He also plays keyboard in a rock band called 'The Band from TV'. This band is made up entirely of other famous faces from the small screen:

The books Hugh admits to keeping on his bookshelf include The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, Moby-Dick by Herman Melville, The Spy Who Came In from the Cold, by John Le Carré, Darwin's Dangerous Idea by Daniel C. Dennett, Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, and The Code of the Wooster's by P.G. Wodehouse.

You can have Mr. Laurie read to you. Hugh has read some of the classics for tape and will read them just for you. I recommend a nice mellow brandy and a cozy fire with a soft throw on a quiet evening for this. He reads: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, Guliver's Travels by Jonathon Swift, The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, The Scarlet Pimpernal by Baroness Orczy, The Triumph of the Scarlet Pimpernal by Baroness Orczy, and Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome

Hugh’s early schooling includes the lofty names of such educational institutions as The Dragon School and Eton. Good breeding and class ooze from the very walls of these schools. One look at the list of alumni at Eton is all it will take for you to be impressed. Many of Britain's best and brightest, and indeed, a great chunk of it's nobility have passed through those doors. The list extends so far back into the past it will make your eyeballs itch and your brain freeze. The roster includes the name of at least one saint. A saint for God's sake! Hugh took up the sport of rowing at some point during his time at Eton. He rowed for Eton and for the England Youth Team and placed 4th at Junior Worlds in 1977.

Eton College

Wait a minute... Eton has a bar? For the high school students? Really? That just tears it...I have been cheated!!
(Update: I Forrest Gumped my way into an astonishingly good source! I have it on very good authority that Eton does have a bar called "The Tap and Christopher" located at #131 Eton High Street. It actually has a very long and interesting history involving a time before trains, un-suitable drinking water, the eventual advent of trains, the correspondent closing of a nearby boarding house, and an enterprising landlord named Jack Knight.
Beer ANDCheese!!
Cheese AND Beer!
Nope, there is just no wrong way of saying that!Thanks Roger!)

Hugh later attended Cambridge University where he studied Archeology and Anthropology. Cambridge is another ridiculously old institution. It is the second oldest university in the English speaking world. It is thought to have been established somewhere around 1209 A.D. Hugh became one of the top athletes on the Cambridge rowing team. He had to temporarily leave the sport to recover from what was called a "glandular fever". This condition is more commonly known of as Mononucleosis. I know because I googled it. Oh, those wacky Brits! Making the kissing disease sound all mysterious and exotic!

Kings College
Cambridge University

He did return to his team in 1980 where he earned Blue and rowed in one of the closest races between Cambridge and Oxford since its beginnings in the mid 1800’s. The "Blue" thing is an honor. It means that he is one of the extremely gifted athletes who have earned the right to race in that historical annual competition. Hugh’s crew reportedly lost by less then ten feet and it has been said that this loss still bugs our beautiful Hugh. He says he does not like to talk about it much because he doesn’t want the other team to get any more glee out of it then they already have.
So, shh!

House Episode Distractions
No, really, I’ve told you but…

  
     
Hugh Laurie
1980 University Races

Hugh went on to compete for the Silver Goblets at Henley Royal Regatta in 1980. The Silver Goblet is an event that was added in 1845 and is open to amateur pair oarsman (Coxless Pair). The races have 16 individual trophies for different events and the Silver Goblets is but one of them. These races started out as a challenge between Oxford and Cambridge in 1829. They have broadened over the years to include international competitors. Hugh and his partner were the only British members to reach the finals that year. He and his crew- mate did not win the event. Only the highest caliber athlete gets the honor of competing in these races. The races at Henley are a big deal and there is a deep national reverence for it.

FYI: A coxless pair means that the craft is manned by just two guys with no coxswain (pronounced Cox-sun) to call out instruction or to steer. A coxswain seems like a darn fine plan as these guys are rowing backwards just as fast as they can for goodness sakes! Hugh Laurie competed without the benefit of one of these people. Eyes on me! Minds out of the gutter! See how I just did that? Instructing and steering...

Hugh was part of another notable group during his time at Cambridge. He was a member of the Footlights. This is a dramatic club within the University that had its first production in 1883. There are some big-time celebrity names that have come out of its illustrious membership. John Cleese, Emma Thompson, Jonathan Miller, and Stephen Fry are just a few of the eminently recognizable names that pop out. Hugh Laurie is listed as president of the group from 1980-1981. He and the cast that year which included Thompson and Fry performed a production of "The Cellar Tapes". The writers are listed as the entire cast but Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie are credited as the principal authors.

Footlights Revue 1982

The reviews of the show were extremely positive. It was performed at Cambridge and went to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival where it won the first ever Perrier Award for Comedy. The show had a modified version called “Beyond the Footlights” that ran for a short time in London. It was also taken to Australia during the late summer of 1981. The BBC even had a version of it made for television. It is rumored that Thompson and Laurie were a romantic item at some point during this time period. Lucky Lady Emma spent some time on the arm of Hugh Laurie! That sounds like a very nice gig indeed.

The success of that show started a string of television appearances that ran throughout the early to mid 1980’s. Hugh showed up in a lot of shows during this time period. Some of these shows include "The Young Ones", "The New Statesman", "Filthy Rich and Catflap" (I included that last one simply because the title amuses me), and "Girls on Top". Hugh won the title role in a documentary type program that aired in 1986 called "Letters From a Bomber Pilot" where he got to stretch his serious actor muscles. Hugh took another dramatic role in a 3 part mini-series in 1993 called "All or Nothing At All". He played a compulsive gambler and it must have been dramatic because one review says he cries well on camera. Hugh also showed up a lot on the radio during the late 1980’s and into the 1990's.

From here Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry become wondrously intertwined for awhile. The two starred in many television and radio shows together between 1985 and 1993. When they met at Cambridge the stars aligned and the heavens smiled upon the world of English comedy. You can’t google one without quickly spying the name of the other. If you are not familiar with Mr. Fry you should check him out. He is a very tall talent himself. The two will be forever thought of in the same instant thanks in large part to three beloved shows.

The first of them was Rowan Atkinson's "Blackadder". If you have not seen this show you should correct the situation just as soon as is possible. Rowan Atkinson is a comic genius and the show is pure fun. Hugh Laurie is the most adorable thing in breeches EVER! Hugh joined the cast for the last episodes of season two and continued on until the show ended. He probably developed his clown skills into very high form during season three as goofy Prince George. He followed that up with another thick-witted character known as Lt. the Honourable George Colhurst St. Barleigh in season four. The last two seasons won the award for Best Comedy Series from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 1987 and 1989 respectively.

Black Adder Cast Seasons 3 and 4

Hugh then showed up for "A Bit of Fry and Laurie". This show ran in a series that had different installments and played at various times from 1987-1995. The show was enjoyed via radio, stage, and television. The television show was aired on the BBC and cemented the names of Fry and Laurie into the collective consciousness of the UK. The reviews laud this show as funny, sophisticated, and intelligent.

A Bit of Fry and Laurie

In 1989 Hugh began a little television endeavor entitled "Jeeves & Wooster”". The show was an adaptation of the classic P.G. Wodehouse books of the same title. The book series is a deeply loved classic. The characters have been played by many other actors in different adaptations over the years. Though it had never previously been attempted for television. Judging by the reviews the critics were quickly blown away by both Laurie and Fry’s performance. The show ran for 4 seasons before ending in 1992. It even made its way to America and played on PBS during Masterpiece Theater in 1990.

Hugh is good at many things. We can add author to that list. In 1996 Hugh wrote a book entitled "The Gun Seller". The book became a best seller and was warmly received by the British press. It was released to the US in 1997 and was embraced by the American press as well. American critics praised Hugh's attention to technical detail. Many critics compared Hugh's effort to Wodehouse himself. The film rights have been sold and it is said that John Malcovich may produce it and Hugh himself is rumored to be writing the screenplay.

Hugh Laurie has an extensive resume’ built up over the length of his career which includes many appearances on many television shows. He has worked steadily showing up in guest spots from the early 1980’s into the early 2000's. Some of these guest roles include spots on "Tracy Takes On", "The Family Guy", and "Friends". Looking at it all I find it amazing that he hid among us for so long. He was right in front of our faces.
I certainly would never have thought to look for him there.

Beginning in 1986 with a little role in a little film called "Plenty" Hugh began making appearances in the movies. Many of them were small roles in English films that did not garner a lot of attention in the U.S. He worked his way up through the late 1980’s and into 1990’s. Please see our filmography page for a more complete list of his films. There are standout roles that are worth mentioning from which he may have caught your attention over the years.

One of his very notable movie roles would have to be that of Mr. Palmer in the 1995 adaptation of "Sense and Sensibility". Viewers of the film often remark on a striking resemblance to what later became his breakout performance as House. It is rather like Greg House. Only a House decked out in really hot Regency kit and a super snooty accent that just works in so many ways!

Cranky Mr. Palmer
Sense and Sensibility 1995

Oh, silly-silly Hugh, do put on the Regency with all due expediency for us again!

Also worth mentioning are his forays into children’s movie roles such as Jasper in "101 Dalmatians" (1996), "Stuart Little" (1999), and "Stuart Little 2" (2002). Hugh has also lent his voice to a few animated children’s films.

Jasper Gone Goofy
101 Dalmatians 1996

It is probably the 2004 adaptation of "The Flight of the Phoenix" where he had a supporting role that he got the most mainstream attention in America. He played the golf loving Ian who comes just short of losing the cheese from atop his cracker in the desert sun. It is said that he filmed his audition tape for House in the bathroom of his hotel room with the help of some of the cast while filming the movie.

Cheese Slippage
Flight of the Phoenix 2004

Currently Hugh entertains the masses as the title character Dr. Gregory House on the Fox hit show House. He began filming in 2004. It has been widely reported that the shows creator did not want to hire anybody but an American for the role. It is said that Hugh fooled him with a flawless American accent on his audition tape. This show is enjoying wholly deserved critical and commercial success.

The foreign press has until fairly recently been pretty tough on our Hugh. Even they are changing their tune. It is so hard to hem and haw, especially with those accents. He is now getting very favorable reviews internationally. Hugh was nominated for the Emmy in 2006. In 2006, and again in 2007 for good measure, Hugh won the Golden Globe for his portrayal of Dr. Gregory House.

~Take That Nay-Sayers!! And, a Pox on Your house!!~
~Oh, and Nanner-Nanner too!!~

Hugh Laurie Golden Globe Win 2006

In this role Hugh Laurie has taken a guy we should hate and made us drool all over ourselves in slavish adoration. House is a very flawed guy. The kind of guy you wouldn’t want to share an elevator with let alone an office. He is drug addicted, surly, annoyingly observant, and far more often then is strictly necessary he is dead- on accurate about the secrets we keep. If this were a real person you would dislike him. You wouldn’t want to be anywhere near him. You would end up huddled in a dark corner body- rocking after a single encounter with him. At some point it would become necessary to either run away sobbing or to stand up and shoot him in the face with a bazooka. In no way in the real world would a person like this work.

He is a doctor with the bedside manner of a pit-bull and the ethics of an alley cat. No low is too low when he wants an answer. Just when you think he has reached his bottom he breaks out a shovel, googles his eyes at you, and digs deeper. You should hate him for it. You definitely should not be sitting there wondering if the stubble on his face has reached the soft stage yet or if it is still rough enough to leave a mark. He should be utterly repellant to you. He has told you that much himself.
You do know this... of course you do!

It is probably this then that saves him. The fact that he admits straight to our faces his many flaws makes us weak in the knees. He does it with this vulnerable and guileless blue-eyed boy in pain thing that causes our brain to ooze gently out of our ears. He is rumpled and scruffy and looks as if he has just rolled out of bed. He knows this makes you think of rolling right back in. The fact that this merely seems to amuse him is sexy beyond words.

It seems that everything Hugh Laurie does is done well. He has earned high praise in everything he has tried his (enormous) hand at. Starting from his earliest beginnings people have taken notice of Hugh Laurie. It is the height of compliment when I say that he just makes it look so easy. You know it isn’t. Of course it isn’t. Think of the characters that he has had to carry. And yet, there he is-- just getting it done so flawlessly. You believe him and then you forgive him. You believe him as the silly goofball that he has been and then you seamlessly go on to believe him as House.

You stare deeply into those gorgeous blue eyes and eat it up with a spoon. Yeah, you know you do.

House Episode Distractions
Sigh…
Swim Anyone?

Cyndi
©Cyndi 2007

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