Ben Elton Bio | Wiki
Ben Elton is an English comedian, actor, author, playwright, lyricist, and director. He served as part of London’s alternative comedy movement of the 1980s.
Later, Ben became a writer on the sitcoms The Young Ones and Blackadder, as well as continuing as a stand-up comedian on stage and television. His style in the 1980s was left-wing political satire.
Since then he has published 17 novels and written the musicals The Beautiful Game, We Will Rock You, Tonight’s the Night, and Love Never Dies, the sequel to The Phantom of the Opera. His novels cover the dystopian, comedy, and crime genres.
Ben Elton Age
Ben was born on May 3, 1959, in Fitzrovia, London, United Kingdom. He is 63 years old.
Ben Elton Height
He is a man of average stature and stands at a height of 5 ft 7 in (Approx. 1.7 m).
Ben Elton Family
He was born at University College Hospital in Fitzrovia, London, to his parents Mary and Lewis Elton. Ben’s mother was an English teacher and his father was a physicist and educational researcher Professor. He is a nephew of the historian Sir Geoffrey Elton and a third cousin of singer Olivia Newton-John.
Ben’s father is from a German-Jewish family and his mother, who was raised in the Church of England, is of English background. He grew up in Catford, south London, before moving with his family to Guildford, Surrey in 1968, where he became involved in amateur dramatics groups.
Ben Elton Wife
Ben is married to his beautiful wife Australian saxophone player, Sophie Gare. The couple first met when she was 19 in 1986 while Ben was working in Melbourne. One year later, they rekindled their friendship and they became a couple.
The two married in 1994 and have three children including twins. The couple decided to settle in North Fremantle, Western Australia and they also maintain a home in East Sussex, England. Ben holds dual British/Australian citizenship, the latter since 2004.
Ben Elton Education
He studied at Stillness Junior School and Godalming Grammar School in Surrey. Later, Ben left home at age 16 to study theatre at South Warwickshire College in Stratford-upon-Avon, where he took and passed A-levels in English, History, and Theatre Studies.
In 1977 he went to study Drama at the University of Manchester, where he met Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson, and in 1980 he graduated with upper second-class honors.
Ben Elton Meltdown | Books
Ben has authored 16 novels since 1989, the first four published by Simon and Schuster, and the rest by Transworld.
Stark (1989)
Gridlock (1991)
This Other Eden (1993)
Popcorn (1996)
Blast from the Past (1998)
Inconceivable (1999)
Dead Famous (2001)
High Society (2002)
Past Mortem (2004)
The First Casualty (2005)
Chart Throb (2006)
Blind Faith (2007)
Meltdown (2010)
Two Brothers (2012)
Time and Time Again (2014)
Identity Crisis (2019)
Ben Elton Stark
While in bit parts in his own TV series, Ben began professional film acting as CD in Stark, a 1993 British-Australian television serial, based on the bestselling 1989 novel Stark by comedian Ben Elton. The three-episode series, directed by Nadia Tass, was an international coproduction between the British Broadcasting Corporation and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It starred Ben Elton and Jacqueline McKenzie.
Ben Elton Live From Planet Earth
Ben worked on Ben Elton Live From Planet Earth, a live one-hour comedy show which debuted on 8 February 2011 on the Nine Network in Australia. Live from Planet Earth was axed by the Nine Network on Wednesday 23 February 2011 after three episodes, despite having six commissioned. The show’s final airing rated 200,000 viewers.
Ben Elton Popcorn
His 1996 novel titled Popcorn was adapted for the stage and went on a UK tour. It also toured Australia in a production starring Marcus Graham and Nadine Garner in its Eastern-States seasons. Popcorn won the TMA Barclays Theatre Award for new play and the Olivier Award for comedy. The Paris production of Popcorn ran for a year and was nominated for seven Molière awards.
Ben Elton Blind Faith
Blind Faith is an English dystopian novel by Ben, and published in 2007. The story takes place in London approximately 100 years after many parts of the Earth have been subjected to rising water due to global warming.
Ben Elton Friday Night Live
Ben returned to live British television on Channel 4 on 21 October 2022 as “Ringmaster” Host to a satirical 90 minute stand up comedy night, celebrating the channel’s 40th anniversary of the founding of Channel 4 and as part of their Truth and Dare season.
Speaking to Adrian Chiles on BBC Radio 5 on broadcast day, Elton readily admitted that because of the fluid UK political situation, “I honestly haven’t written the first five minutes yet!”.
Ben Elton Queen
Ben went on to write compilation shows featuring popular songs from the catalogues of pop/rock artists. The first was the musical We Will Rock You with music by Queen. Despite unfavourable early reaction, this was successful in the West End and won the 2003 Theatregoers’ Choice Award for Best New Musical.
It has since opened in the US, Australia, Russia, Spain, South Africa, Japan, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Canada, and The Netherlands. Ben also directed the 10th Anniversary Arena tour, in 2013. The musical ran for 12 years in London.
Ben Elton Net Worth
He earns his wealth from his career, therefore, he has amassed a fortune over the years. Ben’s estimated net worth is $3 million.
Who Is Ben Elton
He is a 63-year-old English comedian, actor, author, playwright, lyricist, and director. He served as part of London’s alternative comedy movement of the 1980s. Ben is married to his beautiful wife Australian saxophone player, Sophie Gare.