Simon Amstell (1979 – ), UK comedian, television presenter, screenwriter and actor

b 29 November 1979.

BAFTA nominated,award-winning English comedian, television presenter, screenwriter and actor, best known for his roles as former co-host of Popworld, former host of Never Mind the Buzzcocks and co-writer and star of the sitcom Grandma's House.

Amstell also performs as a stand up comedian. He has performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe every August 2005–2007 and 2009. He has also appeared at the Carling Festivals in the Cabaret and Comedy tent.

He was named at number 26 on the DS list of the "50 Most Influential Gays", 2011

His groundbreaking quirky, funny, original interviewing technique on Channel 4’s Popworld is still the blueprint for T4’s presenting style. And being gay was not something comedian Simon kept quiet about for long once he became famous. In an interview with notoriously homophobic reggae star Beenie Man, Simon explained he’d just broken up with his boyfriend, and then asked him for a hug. And his role in the presenting seat for Never Mind The Buzzcocks brought him to a whole new audience. Simon used to feature a lot of gay jokes in his stand-up routine but later dropped them. “It feels really old,” he says. “No one cares any more. There are so many homos on TV. It’s why Matt Lucas ended up doing the only gay in the village. It was a twisted coming-out story because the old one is so boring.”

Lynn Lavner

"There are 6 admonishments in the Bible concerning homosexual activity and our enemies are always throwing them up to us usually in a vicious way and very much out of context. What they don't want us to remember is that there are 362 admonishments in the Bible concerning heterosexual activity. I don't mean to imply by this that God doesn't love straight people, only that they seem to require a great deal more supervision." 

-from Butch Fatale

In a world where "going mainstream" has become the end of the rainbow for many performers, Lynn Lavner happily remains a minority of one. "My songs and humor are drawn", she says, "from my own experience as a short, left-handed, Jewish, lesbian from New York". The quick-witted Lavner, clad in black leather and who stands five feet tall, plays the piano, sings and tells hilarious comic monologues.

Billed as "America's most politically - incorrect entertainer", she has taken her original brand of music and comedy to 41 states and 7 foreign countries, bowling over audiences and critics alike. While her act is gay in content, her appearance is aimed at playful parody of stereotypes with a universal appeal to anyone with a sense of humor.

Truly a crossover act, Lavner has performed at events as diverse as the 25th Anniversary GALA for the National Organization for Women to pride celebrations and college campuses nationwide. She has retired from Brooklyn to Florida where she lives with her lover of many years Ardis Sperber.

Discography

• Ladies! Don't Spit and Holler!, 1981 (available on vinyl only)
• Something Different, 1983 (available on vinyl and cassette)
• I'd Rather Be Cute, 1986 (available on vinyl and cassette)
• You Are What You Wear, 1988 (available on CD, vinyl, and cassette)
• Butch Fatale, 1992 (available on CD and cassette)

Matt Lucas, Comedian

b.  5 March 1974

An English comedian, screenwriter and actor best known for his acclaimed work with David Walliams in the television show Little Britain; as well as for his portrayals of the scorekeeping baby George Dawes in the comedy panel game Shooting Stars, Tweedledee and Tweedledum in Alice in Wonderland, directed by Tim Burton, and the thief Thénardier in the musical Les Misérables.

On Christmas day 2010 the BBC began showing Matt Lucas and David Walliams' new series, Come Fly with Me. The show followed the familiar style of Walliams and Lucas each playing multiple characters, but unlike Little Britain, it focussed entirely on the working environment of the airline industry.

In December 2006, Lucas entered into a civil partnership with Kevin McGee,[15] in a lavish ceremony in Central London. In attendance were various celebrities, including Barbara Windsor, Neil Tennant, Elton John and Courtney Love.[16] After six years together, the couple divorced through the High Court in 2008, becoming the first high-profile same-sex couple divorce in Britain. On 5 October 2009, Kevin McGee committed suicide, 10 months after the divorce

In May 2007, he was placed eighth in the list of the UK's 100 most influential gays and lesbians, in fields as diverse as entertainment, business, politics, and science, by British newspapers The Independent and The Daily Mail.

In 2011, he was placed at 29 on the DS list of the "50 Most Influential Gays":

For such a funny man, Matt’s life has been marred by sadness. He was completely bald by the age of six, his father died when he was a teenager and his ex-husband Kevin McGee committed suicide two years ago. Yet both Matt and his comedy creations have proved an inspiration for young gay outsiders worldwide. Shooting Stars, Little Britain, Alice in Wonderland and Come Fly With Me have all kept us laughing for more than a decade. He’s an equal opportunities comedian – he’s mocked gays, straights, transvestites and the disabled – and all without causing offence. Matt’s also a huge philanthropist, supporting charities including those involved with leukemia, cystic fibrosis, AIDS and the homelessness.