Ricky Gervais

In the Beginning

Ricky Gervais was born June 25, 1961. His birthplace was Reading, Berkshire. His father was Lawrence Raymond Gervais and his mother, Eva Sophia. Eva Sophia was of English descents while Ricky’s father worked as a laborer and hod carrier. Gervais studied at the Ashmead Comprehensive School and went on to the University College in London where he received a degree in Philosophy. Gervais first started to pursue a pop career through Seona Dancing. It was a duo he formed with another student. The duo performed as a synth-pop act that was similar to many groups in the 1980s. Their unique name and the strong influence of the music by David Bowie helped them to stand out. Gervais’ vocal ability was even compared to David Bowie. Seona Dancing did sign a contract where they recorded and released two singles “Bitter Heart” and “More to Lose”. The act failed to reach the United Kingdom’s Top 75. Despite the setback, Gervais continued his career in music. He even became the manager of Suede at one point.

Career Accomplishments

Gervais had to bide his time for the success that would come later come for his career in the music industry. During the 1990s, Gervais struck up a writing partnership with Stephen Merchant. When 2000 rolled around, he snagged his comedy chat show called Meet Ricky Gervais, on Channel 4. Famous guests like Midge Ure, Jimmy Savile, Stefanie Powers Jim Bowen, Michael Winner, Peter Purves, and Paul Daniels appeared on the show. There were only six episodes of the comedy show.

Most Known For

Gervais struck gold once again with another comedy show, The Office when it made its debut on the BBC in 2001. The Office had a rocky start but has come to be recognized as reinventing the sitcom genre. The Office has also been called one of the best comedy show series of all time. Gervais played the role of the embarrassing and obnoxious manager on the show David Brent. On polls, the character was voted as one of the best comedic characters. An American remake of The Office rolled out in 2005. During that same year, Gervais pursued another sitcom called Extras. He attracted several celebrity guests like Samuel L. Jackson, David Bowie, and Ben Stiller. Extras became known as the satire of the entertainment industry. Gervais has become a widely popular comedy performer well into the 21^st industry. He has hosted the Golden Globe awards. He’s shown up on a host of talk shows, lent his talent to films, became a voice artist, and has even become a well-known British comedy figure in America.

Where Is He Now?

Gervais joined the social media site Twitter in 2009 when he got to host the 66^th Golden Globes for the first time. He had gone on a two-year hiatus before he returned in September of 2011. Gervais won the Shorty Award in 2012 for Lifetime Achievement due to his fame on social media. Currently, in March 2015 he is being followed by 7 million fans he has started calling “Twonks.” The main use of his social media is to promote the work he does to his fans. Gervais has even brought back his Brent character for his new Youtube channel series called Learn Guitar with David Brent. Gervais has also been using social media to raise awareness of animal welfare. He will tweet links for the petitions to rescue animals from captivity. He shows the plight animals go through for testing and encourages people to adopt rather than buy from breeders. Gervais even won the Genesis Award from the Human Society for the 2015 year in March.