Paul Merton

Paul Merton is a beloved British comedian, known for his deadpan delivery and surreal wit. He started getting gigs as an actor in the mid-1980s on the sketch comedy show "Alas Smith & Jones" and the anarchic sitcom "The Young Ones." His career received a major boost in 1988 when he became a regular performer on the improvisational comedy show "Whose Line is it Anyway?" He also appeared on the satirical panel show "Have I Got News for You," with Ian Hislop, for several years. Merton also hosted the bizarre show "Room 101," which featured various celebrity guests having to confront their own humorous fate inside the fabled room, a parody of George Orwell's book "1984."

While Merton is probably best known for these roles and as a guest comedian on other programs, he is also a documentarian and the host of several travel shows. His interest in the history of silent film led him to make the acclaimed documentary, "Silent Clowns," a four episode show focusing on the greatest comic actors of their era--Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy, and Harold Lloyd. Merton has also directed a documentary on the early years of famed director Alfred Hitchcock, "Paul Merton Looks at Alfred Hitchcock," focusing on the filmmaker's English years before he left for Hollywood. His travel shows--"Paul Merton in China," "Paul Merton in India," and "Paul Merton in Europe"--continue to display his offbeat humor, but are informative as well.