Chas Licciardello

Charles John "Chas" Licciardello (born 10 May 1977) is an Australian comedian and member of satirical team The Chaser.[1] He's currently the co-host, with John Barron, of Planet America on ABC TV. Licciardello has appeared as a regular of CNNNN, The Chaser's War on Everything and The Hamster Wheel.

Chas Licciardello
Licciardello in 2007
Birth nameCharles John Licciardello
Born (1977-05-10) 10 May 1977
MediumPrint, television, radio and stage
NationalityAustralian
Years active1999 – present
GenresSatirical comedy
SpouseJocelyn Laurence
Notable works and roles
Websitechaser.com.au
abc.net.au/tv.chaser.war

Early life

Chas attended Sydney Grammar School where he produced and edited The Tiger, a small satirical school magazine, with fellow Chaser writers Charles Firth and Dominic Knight.[2] He graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Science majoring in physics and computer science.[3][4]

Television career

The Chaser

Licciardello is a member of the comedy crew, The Chaser. His television career began in 2001, when he appeared on The Chaser Decides. This show satirised the then-upcoming Australian Federal Elections. He also appeared on these spin-off series, in 2004 and 2007.

He then appeared on the Chaser's CNNNN program, for two seasons, airing in 2002 and 2003.

Licciardello's appeared as part of The Chaser team in 2006. He appeared on The Chaser's War on Everything, for three seasons, airing in 2006, 2007 and 2009.

In 2010, he appeared on Yes We Canberra!. In 2011 and 2012, he also appeared on The Hamster Wheel.

Planet America

In 2012, Licciardello co-hosted Planet America on ABC News 24 with John Barron, covering the US election of that year. In early 2016 Licciardello resumed his hosting duties of "Planet America", in the lead up to the 2016 U.S. presidential and congressional elections in November 2016.

In 2020, Planet America was moved to the primetime slot of 9.30pm on Wednesday evenings on the primary ABC TV channel, to cover the 2020 US election campaign.

Controversy

Bulldogs 2006

On 14 July 2006, Licciardello attended a National Rugby League football match between the Canterbury Bulldogs and the St George Illawarra Dragons as part of a stunt for The Chaser's War on Everything that was meant to satirise the then-recent violent actions of Bulldogs fans. Dressed in a Bulldogs' jersey and beanie, he attempted to sell a "Bulldogs supporters' kit" containing fake knives, knuckledusters, and balaclavas in the team's colours. Licciardello was arrested by New South Wales Police and charged with Offensive Conduct.[5][6] Licciardello explained that the skit "poked fun at the misbehaviour of Bulldogs fans" knowing that "a lot of people thought it was funny."[7]

Licciardello was quick to dispute his charges on the show. The following Friday, he appeared on The Chaser's War on Everything in a cage before referring to the NSW Premier Morris Iemma's own joke regarding residents of crime-riddled suburbs wearing balaclavas.[8] Iemma had described the Bulldogs stunt as "grossly irresponsible behaviour."[6]

On 29 August 2006, in Kogarah Local Court, Licciardello pleaded not guilty to the charge. The matter was adjourned until 12 October.[9] On 22 January 2007, magistrate Joanne Keogh said she would view an unedited video of the incident, totalling 50 minutes, to decide Licciardello's fate. Licciardello gave no evidence in the matter, letting The Chaser team's film speak for him.[10] He was subsequently found not guilty as the magistrate found that "while his behaviour could be perceived as silly conduct, it was not offensive."[11]

The decision was hailed a "victory for free speech". Licciardello was in the best of humour after the decision, and was reported as saying he would "appeal to the Supreme Court, the High Court, to the UN, the Jedi High Council and the Snickometer" before being reminded he had won the case.[12]

APEC 2007

One of the most controversial stunts in which Licciardello was involved was the APEC stunt in 2007. Fellow Chaser Julian Morrow claimed that he and Licciardello aimed to get a majority of their members arrested amid the high security surrounding the APEC Australia 2007 summit in Sydney, adding jokingly that they also aimed to get Licciardello shot.[13]

Footage aired on The Chaser's War on Everything on 12 September 2007 showed the fake "motorcade" consisting of two SUVs, a black Holden limousine flying a Canadian flag on the bonnet, four "runners" (one of whom was Morrow) carrying hand-held video cameras and two motorcycles. They passed through two security checkpoints without being stopped by police or asked for identification; at one point, the footage showed Morrow offering to present identification to a police officer, however he was waved through without this occurring. The motorcade reached a point 10 metres outside the hotel where U.S. President George W. Bush was staying. Police only realised that the motorcade was a hoax when Licciardello, dressed as Osama bin Laden, voluntarily stepped out of the limousine.

Licciadello holds a "thought bubble" over Malcolm Turnbull's head, satirising what politicians are really thinking. Pictured on 18 November 2007.

Following the incident, Licciardello and Morrow were detained and questioned by NSW Police on 6 September 2007 outside the InterContinental Hotel,[14][15] and were charged under the APEC Meeting (Police Powers) Act 2007.[16] The charges were dropped in April 2008.[17][18] They were dropped because his lawyers stated that he was waved through the blockades and he had to do what the police said.[19]

Other works

During the Chaser recess, Licciardello appeared on the panel of My Favourite Album an ABC TV special, showcasing Australia's top ten albums as voted by the public. He also filled in on Triple M's drive time slot during the summer of 2007 with fellow Chaser colleague Dominic Knight with their show Chas and Dom from 'The Chaser'.

On 25 May 2008 Licciardello and Craig Reucassel were guests on channel Ten's Rove. Their interview concluded with the '20 Bucks in 20 Seconds' segment. When Rove McManus asked the only question that is asked to every guest, "Who would you turn gay for?", Chas responded in annoyance that everyone answered "I'd turn gay for you, Rove" but that nobody ever followed up on it. He then leapt on Rove and French kissed him, before licking Rove on the face.[20]

In 2009, for a stunt featured in the series finale of The Chaser's War on Everything, he received heavy dosages of botox, lip injections and spray tanning on the left side of his body so as to bear a similarity to Daniel Craig.[21] The amount of botox was so heavy that it lasted when he made his appearance on The 7 pm Project, over 3 months after the botox was injected into the right side of his face.

Personal life

He is married to Dr Jocelyn Laurence, formerly a research analyst at Foster Stockbroking, and they have two daughters.[22] He lives in Croydon Park, in the inner west of Sydney.[23]

See also

References
  1. A statement by the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions (28 April 2008). "Chaser APEC case dropped: DPP tells why". Crikey. Retrieved 27 August 2013. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  2. "Cutting to the Chaser". The Sydney Morning Herald. 16 September 2004. Retrieved 16 May 2007.
  3. "Alumni Grand Reunion Dinner" (PDF). Our Alumni Community newsletter. The Sydney Law School. October 2003. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 December 2005. Retrieved 27 July 2006.
  4. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. "Bulldogs prank not funny: police". The Sydney Morning Herald. 15 July 2006. Archived from the original on 17 October 2007. Retrieved 27 July 2006.
  6. O'Dwyer, Erin; Dasey, Daniel (16 July 2006). "Chaser Canterbury joke gets no laughs". The Sun-Herald. Archived from the original on 17 October 2007. Retrieved 27 July 2006.
  7. Weaver, Clair (16 July 2006). "Footy Stunt Outrage". The Sunday Mail. Retrieved 27 July 2006.
  8. "Joking Iemma says 'lighten up'". ABC News Online. 9 June 2006. Archived from the original on 8 December 2007. Retrieved 29 August 2006.
  9. Gibson, Jano (29 August 2006). "Chaser star in court". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 1 September 2006. Retrieved 29 August 2006.
  10. Gibson, Jano (22 January 2007). "Chaser star lets stunt film decide his fate". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 9 March 2007. Retrieved 22 January 2007.
  11. "Chaser star cleared over Bulldogs stunt". ABC News Online. 23 January 2007. Archived from the original on 24 January 2007. Retrieved 23 January 2007.
  12. Gibson, Jano; Kontominas, Bellinda (24 January 2007). "Chaser court victory hailed as triumph for free speech". The Age. Archived from the original on 12 September 2007. Retrieved 24 January 2007.
  13. "Chaser team planning 'something extreme' at APEC". The Sunday Telegraph. 2 September 2007. Archived from the original on 4 September 2007. Retrieved 2 September 2007.
  14. "Chaser duo held over APEC stunt". The Age. Melbourne, Australia. 6 September 2007. Retrieved 6 September 2007.
  15. "Police question The Chaser duo over APEC stunt". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 6 September 2007. Archived from the original on 8 September 2007. Retrieved 6 September 2007.
  16. "11 charged over Chaser APEC stunt". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 6 September 2007. Retrieved 6 September 2007.
  17. Ramachandran, Daniel Emerson and Arjun (28 April 2008). "Chaser's APEC stunt charges dropped". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  18. "Charges dropped over APEC prank by Australian TV show". CBC/Radio-Canada. 29 April 2008.
  19. "Police defend actions over The Chaser APEC charges". News.com.au.
  20. "The Chaser's Chas Licciardello springs kiss on Rove McManus". Courier Mail. 26 May 2008. Archived from the original on 26 May 2008. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
  21. "Chaser's Chas bows out with botox". The Sydney Morning Herald, 28 July 2009
  22. "Chaser's sober whippet ways". The Daily Telegraph. 6 October 2006. Retrieved 13 November 2007.
  23. "Chasing Chas" (PDF). Libbi Gorr. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
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