Simon Donald

simondonald.com

 

Simon Donald co-founded the publishing sensation of the 1980s, Viz Comic, writing and drawing on its pages for 24 years, finally leaving in 2003. After working as a TV presenter he moved into stand-up comedy in 2008, releasing his highly acclaimed autobiography in 2010 and his first live comedy DVD in 2011.

He set up the adult comic Viz in 1979 with his brother Chris in a bedroom in the family home in Newcastle. His most famous creation for it is Sid the Sexist.
Biography

Alongside his work on Viz, he also studied at Newcastle’s People’s Theatre, acting in several productions and working as assistant stage manager for the RSC on their People’s Theatre visit in 1977. He also formed a comedy rock band and from1981 began to appear on television as a social commentator.

He became a regular on TV debates and later established himself as one of British television’s most sought-after pundits after the great success of the BBC’s I Love the 1970s, working on Channel 4’s 100 Greatest, Channel 5’s Top Ten, BBC 1’s One Show and Sky One’s Football Years.

He presented a highly successful regional panel show ‘The Regionnaires’, a six part north-east-centric show on ITV Tyne Tees, which he co-wrote with his Viz partner Alex Collier.

In September 2005 he started performing as a stand-up comedian, becoming full-time in 2008.

His autobiography Him Off the Viz was released in 2010 through Tonto Books to a host of 5-star reviews. It has a 100% 5-star rating on Amazon.

His first DVD ‘Simon Donald – Comic to Comic’ was released through Go Faster Stripe in August 2011, featuring his first live character show, plus his biographical story of the birth of Viz.

August 2011 also saw Simon’s second solo show at the Edinburgh Fringe. ‘Simon Donald’s Dirty Great Fringepiece’ at The Stand Comedy Club.

Simon is currently touring the UK comedy circuit and writing his next Fringe show for 2012.
Quotes

‘Hugely entertaining’

Chortle