The Whirlwind Life of TonySlattery

greatreporter.com, October 5th, 2007

Tiny Tony

Tony was born in 1959 to an Irish family who lived on a North London housing estate. Since he felt naturally detached from his brothers, who were triplets, the young Tony developed an active imaginary life. Hardly the typical dreamy child, Tony also represented Britain in an under-15s Judo tournament.

The bright, sporty Tony won a place at Cambridge, specialising in Spanish and French literature. Thoughts of an academic's life were brushed aside, however, when he joined the Footlights Dramatic Club. Making friends with future stars like Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie , Tony realised that comedy was his calling. He and the Footlights bunch, which also included Emma Thompson , won the first ever Perrier Comedy Award at the 1981 Edinburgh festival.

Tony tried the comedy club circuit, but audiences were left mystified by his bizarre, spontaneous act. Then he heard about "Whose Line is it Anyway?", the improvisation show, and he wanted in. He submitted a home video of himself performing and was snapped up by the show. More offers followed, and Tony was soon popping up in sitcoms, Shakespeare, and the musical "Me and My Girl".

Everything seemed to be going so well. Money was pouring in, he'd moved into a converted warehouse on the Thames, and work was coming from all directions. But tremendous success went hand in hand with tremendous excess. Regularly going for 3 or 4 days without sleep, Tony was drinking too much and pushing himself too far.

Tony 's problems came to a head in 1996. Clinically depressed, he spent six months as a virtual hermit, refusing to meet friends and isolating himself in his flat. This continued until a concerned friend broke into the flat and took Tony to hospital, where his recovery finally began.

Tony wasn't down for long. He soon returned to his twin loves of comedy and improvisation, recently appearing on a Whose Line is it Anyway? tour of the Far East. He has also served as Rector of Dundee University and even become a member of the Royal Academy of Music. Has the bad boy of old turned over a new leaf?