Craig Reucassel | |
---|---|
Birth name | Craig Bruce Reucassel |
Born | South Africa |
Medium | Radio, television, print and stage |
Nationality | Australian |
Years active | 1999–present |
Genres | Satirical comedy |
Spouse | Keisha Hopgood[ citation needed ] |
Children | 2 |
Notable works and roles | The Chaser The Chaser Decides (2001, 2004, 2007) CNNNN (2002–03) The Chaser's War on Everything (2006–07, 2009) The Chaser's Age of Terror Variety Hour (2008) Yes We Canberra! (2010) The Checkout (2013–2018) The Hamster Decides (2013) War on Waste (2017–23) |
Website | chaser |
Craig Bruce Reucassel is an Australian television and radio comedian. He is best known for being a member of satirical team The Chaser. He hosted the Australian version of Balls of Steel, which premiered in April 2011. Since 2013, Reucassel and fellow Chaser Julian Morrow have been main presenters on the ABC program The Checkout . In 2017, Reucassel presented the four-part ABC TV series War on Waste which focused on clothing and food waste in Australia, its environmental impacts and what can be done to help reduce waste. This was followed by a second series, Fight For Planet A: Our Climate Challenge in 2018, which focused on the use of plastics, and particularly 'single-use' plastics such as straws. Alongside publishing the program, Big Weather And How To Survive It (2020): an exploration of how to survive extreme weather events, Reucassel directed the two-part ABC TV series Big Deal (2021). The series presented by actor Christian Van Vuuren, investigated the influence of lobbying and donations on Australia's political system. Since 2024, he has been presenting Breakfast on ABC Radio Sydney.
Reucassel was born in South Africa and moved to Adelaide at a young age with his parents. [1] [2] [3] There, he attended Semaphore Park Primary School. [4] The family relocated to the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, and Reucassel attended Bowral Public School and Bowral High School. [5] [1] In 1993, he represented Bowral High School at The Sydney Morning Herald Plain English Speaking competition.[ citation needed ]
Reucassel attended the University of Sydney, and completed a Bachelor of Economics (Social Science) degree in 1999 and graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree in 2002. With a strong dedication to extracurricular activities on campus, Reucassel ran the arts revue and the canoe club, and was an editor of the student newspaper Honi Soit . [6] He also debated at several World Universities Debating Championships, ranking 30th in the World at Manila in 1999 [7] and 167th in Glasgow in 2001. [8] In 2000 he competed in the Philip C. Jessup Cup international law mooting competition, his team winning the Australian rounds. [9] He graduated from the Sydney Law School, along with Chaser colleagues Julian Morrow, Dominic Knight and Chas Licciardello. [10]
In 2004 and 2005, Reucassel co-hosted the drive-time radio show Today Today on Triple J with fellow Chaser Chris Taylor. [11] [12] The pair returned with their Sunday afternoon show Bloody Sunday to do relief shifts in mid-2006 and summer 2006–07.
Reucassel was a founding member of the satirical multi-media group The Chaser team, and worked to produce their satirical newspaper, as well as television shows on ABC TV including The Election Chaser , CNNNN , The Chaser Decides and The Chaser's War on Everything . [11] He has been one of the main presenters on The War since the pilot episode. He and his wife Keisha have three children together, and their son Ollie has appeared on some of the sketches on The War. Reucassel was often the one selected to confront former Prime Minister John Howard on his morning walks, most famously in the axe stunt (see below).
On 19 March 2007, during a campaign appearance for the New South Wales State Election, the then opposition leader Peter Debnam was confronted by Reucassel wearing nothing but Speedos and a baseball cap, [13] making fun of Debnam's campaign appearances in the swimwear. When TV cameras remained focused on Reucassel rather than Mr Debnam, he said, "Sorry, I'm not Peter Debnam, he's over there. Just because I'm wearing this doesn't mean I'm Peter Debnam". Reucassel stuck around for the press conference but failed to draw a response from the opposition leader, and was again ignored when he went to shake Debnam's hand.
On 2 August 2006, Reucassel responded to a news story about a private school student who had hugged then-Prime Minister John Howard while holding a screwdriver during one of Howard's morning walks. To test the Prime Minister's security arrangements, he approached Howard during a morning walk and asked for a hug while holding a large plastic battle axe. Reucassel did receive the hug, but a later approach while holding a running chainsaw was not so successful. There was much debate surrounding whether to turn on the chainsaw and whether they would be shot at for doing this. [14] [15] Cut out from this segment was an unsuccessful attempt that took place between the axe and the chainsaw, in which Reucassel was holding a four-point-star mace. [16]
In 2012 Reucassel was a patron of the Left Right Think-Tank, Australia's first independent and non-partisan youth think-tank. [17]
In 2019 he began acting as one of the hosts of The Drum on ABC TV.[ citation needed ]
Since 2024, Reucassel has been presenting Breakfast on ABC Radio Sydney. [18]
CNNNN is a Logie Award winning Australian television program, satirising American news channels CNN and Fox News. It was produced and hosted by comedy team The Chaser.
Christopher Thornton Taylor is an Australian comedy writer, performer and broadcaster from Sydney. As a member of The Chaser, he is best known for co-writing and appearing on satirical ABC Television shows CNNNN (2002–2003) and The Chaser's War on Everything. He formerly co-hosted the drive radio show Today Today (2004–05) on Triple J with fellow Chaser member Craig Reucassel, and in 2007, he wrote the musical comedy Dead Caesar. Taylor also hosted the mini documentary series 'Australia's Heritage: National Treasures'. In 2010, with his Chaser colleague Andrew Hansen, Taylor made a musical comedy series for Triple J titled The Blow Parade, which became the number one podcast in the country, and won the 2010 ARIA Award for Best Comedy Release. In 2019, Taylor was the creator and co-writer of the drama Upright starring Tim Minchin. The series screened to critical acclaim in both Australia and the UK.
The Chaser election specials are a number of Australian political satire based comedy programs produced by The Chaser. The shows, which have run under various titles, provide commentary on Australian federal election and has been produced since 2001 for ABC TV. The first show, The Election Chaser in 2001 was the first ever television production of the Chaser team. In 2004 and 2007 they produced The Chaser Decides which won the Logie Award for "Most Outstanding Comedy Program" for the 2004 series. In 2010, the Chaser team produced a 5-episode series about the 2010 election, called Yes We Canberra!. A new series was produced for the 2013 election, called The Hamster Decides.The Chaser's Election Desk aired in the six weeks prior to the 2016 federal election.
Today Today was a drivetime radio show on Australia-wide radio station Triple J, broadcast between 3:00pm and 5:30pm weekdays during 2004 and 2005. The title is a parody of the Australian current affairs program Today Tonight on Channel Seven.
Honi Soit is the student newspaper of the University of Sydney. First published in 1929, the newspaper is produced by an elected editorial team and a select group of reporters sourced from the university's populace. Its name is an abbreviation of the Anglo-Norman phrase "Honi soit qui mal y pense", meaning "shamed be who thinks evil of it".
The Chaser's War on Everything is an Australian television satirical comedy series broadcast on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) television station ABC1. It has won an Australian Film Institute Award for Best Television Comedy Series. The cast perform sketches mocking social and political issues, and often feature comedic publicity stunts. The series is produced by The Chaser, an Australian satirical group consisting of Chris Taylor, Julian Morrow, Craig Reucassel, Andrew Hansen, and Chas Licciardello. Fellow Chaser members Dominic Knight and Charles Firth are not part of the regular on-screen cast. However, Knight is a writer, and Firth compiled roving reports for the show from the United States, until he left the group to start a satirical newspaper in mid-2007.
Charles John "Chas" Licciardello is an Australian comedian and member of satirical team The Chaser. He's currently the co-host, with John Barron, of Planet America on ABC TV. Licciardello has appeared as a regular of CNNNN, The Chaser's War on Everything and The Hamster Wheel.
Julian Francis Xavier Morrow is an Australian comedian and television producer from Sydney. He is best known for being a member of the satirical team The Chaser. As a member of The Chaser, he has appeared on several ABC Television programs including CNNNN (2002–03), The Chaser's War on Everything and The Checkout (2013–2018), of which he was also executive producer.
Dominic John Sebastian Knight is an Australian novelist, comedy writer, radio host and media commentator. Best known as a member of the Australian political satire comedy Logie Award–winning group The Chaser, he is also an occasional writer, columnist and blogger for the Sydney Morning Herald, and a former host of Evenings on ABC Local Radio across NSW and the ACT. Along with fellow Sydney University students Charles Firth, Julian Morrow and Craig Reucassel, Knight founded The Chaser newspaper, launched in May 1999.
Jonestown: The Power and The Myth of Alan Jones is a 2006 biography of radio personality Alan Jones by Chris Masters. The biography deals in part with Jones's sexuality; Masters asserts that Jones is homosexual, something that Jones does not self-identify as. Masters began Jonestown in 2002 after profiling Jones for an episode of the current affairs program Four Corners.
The Chaser APEC pranks were a series of comic stunts coordinated and performed by the Australian satire group The Chaser for the television series The Chaser's War on Everything. Pranks were done at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders Summit in Sydney, Australia. The most prominent prank was the breach of an APEC restricted zone in the heart of Sydney central business district on 6 September. Julian Morrow directed a fake Canadian motorcade, which was allowed through the restricted zone by police and not detected until Chas Licciardello alighted, dressed as Osama bin Laden.
The Chaser's Age of Terror Variety Hour was a touring stage show by Australian comedian team The Chaser. It was produced by Laughing Stock and was the second stage show the Chaser team have produced.
The Chaser are an Australian satirical comedy group, best known for their television programmes and satirical news masthead. The group take their name from their satirical newspaper, a publication known to challenge conventions of taste. The group's motto is "Striving for Mediocrity in a World of Excellence".
Andrew John Hansen is an Australian comedian, musician and author, best known for being a member of satirical team The Chaser. As a member of The Chaser, Hansen's television work includes co-writing and starring in ABC Television shows CNNNN (2002–2003), The Chaser Decides, Chaser News Alert (2005), The Chaser's War On Everything, Yes We Canberra! (2010), The Hamster Wheel (2011–12), The Hamster Decides (2013) and The Chaser's Media Circus (2014–2015).
The Race Race was a 2008 radio show on Australia-wide radio station Triple J by Australian comedian team The Chaser. It was hosted by Chaser members Craig Reucassel and Chris Taylor, with guest appearances from fellow Chaser member Chas Licciardello. The show directly commented on the 2008 United States presidential election.
The Hamster Wheel is an Australian television satirical comedy series broadcast on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) television station ABC1. It is created and presented by the satirical group The Chaser.
The Unbelievable Truth is an Australian comedy television series on the Seven Network, based on a British radio show of the same name. The series is produced by members of The Chaser and Graeme Garden's Random Entertainment, and was first screened in October 2012.
The Chaser's Media Circus is an Australian television comedy quiz show which was broadcast on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) television station ABC. The series was produced by the Australian satirical group, The Chaser, consisting of Chris Taylor, Julian Morrow, Craig Reucassel, Andrew Hansen and Chas Licciardello.
War on Waste is an Australian documentary television series, the first season of which premiered on 16 May 2017 on ABC TV.
Alexandra Clair Lee is an Australian comedian, writer, actor, and television presenter. She has appeared in a range of comedy television series on the ABC and SBS, including The Feed and several programs by The Chaser team. She is also the host of the ABC quiz show Win the Week, starring alongside Craig Reucassel.