THE AWARD
 Photo by John Fleming
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Until 2017, an annual award will be presented at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival “for comic originality of thought or performance” - THE MALCOLM HARDEE AWARD is in memory of “one of the most anarchic figures of his era” - “the greatest influence on British comedy over the last 25 years” and the “godfather to a generation of comic talent". |
MALCOLM'S CHILDREN
FRANK & POPPY HARDEE say: "One of our dad's greatest qualities was finding and supporting new talent. This award in honour of our father will hopefully help to continue to promote new, exciting and slightly eccentric comedy acts at one of the world's most famous comedy festivals."
THE 2008 AWARDS
Photo by Steve Ullathorne
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The 2008 Awards were introduced by Omid Djalili and presented by Malcolm's son Frank and sister Clare at the Gilded Balloon venue in Edinburgh during the Late ‘n’ Live show produced by Karen Koren on the night of Friday 22nd August.
The 2008 Award went to Edward Aczel, project manager for a marketing company in Aylesbury, who once heckled Malcolm at a London University gig.
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A surprise 2007 Malcolm Hardee Award was also given retrospectively to controversial musical act Doktor CocaColaMcDonalds.
(A previous one-off Malcolm Hardee Award was made to Reggie Watts in 2005, the year of Malcolm's death.)
The five 2008 nominees were: Edward Aczel, Peter Buckley Hill, Aindrias de Staic, The Fringe Box Office and Otto Kuhnle
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MALCOLM AT THE FRINGE
To downlod a pdf file of extracts from Malcolm's autobiography I Stole Freddie Mercury's Birthday Cake, CLICK HERE
To read Comedy Demon's feature about Malcolm and the Award, CLICK HERE |
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FOR WHAT?
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The Award is for comedic talent and potential. It is for performers who, in the opinion of the judges, have not yet been given the attention they deserve and who have some potential for continuing and - hey! - perhaps developing their act.
The winning act (probably an individual) does not need to have the potential to become a major mainstream star although he or she could have that potential. It is an award for people who deserve to succeed (either as cults or as stars) and who deserve to have their potential recognised and nurtured but who have not yet received their due recognition. |
THE 2008 JUDGES WERE...
TIM ARTHUR, editor of the comedy section in London magazine Time Out ; he was on the judging panel of the 2007 and 2008 if.comedy awards.
KATE COPSTICK, the doyenne of Fringe comedy critics. She says she has a video of herself on camera with Malcolm's legendary bollocks: “It’s something I did for TV years ago in Edinburgh and the memory is one I still treasure”.
JOHN FLEMING co-wrote Malcolm’s autobiography I Stole Freddie Mercury’s Birthday Cake and they co-edited the anthology Sit-Down Comedy.
DOMINIC MAXWELL, comedy critic of The Times; he was an if.comedy awards judge in 2006 and 2007.
JAY RICHARDSON freelance comedy critic and winner of the Allen Wright Award for arts journalism.
Photo by
John Fleming |
THE DESIGNER
JOHN WARD was hailed by Time-Life as “possibly the best English eccentric inventor living today”. He vividly remembers a curry Malcolm cooked him many years ago - www.johnwardinventor.co.uk He explains the design of the Award in a 30 second video HERE |
Photo by
David Tuck |
PRESS PHOTOS
If you are a member of the press, want high-resolution images for publication and do not have the special web address for downloadable photographs, please contact john@malcolmhardee.co.uk - 07836-703504 (UK) |
AUDIO CLIPS
• SIMON MUNNERY talks about Malcolm on the BBC Radio 4 series Loose Ends, 27th January 2007 (5 mins 17 secs)
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