Ian Stone was
born in North West London, the firstborn son of an average Jewish family.
Luckily, the Pharaohs reign was over so he survived. From an early age he was
torn between pleasing his parents and having fun. Finally in 1991, fun won. He
took his girlfriend's advice and stepped onto a stage. The world had waited long
enough. Today, Ian is one of the most sought after comedians on the comedy
scene. Not because of the amount of money he owes but because, in the words of
Time Out. 'He looks and sounds very good indeed'
1996 saw him venture northwards to The Edinburgh Festival with his first solo
show, 'The Cheek of Ian Stone'. Invitations followed to Comedy Festivals in
Australia, Hong Kong, Holland, France, Ireland and Germany (not many Jewish
comedians have performed there in the last fifty years). If that wasn't enough,
in 1998 he also performed to 55,000 people in 40 days, (more than Wimbledon) on
tour with Ardal O'Hanlon and Alan Davies.
In 1998, TV and radio beckoned. Since then, he's appeared on The Stand-Up Show
(BBC 1), Saturday Live (ITV), The Comedy Store (C5), Live at Jongleurs (ITV),
Good Stuff (ITV), The 11 o'clock show (Ch4), as well as 'Radio 1 Live' and 'Four
at the Store'. He's also a regular panellist on Radio 5's The Treatment.
He joined BBC GLR in 1998 to host his own chat show "The Big Schmooze", where
he's interviewed the likes of Jeremy Issacs, Terry Hall, Anthony Sher and Esther
Rantzen who, live on air, proposed marriage to his long-term girlfriend on his
behalf. An answer has not as yet been forthcoming. He's presented most of the
regular daytime and evening shows as well as their 1999 Notting Hill Carnival
coverage and a one-off special celebrating twenty years of The Comedy Store. He
can also be seen bickering with Alan Davies in a major BBC 1 documentary series
about stand-up comedy.
Ian's Edinburgh Festival show 'A Little Piece of Kike' caused offence to the
festival organisers last year to the extent that they banned the word 'Kike'
from the official Fringe Programme. Ian didn't realise that by using the word he
would be treading on the toes of political correctness: "I saw a description of
it. It said a low-class, ill-mannered Jew and I thought, that's me!"
Ian now lives in North London with his partner, child and two cats and would
like to state publicly that Arsenal's poor disciplinary record is a direct
result of pro-Manchester United bias in the media.
"...funnier than a shopful of remaindered David Baddiel novels." - The
Independent
"...like a cross between Tony Hancock and Frankie Howerd." - The List
"Stone is probably better than we deserve. Ultimately, it is the sheer quantity
of funny material that really impresses." - The List.
Ian Stone
