1. William Edgar Oddie was born on 7 July 1941 and is an English actor, artist, birder, comedian, conservationist, musician, songwriter, television presenter and writer.
55 Facts About Bill Oddie
1. 2.
Bill Oddie was a member of comedy trio The Goodies.
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Bill Oddie was born on 7 July 1941 in Rochdale, Lancashire, but moved to Birmingham at a young age.
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Bill Oddie was raised by his father, Harry Oddie, and grandmother, Emily.
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Bill Oddie's father was assistant chief accountant at the Midlands Electricity Board.
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Bill Oddie then studied English literature at Pembroke College, Cambridge.
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Meanwhile, still at Cambridge, Bill Oddie wrote scripts for and appeared briefly in TV's That Was the Week That Was.
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Bill Oddie appeared in Bernard Braden's television series On The Braden Beat in 1964.
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On television Bill Oddie was co-writer and performer in the comedy series Twice a Fortnight with Graeme Garden, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Jonathan Lynn.
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Together with Garden, Bill Oddie co-wrote many episodes of the television comedy series Doctor in the House, including most of the first season and all of the second season.
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Bill Oddie has occasionally appeared on the BBC Radio 4 panel game I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, on which Garden is and Brooke-Taylor was a regular panellist.
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In 1982 Garden and Bill Oddie wrote, but did not perform in, a six-part science-fiction sitcom called Astronauts for Central and ITV.
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Bill Oddie's first published work was an article about the birdlife of Birmingham's Bartley Reservoir in the West Midland Bird Club's 1962 Annual Report.
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Bill Oddie discussed bird-song recordings with Derek Jones in an August 1973 BBC Radio 4 programme called Sounds Natural.
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Bill Oddie has since hosted a number of successful nature programmes for the BBC, many produced by Stephen Moss, including:.
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Bill Oddie became president of the West Midland Bird Club in 1999, having been vice-president since 1991, and is a former member of the council of the RSPB.
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Bill Oddie is a President of the League Against Cruel Sports and a vice-president of the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers.
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Bill Oddie practised as a bird ringer but allowed his licence to lapse.
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In 2003, Bill Oddie set up a half-marathon to raise money for various wildlife charities in his birth town of Rochdale.
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In 2011, Bill Oddie featured as an investigator in Snares Uncovered: killers in the countryside.
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Bill Oddie wrote original music at Cambridge University for the Footlights and later wrote comic songs for I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again.
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Bill Oddie wrote a number of comic songs for The Goodies, most of which he performed.
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Bill Oddie played the drums and saxophone and appeared as Cousin Kevin in a production of The Who's rock opera Tommy by London Symphonic Orchestra and English Chamber Choir at the Rainbow Theatre, Finsbury Park, London, on 13 and 14 December 1973.
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Bill Oddie has contributed vocals to a Rick Wakeman album, Criminal Record.
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Bill Oddie recorded a single, "Superspike", with John Cleese and a group of UK athletes, billed the "Superspike Squad", to fund the latter's attendance at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.
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In 1986 Bill Oddie took part in the English National Opera production of the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera The Mikado, in which he appeared in the role of the Lord High Executioner, taking over the role from Eric Idle.
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In 2007, Bill Oddie appeared on the BBC series Play It Again.
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Bill Oddie succeeds in the target of playing lead guitar for his daughter Rosie's band at her 21st birthday party and even manages to impress his erstwhile teacher.
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Bill Oddie appeared as the hapless window cleaner in the Eric Sykes' comedy story The Plank in 1967.
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Bill Oddie presented the live children's Saturday morning entertainment show Saturday Banana during the late 1970s.
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Bill Oddie voiced the chimney sweep in the 1996 film The Willows in Winter.
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Bill Oddie was the compere of a daytime BBC gameshow History Hunt ; and has appeared in the Doctor Who audio drama Doctor Who and the Pirates.
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Bill Oddie gave opinions on 100 greatest cartoons on Channel 4 that year, talking about Tom and Jerry and cartoon incidents such as the "Asses of Fire skit" in South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut.
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In 2006, Bill Oddie appeared in the BBC show Never Mind the Buzzcocks, and appeared on the topical quiz show 8 out of 10 Cats.
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One of the artists, Mark Roscoe, later revealed a dislike of Bill Oddie, claiming to have included hidden insults in his work.
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Bill Oddie hosted the genealogy-based series My Famous Family, broadcast on UKTV History in 2007.
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In 2008, Bill Oddie was a guest on Jamie Oliver's television special Jamie's Fowl Dinners, talking about free-range chickens.
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In February 2015, Bill Oddie appeared in The Keith Lemon Sketch Show as the narrator of the sketch Ed Sheeran Watch.
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Bill Oddie appeared as a contestant on a celebrity edition of Fifteen to One in August 2015 and the following month he appeared on Through the Keyhole.
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Bill Oddie has appeared three times on the programme Pointless Celebrities, the most recent appearance being in 2016.
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Bill Oddie made personal appearances on both The Project and Adam Hills Tonight TV shows during the tour; he filmed a guest-programming spot for the ABC-TV's all-night music video show Rage.
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In 1966, Bill Oddie married Jeanne Hart, and from this marriage he has two daughters, one of whom is the actress Kate Hardie.
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Rosie Bill Oddie is a musician, using the name Rosie Bones.
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Bill Oddie has experienced depression for most of his life before being diagnosed with clinical depression in 2001.
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Bill Oddie sometimes goes into hospital or takes a break or has a change of scenery to recharge his batteries.
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Bill Oddie said that he was dealing with depression and bipolar disorder, describing the period as "probably the worst 12 months of my life".
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Bill Oddie stated that he was planning to meet BBC executives to discuss his return to television work.
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Bill Oddie's illness meant that Oddie did not appear in the 2009 and 2010 series of Springwatch, although he made a guest appearance in the penultimate episode of the latter.
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Bill Oddie subsequently said he was dismissed from Springwatch and that this had caused the depressive illness.
50.
Bill Oddie presented the BBC Radio 4 Appeal programme on 10 August 2014 on behalf of the charity Bipolar UK.
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Bill Oddie revealed that as a consequence of his bipolar disorder he had attempted suicide during one of his depressive episodes.
52.
In 2002, Bill Oddie became the third person to decline to appear on This Is Your Life but changed his mind a few hours later.
53.
On 16 October 2003 Bill Oddie was made an OBE for his service to wildlife conservation in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
54.
Bill Oddie wore a camouflage shirt and crumpled jacket to receive his medal.
55.
Bill Oddie has been referenced, often humorously, by the hosts of Top Gear.