Arthur Smith
Arthur Smith
among appalled hardest job people slightly
When they meet a stand-up comic, people sometimes remark: 'That must be the hardest job in the world.' Among comedians, only Freddie Starr is not embarrassed and slightly appalled by this remark.
came eight laughed offered school trying version wrote
When I was eight or nine, I wrote a new version of 'Peter Pan' for the school play. They didn't use it - I imagine it was unperformable - but as recompense for not doing my script, I was offered any role, and instinctively went for Captain Hook. I came on trying to be terrifying, but everyone laughed at me.
ended later lunch point unless week
I couldn't really see the point of having lunch unless it started at one and ended a week later in Monte Carlo.
live-life writing elderly
If you want to write something of length, however modern and radical, you must live the life of an elderly gentleman of the 1950s.
eyebrows
My eyebrows could do with a trim.
awards listening radio
Listening to Chris Moyles on Radio 1 is the most miserable thing any human being can do, but attending awards ceremonies isn't far behind.
awards gigs knows
It's worth turning up to an awards gig if you know you've won one but, since you never do know, it's not worth it.
men leather-jackets age
It was Julie Burchill who decreed that, beyond a certain age, a man should not be seen in a leather jacket.
interesting people perception
It is more interesting to be compared to someone famous, because it lets you gauge what perceptions people have about your appearance.
age may comedy
Comedy ages quicker than tragedy, to the extent that we can't know if the 10 commandments may originally have been 10 hilarious one-liners.
children hero generations
Every generation of children has its private hero.
knows tubes
I abhor nothing more than bumping into someone I know on the Tube.
believe sister-in-law narrative
My sister-in-law believes that few narratives are so tightly constructed that you can't skip boring bits and still keep abreast of what's going on.
funny laughter eight
Ninety-eight per cent of laughter is nothing to do with jokes, which do not deserve to bear the weight of all the funny stuff in the world.