Des Bishop

Des Bishop
Bishop in 2018
Born	Desmond Ryan Bishop (1975-11-12) 12 November 1975 (age 48) London, England[1]
Nationality	Irish-American
Alma mater	University College Cork (B.A.)
Occupation	Stand-up comedian
Spouse	Hannah Berner
Website	www.desbishop.net

Desmond Bishop (born 12 November 1975) is an Irish-American comedian.^[2] He was brought up in New York and moved to Ireland at the age of 14. He primarily resides there.

Early life

Bishop attended St. Francis Preparatory School in the Fresh Meadows neighbourhood of the New York City borough of Queens.^[3] At the age of 16, he began school at St Peter's College, Wexford in Ireland. He later re-sat his Leaving Certificate at Blackrock College, Dublin.^[4] He has a degree in English and history from University College Cork.

Career

Bishop has worked as a comic in Ireland since the late 1990s. He began hosting shows and honing his act at the International Comedy Cellar, a venue set up by Irish comics such as Ardal O'Hanlon, Kevin Gildea, and Barry Murphy.^[4]

Bishop appeared in the 2002 film In America, in which he played a high stockbroker rapping in the back of a New York taxi cab.^[5]

He reached a broader audience after his TV show The Des Bishop Work Experience screened on RTÉ Two in 2004. The show featured him attempting to survive for one month working a minimum wage job in various parts of Ireland. During the series, he worked at Abrakebabra, Waterford; The Aqua-dome, Tralee; Superquinn, Dundalk; and the Central Hotel, Dublin.^[4]

A 2006 TV show named Joy in the Hood featured him travelling to deprived areas of Ireland's major cities and mentoring local people in stand-up comedy.^[4]

Bishop received significant criticism during a show in 2006 for ableist comments he aimed at an audience member who was in a wheelchair and had an intellectual disability.^[6] Bishop later apologised for his actions.^[7]

Bishop speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese and has also worked in China^[8] where he has adopted the Chinese stage name Bi Hansheng (毕瀚生)^[9] and has appeared in a few Chinese dating shows.^[10][11]

In 2017, Bishop took part in the first series of the Irish version of Dancing with the Stars. He was partnered with Italian dancer Giulia Dotta. They were eliminated in the sixth week of the competition, finishing in eighth place.^[12]

Personal life

Bishop's brother Aidan works as a comedian in Ireland.^[13] Both are involved in running the International Comedy Club.

His father died from lung cancer in February 2011, and on 19 March 2019, his mother Eileen died at the age of 77, after a long illness.^[14]

In February 2021, Bishop became engaged to Hannah Berner, a former main cast member on the Bravo reality television series Summer House.^[15] They married at Bishop's home in The Hamptons in New York State on 13 May 2022.^[16]

Bishop's comedy has covered social issues, such as poverty.^[4] After being diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2000, Bishop turned his experiences into comedy material.^[17]

Irish language

Bishop's TV show In the Name of the Fada premiered in 2008.^[4] It chronicles Bishop's undertaking to learn Irish to a level sufficient to perform a stand-up act in the language.^[4] During this period he achieved fluency in the language.^[4] He later used his Irish-language skills to sing the Gaeilge version of the song "Jump Around" called Léim Thart.^[18]

The DVDs of his live show Tongues and of the series In the Name of the Fada were released on 14 November 2008.^{[citation needed]}

Works

Standup DVDs

• Des Bishop – Live at Vicar Street (2003)
• Des Bishop – Live (2005)
• Des Bishop – Fitting In (2006)
• Des Bishop – Tongues (2007)
• Des Bishop – Desfunctional (2009)
• Des Bishop - Of All People (2024)

Book

• Bishop, Des (2011). My Dad Was Nearly James Bond. Penguin Ireland. ISBN 978-1-84488-278-6. LCCN 2012358505. OCLC 751728732. OL 26038309M.

References

1. Bishop of China? – Des Bishop. OTL14030 1.20min
2. "Des Bishop – IMDb". IMDb.
3. Interview of Des Bishop by Al Roker. Today Show. NBC. 16 March 2009.
4. Eamon Dunphy (7 March 2009). "Des Bishop". In Conversations with Eamon Dunphy (MP3). RTÉ Radio 1. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
5. Des Bishop at IMDb
6. Doyle, Claire Connolly (13 April 2006). "Des Bishop lands in hot water over retard comments at comedy gig". Irish Independent. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
7. "Des Bishop apologises for comments to audience member". Irish Examiner. 14 April 2006. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
8. Bishop, Des. "Stand Up Comedian Des Bishop 毕瀚生 storms gig on Chinese TV in Chinese". 东方卫视. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
9. "Des Bishop China – Party Piece". Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2016 – via YouTube.
10. "非诚勿扰 Part2 爱尔兰知名喜剧演员登台 笑星黄西亮相助阵 140712 HD". Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2016 – via YouTube.
11. "百里挑一20140315：毕瀚生 潘云牵手失败 (38岁爱尔兰脱口秀主持人钦点美女市场总监）". SMG Shanghai Media Group 上海电视台. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
12. Maher, David (12 February 2017). "Des Bishop says Dancing with the Stars exit had 'nothing to do with dancing'". Irish Mirror. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
13. "Aidan Bishop profile". Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2007.
14. "Des Bishop's father passes away". RTÉ News. 4 February 2011.
15. Guglielmi, Jodi (3 March 2021). "Summer House's Hannah Berner Engaged to Boyfriend Des Bishop: 'When You Know, You Know'". People. Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
16. "Des Bishop weds in the US". RTÉ News and Current Affairs. 14 May 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
17. "Des Bishop: 'I was suddenly on my own in reception, pondering the fact that I had cancer'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
18. RTE.ie – Press Release – New season schedule Archived 10 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine

External links

• Official website
• New York Times interview
• Des Bishop at IMDb