Biographic - Sunday November 4, 2018 Comic Strip Licensing and Permissions

Transcript

Born in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England, on January 6, 1955, Rowan Atkinson attended Cathedral Christner school in Durham at the same time as future British prime minister Tony Blair, and later earned an Oxford University Degree in Electrical engineering. He was still in school when he first attracted attention for his comedy performances and began to collaborate with screenwriter Richard Curtis- as an association that has continued throughout their careers. Following a string of BBC Radio comedy shows, Rowan found fame in the quickfire sketch show "Not The Nine o'clock News" which ran on BBC TV from 1979 until 1982. "Blackadder" debuted in 1983, the first series of the historical sitcom was set in the middle ages. Subsequent series featured Blackadder's descendants and were set in the Elizabethan and regency periods, with the fourth series set in the trenches of the first world war. If "Blackadder" established Atkinson as a major star in the U.K his next creation- the hapless, bumbling "Mr. Bean" made him a star the world over! The show was sold in 245 territories worldwide and spawned an animated cartoon series and two feature films. He also starred in the police sitcom "The Thin Blue Line." Big-screen creditsranged from the unofficial James Bond movie "Never Say Never Again" through such rom-coms as "Four Weddings And A Funeral." and "Love Actually" to the animated smash hit "The Lion King." 2013. he was appointed a CBE- a commander of the British Empire- by Queen Elizabeth II. Since 2016, he has played the lead in a series of TV films featured the french detective "Maigret." His latest movie, "Johnny English Strikes Again," sees him play the clueless eponymous British spy for the third time.

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