Marty Fields

Marty Fields (born 18 December 1961) is an Australian comedian, host/mc, actor, writer, musician, singer, and radio presenter from Melbourne.

Early life

The son of Australian actors Maurie Fields and Val Jellay, Fields trained for fifteen years at the Melba Conservatorium in piano, voice and theory.

Career

Screen

Fields began his acting career at the age of seven in the ABC television series Bellbird, which lead to further roles as a child actor, including in Homicide, Division 4, Matlock Police, The Sullivans and the 1973 miniseries A Taste for Blue Ribbons. He also had a lead role as Neil 'Stinker' Carter in drama series Marion in 1974.

He continued appearing in television series throughout his late teens and into adulthood including Skyways, Cop Shop, Carson's Law, The Flying Doctors, SeaChange and City Homicide. He made several appearances in Blue Heelers including a recurring role as Roy Holland.

His film credits include a small role in the 1988 film Evil Angels, alongside Meryl Streep and Sam Neill, based on the true story of the Azaria Chamberlain case. He later featured in 2006 arthouse film The Book of Revelation, 2007 superhero film Ghost Rider, alongside Nicolas Cage, 2011 Melbourne Cup biopic The Cup and 2018 comedy feature That's Not My Dog!.

Fields is particularly recognised from his comedic work on long-running variety show Hey Hey It's Saturday for four years, hosting the 'Great Aussie Joke' segment with his father, Maurie Fields. He continued his comic appearances on The Battle of the Sexes, Blankety Blanks and various other television shows.

Fields has also worked as a session vocalist for the ABC Network.

In 2005, he was inducted into the Australian Comedy Hall of Fame.

Stage

At the age of 19, Fields was Musical Director for a three-year touring production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs playing every major Australian country town. He has since starred in over a dozen musicals including High Society and Crazy for You, receiving a Green Room Award for Best Actor in a Musical in the latter. In 2000, he performed in the sell-out season of Guys and Dolls and in 2001, he starred in Anything Goes at the State Theatre, Melbourne. In 2005, he was cast at the last minute as Alfie Doolittle in My Fair Lady at Melbourne's Comedy Theatre, replacing Jon English, who had succumbed to injury.

Fields has played in several rock groups and cover bands including Coup De Ville, Vintage Red, Battle of the Piano Men and The Thin Twins. He was a founding member of The Australian Rat Pack with Bob Valentine and Lisa Edwards.

Marty began his stand-up career in 1987, playing the comedy circuit in the hotels and clubs of Australia. He has also played sell-out shows at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

He has also performed extensively around the world as a piano bar performer, including shows at The Riviera (Las Vegas), The New York Comedy Club (NYC), and Howl at the Moon (Chicago) and a three year residency at Melbourne’s Crown Casino. He has worked alongside performers including Marina Prior, Jimeoin, and John Farnham.

Writer

Fields has written two television comedy projects – The All Sports Show and Four Story Building, as well as short film screenplays. He is also the creator and composer of the Australian musical The Paradise.

As a composer, Fields has written radio jingles, musical scores for corporate events, and music and lyrics for the films Death of a Soldier (1986) and The Banjo Man. He has composed over three hundred songs, including "A Likeable Man" – a tribute to his father, Maurie Fields.

Fields has written many newspaper and magazine articles, including a column for the Herald Sun from 2011-2012 and a weekly comedy page in the Australasian Post magazine. He has written advertising copy for companies including Video City and Crown Casino.

He is also a best selling author of three comedy books, including "Dinkum Aussie Jokes", "Ripper Yarns" and "Takeaway Jokes", the latter being a collection of one-liners and short jokes, which went into two reprints and had international success.

Radio

Fields has a regular national comedy radio show, syndicated by 105 stations. He has also been a regular presenter on 3AW, appearing on shows such as Nightline, where he has filled in for Bruce Mansfield and Philip Brady.

Personal life

Fields is based in Melbourne, where he lives with his wife and daughter. He is a patron of the Lost Dogs Home, and an ambassador of the Melbourne Storm.

Awards and nominations

Filmography

Film

As performer

As writer

Television

As performer

As writer

Radio

Stage

As performer

As writer / director

External links