 | This articlecontainspromotional content. Please helpimprove it by removingpromotional language and inappropriateexternal links, and by adding encyclopedic text written from aneutral point of view.(June 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Rove McManus | |
|---|---|
.jpg) McManus in January 2018 | |
| Born | John Henry Michael McManus (1974-01-21)21 January 1974 (age 51) |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Television | Rove |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 1 |
John Henry Michael "Rove"McManus[1] (born 21 January 1974) is an Australian tripleGold Logie award-winning comedian, television and radio presenter, producer and media personality. He was the host of the eponymous variety showRove and was also the host of the comedy talk showRove LA. He is the co-owner of the production companyRoving Enterprises with business partner Craig Campbell.[2] He hostsWhovians on theABC.
McManus was born inPerth, Western Australia, to John and Coralie McManus. McManus attended Orana Catholic Primary School before going through grades 8–12 atCorpus Christi College. He acquired the nickname "Rove" as a child, from his sister.[3]
| This section of abiography of a living persondoes notinclude anyreferences or sources. Please help by addingreliable sources. Contentious material about living people that is unsourced or poorly sourcedmust be removed immediately. Find sources: "Rove McManus" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(March 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
McManus is a long established exponent ofstand-up comedy, touring nationally and also appearing internationally at major events such as the 2010 Just For Laughs Festival inMontreal and as the host of the 2013 International Comedy Gala.
In 2005 and 2008, McManus undertook live stand-up comedy shows, touring Australian capital cities as well asWellington andAuckland inNew Zealand. During the tour he returned to Melbourne each Tuesday to filmRove Live.
McManus has appeared onGood Morning Australia,John Safran vs God,Pulp Sport,The Living Room,The Project,Studio 10,Celebrity Name Game,Have You Been Paying Attention New Zealand? andHughesy, We Have a Problem.
McManus's first recorded television appearance was as a child, when he appeared in the ABC television series,Kaboodle as Marty, in an episode called "Marty Makes A Move".[3]
After some time as a jack-of-all-trades helping to produceLi'l Elvis and the Truckstoppers, McManus voiced a role in the 1997 "Monkey See, Monkey Do" episode ofLi'l Elvis.[4] In 1997, McManus began hostingThe Loft Live, which was produced byRMIT University'sStudent television stationRMITV for the community television stationChannel 31, where, according to Rove, he was given a budget of $50 per week. It was there where he met long-time co-hostPeter Helliar.[citation needed] Rove then worked forFoxtel as a roving reporter on a show calledIn Fashion which was hosted byHugh Jackman. He then took an offer from theNine Network for ten late-night episodes of his own variety show,Rove, in 1999, but Nine cancelled the series at the end of its run. In 2000, McManus was offered the opportunity to produce a new version of theRove show forNetwork Ten. The resultingRove Live was almost identical to Nine'sRove.Rove Live became a flagship show for Network Ten, and it was also broadcast onTV3 in New Zealand. The show followed a variety show format and showcased weekly celebrity guests; comedy acts; variety segments; local and international comedians; andlive bands.
During the2004 and2007 federal elections, McManus unsuccessfully campaigned to have theAustralian prime minister,John Howard, appear on his program. While Howard did not appear, then-opposition leadersMark Latham appeared on the show in 2005 andKevin Rudd in 2007. After being elected prime minister, Rudd appeared on the show again in 2008 and also on 28 June 2009.
WhenBert Newton fell ill in early 2004, McManus was one of many guest presenters who hosted Newton'sGood Morning Australia program. McManus hosted the episodes on 24 April and 12 October 2004. The following year, McManus and Newton co-hosted a Roving Enterprises television specialTen Seriously 40, a look at the history of the Ten Network.
In 2004, McManus appeared in comedianJohn Safran's TV showJohn Safran vs God in a segment in which Safran convinced the controversial UK Muslim clericOmar Bakri Muhammad to put afatwa on McManus. The fatwa was later taken off when Omar Bakri found out that the pictures showing McManus mocking Islam were falsified.
In 2005, McManus co-hosted the historic tri-network tsunami appeal Reach Out with fellow presentersEddie McGuire andAndrew O'Keefe on three commercial networks Seven, Nine and Ten. The appeal raised over $20 million for tsunami relief efforts around Asia. The event was such a success that the three teamed up just a few months later to host the Logie awards.
In November 2006, after his wifeBelinda Emmett died after fighting breast cancer for eight years, McManus took indefinite leave, andRove Live did not screen its last two planned episodes of the year. At the time, there were unfounded rumours circulating in the industry that he might quit television for good. He returned, however, in the competitive Sunday 8.30 pm timeslot on 1 April 2007 with a major format overhaul, including renaming the show to simplyRove.[5]Rove scored its highest ever audience of 1.69 million viewers.[6] In September 2007, McManus made his debut as a game show host in the Australian version of theUS game showAre You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?.[7]
On 2 May 2007, 25 July 2007, and 29 October 2008, McManus appeared as a guest on NBC'sThe Tonight Show with Jay Leno and as a result had a regular spot on the show.[8] In 2011 he hosted a segment called "Rove Across America" onThe Tonight Show. Jay Leno and Ed McMahon also made a small pre-recorded appearance at the beginning of McManus' shows in Los Angeles giving him tips for the night's show.
On 23 December 2008, McManus made his debut as host on American television as the host of anAmerican Broadcasting Company specialThe List.[9]
On the 2009 series finale ofRove shown on 15 November, following several weeks of rumours that the show was going to end, McManus confirmed live on the show that it would be ending with the 2009 finale. He said: "It's purely my decision. It's not one I've made lightly or flippantly. The timing was right to stop, stand back and see what happens next."
In May 2011, McManus relocated to Los Angeles, California, and landed a hosting role on a new talk show,Rove LA. The show debuted on 19 September 2011, onFOX8, with catch-up airings onThe Comedy Channel. The show was subsequently picked up for a two-year run.[10]
In 2013, McManus featured as a subject in the Australian version of the seriesWho Do You Think You Are?.
McManus has also appeared as a 'Round table' guest on theE! Network late-night talk showChelsea Lately. He has also made intermittent appearances onTV3's satiricalPulp Sport series, usually performing menial tasks for the hosts, "Bill and Ben".
In 2014, McManus hostedRiot, the US version of the French light entertainment improv showVendredi Tout est Permis (Friday Anything Goes). In the show, two teams compete on a floor tilted at a 22.5-degree angle. It screened onFOX for one season, and the executive producer wasSteve Carell.[11]
On 1 May 2014, McManus appeared on the American comedy show@midnight, presented byChris Hardwick onComedy Central. He emerged as the winner, being declared by Hardwick as having won the Internet and being the funniest person in the world for the next 23 and a half hours.[12]
In April 2015, theGame Show Network in the United States debuted a new show hosted by McManus calledLie Detectors, in which audience members decide which of three comedians is telling the truth.
In 2017, McManus presented the newAustralian Broadcasting Corporation panel show,Whovians, to tie in with their broadcast of the tenth series ofDoctor Who; the show aired onABC TV Plus.[13] The second season began on 8 October 2018 onABC TV Plus as a companion to the first episode of theeleventh series ofDoctor Who, and there was noDoctor Who series in 2019 so the third series began on 9 February 2020 to tie in with thetwelfth series ofDoctor Who.
In 2018, McManus returned to Network Ten to host a new panel show,Show Me the Movie!.[14][15] He also voiced King Tubby, Cheeta, and Last Chance in the kids TV series,Kitty Is Not a Cat.
In 2018, McManus was given the greenlight for a new show,Bring Back...Saturday Night, after airing a pilot duringNetwork Ten's pilot week.[16][17] The series premiered on 24 August 2019 under new title,Saturday Night Rove.[18][19] It lasted two episodes before getting axed,[20] after viewership dropped from 244,000 to 138,000, below the 200,000 viewers cutoff that was set by the network.[21]
In 2024, McManus guest starred in theBluey episode "The Sign",[22] voicing aToy Fox Terrierreal estate agent named Bucky Dunstan.
In 1999, McManus was a regular host onTriple J radio and had a segment on the breakfast show (starringWil Anderson andAdam Spencer) on Friday mornings,Know Your Millennium, a quiz show that looked into the past.
In 2000, he filled in onTriple M Sydney'sAndrew Denton Breakfast Show with co-hostAmanda Keller andMike Fitzpatrick.[citation needed]
In 2002,Austereo commissioned Roving Enterprises to create a weekly radio program starring McManus alongside regularRove colleaguesPeter Helliar andCorinne Grant; the show was originally calledSaturday Morning Rove and was broadcast onFox FM every Saturday from 10 am to midday; it was pre-recorded the day before to allow the performers to have a full weekend of other media commitments.[citation needed] In 2004, the program moved to Friday mornings, allowing live phone callers, and was retitled asRove Live Radio; it was discontinued at the end of 2004.[citation needed]
In 2006, McManus and Helliar filled in forMerrick & Rosso while they were on holiday. In the first week of their three-week stint,Meshel Laurie ofNova 106.9 co-hosted the show as well.[citation needed]
In October 2015,Southern Cross Austereo announced that McManus andSam Frost would host breakfast on2Day FM with the show titledRove and Sam, replacing the ailingThe Dan & Maz Show.[23] McManus was on a three-year contract beginning from the start of 2016, which included remuneration of shares valued at $350,000 every six months.[24]
McManus had a cameo voicing a crab inPixar's 2003 animated filmFinding Nemo. He appeared as himself on the New Zealand cartoonbro'Town and voices a number of characters inCartoon Network'sExchange Student Zero.
McManus voiced additional characters inNorm of the North.
In 2014, McManus worked on the filmCookies From Outer Space withYahoo Serious.[25]
In 2000, McManus started the production company,Roving Enterprises and co-owns it with business partner Craig Campbell.[2] The company co-producedRove Live and produced theAFL football comedy panel programBefore The Game during their runs on Network Ten. It also producesThe Project. Past projects include thesketch comedy programskitHOUSE, theparody showReal Stories,Rove LA and, between 2000 and 2004, host and producer of theARIA Music Awards.
McManus is a triple TV WeekGold Logie winner for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television, winning in 2003, 2004 and 2005.[26]
In all he has won 16Logie Awards and been nominated for several others for his work onRove andAre You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?. In 2000 McManus was nominated for 'Most Popular New Talent – Male'. In 2002 he was nominated for the GoldLogie Award. In 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009, he was nominated for theGold Logie. In 2010, McManus was nominated for the Most Popular TV Presenter and for the Gold Logie.
| Association | Year | Award | Result |
| Logie Awards | 2000 | Most Popular New Talent | Nominated |
| 2002 | Most Popular Light Entertainment/Comedy (forRove Live) | Won | |
| Gold Logie | Nominated | ||
| 2003 | Most Popular Light Entertainment/Comedy (forRove Live) | Won | |
| Most Popular Presenter | Won | ||
| Gold Logie | Won | ||
| 2004 | Most Popular Light Entertainment Program | Won | |
| Most Popular Presenter | Won | ||
| Gold Logie | Won | ||
| 2005 | Most Popular Light Entertainment /Comedy | Won | |
| Most Popular Presenter | Won | ||
| Gold Logie | Won | ||
| 2006 | Most Popular Presenter | Won | |
| Gold Logie | Nominated | ||
| 2007 | Logie Most Popular Light Entertainment/Comedy | Won | |
| Most Popular Presenter | Won | ||
| Gold Logie | Nominated | ||
| 2008 | Most Popular Presenter | Won | |
| Gold Logie | Nominated | ||
| 2009 | Most Popular Light Entertainment/Comedy | Won | |
| Most Popular Presenter | Won | ||
| Gold Logie | Nominated | ||
| 2010 | Most Popular Presenter | Nominated | |
| Gold Logie | Nominated |
Between 2008 and 2010, McManus was a director of the Australian chapter of the conservation charityFauna & Flora International, for a period serving as the vice-president.[27]
.jpg)
McManus married actress and singerBelinda Emmett in 2005 at theMary Immaculate Church inWaverley, aneastern suburb of Sydney. Emmett died of metastatic breast cancer on 11 November 2006 at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney.[28]
McManus began dating actressTasma Walton in October 2007. They married on 16 June 2009 in a private ceremony on a beach inBroome, Western Australia.[29] They have a daughter, born in 2013.[8][30]
He is a supporter of theFremantle Football Club in theAustralian Football League, for which his first cousinShaun McManus played 228 games.[31] For three seasons, starting from 2003, McManus was thenumber-one ticket holder of the club (a prestigious but largely symbolic position often given to prominent Australians).[32] McManus is also a lifelong fan of professional wrestling; he interviewed wrestlersRic Flair andJohn Cena on his talk show, and has managed wrestlers as part of the formerWorld Wrestling All-Stars promotion.[33]
On 8 June 2007, he appeared as the presenter of a secondary school discussion atRod Laver Arena withTenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama, in attendance.[34]
