Wikipedia

Charlie Pickering

Charlie Pickering (born 29 August 1977)[1] is an Australian comedian, television and radio presenter, author and producer.

Charlie Pickering
Pickering at GQ Australia Men of the Year Awards in 2011
Born (1977-08-29) 29 August 1977 (age 47)
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
NationalityAustralian
Occupations
  • Comedian
  • television presenter
  • radio presenter
  • author
  • producer
Years active2002–present
TelevisionThe Weekly with Charlie Pickering
Spouse
​
(m. 2013)​
Children1
Websitecharliepickering.com

Pickering currently hosts The Weekly with Charlie Pickering, a weekly news satire television show on the ABC, as well as its yearly spin-off special The Yearly with Charlie Pickering, co-host of Tomorrow Tonight with Annabel Crabb and Adam Liaw.

He is known as a former co-host on the current affairs program The Project, Friday host of Breakfast on ABC Radio Melbourne and regularly appeared on the game show Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation as the "Generation X" team captain.

Career

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Early career

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After leaving his job as a lawyer, Pickering appeared in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) in 2002[2] with Michael Chamberlin in Boiling Point,[3] a show which earned them the Piece of Wood Award.[4] Prior to this, Pickering had appeared with the sketch comedy group Enter the Datsun in the MICF in 1998, 1999 and 2002.[5] In 2003, Pickering and Chamberlin teamed up again in Boiling Point 2,[6] the pair also appearing the same year with fellow comedian Terri Psiakis in Equal Third.[7] In 2004, he appeared in Revolver.[8] In 2005, Pickering launched Betterman at the MICF, a show he went on to tour in New Zealand[6] where he won the Best International Act in the New Zealand Comedy Guild Awards, and also at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival where he was nominated for the Perrier Award's Best Newcomer. In 2006 he presented his show Auto at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, receiving a nomination for the Barry Award. For the April 2013 Melbourne International Comedy festival, he co-hosted with Waleed Aly a series of shows titled The World's Problems Solved.[9]

Television

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In 2008, Pickering co-hosted a show with Michael Chamberlin on The Comedy Channel called The Mansion. The series ran for 13 episodes.[10] Pickering hosted season 3 of Channel V's travelling game show, Cash Cab.[1] From 2009 to 2012, he was a team captain on Network Ten's quiz show Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation, representing Generation X.[11][12]

In July 2009, he became a co-host on Network Ten's infotainment program, The Project (originally The 7PM Project), with Carrie Bickmore and Dave Hughes.[13] On 12 March 2014, Pickering announced that he was leaving The Project to "find new challenges",[14] and in April 2015 he started hosting a weekly comedy/news satire program on ABC entitled The Weekly with Charlie Pickering.[15] In 2018, Charlie hosted Tomorrow Tonight on the ABC with Annabel Crabb.[16]

Other television appearances include Rove Live, The Glass House, Today, Stand Up! (ABC), The 2006 Melbourne International Comedy Festival Gala (Network Ten), @Seven, The Project, Hughesy, We Have a Problem, Show Me the Movie!, Celebrity Name Game and Would I Lie to You? Australia.

Radio

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Pickering has also worked in Australian radio, including youth radio station Triple J[7] from 2001 to 2003. He has been a pundit on Fighting Talk on BBC Radio 5 Live in 2006 and 2007.

In December 2022, ABC announced that Pickering will host Breakfast on ABC Radio Melbourne on Friday from January 2023.[17][18] He remained in the position until December 2023 as it was announced that Sammy J will return to hosting Breakfast five days a week.[19]

Literature

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Pickering published his first book, Impractical Jokes, in 2010.[20]

Personal life

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Pickering was born in Melbourne and educated at St Leonard's College, Brighton Grammar School[21] and Monash University where he graduated with Bachelor of Arts (American History) and Bachelor of Laws degrees.

Pickering is married to Sarah Krasnostein and they have two children.[22][23] He converted to Judaism in 2013.[21]

Political views

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As co-host of Channel Ten's The Project, Pickering claimed to have voted Liberal "once".[24] Pickering has hosted the ABC political and cultural commentary program The Weekly with Charlie Pickering since 2015. New Matilda describes the program as "a satirical news program with a progressive bent".[25] On the program, Pickering has used his editorials to support halal certification and gay marriage, and to speak out against the detention of asylum seekers.[26][27][25] He has been a strong critic of the Catholic Church. In June 2018 he angrily denounced the Catholic seal of the confessional.[28] In March 2019, he denounced and ridiculed people who questioned the guilt of Cardinal George Pell in a segment of his program he called "The Pedo Files".[29] Pell's conviction was overturned by the High Court in April 2020.[30]

Bibliography

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  • Pickering, Charlie. Impractical Jokes, Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 2010, ISBN 9781741757262

References

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  1. ^ a b "Today's Birthday Charlie Pickering". Shepparton News. 29 August 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2019 – via Press Reader.
  2. ^ Smith, Rohan (24 April 2015). "These people are funnier AND smarter than you". NewsComAu. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  3. ^ "Sharp satire stays on the boil". The Age. 17 April 2002. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  4. ^ "Melbourne International Comedy Festival". Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  5. ^ "AusStage". www.ausstage.edu.au. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  6. ^ a b Low, Lenny Ann (24 March 2006). "Charlie Pickering: Betterman". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  7. ^ a b "Radio stars on stage". The Age. 3 April 2003. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  8. ^ "Trip through time with a young love". The Age. 1 April 2004. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  9. ^ Harford, Sonia (1 April 2013). "World peace? It's in the to-do tank". The Age. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  10. ^ "Big house hilarity". The Age. 19 June 2008. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  11. ^ Blackiston, Hannah (23 April 2019). "Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation to return May 1". Mumbrella. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  12. ^ "Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation is back — with a controversial change". NewsComAu. 11 October 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  13. ^ "Ten on its new daily show: 'It's not The Daily Show'". Mumbrella. 14 June 2009. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  14. ^ Davidson, Helen (12 March 2014). "Charlie Pickering quits The Project". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  15. ^ Kalina, Paul (15 April 2015). "The Project: Charlie Pickering reveals internal fighting behind exit". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  16. ^ "Charlie Pickering - Token Artists Management". Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  17. ^ "Charlie Pickering to present Friday Breakfast on ABC Radio Melbourne". ABC News. 8 December 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  18. ^ Patterson, Sarah (8 December 2022). "Charlie Pickering joins Sammy J on ABC Radio Melbourne Breakfast in 2023". Radio Today. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  19. ^ Jaspan, Calum (5 December 2023). "Ali Moore lands full-time Drive gig as ABC Melbourne locks in 2024 line-up". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  20. ^ Ziffer, Daniel (16 April 2007). "Charlie Pickering: Impractical Jokes". The Age. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  21. ^ a b Safran, John (9 April 2015). "Chasing Charlie Pickering". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  22. ^ "Charlie Pickering announces he is leaving The Project". News.com.au. News Corporation. 12 March 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  23. ^ "Charlie Pickering: From chasing the corner office to taking centre stage". ABC News Australia. 8 August 2023. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  24. ^ Charlie Pickering says goodbye to Channel Ten's The Project as co-host Carrie Bickmore weeps Archived 23 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine; April 8, 2014
  25. ^ a b To Our Leaders The Biggest Threat Isn't Boats, It's Us: Charlie Pickering Takes On Australia's Refugee Policy; newmatilda.com; August 26, 2018
  26. ^ Charlie Pickering just obliterated Tony Abbott’s opposition to same-sex marriage; www.mamamia.com; May 28, 2015
  27. ^ Charlie Pickering Takes On Government Secrecy Surrounding Offshore Detention; www.pedestrian.tv; August 27, 2018
  28. ^ Charlie Pickering skewers Catholic Church on TV; news.com.au; June 21, 2018
  29. ^ Cardinal George Pell sentenced; The Weekly with Charlie Pickering: Episode 1, 2019
  30. ^ George Pell Not Guilty, High Court Finds; Sydney Criminal Lawyers; 7/4/2020
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