8th June 1971
Comedian Will Smith is born
Winchester-born William James Smith was raised in Jersey and attended Victoria College before making his name as both a writer and performer of comedy.
One of his earliest comedy jobs was on Channel 4’s The 11 O’Clock Show, where he appeared with Ricky Gervais. He supported Gervais on tour, later doing the same for comedians Ardal O’Hanlon and Johnny Vegas. At the same time as supporting Gervais’, he had a four-episode BBC Radio 4 series, The Tao of Bergerac, chronicling his obsession with the Jersey-set police drama. Actor John Nettles, who played Bergerac, appeared in each episode.
Transatlantic success
His career has taken him to America, where he wrote episodes for HBO sitcom Veep (of which he is also one of the executive producers). Veep is an adaptation of the British political comedy, The Thick of It, in which Smith appeared for two series as Phil Smith, special advisor to the secretary of state for DoSAC.
Naturally, this Will Smith is not the same as the one who played the Fresh Prince of Bel Air and appeared in films including Independence Day and I, Robot.
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Other events that occured in June
Jersey sides with England, rather than France
- The Channel Islands occupied a curious political position straddling England and France for more than 130 years.
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The Jersey Evening Post is founded
- The Evening Post was founded by HP Butterworth, but was soon acquired by its printer, Walter Guiton, who became its editor.
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Murder suspect is remanded in custody
- A man was remanded in custody after being charged with killing the woman he lived with.
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A passenger plane is written off at Jersey Airport
- The undercarriage of a Blue Islands plane collapsed at Jersey Airport when it put down at the end of an 11-minute flight from Guernsey.
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