Barry Hilton
| Barry Hilton | |
|---|---|
Barry Hilton
|
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| Pseudonym | The Cousin |
| Birth name | David Barry Hilton |
| Born |
29 January 1956 Salisbury, Rhodesia Now Harare, Zimbabwe |
| Medium | Stand-up Film |
| Nationality | South African / British (Dual Citizenship) |
| Years active | 1983–present |
| Genres |
Observational comedy Satire Physical comedy |
| Spouse | JMS McKirdy 1972–1980 JB Tweedie 1980–2006 Sandra Hilton 2007 – present |
| Website | www |
David Barry Hilton (born 29 January 1956 in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia) is a South African stand up comedian. Referred to by his middle name, Barry (aka ‘The Cousin’), actor and television personality. After 6 years of initially working as an electrician he tried his hand at comedy and turned professional in 1983 at the age of 26. Inspired by comedians Richard Pryor and Billy Connolly, Hilton's personal style can best be described as a combination of observational, satirical and physical comedy.
Hilton was born in 1956 to Irene Natalie Lieveaux, a French Mauritian descendant and Lancashire-born father Jack Hilton. In 1961 Hilton's family moved from Southern Rhodesia to North Wales where he attended St Joseph's Roman Catholic Junior School from the age of 5 (1961) to the age of 10 (1966). Ages 11 to 12 were spent at Blessed Edward Jones RC High School in Rhyl until the family relocated to Newlands in Cape Town, South Africa where his father worked as a bricklayer. From March 1969 to December 1971 Hilton was a pupil at Observatory Boys (now Rhodes High School) but left at age 15 to start an apprenticeship at Joffe Electrical, which he completed in 1974.
Whilst working as the maintenance manager of a hotel frequented by the cast of the comedy television show 'Biltong and Potroast' Hilton met Johnny Noble who managed to get him into his first gig at The Holiday Inn, Port Elizabeth in May 1983. This was followed by a six-month stint as compere at cabaret spot, the Millionaires Club in Cape Town after which he relocated to Johannesburg to perform at local pub, The Jolly Roger. It was here where agent Josie Broude(of the "Don Hughes Organisation" run by Maurice Fresco discovered Hilton and represented him for 10 years up until her death in 1994. Performances at the Runway Bar, Royal Swazi Sun and Wild Coast Sun followed, making Hilton the first South African comedian ever to perform at the latter. Hilton is also the first South African comedian ever to perform at the Sun City Extravaganza. There he shared the stage with eccentric French actress / dancer / singer Jacqueline Du Gay from Las Vegas whilst continuing to perform as a relatively unknown comic at the Sun City Super Bowl in 'Laugh Aid' 1989. Due to his mother's illness with cancer, Hilton returned to South Africa from a four night gig called 'In on the park' at St Helier on the Channel Islands Jersey where he opened for Billy Connolly. In 1990 he moved back to South Africa permanently, returning to the Runway Bar for four years to continue his work in a new Connolly inspired direction. Here Joe Parker advised him to book sets and take money from the door rather than working for guaranteed money gigs. Basil O'Hagen gave Hilton the opportunity to do so at Dan Keld West, and after having performed for only six people on the first night, gigs picked up steadily and Hilton's career in comedy started to look promising. To date Hilton has opened for comic greats such as Bob Monkhouse, Bobby Davro, Billy Connolly and Les Dennis and is also the first South African to perform at London's Comedy Store. To this day Hilton continues to fill 4000 seat theatres with his solo shows.
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