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Hugh Laurie Biography
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"I admit I can't shake the idea that there is virtue in suffering, that there is a
sort of psychic economy, whereby if you embrace success, happiness and
comfort, these things have to be paid for."
\ Hugh Laurie /
sort of psychic economy, whereby if you embrace success, happiness and
comfort, these things have to be paid for."
\ Hugh Laurie /
|
Hugh was born June 11, 1959 in Oxford, England, the youngest of four children of Dr. W.G.R.M. and Patricia Laurie. He attended the Dragon School, a well-known prep school in Oxford, and went on to Eton College, perhaps England's best-known public school. Hugh's father had been an outstanding oarsman at Cambridge, Henley Royal Regatta, and in the Olympic Games, where he won a gold medal in 1948. At Eton, Hugh also became an oarsman. He rowed for the school, becoming junior national champion in coxed pairs (with J.S. Palmer) and finishing fourth in the Junior World Championships in 1977.
Hugh went up to Cambridge University in 1978 to read archaeology and anthropology, as well as to row. He rowed for his college (Selwyn) and also for the University in one of its premier sporting events, the annual Boat Race against Oxford University. In his first year at Cambridge, Hugh was rowing in the "A" trials crew for Boat Race selection, and was tipped to be picked for the six-seat, the "strong man" position. Unfortunately, he fell ill with glandular fever and had to quit rowing in early January 1979. He did make the crew for the 1980 Boat Race, as did his former Etonian crewmate J.S. Palmer. The race they rowed in was one of the most exciting in years, with Cambridge almost coming from behind (an unheard-of occurrence for any crew in this race) and eventually losing to Oxford by less than ten feet, the closest finish of the century. Hugh has mentioned in interviews that to this day he is still irritated by the loss.
Hugh also joined the Footlights Club at Cambridge, and got his start performing in their comedy revues and pantomimes. Footlights is a comedy club that has launched the show-business careers of such famous alumni as Alan Bennett, Peter Cook, John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, John Lloyd, Griff Rhy Jones, and on and on. Also joining Footlights that year was Emma Thompson, with whom he had a brief romance. Hugh was president and Emma vice-president of the club in 1980/81, a year which saw one of the club's most successful revues, The Cellar Tapes, win the first Perrier "Pick of the Fringe" Award for comedy at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The revue co-starred and was co-written by new recruit Stephen Fry, whose 1980 Fringe play Latin! had so impressed Hugh that he asked Emma to introduce them with a hope of getting Stephen to write with him for the coming year's revues. They became good friends, and their writing partnership lasted more than ten years.
Winning the Perrier Award led to a West End transfer for the revue, and then to a TV offer for Hugh, Emma and Stephen in two sketch series for Granada. Hugh and Stephen Fry went on to form a comedy double-act that became a fixture of British television through the mid-1990s in series such as Blackadder, A Bit of Fry & Laurie, and most notably, Jeeves and Wooster. Following this, Hugh branched out into films, in such diverse roles as Cruella DeVil's henchman in 101 Dalmatians, Baron Hector Hulot in the adaptation of Balzac's Cousin Bette, Mr. Little in Stuart Little and its sequel, a BBC staffer in Maybe Baby, and an oil company exec in Flight of the Phoenix.
Hugh has also starred in a West End play (Ben Elton's satire Gasping), done TV commercials as both actor and director, been one of the leading commercial voice artists in Britain, and recorded a number of audiobooks.
Hugh's first novel was published in 1996. The Gun Seller, an affectionate homage to the espionage novels of LeCarre and others, made the best-seller list in Britain and was well-received on both sides of the Atlantic.
In 2004, Hugh took on the career-changing role of Dr. Gregory House in a medical drama series for Fox-TV. The series House introduced Hugh to a new audience of appreciative fans. He was widely credited for much of the show's first-season success. He won an award for Best Actor - Drama from the Television Critics' Association, and was nominated for an Emmy in 2005. In January 2006, he took home the Golden Globe from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for his role.
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| Full name: | James Hugh Calum Laurie | ||
| Height: | 6' 2½" (1.89 m) | ||
| Eyes: | Blue | ||
| Hair: | Brown | ||
| Star Sign: | Western - Gemini Chinese - Pig | ||
| Nationality: | English | ||
| Heritage: | Scottish | ||
| Nicknames: | Hugh | ||
| Notable features: | Blue eyes | ||
| Education: | Dragon School, Oxford, England, UK Eton College, Eton, England, UK House captain at Eton, rowed for the school and for the England youth team in 1977 (4th at Junior Worlds) Selwyn College, Cambridge University, England, UK Third-Class Honours degree in anthropology and archaeology | ||
| Family: | Father: Dr. William George Ranald Mundell Laurie "Ran Laurie" physician and 1948 Olympic Gold Medalist Mother: Patricia Laurie Brother: Charles Alexander Lyon Mundell Laurie, 6 years older Sisters: 2 older Wife: Jo Green Daughter: Rebecca Augusta Laurie, b. Sep 10, 1993 Sons: Charles Archibald Laurie, b. Nov 1988 William 'Bill' Albert Laurie, b. Jan 1991 | ||
| Resides in: | London, England, UK Los Angeles, CA, USA | ||
| Religious affiliation: | Atheist although he was raised in the Scottish Presbyterian church HL: "I don't believe in God, but I have this idea that if there were a God, or destiny of some kind looking down on us, that if he saw you taking anything for granted he'd take it away." | ||
| Political affiliation: | |||
| Interest/Hobbies: | Music, motorcycling, boxing | ||
| Charities/Causes: | Charities in which Hugh is involved:
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| Other: |
Meet Other Fans
Comments
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julika2posted 1 day ago -
House is one of my favorits & ya I did skip alot of your movies but you are A#1
posted 20 days ago -
hes the man, of tv, he's the best, i watch all of his shows evens reruns over and over again cause he's the best, in Doctors shows please don't ever remove him off tv. thanks so much.
posted 68 days ago -
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Hugh Laurie is one of my favorite actors. He's an absolute delight to watch.
posted 139 days ago -
I love Gregory House, MD. He often says what I'd think under the circumstances...
posted 147 days ago -
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