Early Life and Education
Rhys Jones was born in Cardiff, the son of Gwyneth Margaret (née Jones) and Elwyn, a doctor. Moving with his father's work, he attended Conifers Primary School in Midhurst, West Sussex, junior school in Epping, Essex and Brentwood School, also in Essex. While the family was resident in Essex, his father had a boat in West Mersea on Mersea Island, which they would sail around the coast of Suffolk and into The Broads.
While at Brentwood School he met Charlie Bean (later Executive Director of the Bank of England) and Douglas Adams (who would later write The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy). In 1967, he appeared in Macbeth as the First Witch, alongside Douglas Adams who played Young Siward and "A Sargeant". The producer, Wiliam Barron, remarked in the programme concerning the roles of the witches: "To deprive young boy actors of any opportunity of expressing devilish glee would be to take away half the fun of playing such parts: yet it is agreed that they must not be allowed to "'hee-hee, ho-ho' at each new temptation and crime." He was part of a group whose antics led to them being referred to as "The Clique" by the school's headmaster. After a short spell working as a petrol-pump attendant, he gained a gap year job on the P&O ship Uganda, working for a company organising school trips. In his autobiography, Semi-Detached (see below), he describes how he was charged with helping to look after 600 Canadian schoolgirls, followed by a similar number of younger Scottish schoolchildren, and refers to the experience as being like "St Trinians at sea". He wrote to eight of the Canadians afterwards.
Rhys Jones followed Bean and Adams to Cambridge, reading history and English at Emmanuel College, graduating with a 2:1. While at university, Jones joined Cambridge Footlights Club (of which he became Vice-President in 1976) and was also president of the ADC during his time at Cambridge. At this time, his ambitions were focused on the theatre, particularly directing.
Read more about this topic: Griff Rhys Jones
Famous quotes containing the words early, life and/or education:
“Early rising is no pleasure; early drinking’s just the measure.”
—François Rabelais (1494–1553)
“We have to give ourselves—men in particular—permission to really be with and get to know our children. The premise is that taking care of kids can be a pain in the ass, and it is frustrating and agonizing, but also gratifying and enjoyable. When a little kid says, “I love you, Daddy,” or cries and you comfort her or him, life becomes a richer experience.”
—Anonymous Father. Ourselves and Our Children, by Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, ch. 3 (1978)
“You are told a lot about your education, but some beautiful, sacred memory, preserved since childhood, is perhaps the best education of all. If a man carries many such memories into life with him, he is saved for the rest of his days. And even if only one good memory is left in our hearts, it may also be the instrument of our salvation one day.”
—Feodor Dostoyevsky (1821–1881)