Paul McDermott Biography
Paul McDermott is a well-known Australian entertainer who was a member of the Doug Anthony All-Stars. He has performed at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and has starred in two of the festival’s biggest televised events, the Comedy Festival Gala and the Great Debate. He has also created and performed numerous solo shows, written children’s books and newspaper articles, and made short animated films.
How old is Paul McDermott? – Age
He is 60 years old as of 13 May 2022. He was born in 1962 in Adelaide, Australia.
Paul McDermott Family
McDermott was born as a fraternal twin and one of six children in a Catholic home in Adelaide, South Australia. His father, John, was a senior government employee, and his mother, Betty, was a home manager. McDermott’s family relocated to Canberra when he was three years old.
Paul McDermott Education
He went to Marist College in Canberra, where he described himself as “painfully shy and a bit of a loner,” Dickson College, and the Australian National University’s Canberra School of Art, where he studied art for four years.
Who is Paul McDermott Partner?
He and his partner Melissa Lyne have one son, Xavier. He is also the first cousin of Chris McDermott, a former Adelaide Crows AFL footballer, and current Adelaide media figure.
Paul McDermott Net Worth
He has an estimated net worth of $11 Million.
Paul McDermott Think Tank
McDermott hosted the SBS interview show Room 101 in 2015. He presented the ABC game program Think Tank in 2018. McDermott returned to the ABC in 2018 as the host of the quiz show Think Tank. Think Tank is an Australian television quiz show based on the same-named British program. Paul McDermott hosts the show, which debuted on ABC on February 5, 2018.
Paul McDermott Good News Week
Director Ted Robinson asked McDermott to host Good News Week in 1996, a comedic quiz show that followed the format of the British show Have I Got News for You. Because McDermott had dreadlocks and was best known for playing the crude, aggressive “bad boy” character in the Doug Anthony All-Stars, Robinson’s selection of McDermott as host initially alarmed ABC.
McDermott succeeded in broadening his appeal by displaying a gentler and more charming side as host after cutting off his dreadlocks for the event. He has stated that, despite the fact that he believes there are still aspects of his more aggressive character in Good News Week, they have been “toned down,” and he is now relying on Mike Brady as his model. On Good News Week, particularly Good News Weekend and GNW Night Lite, McDermott sang frequently.
In one episode, he played out himself and wrote “Shut Up and Kiss Me” as a two-part harmony with Fiona Horne. The CD Good News Week Tapes Volume 2 includes his other musical performances from the show, and Good News Week Tapes Volume 1 contains a collection of his opening monologues.
He communicated his alleviation when the show was dropped in 2000, saying he could never have kept up with the determined creation plan anymore. After the Writers Guild of America strike of 2007–2008 resulted in a lack of US shows, Network Ten became interested in developing more local programs and decided to bring Good News Week back as a one-time special. In 2010, McDermott was designated a Gold Logie Grant for Most Famous Character on Australian TV.
Paul McDermott Books
McDermott has written for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Sun-Herald, The Weekend Australian, and The Age as a columnist. A selection of his pieces was published in his first solo book, The Forgetting of Wisdom, in late 2000. He previously coauthored books with the Doug Anthony All Stars (Book, DAAS Kapital, and Trip) and the Good News Week writers (Good News Week Books One and Two). He has also written and painted three children’s novels, two of which have been turned into short films, with McDermott authoring, directing, performing, and painting all of the animations.
McDermott adapted many of his paintings into a short children’s picture book called “Ghostbear” from 2018 to 2020. The book was published in late 2020 by Omnibus Books (a Scholastic brand) to critical and economic success.
Paul McDermott Doug Anthony All Stars
McDermott, Tim Ferguson, and Richard Fidler were the Doug Anthony All Stars (DAAS), a singing comedy trio that started busking in Canberra in the 1980s and went on to become famous at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. As a result, they began making regular appearances on ABC TV’s The Big Gig, where they established a substantial following. McDermott wrote most of the songs and sang lead on most of them. The group also starred in their own television spinoff, DAAS Kapital. After breaking up in 1995, they reformed in 2014 for a series of live performances with new guitarist Paul Livingston replacing Fidler. When Robert Piper, the group’s third member, left due to other commitments, McDermott was asked to join.
Following their success at the Adelaide Fringe Festival in 1986, DAAS went to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in the United Kingdom, where they were nominated for the Perrier Award. The Doug Anthony All Stars (DAAS) split up in 1995 after a final tour of Australia, but all three maintained that they had parted on good terms. After initially struggling to gain success in Australia, DAAS were selected to perform on the ABC show The Big Gig in 1989. McDermott composed two film scripts and the stage show MOSH! in the two years that followed the split. He was hired to host Good News Week in 1996. McDermott and Ferguson reunited for a tour of Australia in 2014 as the Doug Anthony All Stars. Due to Fidler’s radio commitments, Paul Livingston took over as guitarist.