Chicken and Mash - A Ricky Gervais Fansite... Obviously

Ricky Who?

Ricky Gervais, who's that then? WHO'S THAT THEN? Are you having a laugh or summat?
Two words; The Office. Another Word; Extras.
Ringing any bells yet? Good, thought it might. It is rare to see Ricky Gervais mentioned in print without having the description multi award winning preceding his name. He is a legend, a comedy genius. Fact.

While the truly iconic mockumentary classic The Office is undoubtedly what set Ricky on his way to megadom, his subsequent work in Extras and his hilarious one man live shows Animals, Politics and Fame are what have kept him there.

Kids Books, numerous chat show appearances, notable film cameos, televised charity gigs and even The Simpsons have all contributed in keeping the bloke from Reading on our screens and in our hearts in a seemingly never ending list of hilarity.

Thankfully for us, his presence is only going to get bigger, with Hollywood being the latest feather in his cap. A starring role in the eagerly awaited Dreamworks movie Ghost Town is already under his belt, along with another starring role and directorial debut in the MRC/Warner Bros/Universal movie This Side of the Truth.

So, that's roughly where he is now, let's have a look in more detail how he got there. It's the least we can do for the inventor of the classic geni(t)al parlour game Knob or Bollock.

Ricky Gervais - Comedy Legend

Ricky Dene Gervais was born in Reading on 25th June, 1961. This makes him forty seven years old at the time of writing, although from looking at him you would think his age to be closer to forty six and a half. His father Jerry, a French Canadian from Ontario, met Ricky's mother Eva while in the UK during the second world war, hence Ricky's unfortunately French sounding surname. A name which we can continue to rejoice in knowing it is from Canada and not, as at first feared, France. Rather less exotic sounding, the family home was on a council estate in Whitley, a suburb of Reading. The youngest of four by quite some margin, his mum once telling him he was an "accident", Ricky obviously benefited from the influence of his older siblings and parents who had already been there and done it. By the age of eight, Ricky reached a point in his life that most people don't reach until they are much older...

Turning Point 1
(Stolen mercilessly from an original Sunday Times article and featured at the official Ricky Gervais website.

"I remember the day I became an atheist," says Gervais. "I was doing my homework. I'd been to Sunday school from the age of five to eight. I had gold stars and used to win Jason in the Lion's Den books, and everything was great. And, er, I fucking loved Jesus, I thought he was brilliant. What a great man." Then his brother Bob, who was 19, came in and took an interest in the homework. He asked Ricky why he believed in God "and my mum got nervous. My mum went, 'Bob' [in a warning voice] and I thought, something's up. Then he went, 'Well, what proof is there?' My mum said, 'Of course there's a God.' He went, 'No, I'm just asking.' And I said something ludicrous: they've found evidence, they've found his blood in a bottle. I was just guessing. And Bob laughed. I could tell just by looking, that he was telling the truth and my mum was lying. I knew the truth in that instant. That's why I put such a value in body language."

Despite being "burdened" with a French sounding surname AND living on a council estate, Ricky was never bullied and had a great many friends while growing up in Whitley. He loved learning and excelled at school, which in other cities would be reason enough alone to get your head kicked in on a regular basis. Either the kids of Reading are a particularly affable bunch, or young Ricky was a right hard bastard.


Coming next: Turning Point's 2 and 3. They'll be ready in about a week, I've got manflu so don't expect miracles. UPDATE: I am much better now (thanks) and will have the next installment of Ricky's biography ready soon...

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