Happy Birthday Hugh Laurie. James Hugh Calum Laurie, OBE (born 11 June 1959), known as Hugh Laurie /ˌhjuː ˈlɒri/, is an English actor, comedian, writer, musician, and director. He first became known as one-half of the Fry and Laurie double act, along with his friend and comedy partner Stephen Fry, whom he joined in the cast of A Bit of Fry & Laurie, Blackadder, and Jeeves and Wooster from 1985 to 1999. From 2004 to 2012, he played Dr. Gregory House, the protagonist of House, for which he received two Golden Globe awards, two Screen Actors Guild awards and six Emmy nominations. He was listed in the 2011 Guinness World Records as the most watched leading man on television and was one of the highest-paid actors in a television drama, earning £250,000 ($409,000) per episode in House. Laurie took piano lessons from the age of six years old. He sings and plays piano, guitar, drums, harmonica and saxophone. He has displayed his musical talents throughout his acting career, most notably on A Bit of Fry & Laurie, Jeeves and Wooster, House and when he hosted Saturday Night Live in October 2006. He is a vocalist and keyboard player for the Los Angeles charity rock group Band From TV. Additionally, following Meat Loafs appearance in the House episode Simple Explanation, Laurie played piano as a special guest on the song If I Cant Have You from Meat Loafs 2010 album Hang Cool Teddy Bear. Laurie co-wrote and performed the humorous blues song, Sperm Test in the Morning, in the film Maybe Baby. On House, Laurie played several classic rock n roll instruments including Gibson Flying V and Les Paul guitars. His character has a Hammond B-3 organ in his home and on one episode performed the introduction to Procol Harums classic Whiter Shade of Pale. Laurie appears as a scientist/doctor in the pop video to accompany Kate Bushs song Experiment IV. On 26 July 2010, it was announced that Laurie would be releasing a blues album after signing a contract with Warner Bros. Records. The album, called Let Them Talk, was released in France on 18 April 2011 and in Germany on 29 April. The album features collaborations from well-known artists such as Tom Jones, Irma Thomas and Dr. John. On 1 May 2011, Laurie and a jazz quintet closed the 2011 Cheltenham Jazz Festival to great acclaim. On 15 May 2011, Laurie was the subject of the ITV series Perspectives, explaining his love for the music of New Orleans and playing music, from his album Let Them Talk, at studios and live venues in the city itself. He was the subject of PBS Great Performances Let them Talk, also about New Orleans jazz, first broadcast on 30 September 2011. His second album, Didnt It Rain, was released in the UK on 6 May 2013. In the same year he played at the RMS Queen Mary together with his band. This concert was filmed and later released as Live on the Queen Mary on DVD and Blu-ray.
Posted on: Wed, 11 Jun 2014 21:33:57 +0000