Acting
Mar 30, 1952
Dublin, Ireland
Dermot Morgan
Acting
Biography
Dermot went to University College Dublin, where he studied English and Philosopy. In 1974 he took up a teaching post, but left 2 years later to persue the comedy career that he had started at university. In 1979 his first introduction to TV came with an appearance on "Live Mike" on RTE television as Fr. Trendy, a catholic priest who was religiously hip. He became a regular for the next 4 years. His career took a slump in the mid-eighties, when his humour didn't fit in with the views of RTE who controlled the media in Ireland at the time. In 1988 he set up his own production company, Cue Productions and began work on a radio show called "Scrap Saturday". This show lampooned Irish politicians, and allowed him to use his wonderful talent for mimicry. In 1991, at the height of it's success the show was cancelled by RTE. He remained angry about the cancellation of the show for many years. He returned to doing stand up comedy. In 1995 he started his most popular show, "Father Ted" which won him several awards. He had just completed the third series of "Father Ted" when he died.
Feature Films (10)
Sean is a little duck with a big problem. Due to a mishap with a jet aircraft Sean misses the annual migration South and has to face the winter alone. However, he is befriended by a water vole, and with Vole's help, Sean learns the lessons of survival, and most importantly, the value of friendship.
The First Snow of Winter
Documentary celebrating the British sitcom and taking a look at the social and political context from which our favourite sitcoms grew. We enjoy a trip through the comedy archive in the company of the people who made some of the very best British sitcoms. From The Likely Lads to I'm Alan Partridge, we find out the inspiration behind some of the most-loved characters and how they reflect the times they were living in.
British Sitcom: 60 Years of Laughing at Ourselves
When a small Irish town is terrorized by a corrupt business syndicate, a lone hero wages an all out war.
Taffin
On the 15th anniversary of its launch, this documentary follows Father Ted creators Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews on a return trip to Craggy Island to take in its location and discuss how the series was made with cast and crew.
Small, Far Away: The World of Father Ted
A selection of Dermot Morgan's family, friends, colleagues and admirers, including Pat Shortt, Oliver Callan and Pauline Mc Lynn, look back on the life of the comedian, writer, satirist and actor whose savage wit belied a caring nature and reflect on his place in the annals of comedy greats.
Dermot Morgan: Fearless Funnyman
Gaybo Laughs Back is an hour-long special, hosted by Gay Byrne who introduces some of the comedy highlights from his thirty-seven years at the helm of the long-running television series.
Gaybo Laughs Back
In early 1997, Amnesty held a comedy gala at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin. The performers were primarily Irish performers including: Barry Murphy, Brendan O'Carroll, Pauline McLynn, Dermot Morgan, Kevin McAleer, Owen O'Neill, and Kevin Gildea. The show was videotaped and televised on ITV in March 1997.
So You Think You're Irish
A documentary portrait of Irish comedian and actor Dermot Morgan, best remembered as the anarchic Father Ted Crilly. Through archive footage and contributions from friends, colleagues and fellow performers, the film looks back at Morgan’s life, career and distinctive comic voice, from his work on Irish television and radio to the international success of Father Ted and his sudden death in 1998.
The Real Father Ted: A Portrait of Dermot Morgan
Television & Series (6)
Shooting Stars is a British television comedy panel game broadcast on BBC Two as a pilot in 1993, then as 3 full series from 1995 to 1997, then on BBC Choice from January to December 2002 with 2 series before returning to BBC Two for another 3 series from 2008 until its cancellation in 2011. Created and hosted by double-act Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer, it uses the panel show format but with the comedians' often slapstick, surreal and anarchic humour does not rely on rules in order to function, with the pair apparently ignoring existing rules or inventing new ones as and when the mood takes them.
Shooting Stars
A crazy comedy about three rather strange parish priests exiled to Craggy Island, a remote island off the Irish west coast.
Father Ted
Comic Relief is a British charity, founded in 1985 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Sir Lenny Henry in response to the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make the public laugh, while raising money to help people around the world and in the United Kingdom. The highlight of Comic Relief's appeal is Red Nose Day, an annual (previously biennial) telethon held in March. The first live fundraising evening, held on 4 April 1986, featured comedians and pop stars, including Rowan Atkinson, Billy Connolly, Stephen Fry, Kate Bush and co-founder Lenny Henry.
Comic Relief
Hilarious, totally-irreverent, near-slanderous political quiz show, based mainly on news stories from the last week or so, that leaves no party, personality or action unscathed in pursuit of laughs.
