An audiobook (or a talking book ) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements .
142-607: Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He first came to prominence as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie , alongside Hugh Laurie , with the two starring in A Bit of Fry & Laurie (1989–1995) and Jeeves and Wooster (1990–1993). He also starred in the sketch series Alfresco (1983–1984) alongside Laurie, Emma Thompson , and Robbie Coltrane and in Blackadder (1986–1989) alongside Rowan Atkinson . Since 2011 he has served as president of
284-565: A Tony Award nomination. In 2012 he played Malvolio in Twelfth Night at Shakespeare's Globe . The production was then taken to the West End before transferring to Broadway where he received a nomination for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play . Fry is also a prolific writer, contributing to newspapers and magazines, and has written four novels and three autobiographies. He has lent his voice to numerous projects including
426-645: A polymath and a " national treasure ". He was also granted a lifetime achievement award at the British Comedy Awards on 5 December 2007, and the Special Recognition Award at the National Television Awards on 20 January 2010. BBC Four dedicated two nights of programming to Fry on 17 and 18 August 2007, in celebration of his 50th birthday. The first night, comprising programmes featuring Fry, began with
568-665: A preparatory school in North Yorkshire, before taking his place. At Cambridge, he joined the Footlights , appeared on the University Challenge TV quiz, and read English Literature, graduating with an upper second-class honours BA degree in 1981 (subsequently promoted automatically to a Cambridge MA degree). Fry also met his future comedy collaborator Hugh Laurie (through their mutual friend Emma Thompson ) at Cambridge and starred alongside him in
710-496: A "near-asthmatic genius". He took his O-levels in 1972 at the early age of 14 and passed all except physics, but was expelled from Uppingham half a term into the sixth form. Fry described himself as a "monstrous" child and wrote that he was expelled for "various misdemeanours". He was later dismissed from Paston School , a grant-maintained grammar school that refused to let him progress to study A-Levels. Fry moved to Norfolk College of Arts and Technology , where, after two years in
852-799: A "wholly unexpected dimension to the film". Fry performed several of Stanshall's numbers as part of the Bonzos' 2006 reunion concert at the London Astoria . In 2006, he played the role of gadget-master Smithers in Stormbreaker , and in 2007, he appeared as himself hosting a quiz in St Trinian's . In 2007, Fry wrote, for director Peter Jackson , a script for a remake of The Dam Busters . That year he also appeared in Eichmann (2007). Fry narrated The Story of Light Entertainment , which
994-504: A 20 April 2020 telethon held during the COVID-19 pandemic , for a skit in which he held a video call with Prince William, Duke of Cambridge , who made a surprise appearance. In 2022, Fry had a recurring role as biochemist Ian Gibbons in the Hulu miniseries The Dropout , which dramatizes the scandal involving biotechnology company Theranos . He portrayed Fiddler's Green / Gilbert in
1136-431: A 5-hour book, the narrator is paid for 5 hours, thus providing an incentive not to make mistakes. Depending on the narrator they are paid US$ 150 per finished hour to US$ 400 (as of 2011 ). Many narrators also work as producers and deliver fully produced audiobooks, which have been edited, mastered, and proofed. They may charge an extra $ 75–$ 125 per finished hour in addition to their narration fee to coordinate and pay for
1278-462: A 6,500-word "blessay" on smartphones. In February 2008, he launched his private podcast series, Stephen Fry's Podgrams (defunct), and a forum, including discussions on depression and activities in which he is involved. The website content is created by Fry and produced by Andrew Sampson. Fry's weekly gadget column Dork Talk appeared in The Guardian from November 2007 to October 2008. Fry
1420-542: A Play for his performance as Malvolio in the revival of William Shakespeare 's Twelfth Night (2014). In 1995, Fry was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws (LL.D. h.c.) by the University of Dundee , which named their main Students' Association bar after his novel The Liar . Fry is a patron of its Lip Theatre Company. He also served two consecutive terms – 1992 to 1995 and 1995 to 1998 – as
1562-776: A butler in "Hawkeye the Gnu", and voiced ads for the fictitious "Fiasco" stores. Following three one-man shows in Australia, Fry announced a 'sort of stand-up' performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London for September 2010. In 2010, Fry took part in a Christmas series of short films called Little Crackers . His short was based on a story from his childhood at school. He appeared as the Christian God in 2011's Holy Flying Circus . In 2011, Fry portrayed Professor Mildeye in
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#17327916474251704-588: A certain cat is out of a certain bag. I'm very very happy of course but had hoped for a private wedding. Fat chance!" Eleven days after the news story, Fry married Spencer on 17 January at Dereham in Norfolk. Fry was an active supporter of the Labour Party for many years and appeared in a party political broadcast on its behalf with Hugh Laurie and Michelle Collins in November 1993. He did not vote in
1846-738: A college education to all veterans, but texts were mostly inaccessible to the recently blinded veterans, who did not read Braille and had little access to live readers. Macdonald mobilized the women of the Auxiliary under the motto "Education is a right, not a privilege". Members of the Auxiliary transformed the attic of the New York Public Library into a studio, recording textbooks using then state-of-the-art six-inch vinyl SoundScriber phonograph discs that played approximately 12 minutes of material per side. In 1952, Macdonald established recording studios in seven additional cities across
1988-652: A columnist in The Listener and The Daily Telegraph , he wrote a weekly technology column in the Saturday edition of The Guardian . His blog attracted more than 300,000 visitors in its first two weeks. Fry was cast in a lead role in Simon Gray's 1995 play Cell Mates , which he left three days into the West End run, pleading stage fright . He later recalled the incident as a hypomanic episode in his documentary about bipolar disorder , The Secret Life of
2130-463: A comedy panel game television quiz show . QI was created and co-produced by John Lloyd , and features permanent panellist Alan Davies . QI has the highest viewing figures for any show on BBC Four and Dave (formerly UKTV G2). In 2006, Fry won the Rose d'Or award for "Best Game Show Host" for his work on the series. In October 2015, it was announced that Fry would retire as the host of QI after
2272-405: A disability or illness which makes it difficult to hold a book, turn its pages, or read in the usual way, this includes people with visual, physical, learning or mental health difficulties. They have audiobooks for both leisure and learning and a library of over 7,500 titles which are recorded in their own digital studios or commercially sourced. The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB)
2414-593: A few libraries, such as the Library of Congress, began distributing books on cassette by 1969. However, during the 1970s, a number of technological innovations allowed the cassette tape wider usage in libraries and also spawned the creation of new commercial audiobook market. These innovations included the introduction of small and cheap portable players such as the Walkman , and the widespread use of cassette decks in cars, particularly imported Japanese models which flooded
2556-650: A five-part documentary about language, aired on BBC HD and BBC Two. In November 2011, an episode of Living The Life featured Fry in an intimate conversation discussing his life and career with The Rolling Stones ' bass player Bill Wyman . Fry starred in the Tim Burton version of Alice in Wonderland , as the voice of the Cheshire Cat . He played Mycroft Holmes in the 2011 film Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows , directed by Guy Ritchie . He portrayed
2698-453: A follow-up to Mythos , titled Heroes . In June 2020, it was announced that Fry would read J. K. Rowling's children's book, The Ickabog . Fry is the patron of the audiobook charity Listening Books. Fry said of his patronage, "I'm proud and delighted to be patron of the first audiobook charity to offer downloads to its members and excited about what this will mean for all print impaired people who can now listen on-the-go." In January 2016, it
2840-596: A good way to multitask. Another stated reason for choosing audiobooks over other formats is that an audio performance makes some books more interesting. Common practices of listening include: Founded in 1948, Learning Ally serves more than 300,000 K–12, college and graduate students, veterans and lifelong learners—all of whom cannot read standard print due to blindness, visual impairment, dyslexia, or other learning disabilities. Learning Ally's collection of more than 80,000 human-narrated textbooks and literature titles can be downloaded on mainstream smartphones and tablets, and
2982-713: A guest appearance in Blackadder the Third as the Duke of Wellington , then returned to a starring role in Blackadder Goes Forth , as General Melchett. In a 1988 television special, Blackadder's Christmas Carol , he played the roles of Lord Melchett and Lord Frondo. Between 1990 and 1993, Fry starred as Jeeves (alongside Hugh Laurie's Bertie Wooster ) in Jeeves and Wooster , 23-hour-long adaptations of P. G. Wodehouse 's novels and short stories. Fry has appeared in
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#17327916474253124-761: A live audio recording of the winning short story of the annual RA & Pin Drop Short Story Award, Ms. Featherstone and the Beast by Bethan Roberts, at a ceremony held at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. In February 2017, Audible released Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Collection , a complete collection of Sherlock Holmes stories, all read by Fry, who also narrated an introduction for each novel or collection of stories. In 2017, Fry also released his own audiobook on Audible, titled Mythos , which he both wrote and narrated. In 2018, Fry released
3266-422: A lot of policy support related to the industry, and secondly, Audiobook production environment infrastructure was insufficient. Third, research and technology development, such as academia, has not been active in order to continue to grow as an Audiobook industry. Producing an audiobook consists of a narrator sitting in a recording booth reading the text, while a studio engineer and a director record and direct
3408-669: A maximum of 4 hours, one Sound Book could hold eight hours of recordings as it ran at half the speed or 9.5 CPS. However, just like the Tefifon, the format never became widespread in use. A small number of books are recorded for radio broadcast , usually in abridged form and sometimes serialized. Audiobooks may come as fully dramatized versions of the printed book, sometimes calling upon a complete cast, music, and sound effects. Effectively audio dramas , these audiobooks are known as full-cast audiobooks. BBC radio stations Radio 3 , Radio 4 , and Radio 4 Extra have broadcast such productions as
3550-533: A mixture of science fiction and mockumentary that was cancelled after the first episode. Undeterred, Fry, Laurie and Thompson appeared in " Bambi ", an episode of The Young Ones from 1984 where they parodied themselves as the University Challenge representatives of "Footlights College, Oxbridge", and Fry also appeared in Ben Elton's 1985 Happy Families series. In April 1986, Fry was among
3692-622: A musical rendition of Rumpelstiltskin narrated by Jim Dale , and featuring a cast of Broadway musical stars. Audiobooks have been used to teach children to read and to increase reading comprehension. They are also useful for the blind . The National Library of Congress in the U.S. and the CNIB Library in Canada provide fees for audiobook library services to the visually impaired; requested books are mailed out (at no cost) to clients. Founded in 1996, Assistive Media of Ann Arbor, Michigan
3834-400: A new flavour), and Sainsbury's supermarket. He filmed a 2016 advertisement where he explains the essence of British culture to foreigners arriving at London's Heathrow Airport . Fry's career in television began with the 1982 broadcasting of The Cellar Tapes , the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue which was written by Fry, Hugh Laurie , Emma Thompson , and Tony Slattery . The revue caught
3976-636: A nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama . He won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture along with the ensemble of the Robert Altman directed murder mystery Gosford Park (2001). For his work on Broadway he received a two Tony Award nominations for Best Book of a Musical for Me and My Girl (1987) and Best Featured Actor in
4118-467: A number of BBC adaptations of plays and books, including a 1992 adaptation of the Simon Gray play The Common Pursuit (he had previously appeared in the West End stage production). Having made his film début in the 1985 film The Good Father , Fry had a brief appearance in A Fish Called Wanda (in which he is knocked out by Kevin Kline , who is posing as an airport security man), and then appeared as
4260-427: A regular column to cover the industry. By the end of 1987, the audiobook market was estimated to be a $ 200 million market, and audiobooks on cassette were being sold in 75% of regional and independent bookstores surveyed by Publishers Weekly . By August 1988 there were forty audiobook publishers, about four times as many as in 1984. By the middle of the 1990s, the audio publishing business grew to 1.5 billion dollars
4402-609: A retrospective show in 2010 titled Fry and Laurie Reunited . On 14 May 2012, Fry announced he and Laurie were working together on a new project, which came to be an animated adaption of Oscar Wilde’s 1887 story The Canterville Ghost . The film was released on October 20, 2023, and features Freddie Highmore as The Duke of Cheshire alongside Fry as Sir Simon de Canterville and Laurie as the Grim Reaper. Fry and Laurie have remained close friends throughout their careers. Laurie frequently thanks Fry when accepting awards, including at
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4544-560: A return to the stage at Shakespeare's Globe , appearing as Malvolio in a production of William Shakespeare 's Twelfth Night , which transferred to the West End in November 2012. He received excellent reviews. The production transferred to Broadway , with Opening Night on 10 November 2013. Fry was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his work in the Broadway revival. In August 2013, he lent his voice to
4686-464: A series of podcasts released by 10 Downing Street . He also narrated the first four Harry Potter games: Philosopher's Stone , Chamber of Secrets , Prisoner of Azkaban , and Goblet of Fire . From 2007 to 2009, Fry played the lead role in (and was executive producer for) the legal drama Kingdom , which ran for three series on ITV1 . Starting from 2007, he took a recurring guest role as FBI psychiatrist Dr. (later chef) Gordon Wyatt in
4828-658: A set of three one-man shows (titled Gods , Heroes and Men ), each two hours in length, which were performed consecutively, multiple times during the show's run. The production received its European premiere in August 2019 at the Edinburgh International Festival . In September 2020, Fry was among the stars to mark the 100th anniversary of Sir Noël Coward 's West End debut with a stage celebration titled "A Marvellous Party". He reprised his role as (a descendant of) Lord Melchett for The Big Night In ,
4970-443: A sixty-minute documentary entitled Stephen Fry: 50 Not Out . The second night was composed of programmes selected by Fry, as well as a 60-minute interview with Mark Lawson and a half-hour special, Stephen Fry: Guilty . The weekend programming proved such a ratings hit for BBC Four that it was repeated on BBC Two on 16 and 17 September 2007. In 2011, he was the subject of Molly Lewis 's song An Open Letter to Stephen Fry , in which
5112-731: A traveling salesman who listened to sales tapes while driving long distances, had the idea to create quality unabridged recordings of classic literature read by professional actors. His company, the Maryland-based Recorded Books , followed the model of Books on Tape but with higher quality studio recordings and actors. Recorded Books and Chivers Audio Books were the first to develop integrated production teams and to work with professional actors. By 1984, there were eleven audiobook publishing companies, they included Caedmon, Metacom, Newman Communications, Recorded Books, Brilliance and Books on Tape. The companies were small,
5254-795: A year in retail value. In 1996, the Audio Publishers Association established the Audie Awards for audiobooks, which is equivalent to the Oscar for the audiobook industry. The nominees are announced each year by February. The winners are announced at a gala banquet in May, usually in conjunction with BookExpo America . With the spread of the Internet to consumers in the 1990s, faster download speeds with broadband technologies, new compressed audio formats and portable media players,
5396-628: Is Jewish, but he was not brought up in a religious family. His maternal grandparents, Martin and Rosa Neumann, were Hungarian Jews who emigrated from Šurany (now in Slovakia ) to the UK in 1927. Rosa's parents, who originally lived in Vienna , were deported to a Nazi ghetto in Riga , where they perished. His mother's aunt and cousins were sent to Auschwitz and Stutthof and never seen again. Fry grew up in
5538-699: Is a Patron of the Norwich Playhouse theatre and a Vice-President of The Noël Coward Society. In 2003 Fry was the last person to be named Pipe Smoker of the Year before the award was discontinued. In 2017, Fry became the latest patron of the Norwich Film Festival , and said he was "Very proud now to be a patron of a festival that encourages people from Norfolk, Norwich and beyond to be enchanted, beguiled and entranced by all kinds of film that might not otherwise reach them." In December 2006, he
5680-431: Is a UK charity providing a subscription-free service of unabridged audiobooks for people with sight problems, dyslexia or other disabilities, who cannot read print. They have a library of over 8,550 fiction and non-fiction titles which can be borrowed by post on MP3 CDs and memory sticks or via streaming. Listening Books is a UK audiobook charity providing an internet streaming, download and postal service to anyone who has
5822-680: Is a long-standing fan of the anarchic British musical comedy group the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band , and particularly of its eccentric front man, the late Vivian Stanshall . Fry helped to fund a 1988 London re-staging of Stanshall's Stinkfoot, a Comic Opera , written by Vivian and Ki Longfellow -Stanshall for the Bristol -based Old Profanity Showboat . Fry's first novel, The Liar , was published in 1991 . Fry has since written three further novels, several non-fiction works and three volumes of autobiography. Making History ( 1996 )
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5964-462: Is a modern retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo . Fry's book The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within is a guide to writing poetry. When writing a book review for Tatler , Fry wrote under a pen name, Williver Hendry, editor of A Most Peculiar Friendship: The Correspondence of Lord Alfred Douglas and Jack Dempsey , a field close to his heart as an Oscar Wilde enthusiast. Once
6106-631: Is also a supporter of GNU and the Free Software Foundation . For the 25th anniversary of the GNU operating system, Fry appeared in a video explaining some of the philosophy behind GNU by likening it to the sharing found in science. When in London, he drives a dark green TX4 London cab . This vehicle has been featured in Fry's production Stephen Fry in America . On 16 April 2018, Fry released
6248-606: Is because Audiobooks are primarily seen as an avenue for self-improvement and education, rather than entertainment. Audiobooks are being released in various Indian languages. In Malayalam , the first audio novel, titled Ouija Board, was released by Kathacafe in 2018. In the Korean publishing sector, since the audiobook business began in 2000, it has disappeared due to its failure to achieve meaningful results. Nearly 20 years later, interest in mobile has increased in 2019, but there are still tasks to be solved. First, Audiobook lacked
6390-436: Is described in the section on the 1970s). The final year that cassettes represented greater than 50% of total market sales was 2002. Cassettes were replaced by CDs as the dominant medium during 2003–2004. CDs reached a peak of 78% of sales in 2008, then began to decline in favor of digital downloads. The 2012 survey found CDs accounted for "nearly half" of all sales meaning it was no longer the dominant medium (APA did not report
6532-497: Is partly set in an alternative universe in which Adolf Hitler 's father is made infertile and his replacement proves a more effective Führer. The book won the Sidewise Award for Alternate History . The Hippopotamus ( 1994 ) is about Edward (Ted/Tedward) Wallace and his stay at his old friend Lord Logan's country manor in Norfolk. The Hippopotamus was later adapted into a 2017 film . The Stars' Tennis Balls ( 2000 )
6674-496: Is related to former England cricketer C. B. Fry , and was interviewed for the Ashes Fever DVD, reporting on England 's victory over Australia in the 2005 Ashes series. Regarding football , he is a supporter of Norwich City FC , and is a regular visitor to their home ground at Carrow Road . He has been described as "deeply dippy for all things digital " and claims to have bought the third Macintosh computer sold in
6816-407: Is the largest of its kind in the world. Founded in 2002, Bookshare is an online library of computer-read audiobooks in accessible formats for people with print disabilities. Founded in 2005, LibriVox is also an online library of downloadable audiobooks and a free non for profit organisation developed by Hugh McGuire. It has public domain audiobooks in several languages. Calibre Audio Library
6958-491: Is when commuting with an automobile or while traveling with public transport, as an alternative to radio or music. Many people listen as well just to relax or as they drift off to sleep. A recent survey released by the Audio Publishers Association found that the overwhelming majority of audiobook users listen in the car, and more than two-thirds of audiobook buyers described audiobooks as relaxing and
7100-494: The 2005 film version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy . In 2005, he appeared in A Cock and Bull Story , based on Tristram Shandy . In the same year, in V for Vendetta , he played a closeted TV presenter who challenges a fascist state - the screenwriters, The Wachowskis , pointed out that it was Fry's "normalcy" in the face of the insanity of the censorship of BTV that made his character truly powerful and added
7242-722: The 2005 general election because of the stance of both the Labour and Conservative parties with regard to the Iraq War . Despite his praise of the Blair / Brown government's work on social reform, Fry was an outspoken critic of the Labour Party's Third Way concept. Fry appeared in campaign literature to support changing the British electoral system from first-past-the-post to alternative vote for electing members of parliament to
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#17327916474257384-768: The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) and Library of Congress Books for the Adult Blind Project established the "Talking Books Program" ( Books for the Blind ), which was intended to provide reading material for veterans injured during World War I and other visually impaired adults. The first test recordings in 1932 included a chapter from Helen Keller 's Midstream and Edgar Allan Poe 's " The Raven ". The organization received congressional approval for exemption from copyright and free postal distribution of talking books. The first recordings made for
7526-797: The Audio Publishers Association , a professional non-profit trade association, was established by publishers who joined to promote awareness of spoken word audio and provide industry statistic. Time-Life began offering members audiobooks. Book-of-the-Month club began offering audiobooks to its members, as did the Literary Guild . Other clubs such as the History Book Club , Get Rich Club, Nostalgia Book Club, Scholastic club for children all began offering audiobooks. Publishers began releasing religious and inspirational titles in Christian bookstores. By May 1987, Publishers Weekly initiated
7668-590: The BAFTA Film Awards , a role from which he stepped down in 2006. Later that same year, he wrote the English libretto and dialogue for Kenneth Branagh 's film adaptation of The Magic Flute . Fry continued to make regular film appearances, notably in treatments of literary cult classics. He portrayed the clairvoyant Maurice Woodruff in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers and served as narrator in
7810-538: The Cambridge entrance exams. In 1977 he passed two A-levels in English and French, with grades of A and B. He also received a grade A in an alternative O-level in the Study of Art and scored a distinction in an S-level paper in English. Having successfully passed the entrance exams in 1977, Fry was offered a scholarship to Queens' College, Cambridge , for matriculation in 1978, briefly teaching at Cundall Manor School,
7952-471: The Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland (2010) and its 2016 sequel , and the Master of Lake-town in the film series adaptation of The Hobbit . Between 2001 and 2017, he hosted the British Academy Film Awards 12 times. His television roles include Lord Melchett in the BBC television comedy series Blackadder , the title character in the television series Kingdom and Absolute Power , as well as recurring guest roles as Dr. Gordon Wyatt on
8094-599: The House of Commons in the Alternative Vote referendum of 2011. Fry and Laurie Fry and Laurie are an English comedy double act , mostly active in the 1980s and 1990s, composed of Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie . The two met in 1980 through mutual friend Emma Thompson while all three attended the University of Cambridge . Following appearances on TV sketch show Alfresco , The Young Ones , and revue series Saturday Live , they gained prominence on television sketch comedy A Bit of Fry & Laurie (1987, 1989, 1995), actress Deborah Norton appearing in many of
8236-414: The Master of Lake-town in two of Peter Jackson 's three film adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien 's The Hobbit : the second The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug , and the third The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies . In 2011, Fry appeared on Kate Bush 's album 50 Words for Snow , featuring on the title track where he recites a list of surreal words to describe snow. In September 2012, Fry made
8378-414: The Netflix series The Sandman (2022). The same year he starred in two episodes of the Netflix romantic LGBT teen drama Heartstopper as headmaster of the main character's school. In 2023, he portrayed a fictitious King James III in the LGBT romantic comedy Red, White & Royal Blue . That same year he also presented the Channel 4 documentary Stephen Fry: Willem & Frieda – Defying
8520-477: The Russian Tea Room in New York City. He was a friend of John Mills . His best friend is Hugh Laurie , whom he met while both were at Cambridge and with whom he has collaborated many times over the years. He was best man at Laurie's wedding and is godfather to all three of his children. Fry started using cocaine in his twenties, and continued until 2001. He wrote about his drug use in the memoir More Fool Me (2014). A fan of cricket, Fry has stated that he
8662-413: The Shillingstone and Blandford areas of Dorset ; in the early 1800s, Samuel Fry settled in Surrey , with his descendants residing in Middlesex . In his autobiographical writings and elsewhere, Fry has claimed relationship to the Fry family that founded the eponymous chocolate company , John Fry (one of the signatories to the death warrant for Charles I ), and the cricketer C. B. Fry . Fry's mother
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#17327916474258804-443: The UK Album Chart list. Ultimately however only three episodes were released, the rest with the note 'exact release date pending'. Fry's use of the word " luvvie " (spelled "lovie" by Fry), in The Guardian on 2 April 1988, is given by the Oxford English Dictionary as the earliest recorded use of the word as a humorous synonym for "actor". Fry was, at one time, slated to adapt A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole for
8946-430: The William Gibson novel Neuromancer . An audio first production is a spoken word audio work that is an original production but not based on a book. Examples include Joe Hill , the son of Stephen King , who released a Vinyl First audiobook called Dark Carousel in 2018. It came in a 2-LP vinyl set, or as a downloadable MP3, but with no published text. Another example includes Spin, The Audiobook Musical (2018),
9088-447: The audiobooks for all seven of the Harry Potter novels and Paddington Bear novels. Stephen John Fry was born on 24 August 1957 in the Hampstead area of London, the son of Marianne Eve Fry (née Neumann) and physicist and inventor Alan John Fry (1930–2019). He has an older brother, Roger, and a younger sister, Joanna. His paternal grandmother, Ella Fry (née Pring), had roots in Cheshire and Kent . The Fry family originates around
9230-636: The "M" series, and he was replaced by Sandi Toksvig . Towards the end of 2003, Fry starred alongside John Bird in the television adaptation of Absolute Power , previously a radio series on BBC Radio 4. Fry's first documentary was the Emmy Award -winning Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive in 2006. The same year, he appeared on the BBC's genealogy series Who Do You Think You Are? , tracing his maternal family tree to investigate his Jewish ancestry. In 2003, Fry made his directorial début with Bright Young Things , adapted by him from Evelyn Waugh 's Vile Bodies . In 2001, he began hosting
9372-464: The 1930s. Many spoken word albums were made prior to the age of cassettes , compact discs , and downloadable audio , often of poetry and plays rather than books. It was not until the 1980s that the medium began to attract book retailers, and then book retailers started displaying audiobooks on bookshelves rather than in separate displays. The term "talking book" came into being in the 1930s with government programs designed for blind readers, while
9514-407: The 2007 Golden Globes when he referred to his former comedy partner, in the old A Bit of Fry and Laurie style, as "m’colleague Stephen Fry". Fry and Laurie have also appeared together in various television advertisements, interviews, audio books, and other projects. Audiobook Spoken audio has been available in schools and public libraries and to a lesser extent in music shops since
9656-495: The 2009 series of I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue , Fry was one of a trio of hosts replacing Humphrey Lyttelton (the others being Jack Dee and Rob Brydon ). Fry was offered a role in Valkyrie , but was unable to participate. In May 2009, Fry unveiled The Dongle of Donald Trefusis , an audiobook series following Donald Trefusis (a fictional character from Fry's novel The Liar and from the BBC Radio 4 series Loose Ends ), set over 12 episodes. After its release, it reached No. 1 on
9798-414: The 2012 British Olympic and Paralympic athletes. In November 2012, Fry hosted a gadgets show called Gadget Man , exploring the usefulness of various gadgets in different daily situations to improve the livelihoods of everyone. In October 2013, Fry presented Stephen Fry: Out There , a two-part documentary in which he explores attitudes to homosexuality and the lives of gay people in different parts of
9940-481: The American crime series Bones and Arthur Garrison MP on the Channel 4 period drama It's a Sin . He has also written and presented several documentary series, including the Emmy Award -winning Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive , which saw him explore his bipolar disorder , and the travel series Stephen Fry in America . He was the longtime host of the BBC television quiz show QI , with his tenure lasting from 2003 to 2016, during which he
10082-439: The BBC adaptation of Mary Norton's 1952 novel The Borrowers . In August 2011, Stephen Fry's 100 Greatest Gadgets was shown on Channel 4 as one of the 100 Greatest strand. His choice for the greatest gadget was the cigarette lighter, which he described as "fire with a flick of the fingers". In the same month, the nature documentary series Ocean Giants , narrated by Fry, premiered. In September 2011, Fry's Planet Word ,
10224-492: The Blind , founded in 1955. Actors from the municipal theater in Münster recorded the first audiobooks for the visually impaired in an improvised studio lined with egg cartons. Because trams rattled past, these first productions took place at night. Later, texts were recorded by trained speakers in professional studios and distributed to users by mail. Until the 1970s recordings were on tape reels, then later cassettes. Since 2004,
10366-614: The British comedians who appeared in the first live telethon Comic Relief . In 1986 and 1987, Fry and Laurie performed sketches on the LWT/Channel 4 show Saturday Live . In 1986, the BBC commissioned a sketch show that was to become A Bit of Fry & Laurie . Following a 1987 pilot, the programme ran for 26 episodes across four series between 1989 and 1995. During this time, Fry starred in Blackadder II as Lord Melchett, made
10508-554: The British versions of all of J. K. Rowling 's Harry Potter series of audiobooks. He discussed this project in an interview with Rowling in 2005. He has also read for Douglas Adams ' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy film tie-in edition and has made recordings of his own books, such as The Stars' Tennis Balls and Moab Is My Washpot , and of works by Roald Dahl , Michael Bond , A. A. Milne , Anthony Buckeridge , Eleanor Updale , George Orwell , and Alexander Pushkin . In 2003, Fry began hosting QI (Quite Interesting),
10650-664: The CD format. According to the National Endowment for the Arts ' study, "Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America" (2004), audiobook listening increases general literacy. Audiobooks are considered a valuable tool because of their format. Unlike traditional books or a video program, one can listen to an audiobook while doing other tasks. Such tasks include doing the laundry, exercising, weeding and similar activities. The most popular general use of audiobooks by adults
10792-568: The Cambridge University Quiz Society and honorary fellow of his alma mater Queens' College, Cambridge . On 13 July 2010, he was made an honorary fellow of Cardiff University , and on 28 January 2011, he was made an honorary Doctor of the University (D.Univ. h.c.) by the University of Sussex , in recognition for his work campaigning for people suffering from mental health problems, bipolar disorder and HIV. He
10934-842: The Footlights. Fry wrote the play Latin! or Tobacco and Boys for the 1980 Edinburgh Festival , where it won the Fringe First prize. It had a revival in 2009 at London's Cock Tavern Theatre , directed by Adam Spreadbury-Maher. The Cellar Tapes , the Footlights Revue of 1981, won the Perrier Comedy Award . In 1984, Fry adapted the hugely successful 1930s musical Me and My Girl for the West End , where it ran for eight years and received two Laurence Olivier Awards . The show transferred to Broadway and Fry
11076-512: The LGBTQ+ community. In 2023, during an ' Alternative Christmas message ', broadcast on Channel 4, Fry remarked that he was proud of his Jewish heritage. He said: "I've been on lists of British Jews that some ultra-right wing newspapers and sites have published over the years. And I'm frankly damned if I'll let antisemites be the ones who define me, and take ownership of the word 'Jew', injecting it with their own spiteful venom. So I accept and claim
11218-733: The Manic Depressive . He acted in a 1998 Malcolm Bradbury adaptation of the Mark Tavener novel In the Red , taking the part of the Controller of BBC Radio 2 ; and in 2000 in the role of Professor Bellgrove in the BBC serial Gormenghast , which was adapted from the first two novels of Mervyn Peake 's Gormenghast series. In the 1994 romantic comedy film I.Q. , he played the role of James Moreland. Portraying his idol Oscar Wilde (of whom he had been an ardent admirer since
11360-546: The Nazis to positive reviews and its Alternative Christmas message . In May 2024, Fry was among the members of the previously all-male Garrick Club who spoke in favour of the admission of women members for the first time in the club's 193-year history. The motion was carried. Over Fry's career he has received 11 BAFTA Award nominations for his work in television. For his performance as Oscar Wilde in Wilde (1998) he earned
11502-750: The Talking Books Program in 1934 included sections of the Bible; the Declaration of Independence and other patriotic documents; plays and sonnets by Shakespeare; and fiction by Gladys Hasty Carroll , E. M. Delafield , Cora Jarrett , Rudyard Kipling , John Masefield , and P. G. Wodehouse . To save costs and quickly build inventories of audiobooks, Britain and the United States shared recordings in their catalogs. By looking at old catalogs, historian Matthew Rubery has "probably" identified
11644-736: The UK (his friend Douglas Adams bought the first two). He jokes that he has never encountered a smartphone that he has not purchased. He counts Misplaced Pages among his favourite websites "because I like to find out that I died, and that I'm currently in a ballet in China, and all the other very accurate and important things that Misplaced Pages brings us all". Fry has a long-standing interest in Internet production, including having his own website since 1997. His site The New Adventures of Mr Stephen Fry has existed since 2002 and has attracted many visitors following his first blog in September 2007, which consisted of
11786-740: The Union's report, the Union of UEA Students awarded him, on 18 October 2012, Honorary Life Membership of the Union. In March 2014 Fry beat David Attenborough and Davina McCall to win the Best Presenter award at the Royal Television Society Programme Awards. The award was given for his BBC2 programme Stephen Fry: Out There . In an episode of QI , "M-Merriment", originally broadcast in December 2015, Fry
11928-584: The United States. Caedmon Records was a pioneer in the audiobook business. It was the first company dedicated to selling spoken work recordings to the public and has been called the "seed" of the audiobook industry. Caedmon was formed in New York in 1952 by college graduates Barbara Holdridge and Marianne Roney. Their first release was a collection of poems by Dylan Thomas as read by the author. The LP 's B-side contained A Child's Christmas in Wales , which
12070-557: The Year , in recognition of the success of his documentary The Secret Life of a Manic Depressive in raising awareness of bipolar disorder. He was also nominated in "Best Entertainment Performance" for QI and "Best Factual Series" for Secret Life of the Manic Depressive at the British Academy Television Awards 2007 . That same year, Broadcast magazine listed Fry at number four in its "Hot 100" list of influential on-screen performers, describing him as
12212-539: The age of 13) in the 1997 film Wilde , he fulfilled the role to critical acclaim. It earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor – Drama . In 1997, he also had a cameo in the Spice Girls film Spice World . A year later, Fry starred in David Yates ' small independent film The Tichborne Claimant , and in 2001, he played the detective in Robert Altman 's period costume drama, Gosford Park . In
12354-570: The attention of Granada Television , who, keen to replicate the success of the BBC's Not the Nine O'Clock News , hired Fry, Laurie and Thompson to star alongside Ben Elton in There's Nothing to Worry About! A second series, retitled Alfresco , was broadcast in 1983, and a third in 1984; it established Fry and Laurie's reputation as a comedy double act. In 1983, the BBC offered Fry, Laurie and Thompson their own show, which became The Crystal Cube ,
12496-512: The audio content is preloaded and sold together with a hardware device. In 1955, a German inventor introduced the Sound Book cassette system based on the Tefifon format where instead of a magnetic tape the sound was recorded on a continuous loop of grooved vinylite ribbon similar to the old 8-track tape . Even though the original Tefifon upon which it was based ran at 19 CPS and could hold
12638-561: The audiobook industry in the United States". Caedmon used LP records, invented in 1948, which made longer recordings more affordable and practical, however most of their works were poems, plays and other short works, not unabridged books due to the LP's limitation of about a 45-minute playing time (combined sides). Listening Library was also a pioneering company, it was one of the first to distribute children's audiobooks to schools, libraries and other special markets, including VA hospitals. It
12780-627: The big screen. In 2009, Fry provided the voice of St Peter for Liberace, Live From Heaven by Julian Woolford at London's Leicester Square Theatre . In 2010, having learned some Irish for the role, he filmed a cameo role in Ros na Rún , an Irish-language soap opera broadcast in Ireland, Scotland and the US. In 2010, Fry became an investor in Pushnote, a UK tech startup. Similar to Google Sidewiki , Pushnote
12922-466: The digital download figures for 2012, but in 2011 CDs accounted for 53% and digital download was 41%). The APA estimates that audiobook sales in 2015 in digital format increased by 34% over 2014. The resurgence of audio storytelling is widely attributed to advances in mobile technologies such as smartphones , tablets , and multimedia entertainment systems in cars, also known as connected car platforms. Audio drama recordings are also now podcast over
13064-525: The eponymous Peter in Kenneth Branagh 's Peter's Friends in 1992. Fry came to the attention of radio listeners with the 1986 creation of his alter-ego, Donald Trefusis , whose "wireless essays" were broadcast on the BBC Radio 4 programme Loose Ends . In the 1980s, he starred as David Lander in four series of the BBC Radio 4 show Delve Special , written by Tony Sarchet , which then became
13206-546: The first British-produced audiobook as Agatha Christie 's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd , read by Anthony McDonald in 1934. Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFBD, later renamed Learning Ally ) was founded in 1948 by Anne T. Macdonald, a member of the New York Public Library 's Women's Auxiliary, in response to an influx of inquiries from soldiers who had lost their sight in combat during World War II . The newly passed GI Bill of Rights guaranteed
13348-402: The first episode of a new podcast "Stephen Fry's 7 Deadly Sins" available on his website and other podcasting platforms The first episode of the second series was released on 13 January 2020 and continued to be released over the course of nine weeks. In 2019, he was featured in the filmed poem rendition Love Goes Never Alone, for the online theatre publication First Night Magazine in support of
13490-902: The future of public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom , which he later recorded for a podcast . His six-part travel series Stephen Fry in America began on BBC One in October 2008, and saw him travel to each of the 50 US states. In the same year, he narrated the nature documentaries Spectacled Bears: Shadow of the Forest for the BBC Natural World series. In the 2009 television series Last Chance to See , Fry and zoologist Mark Carwardine sought out endangered species, some of which had been featured in Douglas Adams ' and Carwardine's 1990 book and radio series of
13632-515: The globe. On Christmas Day 2013, Fry featured with adventurer Bear Grylls in an episode of Channel 4 's Bear's Wild Weekends . Over the course of two days, in the Italian Dolomites , Fry travelled on the skids of a helicopter, climbed down a raging 500-foot waterfall, slept in a First World War trench and abseiled down a towering cliff face. In June 2015, Fry was the guest on BBC Radio 4 's Desert Island Discs . His favourite piece
13774-505: The identity with pride, I am Stephen Fry, and I am a Jew." Enabled by a 2020 change in citizenship legislation in Austria, Fry acquired Austrian citizenship as a descendant of persons persecuted by National Socialism, thus regaining the citizenship his ancestors forcibly lost. Fry struggled to keep his homosexuality secret during his teenage years at public school , and by his own account did not engage in sexual activity for 16 years until
13916-485: The internet. In 2014, Bob and Debra Deyan of Deyan Audio opened the Deyan Institute of Vocal Artistry and Technology, the world's first campus and school for teaching the art and technology of audiobook production. In 2018, approximately 50,000 audiobooks were recorded in the United States with a sales growth of 20 percent year over year. U.S. audiobook sales in 2019 totaled 1.2 billion dollars, up 16% from
14058-418: The largest had a catalog of 200 titles. Some abridged titles were being sold in bookstores, such as Walden Books , but had negligible sales figures, many were sold by mail-order subscription or through libraries. However, in 1984, Brilliance Audio invented a technique for recording twice as much on the same cassette thus allowing for affordable unabridged editions. The technique involved recording on each of
14200-472: The late 19th and early 20th century; however, the round cylinders were limited to about 4 minutes each making books impractical; flat platters increased to 12 minutes but this too was impractical for longer works. "One early listener complained that he would need a wheelbarrow to carry around talking books recorded on discs with such limited storage capacity." By the 1930s close-grooved records increased to 20 minutes making possible longer narrative. In 1931,
14342-406: The mail, allowing instead instant download access from online libraries of unlimited size, and portability using comparatively small and lightweight devices. Audible.com was the first to establish a website, in 1998, from which digital audiobooks could be purchased. Another innovation was the creation of LibriVox in 2005 by Montreal-based writer Hugh McGuire who posed the question on his blog: "Can
14484-536: The market during the multiple energy crises of the decade. In the early 1970s, instructional recordings were among the first commercial products sold on cassette. There were 8 companies distributing materials on cassette with titles such as Managing and Selling Companies (12 cassettes, $ 300) and Executive Seminar in Sound on a series of 60-minute cassettes. In libraries, most books on cassette were still made for blind and disabled people, however some new companies saw
14626-647: The mental health charity Mind . Fry's film acting roles include playing his idol Oscar Wilde in the film Wilde (1997), for which he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor ; Inspector Thompson in Robert Altman 's murder mystery Gosford Park (2001); and Mr. Johnson in Whit Stillman 's Love & Friendship (2016). He has also had roles in the films Chariots of Fire (1981), A Fish Called Wanda (1988), The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004), V for Vendetta (2005), and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011). He portrays
14768-608: The mid-1990s. When asked when he first acknowledged his sexuality, Fry quipped: "I suppose it all began when I came out of the womb. I looked back up at my mother and thought to myself, 'That's the last time I'm going up one of those'." Fry was in a 15-year relationship with Daniel Cohen that ended in 2010. Fry was listed number 2 in 2016 and number 12 in 2017 on the Pride Power list. On 6 January 2015, British tabloid The Sun reported that Fry would marry his partner, comedian Elliott Spencer. Fry wrote on Twitter: "It looks as though
14910-450: The net harness a bunch of volunteers to help bring books in the public domain to life through podcasting ?" Thus began the creation of public domain audiobooks by volunteer narrators. By the end of 2021, LibriVox had a catalog of over 16,870 works. The transition from vinyl, to cassette, to CD, to MP3CD, to digital download has been documented by Audio Publishers Association in annual surveys (the earlier transition from record to cassette
15052-430: The new technology of LPs, but also increased governmental funding for schools and libraries beginning in the 1950s and 60s. Though spoken recordings were popular in 33 + 1 ⁄ 3 vinyl record format for schools and libraries into the early 1970s, the beginning of the modern retail market for audiobooks can be traced to the wide adoption of cassette tapes during the 1970s. Cassette tapes were invented in 1962 and
15194-617: The offerings have been recorded in the DAISY Digital Talking Book MP3 standard, which provides additional features for visually impaired users to both listen and navigate written material aurally. Audiobooks in India started to appear somewhat later than in the rest of the world. Only by 2010 did Audiobooks gain mainstream popularity in the Indian market. This is primarily due to lack of previous organized efforts on
15336-819: The opening night of their live show Monty Python Live (Mostly) . Fry was the special guest in their "Blackmail" sketch. On 17 September 2015, Fry shared the role of the Narrator in The Rocky Horror Show which was staged at London's Playhouse Theatre and broadcast as the Rocky Horror Show Live . In June 2015, Fry backed children's fairy tale app GivingTales in aid of UNICEF together with other British celebrities Sir Roger Moore , Ewan McGregor , Joanna Lumley , Michael Caine , David Walliams , Dame Joan Collins , Charlotte Rampling , Paul McKenna and Michael Ball . In 2015, Fry made
15478-573: The opportunity for making audiobooks for a wider audience, such as Voice Over Books which produced abridged best-sellers with professional actors. Early pioneers included Olympic gold medalist Duvall Hecht who in 1975 founded the California-based Books on Tape as a direct to consumer mail order rental service for unabridged audiobooks and expanded their services selling their products to libraries and audiobooks gaining popularity with commuters and travelers. In 1978, Henry Trentman,
15620-436: The part of publishers and authors. The marketing efforts and availability of Audiobooks has made India as one of the fastest growing Audiobooks markets in the world. The lifestyle of urban Indian population and one of the highest daily commute time in the world has also helped in making Audiobooks popular in the region. Business and Self Help books have widespread appeal and have been more popular than fiction/non-fiction. This
15762-456: The performance. If a mistake is made the recording is stopped and the narrator reads it again. With recent advancements in recording technology, many audiobooks are also now recorded in home studios by narrators working independently. Audiobooks produced by major publishing houses undergo a proofing and editing process after narration is recorded. Narrators are usually paid on a finished recorded hour basis, meaning if it took 20 hours to produce
15904-644: The phonograph were Edison's recital of " Mary Had a Little Lamb ", the first instance of recorded verse. In 1878, a demonstration at the Royal Institution in Britain included " Hey Diddle Diddle, the Cat and the Fiddle " and a line of Tennyson 's poetry thus establishing from the very beginning of the technology an association with spoken literature. Many short, spoken word recordings were sold on cylinder in
16046-502: The player background information on Bray Exoscience. In 2008, Fry's narration for Bond's Paddington Bear story More About Paddington (1959) saw him receive the Audie Award for Young Listeners' Title from the Audio Publishers Association in the U.S. Since August 2008, he has presented Fry's English Delight , a series on BBC Radio 4 about the English language. As of 2021, it has been running for ten series and 37 episodes. In
16188-411: The popular American drama Bones . In February 2008, Fry began presenting podcasts entitled Stephen Fry's Podgrams , in which he recounts his life and recent experiences. In July 2008, he appeared as himself in I Love Stephen Fry , an Afternoon Play for Radio 4 written by former Fry and Laurie script editor Jon Canter . On 7 May 2008, Fry gave a speech as part of a series of BBC lectures on
16330-528: The popularity of audiobooks increased significantly during the late 1990s and 2000s. In 1997, Audible pioneered the world's first mass-market digital media player , named " The Audible Player ", it retailed for $ 200, held 2 hours of audio and was touted as being "smaller and lighter than a Walkman ", the popular cassette player used at the time. Digital audiobooks were a significant new milestone as they allowed listeners freedom from physical media such as cassettes and CMP3sas which required transportation through
16472-645: The post-production services. The overall cost to produce an audiobook can vary significantly, as longer books require more studio time and more well known narrators come at a premium. According to a representative at Audible, the cost of recording an audiobook has fallen from around US$ 25,000 in the late 1990s to around US$ 2,000- US$ 3,000 in 2014. Audiobooks are distributed on any audio format available, but primarily these are records, cassette tapes, CDs, MP3 CDs , downloadable digital formats (e.g., MP3 (.mp3), Windows Media Audio (.wma), Advanced Audio Coding (.aac)), and solid state preloaded digital devices in which
16614-572: The previous year. In addition to the sales increase, Edison Research's national survey of American audiobook listeners ages 18 and up found that the average number of audiobooks listened to per year increased from 6.8 in 2019 to 8.1 in 2020. The evolution and use of audiobooks in Germany ( Hörbuch , "book for listening") closely parallels that of the US. A special example of its use is the West German Audio Book Library for
16756-557: The same name . Fry's voice has been featured in a number of video games, including an appearance as Reaver, an amoral supporting character in Lionhead Studios games Fable II (2008) and Fable III (2010), and as the narrator of the LittleBigPlanet series. He also narrates a section of Bungie's Destiny 2 (2017) expansion Warmind as the "Concierge"; an AI that, when interacted with at certain points, will give
16898-592: The same year, he also appeared in the Dutch film The Discovery of Heaven , directed by Jeroen Krabbé and based on the novel by Harry Mulisch . In 2000, he began starring as Charles Prentiss in the Radio 4 comedy Absolute Power , reprising the role for three further series on radio, and two on television. In 2002, he played The Minister of Chance in the Doctor Who audio drama Death Comes to Time . In 2002, Fry
17040-865: The singer jokingly offers herself as a surrogate mother for his child. In February 2011, Fry was awarded the Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in Cultural Humanism by the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard University , the Harvard Secular Society and the American Humanist Association . In 2012, Fry wrote the foreword to the Union of UEA Students report on the student experience for LGBT+ members. As recognition of his public support for LGBT+ rights and for
17182-498: The six-part Channel 4 series This is David Lander in 1988. In 1988, Fry wrote and presented a six-part comedy series entitled Saturday Night Fry . Frequent radio appearances have ensued, notably on panel games Just a Minute and I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue . Fry was cast in Simon Gray's The Common Pursuit for its first staging in the West End on 7 April 1988, with Rik Mayall , John Sessions , Sarah Berger, Paul Mooney and John Gordon Sinclair , directed by Simon Gray. Fry
17324-737: The sixth form studying English, French, and History of Art, he ultimately failed his A-Levels, not turning up for his English and French papers. Over the summer, Fry absconded with a credit card stolen from a family friend. He had taken a coat when leaving a pub, planning to spend the night sleeping rough, but had then discovered the card in a pocket. He was arrested in Swindon and, as a result, spent three months in Pucklechurch Remand Centre on remand . Following his release, he resumed his education at City College Norwich , promising administrators that he would study rigorously and sit
17466-424: The sketches in the first series. Fry and Laurie have collaborated on numerous other projects including, most notably, the television series Jeeves and Wooster (1990–1993), in which they portrayed P. G. Wodehouse 's literary characters Jeeves (Fry) and Wooster (Laurie). Since the conclusion of A Bit of Fry & Laurie , both have gone on to solo careers in acting, writing and other roles. They reunited for
17608-533: The student-elected Rector of the University of Dundee . He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Letters (D.Litt. h.c.) by the University of East Anglia in 1999. He was awarded the AoC Gold Award in 2004, and was entered into their Hall of Fame. Fry was also awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of the University (D.Univ. h.c.) from Anglia Ruskin University in 2005. He was made honorary president of
17750-507: The term "audiobook" came into use during the 1970s when audiocassettes began to replace phonograph records . In 1994, the Audio Publishers Association established the term "audiobook" as the industry standard. Spoken word recordings first became possible with the invention of the phonograph by Thomas Edison in 1877. "Phonographic books" were one of the original applications envisioned by Edison which would "speak to blind people without effort on their part." The initial words spoken into
17892-952: The title role in Benjamin Britten 's operetta Paul Bunyan at the Wales Millennium Centre with the Welsh National Youth Opera . In 2012, he appeared as a guest panellist in the BBC Radio 4 comedy panel show Wordaholics . In September 2012, he guest-starred as himself in the audio comedy drama We Are The BBC , produced by the Wireless Theatre Company , written by Susan Casanove. At the 2012 Pride of Britain Awards shown on ITV on 30 October, Fry, along with Michael Caine , Elton John , Richard Branson and Simon Cowell , recited Rudyard Kipling 's poem " If— " in tribute to
18034-416: The two channels of each stereo track. This opened the market to new opportunities and by September 1985, Publishers Weekly identified twenty-one audiobook publishers. These included new major publishers such as Harper and Row, Random House, and Warner Communications. 1986 has been identified as the turning point in the industry, when it matured from an experimental curiosity. A number of events happened:
18176-622: The two countries. Fry married comedian Elliott Spencer, 30 years his junior, in January 2015 in Dereham , Norfolk. Fry lives in West Bilney in Norfolk. He became friends with King Charles III while Charles was Prince of Wales , through his work with The Prince's Trust . He attended the then-Prince's wedding to Camilla Parker Bowles in 2005. He is also a friend of Rowan Atkinson and was best man at Atkinson's wedding to Sunetra Sastry at
18318-597: The two-part opening episode of Doctor Who ' s twelfth series , which was broadcast on New Year's Day 2020. Fry also starred in the 2018 heist comedy film The Con Is On , previously titled The Brits Are Coming . From May to July 2018, Fry appeared in Mythos: A Trilogy, a stage version of his book Mythos , in the Shaw Festival Theatre in Niagara-on-the-Lake , Ontario. This comprised
18460-567: The village of Booton, Norfolk , having moved at an early age from Chesham, Buckinghamshire , where he had attended Chesham Preparatory School. He briefly attended Cawston Primary School in Cawston, Norfolk , before going on to Stouts Hill Preparatory School in Uley, Gloucestershire , at the age of seven, and then to Uppingham School in Rutland , where he joined Fircroft house and was described as
18602-405: Was a browser add-on that enabled users to leave comments on any site they visit. The following year, Fry announced the Pushnote launch to his then 2 million Twitter followers. Both Pushnote and Sidewiki were discontinued the following year. He also appeared as a shiny New Millennium Bonzo on their post-reunion album, Pour l'Amour des Chiens , on which he recited a recipe for "Salmon Proust", played
18744-402: Was added as an afterthought. The story was obscure and Thomas himself could not remember its title when asked what to use to fill up the B-side —but this recording went on to become one of his most loved works, and launched Caedmon into a successful company. The original 1952 recording was a selection for the 2008 United States National Recording Registry , stating it is "credited with launching
18886-444: Was announced that Fry would be appearing as the character "Cuddly Dick" in Series 3 of the Sky One family comedy Yonderland . In 2016, Fry had a lead role in the American sitcom The Great Indoors . He portrayed an outdoor magazine publisher helping to ease his best worldly reporter ( Joel McHale ) into a desk job. The show was cancelled after one season. In November 2019, it was announced that Fry would guest star in " Spyfall ",
19028-435: Was awarded membership of The Magic Circle . In 2017, the bird louse Saepocephalum stephenfryii was named after him, in honour of his contributions to the popularization of science as host of QI . In 2021, Fry was appointed a Grand Commander of the Order of the Phoenix by Greek president Katerina Sakellaropoulou for his contribution in enhancing knowledge about Greece in the United Kingdom and reinforcing ties between
19170-401: Was founded by Anthony Ditlow and his wife in 1955 in their Red Bank, New Jersey home; Ditlow was partially blind. Another early pioneering company was Spoken Arts founded in 1956 by Arthur Luce Klein and his wife, they produced over 700 recordings and were best known for poetry and drama recordings used in schools and libraries. Like Caedemon, Listening Library and Spoken Arts benefited from
19312-829: Was nominated for a Tony Award for his adaptation. Fry has appeared in numerous advertisements, predominantly on UK television – either on-screen or in voice-over – starting with an appearance as "Count Ivan Skavinsky Skavar" in a 1982 advert for Whitbread Best Bitter . Fry has said, in his memoirs, that after receiving his payment for this work – £25,000 – he has never subsequently experienced "what one could call serious money troubles". He has since appeared in adverts for products and companies such as Marks & Spencer , Twinings , Kenco , Vauxhall Motors , Honda , Calpol , Heineken , Alliance & Leicester (a series of adverts which also featured Hugh Laurie), After Eight mints, Direct Line insurance (with Paul Merton ), Trebor mints, Virgin Media , Walkers potato crisps (fronting
19454-409: Was nominated for six British Academy Television Awards . He appears frequently on other panel games, such as the radio programmes Just a Minute and I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue . Fry is also known for his work in theatre. In 1984, he adapted Me and My Girl for the West End where it ran for eight years and received two Laurence Olivier Awards . After it transferred to Broadway , he received
19596-410: Was one of the narrators of A.A. Milne 's Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner , in which he voiced Winnie-the-Pooh . He presented a 20-part, two-hour series, The Incomplete and Utter History of Classical Music , a "witty guide" to the genre over the past 1,000 years, on Classic FM . In 2004 he was the narrator for an adaptation of Vanity Fair on BBC Radio 4. Fry has been the reader for
19738-427: Was ranked sixth for the BBC's Top Living Icon Award, was featured on The Culture Show , and was voted Most Intelligent Man on Television by readers of Radio Times . The Independent on Sunday Pink List named Fry the second most influential gay person in Britain in May 2007; he had taken the twenty-third position on the list the previous year. Later the same month, he was announced as the 2007 Mind Champion of
19880-427: Was shown from July–September 2006. In 2007, he presented a documentary on the subject of HIV and AIDS, HIV and Me . In 2007, Fry wrote a Christmas pantomime, Cinderella , which ran at London's Old Vic Theatre . In 2007, he hosted Current Puns , an exploration of wordplay, and Radio 4: This Is Your Life , to celebrate the radio station's 40th anniversary. He also interviewed the Prime Minister Tony Blair as part of
20022-511: Was the String Quartet No. 14 by Beethoven. His book choice was Four Quartets by T. S. Eliot and his luxury item was "canvasses, easels, brushes, an instruction manual". Fry narrated the first two seasons of the English-language version of the Spanish children's animated series Pocoyo . In 2014, he began starring alongside Kiefer Sutherland and William Devane in 24: Live Another Day as British Prime Minister Alastair Davies . In July 2014, Fry appeared on stage with Monty Python on
20164-516: Was the first organization to produce and deliver spoken-word recordings of written journalistic and literary works via the Internet to serve people with visual impairments. About 40 percent of all audiobook consumption occurs through public libraries, with the remainder served primarily through retail book stores. Library download programs are currently experiencing rapid growth (more than 5,000 public libraries offer free downloadable audiobooks). Libraries are also popular places to check out audiobooks in
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