Linda Smith (comedian)
Encyclopedia : L : LI : LIN : Linda Smith (comedian)
Linda Smith (25 January 1958 – 27 February 2006) was a British stand-up comic and comedy writer. She was born in Erith, south-east London, but had no particular fondness for her home town, once joking, "It's not twinned with anywhere, but it does have a suicide pact with Dagenham." [link]
Educated at Erith College (now Bexley College), she gained a place at Sheffield University, graduated in English and Drama and joined a professional theatre company. Turning to comedy, she was awarded the 1987 Hackney Empire New London Comic Award and performed on the Edinburgh Fringe before breaking into radio comedy. She was a regular panellist on The News Quiz and Just a Minute, and appeared on I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, Have I Got News For You, Mock the Week, Countdown and QI. She wrote and starred in her own Radio 4 sitcom, Linda Smith's A Brief History of Timewasting. In 2002 she was voted "Wittiest Living Person" by listeners to BBC Radio 4's Word of Mouth. Her obituaries described her style as beguiling, apparently vulnerable but often waspish. She excelled at deadpan diatribes about everyday irritations. Her most regularly quoted joke was probably her description of former home secretary David Blunkett as being "Satan's bearded folk singer".
After appearing on Radio 4's Devout Sceptics to discuss her beliefs she was asked by the British Humanist Association to become president of the society, a role she occupied with great commitment from 2004 until her death.
Smith died of ovarian cancer, aged 48, on 27 February 2006. Her memorial meeting at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East on 10 March was dedicated to the BHA. Her life and work was honoured at the British Academy Televison Awards in 2006.
Two tribute gigs were also held. One, on 14 May 2006 at the Lyceum Theatre, entitled "In Praise Of An English Radical" and the other on 4 June 2006 at the Victoria Palace Theatre, London, entitled "Tippy Top: An Evening Of Linda Smith's Favourite Things".
External links
- [A Brief History of Timewasting] BBC Radio 4
- [Anarchist with attitude (interview) by Laurie Taylor] New Humanist, 6 September 2004
- [Radio comedian Linda Smith dies] BBC News, 28 February 2006
- [Obituary: Linda Smith] BBC News, 28 February 2006
- [Jeremy Hardy pays tribute] BBC News, 28 February 2006
- [Obituary by Mark Steel] The Independent, 1 March 2006 (subscription required)
- [Obituary by Jeremy Hardy, containing many biographical details] The Guardian, 1 March 2006
- [News Quiz colleagues pay tribute] The Guardian, 2 March 2006
- [Linda Smith: God, the biggest joke of all] The Independent, 2 March 2006
- [President of the British Humanist Association, 2004 - 2006] British Humanist Association
Video
Audio
- [Linda Smith explores Auvergne & Corsica] BBC Radio 4, 12 April 2005
- [The Limited Power of Satire/Linda's Rise from Obscurity] BBC Radio 4, The News Quiz, 7 September 2005
- [Linda Smith has her eye on the Chairman's seat] BBC Radio 4, The News Quiz, 6 February 2006
- [Tribute containing interview with Jenny Colgan] BBC Radio 4, Woman's Hour, 1 March 2006
- [A special tribute edition] BBC Radio 4, The News Quiz, 3 March 2006
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.