Boothby Graffoe
Boothby Graffoe is a persona that Cherry Willingham created.
Boothby has quickly become very popular among Australians this year (2000) as this is the year he
came to Australia and appeared on a number of TV shows. His first appearance with Australian
audiences is when he appeared on Good News Week before travelling to Melbourne for the comedy
festival. The episode of Good News Week he was on was one which he was on Julie McCrossin's team
with Ross Noble. They both kept going on about "Springy Ninjas".
Boothby's comedy festival show was just titled his name, but that was not all he did at the 2000
Melbourne Comedy Festival. He also sung with the Scaredie's superband at the Festival Club,
performed at Southgate for the free weekend show "The Big Laugh Out 5". He was even seen kissing
Johnny Vegas on stage at the Hi Fi Bar. Another thing he did was sit on the panel for the Fat
Melbourne Comedy Festival/Olympic special. Oh, and I almost forgot, he was also on the Gala and
also debated, for the negative team, "Bigger is Better", only switch it around, he had to say
bigger was not better. This show let people see him eat leaves because Stewart Lee fed them to
him.
After the comedy festival finished, he went on the Roadshow tour where he got to perform in
Queensland, The Northern Territory, and Western Australia. His final performance was in Mandurah,
WA, where I got to see him for the second time. (the other time I saw him was at Southgate).
Boothby is well known for his songs as well. He can't do a performance without singing a couple
of songs. He also has an obsession with rabbits only being able to count to three.
Cherry is also a long time friend of Greg Fleet's.
And this other stuff is quoted from the back of a hand out about his show in Melbourne: "Boothby
has played to sell out crowds across the globe and is an Edinburgh Fringe favourite. Probably
the only comedian in the world to be named after a market town in Lincolnshire, Boothby Graffoe
has long since recognised by punters and fellow performers alike as one of the most original,
inventive and entertaining acts on the British comedy circuit. His apparently effortless appeal
is in fact the result of abundant talent and painstaking time."