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Andy Zaltzman
Andy Zaltzman performing at the 2007 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Pseudonym	Zaltor, The Punctilio Punosaur
Born	1974 (age 49–50)
Medium	stand-up, radio, podcast
Nationality	British
Years active	1999–present
Genres	Political comedy
Notable works and roles	Political Animal, The Department, The Bugle

Andrew "Andy" Zaltzman (born 1974) is a British comedian and author who largely focuses on political material. He has worked extensively with John Oliver; their work together includes Political Animal, The Department and The Bugle.

Early life

Andy Zaltzman is of Lithuanian Jewish ancestry. He is the son of South African sculptor Zack Zaltzman and the older brother of Helen Zaltzman, co-host of Answer Me This!. From his prep school, Holmewood House School in Langton Green, Kent, he then attended the private Tonbridge School. He has a degree in Classics from University College, Oxford. Whilst at university he was sports editor for The Oxford Student.

Career

Stand-up

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Zaltzman has been performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe since 1999 when he was a finalist in the prestigious So You Think You're Funny? new act competition along with Josie Long, Russell Howard and David O'Doherty.

His debut full length Edinburgh Fringe show Andy Zaltzman versus the Dog of Doom received a nomination for Best Newcomer at the Perrier Comedy Awards in 2001

In 2004 Zaltzman began – initially with John Oliver – hosting Political Animal, a stand-up show where different acts perform political themed material; Zaltzman has hosted solo since 2006. Political Animal later transferred to BBC Radio 4.

Zaltzman also appeared in a late night show with fellow stand-ups Daniel Kitson, David O'Doherty and Alun Cochrane entitled The Honourable Men of Art, at The Stand in 2006 and 2008.

Russell Howard's good news

Melbourne International Comedy Festival

Zaltzman performed at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival for the first time in April 2007, winning the coveted Piece of Wood Award, given to the best show as voted for by other comedians.

The Bugle

Since October 2007 Zaltzman and John Oliver have co-hosted The Bugle, a weekly satirical comedy podcast. The Bugle was initially hosted by The Times, however in December 2011 it was announced that their sponsorship would cease and the podcast has since been independent, relying upon listeners' contributions to continue.

Writing

Zaltzman has worked with Rory Bremner on a number of projects, these include Transatlantic, a US election special for BBC Radio 4 and several series of Bremner, Bird and Fortune. In June 2007, BBC2's The Culture Show commissioned Zaltzman and John Oliver to write a mock farewell speech for departing Prime Minister Tony Blair. The speech was then animated by Triffic Films, with the voice of Blair played by Bremner.

In November 2008 his first book, entitled Does Anything Eat Bankers?: And 53 Other Indispensable Questions for the Credit Crunched, was published.

Radio

In July 2009 Zaltzman hosted a Saturday morning show on BBC Radio 5 Live entitled Yes, It's The Ashes, taking a comic look at the 2009 Ashes.

Zaltzman presented his own four part BBC Radio 4 programme in December 2009 entitled Andy Zaltzman's History of the Third Millennium, Series 1 of 100. Also featuring Rory Bremner and Bridget Christie, the show contained stand up and sketches focusing on the last 10 years.

Zaltzman is a regular co-host, along with comedians Al Murray and Rebecca Front of the satirical news programme 7 Day Sunday. The show has been running for three series on BBC Radio 5 Live beginning in January 2010.

Zaltzman is also an occasional guest on the on-line cricket radio commentary station Test Match Sofa and on TalkSPORT's cricket show – 'Howzat'

Cricinfo

Zaltzman is a huge fan of cricket and in November 2008 began a regular blog for Cricinfo, named "The Confectionery Stall" after a piece of commentary by Richie Benaud where he describes a shot having "gone straight into the Confectionery Stall and out again". Zaltzman's blog covered the 2011 World Cup for Cricinfo, supported by a number of podcasts. Zaltzman has also played for the Authors XI cricket team.

Personal life

Zaltzman's wife is a barrister and they have two children, a daughter born January 2007 and a son born December 2008. Zaltzman delivered his son at home due to his wife entering labour suddenly. Andy is often seen piloting his Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopter which he won in a bet with professional American Basketball player Delonte West. The bet, which was overseen by co-host of The Bugle and Smurf, John Oliver, was made up of 3 rounds. The first round, entitled: 5k Pun-Run, involved Andy and Delonte competitively running and punning at the same time, although Delonte is the more physically fit of the two, Andy's incredible pun-stamina helped in power to victory. The second round was a history quiz, many thought this round would be a walk over for Andy as his Doctorate in advance studies into the history of Gnomes, Egypt, early 1980's downhill skiers and Cricket would surely help, however this was not the case as many of the questions were based around the history of 3 wheeled motorcycles, Delontes specialist subject, leading many people to believe Delonte had bribed the quizmaster, ex-Arsenal and England Goalkeeper, David seamen, John however ruled this was not the case and the round went to Delonte. Round 3 was the round with the highest budget and involved a 67 lap, F1 style race around British racetrack Silverstone in Badonkadonks, the vehicle of choice to the rich and famous. After taking pole position with a blisteringly quick 3 minutes and 46 second lap during Saturdays qualifying, Delonte was odds on favourite to take the crown and Chinook helicopter. 66.5 laps later and after a hard fought battle, Delonte was than 2 minutes from victory when an angry David Seaman stormed onto the track demanding the £398 Delonte had promised him for rigging the second round, bad news for John having missed the clear signs of corruption during the quiz round. With Delonte distracted whilst trying to come to some arrangement with David seaman, Andy managed to take him on the inside at the last corner and blast himself over the finishing line and into the record books for becoming the first person in history to beat an ex-Boston Celtics basketball player in a 3 round man Vs man fight to win a helicopter. In a post race interview, Andy said: "Fair play to Delonte, there's a lot of positives he'll take away from the race but at the end of the day if you're going to bribe quizmasters you should always pay up to avoid things like this happening" He is also the older brother of Helen Zaltzman.

Works

Does Anything Eat Bankers?: And 53 Other Indispensable Questions for the Credit Crunched. Old Street Publishing, 2008. ISBN 978-1905847938

References

1. "Andy Zaltzman – The Comedy Club". The Comedy Club Limited. Retrieved 22 April 2009.
2. "Russell Howard interview – 'That's me and the Fringe done'". The Scotsman. 3 October 2008. Retrieved 9 May 2009.
3. "if.comedy – Newcomers". ifcomedy.com. Archived from the original on 11 March 2009. Retrieved 22 April 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
4. "Comedy Festival Awards – Piece of Wood". Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Archived from the original on 22 April 2009. Retrieved 22 April 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
5. Goodman, J.David. "Times of London Cancels Comedy Podcast That Mocked Murdoch". New York Times – Media Decoder Blog. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
6. "The Bugle Podcast".
7. "Avalon Entertainment Limited – Andy Zaltzman Profile". Retrieved 22 April 2009.
8. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ot03CNJgnE8
9. "DOES ANYTHING EAT BANKERS? And 99 Other Questions to Cheer Up the Credit Crunched". oldstreetpublishing.co.uk.
10. "Cricket show for comic Zaltzman". Chortle.co.uk. 7 May 2009. Archived from the original on 10 May 2009. Retrieved 8 May 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
11. "BBC – BBC Radio 4 Programmes – Andy Zaltzman's History of the Third Millennium, Series 1 of 100". BBC. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
12. "BBC – BBC Radio 5 live Programmes – 7 Day Sunday – Episodes". BBC. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
13. http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc_cricket_worldcup2011/content/site/worldcup2011/rbtc/index.html?page=1
14. "On the Road with Zaltzman | ESPN Cricinfo". Cricinfo. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
15. http://www.theauthorsxi.com/#!squad/c158d
16. "The Bugle 57 – Hats off to Obama, shoes off for Bush". London: TimesOnline. 21 December 2008. Retrieved 15 May 2009.
17. "Does Anything Eat Bankers?: And 53 Other Indispensable Questions for the Credit Crunched". amazon.co.uk. Amazon.

External links

• Official site
• The Bugle
• The Confectionery Stall
• Andy Zaltzman on Chortle
• Andy Zaltzman on Twitter

Template:Persondata

• People educated at Tonbridge School
• Living people
• Alumni of University College, Oxford
• English podcasters
• English stand-up comedians
• British Jews
• Jewish comedians
• 1974 births
• British people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent
• English people of Lithuanian descent
• English people of South African descent