In 1976, Henry appeared with Norman Beaton in LWT's sitcom The Fosters, Britain's first comedy series featuring a predominantly black cast. In July 2009, Lenny Henry stated he was contractually obligated to perform and regretted his part in the show, telling The Times in 2015 that his appearance on the show led to a profound "wormhole of depression", and he regretted his family not intervening. His first manager was Robert Luff, who signed him in 1975 and gave him the opportunity, between the ages of 16 and 21, to perform as a comedian as part of the Luff-produced touring stage version of The Black and White Minstrel Show. His earliest television appearance was on the New Faces talent show in 1975, aged 16, which he won with impersonations of Frank Spencer, Stevie Wonder and others. Henry's formative years in comedy were spent in working men's clubs, where he impersonated mainly white characters, such as the Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em character Frank Spencer. Henry attended St John's Primary School and later The Blue Coat School in Dudley, before completing his schooling at W.R. When Henry was ten years old, he began spending time with the man who was later revealed to be his biological father, Albert Augustus "Bertie" Green (1927–2004), another Jamaican immigrant with whom his mother had a brief relationship when she first arrived in England from their native Jamaica. The fifth of seven children, Henry was the first child of the family to be born in the United Kingdom. Lenworth George Henry was born at Burton Road Hospital in Dudley, on 29 August 1958, and named after the doctor who delivered him to Winston Jervis Henry (1910–1978) and Winifred Louise Henry (1922–1998), who had emigrated to Britain from Jamaica. Henry is the chancellor of Birmingham City University. He appears in the Amazon Prime series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. He has appeared in numerous other TV programmes, including children's entertainment show Tiswas, sitcom Chef! and The Magicians for BBC One, and in his later years has transitioned toward acting roles in stage and screen. In 1985, he co-founded the charity Comic Relief with the comedy screenwriter Richard Curtis. He was the most prominent black British comedian of the time and much of his material served to celebrate and parody his African-Caribbean roots. Henry gained success as a stand-up comedian and impressionist in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in The Lenny Henry Show in 1984. Sir Lenworth George Henry CBE (born 29 August 1958) is a British actor, comedian, singer, television presenter and writer.
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