Book description
This book charts Akmal's early life in Egypt with his eccentric family
to his first gigs at Bikie conventions (coming on stage before the
strippers), his marriage, his ever increasing success both on stage and
TV towards becoming one of the best known and loved comedians in
Australia. At the age of 11 Akmal Saleh's parents gathered up their
children and left Egypt headed for Australian shores. Growing up in a
typical Sydney suburb, Akmal began to recognise the differences between
his Arab heritage and the Australian way of life, which would later
shape him as a comedian. Akmal began his comedy career going by the name
Peter so he could get booked in RSL clubs and it wasn't before long that
Akmal displayed his uncanny gift to walk on stage and instantly have the
audience eating out of the palm of his hand. After only a few years
Akmal become one of the most sort after acts touring with international
comedians such as Steven Wright, Ben Elton and The Amazing Johnathan.
This book, like the hugely successful The Sound Of Laughter by UK
comedian Peter Kay, charts Akmal's early life in Egypt with his
eccentric family to his first gigs at Bikie conventions (coming on stage
before the strippers), his marriage, his ever increasing success both on
stage and TV towards becoming one of the best known and loved comedians
in Australia. Akmal started in stand-up comedy in 1990. For a time, he
performed under the alias Peter Saleh: "So that people would think
I was white," he says, "'Peter' seemed like a common
name." In 1992 he co-wrote and starred in the show All Aussies are
Boofta which enjoyed successful runs in various Sydney venues. This was
followed by the live shows Bound And Gagged and Hoot, the latter of
which toured the 1996 Adelaide Fringe, Melbourne International Comedy
Festival and Edinburgh Festival. Akmal started broadcasting on
Australian radio in January 2007, filling in for Merrick and Rosso on
Nova on Nova for three weeks during the summer before receiving his own
drive-time show. He has also appeared on numerous Australian television
shows, such as Hey Hey, Rove, Thank God You're Here, Spicks and Specks
and is a regular on Good News Week on Network Ten.
