Tim Ferguson is one of Australia’s top comedians. He is also an author and is well known in the media for his work in TV and Radio.
Ferguson grew up in the country town of Blayney, New South Wales before moving to Canberra. He is the son of Tony Ferguson, who was a Vietnam War correspondent and the first reporter to release news of the Tet Offensive to the world media. Tony became executive producer of This Day Tonight and Four Corners at the ABC, and was network liaison for the ABC’s managing director, David Hill.
Tim’s first major appearance was as a member of the Doug Anthony All Stars, along with Paul McDermott and Richard Fidler, on the UK Channel 4 television show Friday Night Live and then the ABC television show, The Big Gig, where they quickly gained a following. This was soon followed by their own show, the sci-fi sitcom DAAS Kapital.
Ferguson’s novel, Left, Right and Centre: A Tale of Greed, Sex and Power, was published by Penguin in 1997 and became Australia’s #1 best-seller for three months. Ferguson also co-wrote and hosted eight series and twelve one-hour specials of his comedy clip show Unreal TV and has written various opinion pieces and articles for The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Tiimes. He most notably penned an alternative to the Australian Constitution Preamble.
In 2001, Ferguson branched out into production when he created, produced and co-wrote the TV1 comedy series Shock Jock which ran for two series. In 2003, he hosted a talk back radio show on 3AK and was the host of Big Brother Australia 2003’s Big Brother The Insider. In 2010, Ferguson was executive producer, writer and host of WTF – With Tim Ferguson on C31 Melbourne. Since then, Ferguson has continued writing TV comedy and other commentary on shows including Good News Week and The Glass House, 20 to 1.
Ferguson is a corporate event performer, hosting events and conferences for Australasia’s leading corporations. He is also a sessional lecturer in Screenwriting and Writing TV Comedy at RMIT University, and has trained thousands of comedians and screenwriters through his Cheeky Monkey Comedy courses.
Ferguson’s autobiography; Carry a Big Stick: A Life of Laughter,Friendship and MS has recently been published by Hachette (September 2013.) It features the stories of his childhood, life as an international touring comedian, network TV celebrity and comedy screenwriting lecturer, and also presents a new way of overcoming the challenges of multiple sclerosis (MS).
Ferguson announced on an episode of Good News Week that he has Multiple Sclerosis (MS), requiring him to occasionally use a walking cane. Ferguson has experienced MS symptoms since age 19 and is currently touring with his live stand-up comedy show Carry a Big Stick, which features tales and songs from his life on the ‘comedy warpath’. The title alludes to his experiencing Multiple Sclerosis, and needing to use a walking stick.
PS. Tim owns the third largest Star Wars toy collection in the southern hemisphere.
