British, as in from Great Britain, and more specifically England, and furthermore, from Oxford. And for further shocking revelations: Not only is he English, but he is, and has been, a very famous and well-established comedic performer for many years preceding his role as the crotchety physician. His comedic cred established himself as a mainstay in Rowan Atkinson’s series Black Adder and has been in countless films and series (well, not countless, I’m sure you could go ahead and count them, but, like, alot, ok?) since then and prior landing on American soil.
His roots go even further back, as half of the comedy duo behind A Bit of Fry and Laurie, and it is with this that I must admit I have used Mr. Laurie in a subversive manner to speak about…Stephen Fry.
Why the subterfuge? It’s a fair chance that those in the states aren’t as aware of Stephen Fry as they are of Laurie, so I figured the fame of House seemed an appropriate enough conduit to bring attention to the subject at hand. Stephen Fry is a is a world-renowned performer (world renowned like soccer, I suppose, as the U.S. barely acknowledges him), known for his intelligence, comedic talent, linguistic expertise, and his many TV series and documentaries. You might realize soon, actually, that you have known him all your life.
Stephen Fry is the second most followed individual on Twitter, a performer in such films as A Fish Called Wanda, V for Vendetta, Wilde, and Spiceworld, along with such TV shows as Who’s Line is It Anyway? and Bones. He is also an accomplished novelist, screenwriter (currently the writer for Peter Jackson’s production, Dambusters), and narrator to the film A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and the PS3 game LittleBigPlanet.
Believe me when I say that this is only a small sampling of his works, and while this could rapidly descend into a Stephen Fry love letter, if it hasn’t already, I wish to bring to your attention to his latest audio series: The Dongle of Donald Trefusis.
The first piece of the 12-part audio adventure begins as Mr. Fry discloses his history with one of his Cambridge professors and mentors, Dr. Donald Trefusis, an extremely intelligent and eccentric individual, fluent in 17 or more languages and shrouded in mystery. As Stephen has continued on his career as comedian and celebrity, he has maintained a loose connection with his old professor. It is while filming in Madagascar that Stephen receives news that Professor Trefusis has died.
Upon his return to England, he receives notice that he is mentioned in Trefusis’ will, and, after an interesting meeting at the law firm in possession of the will (the firm of Hodgeman, Hodgeman, Hodgeman, Hodgeman, and Hodgeman), he is given a key specifically left to him. It is with the use of this key that he discovers, in the old Cambridge office of Dr. Trefusis, a USB flash drive. When he mounts the drive to his computer, he is astonished to find that this hidden-away flash drive is entitled “For Stephen.”
What follows is surely the beginnings of a most interesting and thought-provoking adventure that has been set upon our baffled author. To tell you the contents is, at this point, a minor spoiler at best, seeing as the first installment is merely an introductory piece, but even so, I will not reveal the contents. The Dongle of Donald Trefusis will continue episodically, with an episode released, charmingly, every fortnight.
What do the contents mean? What has Trefusis been up to? And why has he endeavored to involve Stephen Fry? We’ll all have to wait and listen until June 9th to further explore the contents of The Dongle of Donald Trefusis.
For more information, such as a trailer, release dates, and more, visit:
www.stephenfry.com/dongle
The Dongle of Donald Trefusis is also available on iTunes for $1.99.
Article originally posted on the VM Blog.
Alex Kalogiannis hopes to one day achieve some measure of Mr. Fry’s orotundity.