37 Facts About Sir Lenny Henry

Sir Lenworth George Henry was born on 29 August 1958 and is a British actor, comedian, singer, television presenter and writer.

Sir Lenny Henry was the most prominent black British comedian of the time and much of his material served to celebrate and parody his African-Caribbean roots.

Sir Lenny Henry appears in the Amazon Prime series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

The fifth of seven children, Sir Lenny Henry was the first child of the family to be born in the United Kingdom.

In July 2009, Lenny Henry stated he was contractually obligated to perform and regretted his part in the show, telling The Times in 2015 that his appearance on the show led to a profound "wormhole of depression", and he regretted his family not intervening.

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In 1976, Sir Lenny Henry appeared with Norman Beaton in LWT's sitcom The Fosters, Britain's first comedy series featuring a predominantly black cast.

In 1980, Sir Lenny Henry performed in Summer Season in Blackpool with Cannon and Ball.

Sir Lenny Henry has since said that "the summer season was the first time [he] felt that [his] act had received a proper response from an audience".

Sir Lenny Henry's encouraged him to move over to the fledgling alternative comedy scene, where he established a career as a stand-up comedy performer and character comedian.

Sir Lenny Henry introduced characters who both mocked and celebrated African Caribbean British culture, such as Brixton pirate radio disc jockey DJ Delbert Wilkins.

Sir Lenny Henry made a guest appearance in the final episode of The Young Ones as The Postman, in 1984.

The Lenny Henry Show ran periodically for a further 19 years in various incarnations.

Sir Lenny Henry was co-creator with Neil Gaiman and producer of the 1996 BBC drama serial Neverwhere.

In 2003, Sir Lenny Henry was listed in The Observer as one of the fifty funniest acts in British comedy.

Sir Lenny Henry was the voice of the British speaking clock for two weeks in March 2003 in aid of Comic Relief.

Sir Lenny Henry appeared alongside performers such as Bill Bailey, Jasper Carrott, Bonnie Tyler, Bobby Davro and the Lord of the Dance troupe.

Sir Lenny Henry did the voice of Dark Nebula in Kirby: Squeak Squad.

On 16 March 2007, Sir Lenny Henry made a cameo appearance as himself in a sketch with Catherine Tate, who appeared in the guise of her character Geordie Georgie from The Catherine Tate Show.

On 16 June 2007 Sir Lenny Henry appeared with Chris Tarrant and Sally James to present a 25th Anniversary episode of Tiswas.

In October 2009, Henry reprised his role of Deakus to feature in comedy shorts about story writing alongside Nina Wadia, Tara Palmer Tomkinson and Stephen K Amos.

Sir Lenny Henry offers his own writing tips and amusing anecdotes in the writing tips video clip on BBC raw words – story writing.

In 2010, Sir Lenny Henry produced and starred in a five-part web series for the BBC Comedy website, Conversations with my Wife, about a fictional couple conversing over Skype while the wife is away on business leaving the husband to hold the fort at home.

In 2011, Sir Lenny Henry presented a Saturday night magic series called The Magicians on BBC One.

In 2014, Sir Lenny Henry appeared in and produced a play based on his radio show Rudy's Rare Records, which played at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre before moving on to a run in London.

In December 2020, Sir Lenny Henry was announced as a cast member of Amazon Prime Video's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

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In 2021, Sir Lenny Henry appeared as a contestant on the second series of The Masked Singer, masked as "The Blob".

In 2022, Sir Lenny Henry was cast in The Sandman as the voice of Martin Tenbones, a magical, doglike creature who appears in the dreams of another character called Barbie.

In March 2021, Sir Lenny Henry wrote an open letter urging everyone to get COVID-19 vaccination.

In November 2011, Sir Lenny Henry made his debut at the Royal National Theatre in London in Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors, directed by Dominic Cooke, in which he played the character of Antipholus of Syracuse.

Sir Lenny Henry worked with a group of musicians including Jakko Jakszyk, lead singer of King Crimson, to produce the album New Millennium Blues.

On 6 April 2010, French and Sir Lenny Henry announced they were "amicably" separating after 25 years of marriage.

Since 2012, Sir Lenny Henry has been in a relationship with theatre producer and casting director Lisa Makin.

Sir Lenny Henry subsequently studied at the latter institution for a doctorate on the role of black people in the media.

Sir Lenny Henry received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the British Comedy Awards in 2003.

Sir Lenny Henry was knighted in the Queen's 2015 Birthday Honours for services to drama and charity.

In July 2016, Sir Lenny Henry became the chancellor of Birmingham City University citing his passion to give life changing opportunities to young people from a wide range of backgrounds.

Also in 2016, Sir Lenny Henry was awarded an honorary doctorate from Nottingham Trent University in recognition of his significant contribution to British comedy and drama, along with his achievements in international charity work.