Etiquette -- 1 month ago
Satirical superstar: The rise of John Oliver
Words: Charlie Gardiner-Hill
Hugh Grant, Stephen Fry, David Mitchell, Bill Oddie, Sandy Tostvig and Robert Webb, all have one thing in common. They’re all alumni of the Cambridge Footlights and they’ve all made a name for themselves as prolific purveyors of comedy.
But there’s a new boy on the scene and he’s set to outshine them all. John Oliver may be the latest comedian to take America by storm but his accent gives him away – he’s as British as tea and crumpets.
Born in Birmingham, educated at Cambridge and made famous in America, Oliver has introduced America to unforgiving British sarcasm coyly coupled with playful satire, and they love him for it.
Where Morgan tried and failed to beat the American right wing into retreat, Oliver has deftly exposed their absurdities and sent them running, tail between their legs, with the raucous laughter of his 24 million YouTube views echoing in their ears. His success is proof that, in politics as in life, fire is not always best fought with fire, but with a dousing of comic humility.
We’ve charted his rise over the last 90 days, graduating as Jon Stewart’s sidekick on the Today Show to become HBO’s primetime comedy hero; here are the moments that made him.
23rd April | Winning hearts and minds: in a move that we can all learn from, Oliver turned a weakness into a strength, with a little help from Jimmy Fallon. The one-two punch of tears and a love for the military, tugged on America’s heartstrings and cemented Oliver’s position as the British darling of American comedy.
24th April | The eureka moment: after seven years as Jon Stewart’s partner in crime, Oliver’s brilliant segment on gun control attracted worldwide attention, finding humour and clarity in the most toxic of America’s political dilemmas.
April 27th | Showing some courage: It takes a brave man to sit in front of America’s former security overlord, rename his organisation Mr. Tiggles and simultaneously suggest that Pinterest might be where all the terrorists are hiding. John Oliver is that man.
June 1st | Rebel without a cause: America loves an anarchist and when John Oliver crashed the FCC website he did something Obama can only dream of, by uniting America’s right and left. Brando would be proud.
June 4th | Hit the big time: It is the defining moment of any career in show business, losing your Letterman virginity. His respect and admiration for his wife and self-deprecating humour aren’t just the mark of a gentleman, but of a man America is finding it impossible not to fall for.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gskZizjEak
June 8th | The truth hurts: 12 minutes of pain for the world’s most corrupt organisation. FIFA’s humiliation at the hands of John Oliver has been absolute and America might not have known what he was talking about but they laughed all the same.
By Charlie Gardiner-Hill @CWGHill
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