FROM Grays Essex
AT THE START
Joe left school at the age of 15 and had several occupations
before turning to the stage. He worked in the Civil Service's Department
of Transport, before joining Smithfields meat market. The hours proved
too much for a young Joe and he worked for a spell on a building site
and at the Ford factory in Dagenham.
For a few years Joe worked as an entertainer at holiday
camps across the UK and became entertainment manager at Warner Holidays
Corton in Suffolk. He became entertainment manager at Torquay. His big
break finally came when he entered, and won the New Faces competition
in 1987.
ON STAGE
Joe's live shows include Live & Squeaky, 1996, Twin
Squeaks, 1997, The Crazy World of Joe Pasquale, 1999, Bubble & Squeak,
2000 and The Everything I Have Ever Done and the First of Many Goodbye
Tours, 2004. The VHS to Live & Squeaky grossed in excess of £1
million, earning Joe an award from The British Video Association.
He has done five Royal Variety Performances, most recently
in 2005. One year, Joe desribes how he got drunk on the night with the
other performers avoiding him for the entire evening. The situation worsened
when the Queen greeted the performers, including Joe, who was the 'most
drunk' he'd ever been.
In recent years Joe has turned his hand to acting on stage.
In 1999 he appeared as a lead character in "The Nerd", the show
received rave reviews, one source describing it as "rib shatteringly
funny". He returned to the stage in Autumn 2004 in the comedy 'Tom,
Dick and Harry'.
Joe is also well known for his pantomime appearances.
For 9 years he played 'Smee' in Peter Pan alongside former-soap actor
Leslie Grantham. In December '04 and January '05 he played Jack in Jack
and the Beanstalk at the Birmingham Hippodrome. The show was a massive
success for the Hippodrome, and the shows sold out rapidly thanks to Joe's
success in the jungle. Unfortunately tragedy struck in January when, whilst
on stage, he fell and serverely injured his shoulder. Despite the mishaps
though, this year Joe takes to the Hippodrome stage in Peter Pan, once
again playing 'Smee'.
IM A CELEBRITY, GET ME OUT OF HERE
On 6 December 2004 he won the fourth series of the UK
television show I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! Joe beat off competition
from butler Paul Burrell and nightclub owner Fran Cosgrave. During his
time in the jungle, Joe became well known for his relationship with the
two emus and his use of the word Jacobs, a slang term for testicles.
He was the first celebrity to earn full stars in a Bushtucker
trial. The special trial saw Joe climb out of an airborne helicopter and
climb down a ladder recovering the stars as he went, no mean feat for
a man who professed to be scared of flying. Later on in the show Joe found
himself being buried underground for five minutes with rats in a trial
called Danger Down Under.
Before doing the show, Joe made his worries about heading
Down Under clear. He insisted it wouldn't be the bushtucker trials that
worried him, rather the other 'celebrities'. He claimed he was terrible
and shy when it came to meeting new people, and was worried about them
not liking him. However, he got on well with the other contestants.
For the 16-day duration of the show, Joe was the bookies'
favourite for the entire time, so it came as no surprise when the presenters
Ant & Dec announced him as the new King of the Jungle.
SINCE THE JUNGLE
Since the Jungle, Joe regained the spotlight, which he'd
held in 1990s, making numerous TV appearances including The Weakest Link,
The Paul O'Grady Show and the popular Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway.
On 19 February 2005, ITV1 broadcast An Audience with Joe
Pasquale, containing some routines from his stage show — culminating
in the Edward Scissorhands inspired snow sequence. A staggering 9 million
people tuned in, and ITV have already commissioned Another Audience With
Joe Pasquale to be aired in 2006.
In addition Joe is using his fame to raise money and awareness
for charitable causes. With other celebrities, he backed the Man Alive
2005 campaign. The campaign, run by Cancer Research, is hoping to alert
men of the dangers of being overweight, and hopefully encourage exercise.
The main danger being highlighted in the campaign is that obesity/physical
inactivity causes cancer in men. The cancer caused by obesity is preventable
with a healthy diet and regular exercise.
For months during 2005, Joe toured the UK with his summer
tour, Does He Really Talk Like That?! which is the name of his Autobiography
due out in September 2006. The DVD of Joe's 2005 tour was released in
time for Christmas 2005.
Joe went back to Birmingham to do panto again from 21st
December 2005-29th January 2006. Joe played the part of Mr.Smee in the
Qdos entertainments production of Peter Pan
Joe is also touring during the summer this year. He is
also directing and producing his musical, 'Rent-A-Ghost', during Spring.
His latest endeavour is presenting The Price Is Right
at 12:30pm, weekdays on ITV1. Previous hosts have included Leslie Crowther
and Bruce Forsyth in 2001. Notably, he is insistent that the stars of
the gameshow are the people selected from the audience, not, as the announcer
portrays, him.
Joe has also found the time to overcome his fear of flying,
and has now gained a piloting licence.
OTHER FACTS OF JOE PASQUALES LIFE
He has celebrity die hard fans, including fellow comics
Bradley Walsh, with whom he has worked with several times and Frank Skinner.
Likened to Tommy Cooper, he has been called a comic genius.
In 2001 Joe was the only British comedian to star in The
Muppets 25th Anniversary show in Los Angeles.
Joe was the victim of Blue Man Group's "human paintbrush"
skit at the 2005 Royal Variety Performance .
Joe wrote the musical stage version of Rentaghost with
his tour manager Ray Tizzard. http://www.rentaghostthemusical.com/
Joe Pasquale will be touring during 2006. The tour shall
be called The Return Of The Love Monkey
According to website browsers Joe has a group of 6-8 fans
who go by the name of the Pasquale Posse.
He did the voice in Garfield 2.