Steve Abbott (comedian)

Stephen Abbott
Born	(1956-03-24) March 24, 1956 Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation(s)	Author, comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician
Years active	1980s–present
Known for	The Sandman (stage name), The Castanet Club

Stephen Abbott (born 24 March 1956) is an Australian author and comedian, widely recognized by his stage names The Sandman and Sandy.

Career

Abbott's professional portfolio spans comedy, acting, writing, poetry, screenwriting, and music. He was a guitarist for The Castanet Club, a band formed in Newcastle in 1982, which included Glenn Butcher, Mikey Robins, Angela Moore, Maynard, and frequent collaborator Warren Coleman. The group toured extensively across Australia, appeared at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and featured in the film The Castanet Club: A Movie You Can Dance To. Within the band, Abbott performed under the character name 'Johnny Goodman'.

He later evolved the 'Johnny Goodman' persona into 'The Sandman' for various Australian radio and television projects throughout the 1990s. From 1993 until 2000, The Sandman was a prominent figure as a breakfast show host and performer on national youth radio.

Abbott’s creative output includes stage plays such as The Headbutt, which he co-directed with Neil Armfield for Belvoir Street Theatre. His works also encompass multiple books, comedy albums, radio programs, and he served as host for two comedy variety television series on SBS.

In 2004, Abbott co-created Sandman in Siberia, a documentary exploring his journey to reconnect with his Siberian heritage. This program ranked among the top-rated broadcasts on Australia's SBS Network during that year.

Together with Warren Coleman, Abbott has penned feature screenplays including The Infernal Optimist (2007), adapted from Linda Jaivin’s novel; Birdbrain, inspired by his ABC radio podcast; and The Day We Lost The H-Bomb, derived from Barbara Moran’s book. Their collaborations extend to the Canadian animated project The Legend of the Underzoo, as well as the children’s live-action film Stripey and the animated feature Super Space Rabbits. Additionally, they partnered with Dave Faulkner of the Hoodoo Gurus to develop the book adaptation of the musical They're a Weird Mob.

Bibliography

• Sandman's Advice to the Unpopular (1995) ABC Books
• This Is My Surfboard (1996) ABC Books
• Observations from a Moving Vehicle (1998) ABC Books
• Big Man's World (1998) with Tony Squires and Mikey Robins
• Pleasant Avenue (1999) ABC Books
• 204 Bell Street (2000)
• Sandman's Uncertain Years (2001)
• Diary of a Bus Clown (2002)
• Sandman in Siberia (2005) ABC Books

Film

Year	Title	Role	Type
1988	Young Einstein	Brian Asprin	Feature film
1990	The Castanet Club	Johnny Goodman	Film
1996	Children of the Revolution	Malenkov	Feature film
2003	You Can't Stop The Murders		Feature film
2004	The Scree		Film

Television

Year	Title	Role	Type
1993	The Comedy Sale		TV series
1996	Good News Week	The Sandman	TV series
1998	Good News Weekend	The Sandman	TV series
1999	GNW Night Lite	The Sandman	TV series
2000	The Fat		TV series
2004–05	In Siberia Tonight	Host	TV series
2005	Sandman in Siberia	The Sandman	Documentary
2005	Under the Grandstand		TV series during Ashes in England
2007	The Sideshow with Paul McDermott		TV series

Discography

• This is my Surfboard
• 204 Bell St
• Pleasant Avenue
• Castanet Club (1986)
• Johnny Goodman (1988)
• Showbag by The Musical Flags (circa 1981)

External links

• Interview with Steve Abbott in The Age
• Steve Abbott discussing classic Sandman stories on Triple J