Editing Pete McCarthy

{{Short description|Irish comedian, radio & TV presenter & travel writer (1951-2004)}}
{{EngvarB|date=November 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| image = Pete McCarthy Hangover.jpg
| caption = Publicity photograph for McCarthy's Hangover show
| birth_name = Peter Charles McCarthy Robinson
| birth_date = {{birth date|1951|11|9|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Warrington]], Lancashire, England
| death_date = {{death date and age|2004|10|6|1951|11|9|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Brighton]], East Sussex, England.
| occupation = {{hlist|Comedian|broadcaster|travel writer}}
| subject = 
|alma_mater= 
}}

'''Peter Charles McCarthy Robinson''' (9 November 1951 – 6 October 2004) was an Anglo-Irish comedian, radio and television presenter and travel writer. He was noted for his best-selling travel books ''[[McCarthy's Bar]]'' (2000)<ref name="McCB">{{cite book|last=McCarthy|first=Pete|title=McCarthy's Bar|year=2000|publisher=Hodder and Staughton|isbn=0340766050|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/mccarthysbarjour00mcca}}</ref> and ''The Road to McCarthy'' (2002), in which he explored western Ireland and the [[Irish diaspora]] around the world.

==Summary==

Born in [[Warrington]], Lancashire to an English father of Irish descent and an Irish mother, McCarthy spent much of his early life in Ireland and developed a love for the country. He decided to become a writer and studied English at [[Leicester University]]. After a brief stint as a teacher he moved to [[Brighton]], where he became involved in local art community projects. He discovered a talent for comedy and co-founded a successful comedy troupe, in which he wrote and performed for ten years.

He became a solo stand-up comic and comedy writer, and after success with ''The Hangover Show'' in 1990 he presented television and radio shows. In 2000<ref name="McCB"/> he published ''McCarthy's Bar'', an account of his travels around Western Ireland.  He followed ''McCarthy's Bar'' in 2002 with ''The Road to McCarthy''. A third book remained unfinished when he died of cancer in 2004.

==Biography==

===Early life : 1951–1974===
McCarthy was born on 9 November 1951 in [[Warrington]], Lancashire.<ref name="Telegraph 2004">[[#Tel14|''The Telegraph'' 2004]].</ref> His Irish mother had moved to England during the [[Second World War]] to work as a nurse<ref name="McCB"/> and met her future husband at a dance. They had four children, of whom Peter was the first.<ref name="Stevens 2004">[[#Tel14|Stevens 2004]].</ref> McCarthy was educated at [[De La Salle School, St Helens|West Park Grammar School]] in [[St Helens, Merseyside|St Helens]], a [[Roman Catholicism|Roman Catholic]] institution run by the [[Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools|Christian Brothers]]. He later described this experience as "a mixture of [[Fire and brimstone|hellfire and brimstone]], [[corporal punishment]] and [[Adolescent sexuality|awakening sexuality]]". The Christian Brothers' authoritarian education methods, which included "a fair bit of random brutality",<ref name="McCB"/> he described as "[[carrot and stick]] without the carrot".<ref name="Telegraph 2004"/><ref name="Stevens 2004"/>

As a child, he spent his school holidays in [[Drimoleague]] in [[West Cork]], Ireland, and stayed with relatives on the farm called "Butlersgift" where his mother had grown up,<ref name="McCB"/> a place that he later described as "straight from a story book".<ref name="Telegraph 2004"/><ref name="Stevens 2004"/> This time spent in Ireland inspired a fascination with the country that was evident later in his travel writing.<ref name="Telegraph 2004"/><ref name="Stevens 2004"/> In his teenage years he considered becoming a member of the Roman Catholic clergy, but was dissuaded by his local priest.<ref name="Stevens 2004"/> After reading [[James Joyce]]'s ''[[A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man|Portrait of the Artist]]'' at the age of 14, he decided instead to be a writer.<ref name="Telegraph 2004"/>

McCarthy attended [[Leicester University]] and earned a first-class degree in [[English literature]]. He studied at a [[teacher training college]]<ref name="Telegraph 2004"/><ref name="Stevens 2004"/> and taught English and Drama at a [[comprehensive school]] on the coast of [[Suffolk]].<ref name="Stevens 2004"/>

===Comedy and television: 1975–1997===
In 1975, McCarthy moved to [[Brighton]], East Sussex, and worked in a community arts project in nearby [[Shoreham-by-Sea]], which led to his first television appearance, on ''Tommy Tractor's Triffic Toyshop Show'' (1977), a show for primary school children.<ref name="Stevens 2004"/> He moved into comedy, co-founded Cliff Hanger Theatre with friends [[Robin Driscoll]], [[Steve McNicholas]], Tony Haase and Rebecca Stevens, and discovered a talent for verbal repartee. He was described as "a brilliantly funny writer and performer". 

The company toured the country performing in pubs,<ref name="Telegraph 2004"/><ref name="Stevens 2004"/> and their first show, ''The Featherstone Flyer'' (1978), was premiered in the Hope and Anchor in [[Islington]], North London. ''The Featherstone Flyer'' was followed by  ''Dig for Victory'' (1980–81), ''Captive Audience'' (1981–82), ''They Came From Somewhere Else!'' (1982–83), ''Gymslip Vicar'' (1984-85), which was nominated for a [[Laurence Olivier Award]],<ref name="Stevens 2004"/> and ''James Bond'' (1988). The success of the stage shows led to the creation of two television series, ''[[They Came From Somewhere Else]]'' (1984) for [[Channel 4]] and ''Mornin' Sarge'' (1989) on [[BBC2]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/dfa2f0eb065345c48d0322ccae1acf02|title = Broadcast - BBC Programme Index| date=8 December 1989 }}</ref>

In 1987, McCarthy began performing solo stand-up comedy, adopting his mother's surname as his stage name after learning of another actor using the name Peter Robinson.<ref name="Telegraph 2004"/> For the 1987 Brighton Festival he created ''Boredom and Black Magic in Hove'', a three-hour coach tour and pub crawl. McCarthy acted as guide, inventing surreal explanations for the sights of Hove.<ref>T [https://liveandletlivebrighton.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/ISSUE-40.pdf ony Miller, interview with McCarthy, The Punter, Issue 40, May 1988, p11]</ref> Audiences "had to jump across the border from Brighton to Hove, where they were handed a glass of sweet sherry. Pete then took them on a tour around Hove, making up the sights as he went along."<ref>Nione Meakin, 'Gavin Henderson remembers Pete McCarthy,' Viva Brighton January 2020, p41</ref> The show won the best cabaret act in the 1987 Zap Club Awards.<ref name="ReferenceA">Kathryn Spencer, 'Room with a Comic View', The Brighton Evening Argus, May 1988</ref>

McCarthy took his next show, ''Live in Your Living Room'', from 1987–8 to the Edinburgh, Melbourne and Brighton festivals. He performed in people's homes in bedrooms, bathrooms and living rooms to audiences of 10-20. The subject of the show was the metaphysical effects of a hangover. The Brighton Argus reviewer wrote, "The hour-long tour-de-force begins with an apparently hungover Peter in bed, surrounded by empty bottles, and transfers to the living room, where he sports a revolting 1970s stretch burgundy outfit, threatens a striptease and then fortunately changes his mind....In between he delivers a quick-fire monologue which develops from the perils of drinking to tragicomic stuff touching on loneliness, death and unrequited love."<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

In 1990 McCarthy explored this theme further in ''The Hangover Show'', directed by [[John Dowie (humourist)|John Dowie]]. He was awarded the Critic's Award for Best Comedy and nominated for the [[Edinburgh Comedy Awards|Perrier Award]] at the [[Edinburgh Festival Fringe]].<ref name="Telegraph 2004"/><ref name="Stevens 2004"/> The show was developed into a one-off television special for [[BBC Scotland]] which was broadcast on New Year's Day 1991.
 
He regularly compered at [[The Comedy Store (London)|The Comedy Store]] in Central London.<ref name="Telegraph 2004"/><ref name="Stevens 2004"/> As a stand-up comedian, McCarthy often drew on his Irish Catholic background as a source of material. The Guardian described him as "someone who took infinite pleasure in the comic strangeness of other human beings." He wrote and performed in a two-man comedy show with the Liverpudlian poet [[Roger McGough]] which toured in Britain and Australia.<ref name="Telegraph 2004"/><ref name="Stevens 2004"/> In the 1980s he began writing television scripts and gags for the comedians [[Mel Smith]] and [[Griff Rhys Jones]].<ref name="Telegraph 2004"/><ref name="Stevens 2004"/> 

As a result of ''The Hangover Show'', McCarthy was given his own unconventional 'alternative' travel show, ''Travelog'', by Channel 4. McCarthy recalled: "We travelled to Zanzibar and China, Fiji and Corsica, Costa Rica and Laos, stood on the edge of volcanoes, had lunch with heroes of the Crete resistance, and got caught up in a military coup in Vanuatu".<ref name="Telegraph 2004"/> He starred in a string of other television and radio shows throughout the 1990's, including [[BBC 2]]'s ''Country Tracks'' (1998); [[Meridian Television]]'s ''The Pier''; and Channel 4's ''[[Desperately Seeking Something]]'' (1995–1998), an exploration of alternative religious movements around the world. For [[BBC Radio 4]], he presented ''[[Breakaway (radio programme)|Breakaway]]'', ''First Impressions'', ''X Marks the Spot'', ''American Beauty'', and ''Cajun Country'', as well as appearing as a regular guest on ''[[Loose Ends (radio)|Loose Ends]]'', ''[[Just a Minute]]'' and ''[[The News Quiz]]''.<ref name="Telegraph 2004"/><ref name="Stevens 2004"/>

===Travel writing: 1998–2004===
[[File:PETE MCARTHY BRIGHTON BUS.jpg|thumb|upright|A Brighton and Hove Bus named in honour of Pete McCarthy.]]
In March 1998 [[Hodder and Stoughton]] published McCarthy's first travel book, ''McCarthy's Bar: A Journey Of Discovery In Ireland'', in which he described his travels and adventures in the west of the country, from Cork to Donegal, and the people he encountered during a quest to find pubs and bars called McCarthy's.<ref name="McCB"/> ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' described the book as an "affectionate, revealing and well-lubricated look at the changing face of a country".<ref name="Telegraph 2004"/>  

McCarthy won "Newcomer of the Year" at the [[British Book Awards]] in 2002,<ref name="Indo-obit-1"/> and ''McCarthy's Bar'' was a great success, selling over a million copies. McCarthy admitted to a childlike pleasure in seeing his book take its place on the shelves among writers he had admired for years, and joked "If the literary life gets a little dull, there's always the thrill of going into [[W H Smith]] and moving ''McCarthy's Bar'' in front of [[Bill Bryson]]."<ref name="Telegraph 2004"/> 

His follow-up travel book, ''The Road to McCarthy'', an account of further Irish-themed travels in [[Gibraltar]], [[Morocco]], New York City, [[Montana]], [[Tasmania]], [[Montserrat]] and [[Alaska]] in search of a McCarthy clan chieftain, was published in 2002.<ref name="Indo-obit-1">{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/awardwinning-mccarthys-bar-author-dies-after-long-cancer-battle-25892222.html|title=Award-winning 'McCarthy's Bar' author dies after long cancer battle|last=Kearns|first=Martha|date=9 October 2004|publisher=[[Irish Independent]]|accessdate=5 June 2017}}</ref>

Peter McCarthy wrote his books with pen and paper. Asked if he was a technophobe, he said: "Yes big time. I've got a kettle and a fridge, but I don't own a computer, a [[word processor]] or even a [[typewriter]]."<ref name="Telegraph 2004"/>

He said in ''McCarthy's Bar'' that his grandfather's surname had been spelled 'MacCarthy'. "It's a translation from the Irish, the 'a' is optional." An uncle in County Cork told him that names of his ancestors in the 1700s had been recorded as "MacCartai".<ref name="McCB"/>

==Later life and death==

McCarthy moved with his family from Brighton to a village in the [[South Downs]] in East Sussex, and enjoyed taking solitary walks across the Downs. He described the landscape as "a kind of [[neolithic]] [[M25 motorway|M25]]".<ref name="Telegraph 2004"/> After the success of his previous books, he was planning to write a third travel work exploring the six counties of [[Northern Ireland]].<ref name="Telegraph 2004"/> 

McCarthy was diagnosed with cancer in February 2004 and died at the [[Royal Sussex Hospital]] in Brighton on 6 October 2004 at the age of 52. He was survived by his wife Irene and three daughters, Alice, Isabella and Coral.<ref name="Telegraph 2004"/><ref name="Stevens 2004"/>

Bus operator [[Brighton & Hove (bus company)|Brighton & Hove]] named one of its fleet – bus 913 – after him in September 2006.<ref>{{cite web|title=Names on the buses: 913 Pete McCarthy|url=http://history.buses.co.uk/history/fleethist/913pm.htm|publisher=Brighton & Hove Bus Company|accessdate=18 November 2013}}</ref>

== Radio credits ==
Radio shows McCarthy presented:
*''[[Breakaway (radio programme)|Breakaway]]''
*''First Impressions''
*''X Marks the Spot''
*''American Beauty''
*''Cajun Country''

Radio shows he regularly appeared in:
*''[[Loose Ends (radio)|Loose Ends]]''
*''[[Just a Minute]]''
*''[[The News Quiz]]''

== Television credits ==
McCarthy presented:
*''Travelog''
*''Country Tracks''
*''The Pier''
*''[[Desperately Seeking Something]]''
He appeared in:
* ''[[They Came from Somewhere Else]]''

==Awards==
*Critics' Award for Best Comedy, [[Edinburgh Festival Fringe]] 1990 for ''Hangover Show''<ref name="Grauniad-obit-1">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2004/oct/13/guardianobituaries.booksobituaries|title=Pete McCarthy|last=Stevens|first=Rebecca|date=13 October 2004|accessdate=5 June 2017}}</ref>
*Nominated for the [[Edinburgh Comedy Award]] for best show 1990
*Newcomer of the Year, [[British Book Awards]] 2002<ref name="Indo-obit-1">{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/awardwinning-mccarthys-bar-author-dies-after-long-cancer-battle-25892222.html|title=Award-winning 'McCarthy's Bar' author dies after long cancer battle|last=Kearns|first=Martha|date=9 October 2004|publisher=[[Irish Independent]]|accessdate=5 June 2017}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite news|title=Pete McCarthy  |journal=The Telegraph |location= London|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1473697/Pete-McCarthy.html# |ref=Tel04 |date=9 October 2004}}
* {{Cite news|title=Pete McCarthy |last=Stevens |first=Rebecca |journal=The Guardian |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2004/oct/13/guardianobituaries.booksobituaries |ref=Ste04 |date=13 October 2004}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.uktouring.org.uk/petemccarthy/index.html Official Pete McCarthy site]
* [http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/Pete_McCarthy UK Gameshows entry]
* [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1473697/Pete-McCarthy.html Telegraph obituary]
* [http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/the-all-night-hooley-in-maccarthy-s-bar-revisited-1.2017763]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCarthy, Pete}}
[[Category:1951 births]]
[[Category:2004 deaths]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Leicester]]
[[Category:British Book Award winners]]
[[Category:English travel writers]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in England]]
[[Category:English male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:English people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:People from Warrington]]
[[Category:20th-century English male writers]]
[[Category:English male comedians]]
[[Category:Comedians from Lancashire]]