Alexei David Sayle was born on 7 August 1952 and is an English actor, author, stand-up comedian, television presenter and former recording artist.
36 Facts About Alexei Sayle
2.
Alexei Sayle was a leading figure in the British alternative comedy movement in the 1980s.
3.
Alexei Sayle was voted the 18th greatest stand-up comic of all time on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-ups in 2007.
4.
Alexei Sayle's act is known for its cynicism and political awareness, as well as physical comedy.
5.
Alexei Sayle's mother was of Lithuanian Jewish descent, and some members of his family were devout Jews.
6.
Alexei Sayle attended Garnett College in Roehampton, a training college for teachers in further education.
7.
In 1980, comedy producer Martin Lewis saw Alexei Sayle perform at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and became his manager.
8.
Alexei Sayle appeared in the stage show, film and comedy album of The Secret Policeman's Other Ball.
9.
Alexei Sayle's material covered a broad range of topics, but one of his favourite subjects remained politics.
10.
In 1988 Alexei Sayle played the role of Trinculo the King's jester in Shakespeare's The Tempest, directed by Jonathan Miller at the Old Vic theatre in London.
11.
Alexei Sayle completed a full UK stand-up tour in October and November 2012 and a sixteen-night residency at the Soho Theatre in January and February 2013, where he performed new material.
12.
Alexei Sayle played a further ten nights at the Soho Theatre in April 2013.
13.
Alexei Sayle starred in two series of Lenin of the Rovers, a 1988 comedy about Britain's first communist football team.
14.
Alexei Sayle has since contributed to many other radio shows, including writing the five-part sitcom series, Sorry About Last Night, in which he played the leading role.
15.
Alexei Sayle left nine weeks into the show's run to tour Australia with the Comic Strip.
16.
In 1989, Alexei Sayle was awarded an International Emmy for Stuff.
17.
In conversation with Mark Thomas on BBC Radio 4's informal chat-show Chain Reaction, Alexei Sayle revealed that the first he knew of the award was when he watched Channel 4 News and saw, to his amazement, Benny Hill collecting the award on his behalf.
18.
In 1990, Alexei Sayle had a fatwa proclaimed against him by a Muslim cleric from Syria after a joke on his BBC comedy show Stuff, which has never been withdrawn.
19.
Alexei Sayle was signed in 1992 to a seven-year contract to play an Eastern European chef as a regular character on the American sitcom The Golden Palace, the sequel to The Golden Girls, but was fired and replaced by Cheech Marin before the pilot was filmed.
20.
Alexei Sayle stated in the programmes that on first hearing that Liverpool was to be awarded the European Capital of Culture, he received much criticism for describing the city as "philistine".
21.
Alexei Sayle now feels that he does not know whether or not his original statement was true but as a result of making the series he does now consider Liverpool to be his home, and he has vowed to go back there more often in the future.
22.
Alexei Sayle narrated the Public information film Moon Lighters about two moon creatures, Biblock and Hoblock and the dangers of lighters.
23.
Alexei Sayle replaced Rolf Harris as the narrator for the Nick Jr.
24.
Episodes featuring Alexei Sayle's narration commenced broadcasting on 22 July 2013.
25.
Alexei Sayle appeared in the 1992 Carry On film, Carry On Columbus along with other modern comedians, including Comic Strip founder Peter Richardson, as well as surviving members of the original Carry On team.
26.
Alexei Sayle has released five comedy singles with full musical backing and one live recording from the Comedy Store in London 1981.
27.
Alexei Sayle has written two short story collections, five novels, including a graphic novel and a radio series spin-off book, as well as columns for various publications.
28.
Alexei Sayle was one of eight contributory authors to the BBC Three competition End of Story, in which members of the public completed the second half of stories written by established authors.
29.
The winning entry to Alexei Sayle's story, Imitating Katherine Walker, was written by freelance writer Arthur Allan.
30.
Alexei Sayle launched a YouTube channel, showcasing videos of various bike rides.
31.
Alexei Sayle lives in Bloomsbury in central London and is a keen cyclist.
32.
Alexei Sayle owns a house near Granada, in southern Spain.
33.
Around the age of 15, Alexei Sayle decided to join the Young Communist League, but only went to a few meetings.
34.
Alexei Sayle is a critic of fox hunting and was among more than 20 high-profile people who signed a letter to Members of Parliament in 2015 to oppose Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron's plan to amend the Hunting Act 2004.
35.
In November 2019, along with other public figures, Alexei Sayle signed a letter supporting Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn describing him as "a beacon of hope in the struggle against emergent far-right nationalism, xenophobia and racism in much of the democratic world" and endorsed him in the 2019 UK general election.
36.
In May 2021, Conservative MP Matthew Offord wrote to the BBC's Director General urging, unsuccessfully, that the planned broadcast of Desert Island Discs on 23 May featuring Alexei Sayle be halted on the basis that every broadcaster "should be wary of giving a platform to anyone who is seen to be 'excusing' antisemitism".