antenna: "Tony Ferguson … Father of a Doug Anthony All Star", The Sydney Morning Herald, 6 March 1989.

Ferguson has said that his nick name at school was "Donkey Boy", and that its derivation was a long story., Australian Broadcasting Corporation; broadcast date: 4 March 2013

Early career

His first major appearance was as a member of the Doug Anthony All Stars, along with Paul McDermott and Richard Fidler, on the UK Channel 4 television show "Friday Night Live" and then the ABC television show, The Big Gig, where they quickly gained a following. This was soon followed by their own show, the sci-fi sitcom DAAS Kapital.

In 1995, Ferguson appeared in Funky Squad, again on ABC television, and hosted on the Nine Network.

Ferguson’s novel, Left, Right and Centre: A Tale of Greed, Sex and Power (ISBN 0-14-026579-1), was published by Penguin in 1997 and became Australia’s #1 best-seller for three months. Politician Graham Richardson said of the book, "It scared the hell out of me".

During the 1990s, Ferguson starred in Australian commercials advertising the video game console Nintendo 64.

Ferguson co-wrote and hosted eight series and twelve one-hour specials of his comedy clip show "Unreal TV".

Recent career

In 2010, Ferguson released "" (), a comedy writing manual for screenwriters and comedians. The book offers "a revolutionary approach to comedy writing" and features what Ferguson calls "primal comedy". His courses tour worldwide.

In 2001, Ferguson branched out into production when he created, produced and co-wrote the TV1 comedy series Shock Jock which ran for two series. In 2003, he hosted a talk back radio show on 3AK and was the host of Big Brother Australia 2003’s Big Brother The Insider. Ferguson also appeared in Fat Pizza: The Movie as the magician "David Cockerfield." In 2010, Ferguson was executive producer, writer and host of on C31 Melbourne. WTF is directed by Marc Gracie (Full Frontal, Unreal TV).

Since then, Ferguson has continued writing TV comedy and other commentary on shows such as including "Good News Week", "The Glass House", "20 to 1". He was script producer for the AWGIE-nominated web series and host Network Ten’s Unreal TV and Foxtel’s long-running sci-fi fan-show "Space Cadets". In November 2005, he hosted the Sky Channel National Day of Protest against the Howard Government’s industrial relations changes. The Maritime Union of Australia invited Tim to host their 10th Anniversary of the Patricks Dispute at the Sydney Convention Centre in 2008, with special guest Julian Burnside. Ferguson, describes the event as a personal highlight.

He is one of Australia’s top corporate event performers, hosting events and conferences for Australasia’s leading corporations. Ferguson’s production company is currently developing the feature film Circle Work with Edwina Exton, assisted by Film Victoria. Circle Work is a romantic comedy based at a Bachelor & Spinster Ball.

Ferguson is a sessional lecturer in at RMIT University – Openline (RMIT News), 24 November 2008 He won the RMIT Best Sessional Teacher Award in 2010. He has trained thousands of comedians and screenwriters through his courses.

He is currently touring his live standup comedy show "", featuring tales and songs from his life on the ‘comedy warpath’. The title alludes to his experiencing Multiple Sclerosis, and needing to use a walking stick.