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Born Graham
Walker on the 4th April 1963, to a Protestant family in a
98% Catholic area, he was raised in County Cork, Ireland.
His father, Billy, was a Guinness salesman (so that's
where that frothy smile comes from!), while his mother,
Rhoda, was a leading figure in the local Mother's Union.
  Hoping
to become a journalist, but failing to get a place at the
journalism school, he went to University College, Cork, to
study English and French. Becoming disillusioned
within the first year, he dropped out and travelled
to America to become a hippie. He was (an immature)
20 years old when he arrived in San Francisco amidst a Gay
Pride Celebration. He joined a commune where they grew
their own food and made their own clothes. It was
here that he decided he would like to become a serious
actor. Travelling to London, he secured a place at
the Central School of Speech and Drama. Discovering
that Equity already had a Graham Walker, he changed his
name to Norton, after his great-grandmother's maiden name.
 Finding
precious little acting work, he supported himself working
as a waiter or barman until his late twenties. Renowned
for his camp bitchy way with customers, he was convinced
to turn towards comedy, a vein he had always considered 'a
cop-out'.
The Eagle pub in
Clerkenwell, where Graham worked, had a popular upstairs
comedy room. It was here that he launched himself as
a stand-up comic, calling himself 'The Karen Carpenter Bar
and Grill' and 'Mother Teresa of Calcutta's Grand Farewell
Tour'. Before long, the bookings just rolled in.
Following this success, he took his show on to the
Edinburgh Festival fringe, doing his one-man shows there
from 1992 - 1997. His name began to be nationally
known, and in 1997 he was nominated for a Perrier award.
 1997
was Graham's year. He had a minor, but
unforgettable, role as the hyperactive Father Noel in the
hit sitcom series, Father Ted. After Channel 5
signed him up, he stood in for chat show anchor man, Jack
Docherty, when he went on holiday. This
resulted in him winning Best Newcomer at the British
Comedy Awards that year, embarrassingly the award that
Jack Docherty was expecting to win. Channel 5 gave
him his first series, 'Bring Me The Head of Light
Entertainment'. Channel 4 offered Graham his own
show. The mega-successful 'So Graham Norton' was born.
Other Awards
that Graham has won include: A Comedy Award, for the time
he stood in for Gay Byrne on Ireland's 'Late, Late Show';
Gay Entertainer of The Year (1999 Gaytime TV Awards);
Bafta Award for Best Entertainment performance (2000, 'So
Graham Norton' - Ch 4); Bafta Award for Best Entertainment
performance (2001, 'So Graham Norton' - Ch 4) - for the
second year running; Best Entertainment Programme or
Series Award, 2001.
As
well as Best TV Presenter awards from the Royal Television
Society Award, the Broadcasting Press Guild, the
Television and Radio Industries Club, the Variety Club and
the British Comedy Awards, Norton is the proud current
holder of the Rear (Butt) of the Year Award. He has also
topped two polls of personalities that people would most
like to invite to dinner or to go on vacation with.
In 2001, the BBC
offered Graham a £5 million deal. Fearing that
'Auntie Beeb' would want to tame him, he refused. Ch
4, not wishing to lose him, gave him a two year extension
to his contract, reputedly for a massive £6 million. The
new 'V Graham Norton' saw Graham's chat show on the
airwaves 5 nights a week.
Graham Norton is currently single, living in a house
that he previously shared with his long term boyfriend
Scott Michaels, in Bow, in London’s East End. The couple
broke up in January 2001, allegedly due to Graham's hectic
work schedule. They had been an item since 1995.
Today, they remain good friends.
 Every
era has its Queen of the Queens of Camp. Great names
in the past have included Larry Grayson, and John Inman.
Now it is Graham's turn to wear the crown - and doesn't it
fit well! Graham Norton is the (oh, so slightly) camp,
cheeky little chappie who everybody loves, and one of the
nicest people in show business today.
The 1999 Graham
Norton Book, '20th Century Icons - Gay' with text by Pat
Reid, is still available from Amazon.co.uk. Click on
the cover for more info.
Visit: The 'So Graham Norton' website.
Buy the DVD online - click cover for info. |
