Эндрю Дентон: от радио до телевидения и музыкальных экспериментов.

Australian television producer, comedian and host

Andrew Christopher Denton (born 4 May 1960) is an Australian television producer, comedian, Gold Logie–nominated television presenter and former radio host, and was the host of the ABC's weekly television interview program Enough Rope and the ABC game show Randling. He is known for his comedy and interviewing technique. He is also responsible for introducing the troupe of The Chaser to Australian audiences.

Denton is the son of Kit Denton, writer and the author of the novel The Breaker, about Australian soldier Breaker Morant. He went to Roseville Primary School in Sydney, before attending Blue Mountains Grammar School in Wentworth Falls. In 1977 he attended Guildford Grammar School in Perth. He then studied at Mitchell College of Advanced Education (MCAE) (now Charles Sturt University) in Bathurst, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in communications in 1982. He was involved in the campus radio station, 2MCE.

Denton worked on Australian radio stations early in his media career, beginning as a writer for radio presenter Doug Mulray on Triple M Sydney. Denton worked as a morning radio host for the Triple M in Sydney. His time on Triple M included the House From Hell reality TV program, in which various contestants were placed in a house together and involved in various stunts, tricks and tortures. Denton has said in radio interviews that he regrets being involved in the program due to the unacceptable level of human manipulation.

Denton made his first television appearance as an extra on the ABC television series The Investigators, and progressed to being a member of the team that was runner up on the Australian improvised comedy show Theatresports in 1987. Between 1998 and 1995 he hosted the TV shows Blah Blah Blah (1988), The Money or the Gun (1989–1990), Live and Sweaty (1991–1995), all on ABC TV, as well as a comedy talk show, Denton (1994–1995), which aired on Seven Network. These shows were talk based. Live and Sweaty focused on sports and was panel based. Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, musicians from Led Zeppelin, later appeared on Denton to perform a Rolf Harris song. (Harris performed a notable version of "Stairway to Heaven", with wobble board solo.) Denton saw the beginning of the Musical Challenge segment, and challenged musical guests to perform a song from a barrel full of well known songs. This segment evolved during his time on Triple M, resulting in three albums, with tracks including Tina Arena singing Cold Chisel's "Cheap Wine", The Wiggles singing AC/DC's "It's a Long Way to the Top", Neil Finn performing Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing", James Reyne performing Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights", Barenaked Ladies performing Prince's "When Doves Cry", and Paul Kelly performing Prince's "Little Red Corvette". Three volumes were released on CD titled Andrew Denton's Musical Challenge. In the early 1990s, Denton was the first guest programmer on Rage. Denton appeared as a contestant on the Nine Network's Sale of the Century. While presenting his talk show Denton, he launched a public subscription scheme to hire a bounty hunter to capture fugitive businessman Christopher Skase, who was attempting to avoid extradition to Australia at the time. He was executive producer and script editor for ABC's The Election Chaser and CNNNN. In an audience development survey in 2004, respondents named Denton as one of the "most liked and recognisable" personalities on Australian television. Enough Rope ended in late 2008. Also in 2003, Denton provided the narration for the ABC TV animated documentary series Human Contraptions. Asked about the best skill an interviewer can bring to the job, Denton said: "Research, clearly. Listening, obviously. And leaving myself open to the possibility it won't go the way I expect." In 2009, Denton hosted the second season of Elders, a series of interviews with ageing notable Australians. After this series finished, Denton took a few years off being in front of the camera and spent more time behind the scenes. In 2012, he returned to hosting duties, to ABC's game show, Randling. In 2014, Denton appeared on the SBS TV program Who Do You Think You Are?, tracing his Jewish family line to Poland. He visited the Treblinka extermination camp and contemplated what his fate might have been had his grandfather not moved to England. In 2018, Denton hosted Interview, produced by Legacy Media for the Seven Network.

Denton's first feature length documentary, God on My Side, documents his visit to the National Religious Broadcasters Convention. It was first shown at the Sydney Film Festival in June 2006 with plans to show it as a TV special on ABC's Enough Rope. It was screened in Australian cinemas from 2 November 2006. Denton insists he is not anti Christian. In 2011, Denton served as executive producer on the crowd funded horror film The Tunnel. The film was directed by Carlo Ledesma, co written, co produced and co edited by Julian Harvey and Enzo Tedeschi, and produced with Denton's production company Zapruder's Other Films.

Denton appeared as Malcolm Turnbull in the Belvoir Street Theatre production of A Royal Commission into the Australian Economy, written by John Clarke and Ross Stevenson, and participated in the early years of the ABC's World Series Debating.

In 2022 Tasmanian band 208L Containers released an album, A Night at the Mirage, which they described as "a concept album about Andrew Denton and Christopher Skase".

Denton lives in Sydney. He and his wife, TV presenter Jennifer Byrne, have a son. Byrne and Denton separated for six months in 1997. Denton is also an atheist. In 2017, Denton was diagnosed with advanced heart disease, and he underwent a successful triple bypass surgery.