# Tony Hawks

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Tony_Hawks
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Tony_Hawks.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Hawks
> Source revision: 1349018684
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

British comedian and author (born 1960)

This article is about the comedian. For the skateboarder, see [Tony Hawk](/source/Tony_Hawk). For the video game series, see [Tony Hawk's](/source/Tony_Hawk's).

This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article. (January 2026)

Tony Hawks MBE Hawks in 2020 Born Antony Gordon Hawksworth (1960-02-27) 27 February 1960 (age 66) Brighton, England Occupations Comedian, author Years active 1988–present Known for Morris Minor and the Majors "Stutter Rap (No Sleep Til Bedtime)" Playing the Moldovans at Tennis Round Ireland with a Fridge Website tony-hawks.com

**Antony Gordon Hawksworth** [MBE](/source/Order_of_the_British_Empire) (born 27 February 1960),[1] known professionally as **Tony Hawks**, is a British comedian and author.

## Early life

Born in [Brighton](/source/Brighton), [Sussex](/source/Sussex),[2] Hawks was educated at [Brighton, Hove and Sussex Grammar School](/source/Brighton%2C_Hove_and_Sussex_Grammar_School) and [Brighton College](/source/Brighton_College).[3]

## Career

After dropping out of a drama degree at the [University of Manchester](/source/Victoria_University_of_Manchester),[4] Hawks appeared in the West End musical *Lennon – A Musical Biography* at [The Astoria](/source/London_Astoria).[5] By 1988, before he found chart success, he was already appearing in BBC Radio 4's *Big Fun Show* with [Paul Merton](/source/Paul_Merton), John Irwin and [Josie Lawrence](/source/Josie_Lawrence).[6]

Hawks first attempted to break into show business as a singer-songwriter, but it was with a novelty record that he had his first brush with fame; as leader of the trio [Morris Minor and the Majors](/source/Morris_Minor_and_the_Majors), he reached No. 4 in the [UK Singles Chart](/source/UK_Singles_Chart) with the [Beastie Boys](/source/Beastie_Boys) parody, "[Stutter Rap (No Sleep til Bedtime)](/source/Stutter_Rap_(No_Sleep_til_Bedtime))" in 1988.[7] It went on to sell 220,000 copies, and reached a peak of No. 2 in Australia. The follow-up, a pastiche of [Stock Aitken Waterman](/source/Stock_Aitken_Waterman) titled "This Is the Chorus", fared less well. A television series followed from this, *Morris Minor's Marvellous Motors*, written by and starring Hawks.[8] In it, the fictional bandleader attempted to maintain his pop career while running a garage; it ran for one series in 1989 on [BBC1](/source/BBC1).

Hawks performs stand-up comedy, and is a regular on television and radio panel games in the UK, including *[I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue](/source/I'm_Sorry_I_Haven't_a_Clue)*, *[Just a Minute](/source/Just_a_Minute)*, *[The Unbelievable Truth](/source/The_Unbelievable_Truth_(radio_show))* and *[Have I Got News for You](/source/Have_I_Got_News_for_You)*, although he first came to prominence as a contributor to panel shows as one of two resident performers – the other was [Jo Brand](/source/Jo_Brand) — on the BBC monologue show *[The Brain Drain](/source/The_Brain_Drain)*.[9]

In the first few series of *Red Dwarf*, Hawks performed a [warm-up act](/source/Warm-up_act) for the live audience before recording began. Hawks has also appeared in *[Red Dwarf](/source/Red_Dwarf)* in a number of supporting roles, on several occasions as a voice artist for intelligent machines. Hawks provided the voice of a vending machine in "[Future Echoes](/source/Future_Echoes)" and "[Waiting for God](/source/Waiting_for_God_(Red_Dwarf))" and the voice of a suitcase in "[Stasis Leak](/source/Stasis_Leak)"; later, he appeared on screen as The Guide in "[Better Than Life](/source/Better_Than_Life_(Red_Dwarf_episode))", The Compere in "[Backwards](/source/Backwards_(Red_Dwarf_episode))", and [Caligula](/source/Caligula) in "[Meltdown](/source/Meltdown_(Red_Dwarf))". On 29 May 2009, Hawks featured in an episode of "[Carpool](/source/Carpool_(web_series))", with his *Red Dwarf* co-star [Robert Llewellyn](/source/Robert_Llewellyn). [Craig Charles](/source/Craig_Charles) stated that Hawks was called the 4th/5th 'Dwarfer' due to his many appearances on the series.[10] Hawks also provided the voice-over for a restaurant advertisement in the *Red Dwarf* episode "[Me²](/source/Me%C2%B2)", although this role was uncredited.[11]

He has appeared as a pundit in the television series *[Grumpy Old Men](/source/Grumpy_Old_Men_(TV_series))* and as a contestant on the BBC quiz show *[School's Out](/source/School's_Out_(TV_series))*.

In November 2010, he was a guest on a number of television and radio programmes to discuss the film version of his book *Round Ireland with a Fridge*, including [Simon Mayo](/source/Simon_Mayo)'s [BBC Radio 2](/source/BBC_Radio_2) show *Loose Ends*, [BBC Radio Wales](/source/BBC_Radio_Wales) and [BBC Radio Scotland](/source/BBC_Radio_Scotland). He was also a contestant on a special edition of *[Mastermind](/source/Mastermind_(TV_series))* for Children in Need, and featured as part of Comic Relief in 2011.

In March 2011, Hawks travelled to Japan to appear at the [Okinawa International Movie Festival](/source/Okinawa_International_Movie_Festival) where *Round Ireland with a Fridge* was nominated for Best Comedy. In late 2011, he completed his first national theatre tour for a decade, taking his one-man show, 'Random Fun' to 30 towns and cities around the UK. He was also a guest on many television and radio series during the tour, including *[BBC Breakfast](/source/BBC_Breakfast)* and *[The Wright Stuff](/source/The_Wright_Stuff)*.

In August 2013, Hawks—along with many other comedians—appeared in the television adaptation of the radio series *[Just a Minute](/source/Just_a_Minute)* for its 45th anniversary.

## Books

Hawks has written seven books:

- *[Round Ireland with a Fridge](/source/Round_Ireland_with_a_Fridge)*: His first book was an account of his attempt to hitchhike around Ireland with a [fridge](/source/Fridge) to win a [bar bet](/source/Bar_bet).[5] It had sold over 1 million copies as of April 2026.

- *Playing the Moldovans at Tennis*: His second book, also the result of a drunken bet (with the comedian [Arthur Smith](/source/Arthur_Smith_(comedian))), this time involved an attempt to beat each member of the [Moldova national football team](/source/Moldova_national_football_team) in a game of [tennis](/source/Tennis), based on the theory that people good at one sport are not necessarily good at others.[12]

- *One Hit Wonderland*: His third book describes his attempt, over 10 years after his first, to write a second hit song. This culminates in him performing on Albanian television with [Norman Wisdom](/source/Norman_Wisdom) and [Tim Rice](/source/Tim_Rice).[13]

- *A Piano in the Pyrenees: The Ups and Downs of an Englishman in the French Mountains*: An account of his purchase of a house in the [Pyrenees](/source/Pyrenees) in the south of France, after deciding that the two things he wanted in life were to meet his [soulmate](/source/Soulmate), and to purchase an "idyllic house abroad somewhere abroad".[14][15]

- *The Fridge Hiker's Guide to Life*.[16]

- *Once Upon a Time in the West...Country*[17]

- *The A to Z of Skateboarding*. For more than twenty years, Tony Hawks has been mistaken for [Tony Hawk](/source/Tony_Hawk), the American skateboarder. Even though it is abundantly clear on his website that he is an English comedian and author, people still write to him asking the best way to do a kickflip or land a melon and the new book contains his responses.[18]

Hawks has also contributed to the collection *The Weekenders: Travels in the Heart of Africa*.[19]

## Film adaptations

The full-length feature film version of his book *[Round Ireland with a Fridge](/source/Round_Ireland_with_a_Fridge)*, starring Hawks, [Josie Lawrence](/source/Josie_Lawrence), [Ed Byrne](/source/Ed_Byrne_(comedian)) and [Sean Hughes](/source/Sean_Hughes_(comedian)), was released in 2010.[20] The film was shot in London, west Wales, the Surrey Hills and Ireland in 2009. It was directed by [Ed Bye](/source/Ed_Bye) and the producers were Tony Hawks, Simon Sharkey and Greg Macmanus, the cinematographer was John Sorapure and the film editor was Mark Wybourn. The film premiered at the [Cambridge Film Festival](/source/Cambridge_Film_Festival) and was released on DVD on 8 November 2010.

*Playing the Moldovans at Tennis* was released in 2012 and starred Hawks with Anatol Durbala, [Steven Frost](/source/Steven_Frost), [Angus Deayton](/source/Angus_Deayton), [Morwenna Banks](/source/Morwenna_Banks) and [Laura Solon](/source/Laura_Solon), with [Pat Cash](/source/Pat_Cash) as the commentator. It was co-directed by Hawks and Mikolaj Jaroszewicz, cinematographer on the Oscar-winning *[Peter and the Wolf](/source/Peter_and_the_Wolf_(2006_film))*, and edited by Christopher White. Production design was by Edward Lidster and Vlad Lozovan, sound by Ludovic Lassare and lighting by Tim Jordan. It was the first British feature film to be made in [Moldova](/source/Moldova), with additional filming in London, Belfast and Israel, and it premiered with a special charity screening at the [Odeon West End](/source/Odeon_West_End) in Leicester Square on 21 June 2012.

## Theatre

Hawks appeared in two West End productions in the 1980s as an actor/musician, *[Pump Boys and Dinettes](/source/Pump_Boys_and_Dinettes)* and *Lennon*. He also acted in *A Slight Case of Murder* at The Nottingham Playhouse and in *The Dice House* at The [Belgrade Theatre](/source/Belgrade_Theatre) in Coventry.

He was a finalist for three consecutive years in the 1980s for the [Vivian Ellis](/source/Vivian_Ellis) prize for Young Composers for the Musical Stage.

Hawks staged a special charity performance of his comedy musical *Midlife Cowboy* at the Lyric Theatre in London on 25 April 2016. It starred Hawks, [Jack Dee](/source/Jack_Dee), [Doon Mackichan](/source/Doon_Mackichan), [Ben Miller](/source/Ben_Miller), [Alistair McGowan](/source/Alistair_McGowan) and Charlotte Page. Proceeds from the performance were donated to the Tony Hawks Care Home in Moldova. The full-length version of *Midlife Cowboy* opened at the [Pleasance Theatre](/source/Pleasance_Theatre) in London on 13 September 2019 starring Hawks, [Debra Stephenson](/source/Debra_Stephenson), [Duncan Wisbey](/source/Duncan_Wisbey), James Thackeray and Georgina Fields.

## Other activities

Hawks donated half of the royalties from his book *Playing the Moldovans at Tennis* to a trust fund for Moldova,[21] which was used to open the [Hippocrates Centre](/source/Hippocrates_Centre), a medical centre that provides rehabilitative therapy for disabled children from socially vulnerable families. Hawks continues to support Hippocrates through fundraising and personal involvement and was appointed a [Member of the Order of the British Empire](/source/Member_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire) (MBE) in the [2017 Birthday Honours](/source/2017_Birthday_Honours) 'for services to disadvantaged children in Moldova'.[22][23] All profits from sales of the film also go to the centre.[24] Proceeds from the film version of *Playing the Moldovans at Tennis* also go to the Care Home.

Hawks is the co-founder and public face of the 'Tennis for Free' campaign which aims to make Britain's existing municipal tennis facilities available to all.[25]

Hawks won the British Actors Equity Tennis Tournament for three years running and collaborated with [Chesney Hawkes](/source/Chesney_Hawkes)[26][27] between 2013 and 2018 on various songs available from a [MySpace](/source/MySpace) website.[28]

Hawks is frequently confused with American professional skateboarder [Tony Hawk](/source/Tony_Hawk), largely because [the latter's video game franchise](/source/Tony_Hawk's_(series)) uses the possessive [apostrophe](/source/Apostrophe) ("Tony Hawk's"). Hawks maintains a list of emails intended for the skateboarder, and his mischievous responses to them, on his website.[29] On 2 January 2008, he appeared on an edition of *[Celebrity Mastermind](/source/Mastermind_(TV_series))*, with Tony Hawk as his chosen specialist subject.[30]

In 2025 Hawks presented a radio programme called "Tony Hawks is Giving Nothing Away" on BBC Radio 4 on the subject of inheritance planning which discussed various options for wealthy English people.[31]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [*The Encyclopedia of Popular Music: Morricone, Ennio - Rich Kids*](https://books.google.com/books?id=NQ0KAQAAMAAJ). MUZE. 2006. p. 4. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-19-531373-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-19-531373-4). Morris Minor, ( b . Tony Hawkes , 27 February 1960 )

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Tony Hawks"](http://search.findmypast.co.uk/results/world-records/england-and-wales-births-1837-2006?firstname=antony%20g&20g&lastname=hawksworth&eventyear=1960&eventyear_offset=0&district=brighton&county=sussex). *Findmypast.co.uk*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Tony Hawks (A. 1976-1978) | Old Brightonians – The Alumni of Brighton College"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120415090920/http://www.oldbrightonians.com/notable-obs/film-theatre-television/tony-hawks-a.-1976-78.html). Old Brightonians. 14 January 2006. Archived from [the original](http://www.oldbrightonians.com/hall-of-fame/film-tv/tony-hawks.html) on 15 April 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2012.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Tony Hawks: 'I wanted to be closer to nature... so I moved to the country'"](http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/life/books/tony-hawks-i-wanted-to-be-closer-to-nature-so-i-moved-to-the-country-31100547.html). *BelfastTelegraph.co.uk*.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-riwaf_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-riwaf_5-1) Hawks, Tony (2007). *Round Ireland with a Fridge*. London: Ebury Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-09-186777-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-09-186777-5).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["The Big Fun Show (a Titles and Air Dates Guide)"](http://epguides.com/BigFunShow/). *epguides.com*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-British_Hit_Singles_&_Albums_7-0)** Roberts, David (2006). *[British Hit Singles & Albums](/source/British_Hit_Singles_%26_Albums)* (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 369. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1-904994-10-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-904994-10-5).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Guide, British Comedy. ["Morris Minor's Marvellous Motors cast and crew credits – British Comedy Guide"](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/morris_minors_marvellous_motors/cast_crew/). *British Comedy Guide*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["The Brain Drain – UKGameshows"](http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/The_Brain_Drain). *www.ukgameshows.com*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Red Dwarf V – Built To Last Documentary

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Howarth, Chris; Lyons, Steve (1997). *Red Dwarf: programme guide* (2nd rev ed.). London: Virgin. p. 51. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-7535-0103-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7535-0103-0).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Hawks, Tony (2001). [*Playing the Moldovans at Tennis*](https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780091874568). London: Ebury Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-09-187456-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-09-187456-4).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Hawks, Tony (2003). [*One Hit Wonderland*](https://archive.org/details/onehitwonderland0000hawk). London: Ebury Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-09-188210-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-09-188210-9).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** Hawks, Tony (2006). [*A Piano in the Pyrenees*](https://archive.org/details/pianoinpyrenees0000hawk). London: Ebury. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-09-190267-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-09-190267-3).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** Tony Hawks (26 March 2007). ["A Piano in the Pyrenees"](http://www.shvoong.com/books/travel-book-log/496104-piano-pyrenees/). Shvoong.com. Retrieved 18 December 2012.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** Hawks, Tony (2008). *The Fridge Hiker's Guide to Life : How to Stay Cool in a Heated-Up World*. London: Ebury. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0091924188](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0091924188).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** Tony Hawks (2015) *Once Upon a Time in the West...Country*. Published 12 March 2015 by Hodder & Stroughton, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978 1 444 79477 9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978_1_444_79477_9)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** Hawks, Tony (June 2019). [*The A to Z of Skateboarding*](https://unbound.com/books/skateboarding-a-to-z/). Unbound. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-78352-672-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-78352-672-7).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** Garland, Alex (2001). *The Weekenders : Travels in the Heart of Africa*. London: Ebury Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0091881803](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0091881803).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FutureMovies_20-0)** ["Round Ireland with a Fridge"](https://www.futuremovies.co.uk/filmmaking/round-ireland-with-a-fridge/jay-richardson). *Future Movies*. 6 December 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-21)** ["Tony Hawks"](https://web.archive.org/web/20130126143207/http://www.tony-hawks.com/philanthropy.php). Tony-hawks.com. Archived from [the original](http://www.tony-hawks.com/philanthropy.php) on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2012.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-22)** ["No. 61962"](https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/61962/supplement/B24). *[The London Gazette](/source/The_London_Gazette)* (Supplement). 17 June 2017. p. B24.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-bbc.co.uk_23-0)** ["In pictures: Entertainment and arts honours"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-40300916). *BBC News*. 16 June 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-24)** ["Playing the Moldovans at Tennis"](https://www.moldovansmovie.com/). *Playing the Moldovans at Tennis*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-25)** ["Tennis for Free"](https://web.archive.org/web/20130522071808/http://www.tennisforfree.com/trustees.php). Tennisforfree.com. Archived from [the original](http://www.tennisforfree.com/trustees.php) on 22 May 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2012.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-26)** ["Hawkes 'n' Hawks"](https://www.hawkes-hawks.co.uk/home).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-27)** ["Hawks and Hawkes - One Hit Wonderers"](https://thelittleboxoffice.com/riverhouse/event/view/83214). Riverhouse Barn Arts Centre.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-28)** ["Music"](https://web.archive.org/web/20140929135113/http://www.tony-hawks.com/music.php). *Tony Hawks official website*. Archived from [the original](http://www.tony-hawks.com/music.php) on 29 September 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-29)** ["Tony Hawks"](http://www.tony-hawks.com/skateboarding). Tony-hawks.com. Retrieved 4 January 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-30)** *Radio Times* 22 December 2007 – 4 January 2008

1. **[^](#cite_ref-31)** [Tony Hawks is Giving Nothing Away](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m002fj92); BBC Radio 4

## External links

- [Tony-Hawks.com (official website)](http://www.tony-hawks.com)

- [Tony Hawks](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0370281/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier))

- [Tony Hawks' Twitter](https://twitter.com/thefridgeman)

- [Download Tony Hawks' music free](https://web.archive.org/web/20140929135113/http://www.tony-hawks.com/music.php)

- ["Tony Hawks: how lying to an estate agent got me in hot water"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQEQlDOfl80) at [YouTube](/source/YouTube)

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND WorldCat National Czech Republic Artists MusicBrainz People DDB Other Open Library

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Tony Hawks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Hawks) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Hawks?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.