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| Tracey Ullman (born December 30, 1959 in Slough, Berkshire, England) is a British comedian, actress, and singer who is most famous for being the host of a variety television show bearing her name. Ullman has an extraordinary ability to mimic accents, with her numerous characters rarely sounding anything like her normal accent. Ullman was born in Slough, Berkshire, England to a Polish Catholic immigrant father and an English mother with Roma heritage. A graduate of the Italia Conti Academy stage school, her early appearances were in British TV sketch comedy shows with Rik Mayall in A Kick Up the Eighties and Three of a Kind with Lenny Henry and the English comedian David Copperfield. She also appeared with French and Saunders and Ruby Wax in Girls On Top. In 1983, she had great success as a singer on the legendary punk label Stiff Records, although her style was more comic romantic than punk. She had six songs in the British Top 100 in less than two years, including her first hit "Breakaway" (famous for her performance with a hairbrush as a microphone); the international hit "They Don't Know" (which got to #2 and was written by label-mate Kirsty MacColl, who also sang backing vocals), and the Madness cover version "My Guy" (whose video featured the British politician Neil Kinnock, at the time the Leader of the Opposition). Her songs were over-the-top evocations of 1960s and 1970s pop music with an 1980s edge, "somewhere between Minnie Mouse and The Supremes" as Britain's Melody Maker put it, or "retro before retro was cool", as a retrospective reviewer wrote in 2002. The video for "They Don't Know" featured a cameo from Paul McCartney; at the time Ullman was filming a minor role in McCartney's film Give My Regards To Broad Street. Her final hit was "Sunglasses" at the end of 1984. During this time, she was also a guest VJ on MTV in the United States. A year later, she donned a blonde wig and took the role of a promiscuous gold digger named Candice Valentine in the ITV sitcom Girls On Top but jumped ship after one series. At this point, US television beckoned, and television producer, legend, James L. Brooks, came calling. The two had discussed working together previously, but it wasn't until 1987, that the two formally got together and created, The Tracey Ullman Show. Ullman played a variety of characters, completely diguised with the help of makeup, prosthetics, and even padding. The show was the first commercial hit for then unknown FOX channel. Ullman proved to be a triple threat. She could act, sing, and dance. Paula Abdul made her mark with the series, serving as the show's choreographer. The then practically unknown, Abdul, even used her early music recordings for the series' strenuous dance numbers. The Tracey Ullman Show, earned four Emmys and spawned The Simpsons, which was featured in very simple cartoon shorts (created by cartoonist Matt Groening at the behest of Ullman Show producer James L. Brooks). In 1992 Ullman filed a lawsuit against Twentieth Century Fox in Los Angeles Superior Court over profits from the later half hour incarnation of The Simpsons for $2.5 million out of the estimated $50 million in profits reaped from merchandising. Years after her show went off the air, she said jokingly in a late night television interview that she hoped to one day have a regular 2-minute spot on The Simpsons. As Ullman has continued her professional relationship with former producer Brooks, only the studio and not Brooks was named in the suit. In fact, Brooks was allowed to videotape his testimony because in an only-in-Hollywood twist he was at that time directing Ullman in his later de-musicalized film I'll Do Anything. Ullman was unsuccesful and viewed by some as trying to greedily cash in on a project that she could not show in court that she had any hand in creating. However, supporters point out that she only sought a small portion of merchandising from the studios slice that she felt her contract for the cancelled show entitled her to (a 12 page contract that was hastily signed only hours before filming on the first The Tracey Ullman Show was to commence). After the cancellation of The Tracey Ullman Show, Ullman decided to take a break and raise her second child, Johnny. She appeared in a few movies during this time, including a starring role in, I Love You to Death, with Kevin Kline. It wasn't until 1993, that Ullman dove back into television, but this time, cable television. Two specials were created allowing Ullman to bring life to a whole host of new characters. The first, Tracey Ullman: A Class Act, took a humorous jab at the British class system, and co-starred, Monty Python alum, Michael Palin. For the second, Tracey Ullman Takes On New York, Ullman decided to take on a more American topic, New York. Both specials drew critical praise, and even awards. HBO became interested in doing a 'Takes On' series, and Tracey and her husband set up production, in Los Angeles, in 1995. Tracey Takes On... premiered, January 24, 1996, on HBO. Each episode would focus on a topic for Ullman to 'take on' and examine. The series would have two to three long sketches, and many small interview-styled bits, with her many characters, commenting on that week's topic. Unlike the FOX show, Tracey Takes On... was shot on location, and was filmed not in front of a live audience. The added freedom, and no censorship, cable television provided, faired well with Ullman. Nothing was off limits, and a lesbian kiss with Tracey Ullman Show alum, Julie Kavner, kicked off the series' first episode. Ullman played both men and women of many ethnicities during the series' run, including an Asian donut shop owner, a Middle-Eastern cab driver, and an African-American airport security guard. The series went onto win 8 Emmys, numerous CableACE, and a host other media awards, and was critcally acclaimed. In 1997, it won the Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series Emmy Award for the episode "Vegas." In 1998, it was also published in book form by Ullman. The series was also awarded GLADD awards for it's portrayal of gay and lesbian characters. Along with her television work, Tracey has featured in many films, including I Love You to Death, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Household Saints, Small Time Crooks, A Dirty Shame, and Tim Burton's Corpse Bride. She was also the modern-day cartoon voice of Little Lulu. She also had a recurring role as Ally's unconventional therapist on the television series Ally McBeal, a role which won her an American Comedy Award. |
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