John Oliver facts for kids

Quick facts for kids John Oliver
Oliver in 2016
Born	John William Oliver (1977-04-23) 23 April 1977 (age 47) Birmingham, West Midlands, England
Citizenship	United Kingdom United States (since 2019)
Education	Christ's College, Cambridge (BA)
Occupation	Comedian TV host
Years active	2001–present
Spouse(s)	Kate Norley ​ (m. 2011)​
Children	2
Awards	Awards and nominations
Comedy career
Medium	Stand-up television film books
Genres	Political/news satire observational comedy black comedy sarcasm cringe comedy self-deprecation
Subject(s)	American politics British culture political punditry popular culture current events mass media/news media civil rights

John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is a British and American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. Oliver started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United Kingdom. He came to wider attention for his work in the United States as Senior British Correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart from 2006 to 2013. Oliver won three Primetime Emmy Awards for writing for The Daily Show and he became the guest host for an eight-week period in 2013. He also co-hosted the comedy podcast The Bugle with Andy Zaltzman, with whom Oliver had previously worked on the radio series Political Animal. From 2010 to 2013, Oliver hosted his stand-up series John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show on Comedy Central. He has also acted on television, most prominently in a recurring role as Dr Ian Duncan on the NBC sitcom Community, and in films, including voice-over work in The Smurfs (2011), The Smurfs 2 (2013), and the 2019 remake of The Lion King. He became a US citizen in 2019.

Since 2014, Oliver has been the host of the HBO series Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. He has received widespread critical and popular recognition for his work on the series, and its influence over US culture, legislation and policymaking has been dubbed the "John Oliver effect". For his work on Last Week Tonight, Oliver has won sixteen Emmy Awards and two Peabody Awards and was included in the 2015 Time 100. Time described him as a "comedic agent of change [...] powerful because he isn't afraid to tackle important issues thoughtfully, without fear or apology". Oliver's work has been described as journalism or investigative journalism, labels that Oliver rejects.

Early life and education

Oliver was born on 23 April 1977 in Erdington, Birmingham, West Midlands, England, to Carole and Jim Oliver. His father was both a school headmaster and social worker, and his mother was a music teacher. Originally his father was from the Wirral and mother from Liverpool, Merseyside. His uncle was the composer Stephen Oliver. William Boyd Carpenter, Bishop of Ripon and court chaplain to Queen Victoria, was his paternal great-great-grandfather. Oliver learned to play the viola as a child.

Since childhood, he has been a fan of Liverpool FC, noting in interviews that "my mum's family are from Knotty Ash and my dad's family are from the Wirral, so supporting Liverpool was very much not a choice". Oliver was educated in Bedford at the Mark Rutherford School.

Oliver in 2007

Following secondary school, he studied at Christ's College, Cambridge. While a student there in the mid-to-late 1990s, Oliver was a member of the Cambridge Footlights, the university theatrical club run by students of Cambridge University. Oliver's contemporaries included David Mitchell and Richard Ayoade. In 1997, he became the club's vice president. In 1998, Oliver graduated from Cambridge with a degree in English.

Career

1985–2005: Early career

Oliver's first appearance on-screen was playing Felix Pardiggle, a minor role in the BBC drama Bleak House, in 1985. In an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers, he commented, "When I was six years old ... [the BBC] wanted a kid with dark hair and brown eyes, and I was two-for-two on that". In 2001, Oliver appeared as a bank manager in series two of People Like Us. Oliver said in a later Seth Meyers appearance that one of his first paying jobs was writing for the British morning show The Big Breakfast.

Oliver's first major stand-up appearance was at the 2001 Edinburgh Festival Fringe as part of the late-night showcase The Comedy Zone, where he played an "oleaginous journalist". Oliver frequently worked with other members of the comedian group the Chocolate Milk Gang, including Daniel Kitson, Russell Howard, David O'Doherty, and Alun Cochrane. His debut solo show was at the 2002 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and he returned the following year. In 2004 and 2005, he performed in a double act and co-hosted the political radio show Political Animal with Andy Zaltzman.

From 2002 to 2003, Oliver worked on the BBC Three comedy series The State We're In, along with Anita Rani, Jon Holmes, and Robin Ince. In 2003, Oliver manned the "results desk" on an election night episode of Armando Iannucci's satirical show Gash on Channel 4. In 2004, Oliver wrote and performed in the satirical radio programme The Department on BBC Radio 4 with Andy Zaltzman and Chris Addison. Starting in June 2005, Oliver made appearances on British television as a panellist on the satirical news show Mock the Week, and became a frequent guest on the first two series.

2006–2013: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

Oliver with Daily Show co-correspondent Wyatt Cenac at the launch of Earth

In July 2006, Oliver joined The Daily Show with Jon Stewart as its Senior British Correspondent. He says he was interviewed for the show on the recommendation of comedian Ricky Gervais, who had never met Oliver, but was familiar with his work. Two weeks after the interview, he got the job, flying from London to New York City on a Sunday and unexpectedly appearing on camera the next day. Oliver received Emmy Awards for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series for The Daily Show in 2009, 2011, and 2012.

In 2007, Oliver wrote and presented a BBC America campaign to have viewers use closed captions. Shown in brief segments before shows, one of the campaign messages said, "The following program contains accents you would have heard a lot more if you hadn't thrown our tea into Boston Harbor ... Not even British people can follow the British accent 100 per cent of the time. Therefore you, like me, might want to use closed-captioning." Oliver used some of these jokes in his stand-up routine.

After moving to New York City, Oliver began performing stand-up comedy in clubs, later headlining shows in larger venues. From October 2007 to May 2015, Oliver co-hosted The Bugle, a weekly comedy podcast, with Andy Zaltzman. Originally produced by The Times, it became an independent project in 2012. John Oliver: Terrifying Times, his first stand-up special, premiered on Comedy Central in 2008. In 2009, Comedy Central announced that it would be ordering six episodes of the John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show, a series on Comedy Central that featured sets from himself and other comedians, including Janeane Garofalo, Brian Posehn, Paul F. Tompkins and Marc Maron. From 2010 to 2013, four seasons were produced. In 2013, he went to Afghanistan on a USO tour to perform for the troops. Oliver continues to perform stand-up.

Oliver and Stephen Colbert at the Montclair Film Festival in New Jersey

Oliver had a recurring role on the NBC sitcom Community as the professor of psychology Dr Ian Duncan. Owing to his work at The Daily Show, he declined the offer to become a regular member of the cast, and did not appear in the third, fourth, or sixth seasons, but returned in season five, appearing in seven of its thirteen episodes. In 2008, Oliver played Dick Pants in The Love Guru, his first film role. He later voiced Vanity Smurf in The Smurfs film and its sequel. Oliver performed several roles in the 2009 Comedy Central series Important Things with Demetri Martin. In 2009, Oliver made a cameo appearance in the music video for The Fiery Furnaces' single "Even in the Rain".

Starting in June 2013, Oliver guest-hosted The Daily Show for eight weeks while Stewart directed his film Rosewater. Oliver's performance received positive reviews, with some critics suggesting that he should eventually succeed Stewart as the host, or receive his own show. CBS discussed the possibility of Oliver replacing Craig Ferguson on The Late Late Show. Three months after his role as the interim Daily Show host ended, HBO announced it was giving Oliver his own late-night show.

2014–present: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Title card for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

In 2014, Oliver began hosting his current events late-night talk show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. The show features thoroughly researched segments dedicated to topics or events in the news. His initial two-year contract was extended through to 2017 in 2015, to 2020 in September 2017, to 2023 in September 2020, and to 2026 in December 2023. Oliver has stated that he has full creative freedom, including free rein to criticise corporations, given HBO's ad-free subscription model. In 2015, Oliver was named one of Time 100 influential people of the year for his work on the show. Across the TV airings, DVR, on-demand, and HBO Go, Last Week Tonight averaged 4.1 million weekly viewers in its first season. In 2014, Last Week Tonight was honoured with a Peabody Award in the "Entertainment" category for "bringing satire and journalism even closer together". The show received a second award in 2017. The show has also won 26 Primetime Emmy Awards, five Writers Guild of America Awards, eight Producers Guild Awards, and three Critics' Choice Television Awards.

Oliver has guest-starred in several TV shows, including The Simpsons as Booth Wilkes-John (2014); Gravity Falls as the voice of Sherlock Holmes (2012); Rick and Morty as an amoeba named Dr Xenon Bloom (2013); Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja as the voice of Coach Green (2012–15); My Hero as a man from the BBC (2001); Green Wing as a car salesman (2004); Big Mouth as the camp counsellor Harry (2020); and Bob's Burgers as a cat agent (2017). Oliver was originally cast in 2010 to star in the Terry Jones film Absolutely Anything as Neil Clarke, but scheduling conflicts due to the debut of Last Week Tonight in 2014 led to the role being recast for Simon Pegg. In 2019, Oliver voiced the porcupine Steve in the CGI animated film Wonder Park and hornbill Zazu in the remake of Disney's The Lion King. From 2018 to 2019, Oliver worked as an executive producer for Wyatt Cenac's Problem Areas. On 30 August 2023, Oliver began hosting the comedy podcast Strike Force Five with Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers, to support their staff members out of work due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike.

Influences

Oliver has said that among his comedic influences are Armando Iannucci, David Letterman, Monty Python, Peter Cook, Richard Pryor, and Jon Stewart. Oliver said regarding Monty Python, "I saw Life of Brian in middle school, when a substitute teacher put it on to keep us quiet on a rainy day ... I've never forgotten how it made me feel". Edward Helmore wrote in The Guardian about Oliver's comedy, "His style leans toward the kind that Americans like best from the British – exaggerated, full of odd accents and mannerisms, in the vein of Monty Python." Oliver describes his own accent as a "mongrel" of Brummie, Scouse, and Bedford influences.

Personal life

Oliver with Norley in 2016

Oliver lives in New York City with his wife Kate Norley, an Iraq War veteran who served as a United States Army medic. Oliver has said that they met at the 2008 Republican National Convention; he was reporting for The Daily Show and Norley was campaigning with Vets for Freedom. She and other veterans hid Oliver, the other correspondents, and the camera crew from security. The two married in 2011 and have two sons, one born prematurely in 2015 and the other born in 2018. Oliver occasionally wears a 1st Cavalry Division lapel pin – his wife's unit in Iraq. Oliver has a younger sister who lives in Australia.

Oliver's immigration status when he joined The Daily Show in 2006 placed certain constraints on what he could do in the United States, but also provided him with comedy material as he poked fun at the opacity and occasional absurdity of the process of obtaining US residency. During the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike, which temporarily stopped production of The Daily Show, Oliver participated in picketing protests; he appeared on the show upon its resuming production on 7 January 2008. During a sketch, he pointed out that he was then in America on a visitor visa that requires him not to strike while the show is in production, as violation of the terms of the visa would be grounds for deportation.

In an episode of The Bugle released on 2 November 2009 and recorded three days earlier, Oliver announced that he was approved for his US green card, noting that now he can "get arrested filming bits for The Daily Show". Oliver says he was given a scare when applying at the US embassy in London when an immigration officer asked, "Give me one good reason I should let you back in to insult my country?", which the officer followed up with, "Oh, I'm just kidding, I love the show". Since then, he has referred to Americans as "us" or "you" based on what each segment has demanded. Oliver was naturalized as a US citizen on 13 December 2019. Since moving to the United States, Oliver has been a fan of the New York Mets. Oliver has said that being a New York Yankees fan would be the "wrong thing to do morally".

Oliver's philanthropy includes an on-air giveaway in which he forgave over $15 million of medical debt owed by over 9,000 people. He purchased the debt for $60,000 and forgave it on his show on 4 June 2016. Oliver was raised in the Church of England. In an interview with Terry Gross, he said his Anglicanism lapsed when he was aged 12 because of the death of a school friend and an uncle, and a feeling of not having received any useful answers from his church.

Political views

Oliver was opposed to Brexit, making multiple pieces about it and calling it "painful, it's pointless, and most of you didn't even agree to run it; you were just signed up by your dumbest friend". He also found it "sad" to consider that his children with British citizenship would not experience the benefits of the EU. He has also been particularly critical of the British Conservative Party, and of Boris Johnson when he was Prime Minister of the UK. In November 2022, he made a piece criticising the British monarchy, stating "we've long evolved past needing them". ..... Oliver is reportedly in favour of Britain becoming a Republic. Oliver declined an Order of the British Empire. On a September 2022 edition of Late Night with Seth Meyers, he said he declined the award because he didn't want his name being associated with the words "British Empire", and expressed distaste for the British class system.

In American politics, Oliver favoured Joe Biden for president in the 2020 election, later celebrating his victory over Donald Trump. He warned that "more than 70 million people voted for [Trump] and everything he said and stands for, and that is something we are going to have to reckon with for the foreseeable future". Oliver has been strongly critical of Trump and the Republican Party on Last Week Tonight. Politico argued that Oliver criticised liberal politicians as much as those on the right.

..... He has expressed opposition to the death penalty and lethal injections, solitary confinement, and US drone strikes.

Legacy

John Oliver Koala Chlamydia Ward

In May 2018, Australian actor Russell Crowe donated approximately $80,000 to the Australia Zoo wildlife hospital for the creation and naming of "The John Oliver Koala Chlamydia Ward". Oliver had previously bought several movie props screen-used by Crowe in an auction, including his jockstrap from the movie Cinderella Man, which he sent to the last Alaskan Blockbuster Video store for exhibition. Crowe then donated the proceeds from the auction towards the establishment of the Chlamydia Ward named after Oliver, calling it "a cool way" to honour him. Covering the story on his show, Oliver admitted admiration for the gag: "Well played Russell Crowe. Well played indeed. That may honestly be the greatest thing I've ever seen." Crowe visited the ward in early 2020, posing with the nameplate bearing Oliver's name.

John Oliver Memorial Sewer Plant

Sign at the John Oliver Memorial Sewer Plant

In August 2020, Danbury, Connecticut mayor Mark Boughton announced in a Facebook video his intention to rename the Danbury Water Pollution Control Plant as the "John Oliver Memorial Sewer Plant" as a comedic symbol of his displeasure at Oliver's hyperbolic insult to the city during a segment concerning alleged racial disparities in a jury selection process. After reporting that Connecticut jury rolls had excluded two entire towns, Oliver said, "If you're going to forget a town in Connecticut, why not forget Danbury?" Oliver then humorously offered to "thrash" the entire town, including its children.

As a response to mayor Boughton's sardonic video, Oliver embraced the idea enthusiastically, promising to donate $55,000 to Danbury's charities if the town renamed the sewage plant after him.

After the city council voted 18–1 in favour of naming the plant after him, Oliver secretly visited Danbury on 8 October 2020 to attend the unveiling ceremony in person, wearing a Hazmat suit. Mayor Boughton had made Oliver's personal attendance a condition for the renaming, and Oliver complied, revealing footage of his trip on Last Week Tonight the following week.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

Oliver won three Primetime Emmy Awards, one WGA Award, and one Grammy Award for his work at The Daily Show. For Last Week Tonight, he has received sixteen Emmy Awards, two Peabody Awards, eight PGA Awards, and six WGA Awards. Oliver has also received nominations for his writing on the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear and for hosting Last Week Tonight. In 2021, Oliver received the Great Immigrants Award from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

See also

In Spanish: John Oliver para niños In Spanish: John Oliver para niños