Russell Howard recalls embarrassing moment he tried to make Stephen Hawking laugh at party but was ‘drowned out’ by Jimmy Carr

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Russell Howard shared a funny story about the time he attempted to get a laugh out of Stephen Hawking, but his joke was overshadowed by Jimmy Carr’s louder comments.

The comedian, age 45, shared a story about trying to make the late scientist laugh. He’d heard the scientist had a great sense of humor, but his attempt failed because Jimmy was laughing so hard he couldn’t be heard.

Appearing on Chris Moyles’ Radio X show on Friday, comedian John Bishop revealed he tried hard to make Stephen Fry laugh, but wasn’t successful.

Russell explained that at showbiz parties, a friend often teases him for chatting with comedians, suggesting he should mingle with other guests instead.

I’m not going to randomly approach famous people like Nigella Lawson, Harry Styles, or even Stephen Hawking – when he was still with us – and just say hello.

I’m planning to position myself near Stephen Merchant and Rob Brydon. I’m doing that for safety reasons.

Chris recounted attending a party where Stephen Hawking was present. He didn’t actually get to meet Hawking, but he enjoyed simply being close by, hoping to hear his laughter.

He was known for being really funny – someone always said he had a great sense of humor. Have you ever had the chance to meet him?

Russell replied: ‘I did, yeah. And I was very conscious of trying to make him laugh.

The issue is, while he’s typing, you’re constantly glancing to see if he’s sending a message to have you removed.

It’s clearly a forced laugh, because you can tell it took a lot of work for him to even manage it. It won’t be a simple ‘ha’ – it’s either a full laugh or nothing at all.

Chris asked: ‘But what does that laugh sound like?”

Russell explained that his joke was lost because Jimmy Carr’s loud, constant laughter filled the room. He said, ‘You can barely get a word in with Jimmy laughing like that!’

Stephen lived for 50 years beyond a doctor’s initial two-year prognosis, passing away in March 2018 at the age of 76.

I was absolutely captivated by Professor Hawking’s story. Diagnosed with motor neurone disease at just 21 years old back in 1963, he completely shattered what doctors thought was possible. It was truly inspiring to watch him overcome so many challenges.

Despite using a wheelchair, he became the most renowned scientist since Albert Einstein, thanks to his groundbreaking research into space, time, and black holes.

Unable to speak naturally, he relied on a computer to communicate. Ironically, this led to him becoming famous for his unique, electronic voice created by a speech synthesizer.

Tune into The Chris Moyles Show on Radio X weekdays from 6:30am – 10am and on Global Player 

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2025-11-07 19:20