Matt Lucas

Matt Lucas Headshot

Actor • Comedian • Writer • Host

Birth Name: Matthew Richard Lucas

Birth Date: March 5, 1974

Age: 50 years old

Birth Place: Paddington, London, England, UK

First gaining mainstream exposure on the quiz show "Shooting Stars" (BBC, 1993-2002), British comic Matt Lucas endeared millions of viewers as a giant baby who delivered gags behind a drum set before giving out the scores. Alongside his longtime onscreen partner, David Walliams, Lucas hosted "Rock Profile" (BBC, 1999-2000), an MTV-like spoof talk show where he impersonated some of music's biggest acts. But it was the duo's comedy sketch series "Little Britain" (BBC, 2003-06) that thrust his career to meteoric heights. On the hit series, Lucas transformed into some of the most outrageous and memorable fictional characters ever seen on British television. His uncanny ability to alter his appearance propelled him to feature films like "Shaun of the Dead" (2003), which granted him entrée to Hollywood.

Eventually, he landed the plum role of the egg-shaped twin brothers Tweedledee and Tweedledum in "Alice in Wonderland" (2010), opposite Johnny Depp, which introduced Lucas to a worldwide audience and cemented his reputation as a consummate comedian who did whatever was necessary to get a laugh.

Born on March 5, 1974 in Paddington, London, England, Lucas was raised in a Jewish household in Stanmore, Middlesex. Lucas suffered from alopecia universalis since childhood, which caused him to lose his hair when he was only six years old. He went to Haberdashers' Aske's School for Boys in Hertfordshire and studied drama at Bristol University. When he was 18, Lucas began making the rounds on London's comedy club circuit, portraying the aging actor and raconteur Sir Bernard Chumley. During one of his performances, Lucas met the British comedy duo Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer, who cast the young actor on their series "The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer" (BBC, 1993-95). Lucas also collaborated with the duo on the surreal quiz show "Shooting Stars," where he gained mainstream success as George Dawes, a giant drumming baby who hurls a string of insults and bitingly funny gags before delivering the score.

Lucas became a regular fixture on British television, starring in numerous BBC comedies such as "Sir Bernard's Stately Homes" (1999) and "Rock Profile," a music talk show spoof that he co-hosted with David Walliams, a comedian he had met in 1990 while both studied at Britain's National Youth Theatre. The show was an instant hit among television viewers who could not get enough of the pair's bizarre interviews, off-the-wall music videos, outlandish costumes and wacky impersonations of musical celebrities like Bono, Prince, Paul McCartney, and Barry Gibb.

The versatile comic also dabbled in drama, taking on a supporting role as a Venetian duke in the historical miniseries, "Casanova" (BBC, 2005). Following a cameo appearance as a man struggling to deal with his relatives and a zombie uprising in the horror film spoof, "Shaun of the Dead" (2004), Lucas was perfectly cast in the comedic sorcery series, "Kröd Mändoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire" (BBC/Comedy Central; 2008-09), playing a cowardly yet wicked chancellor who kills those who give him bad news, thwart his plans or otherwise annoy him.

Lucas joined forces with Walliams again in the award-winning comedy series "Little Britain," a move that made him one of the UK's most popular and beloved comics. Originally aired on BBC Radio 4, "Little Britain" was presented as a guide to travelers of the British Isles that featured gross-out sketches and inflated parodies of quirky local characters with raging regional accents from various walks of life. Lucas delivered one belly laugh after another with his cheeky and often crude portrayals of eccentric characters like Daffyd Thomas, the only gay man in a Welsh town who likes to don rubber outfits; Marjorie Dawes, a too-cheerful "Fat Fighter" who mercilessly humiliates members of her weight loss support group while remaining oblivious to her own size; or Vicky Pollard, a menacing teenaged delinquent who wears her bleached hair up with a scrunchie and dons a pink track suit three sizes too small.

"Little Britain" nabbed numerous awards in England during its long run and made international stars out of the comedy duo, which led to the American version of the series, "Little Britain USA" (BBC/ HBO, 2008).

Produced by media mogul Simon Fuller, "Little Britain USA" featured some of the pair's most popular characters from the original series, as they navigated their way through typically American predicaments. The show also introduced new characters that showcased Lucas' unabashed comedic genius, including an extreme bodybuilder with an equally miniature anatomy, or Bing Gordyn, a fictional astronaut bitter over being the eighth man who landed on the moon.

Meanwhile, in 2006, Lucas suffered a devastating personal loss when his former civil partner, Kevin McGee, hanged himself in his Edinburgh home. McGee, a television producer, sent a chilling Facebook message to friends that foreshadowed his impending suicide. Lucas and McGee were one of Britain's most talked about same-sex couples after their civil marriage in 2006. Their partnership was dissolved after 18 months, with Lucas claiming McGee's cocaine use and jealousy over his (Lucas') career as the causes for the split. When news of McGee's death broke, Lucas was preparing for his debut stage appearance in the West End production of "Prick Up Your Ears." He cancelled his stage appearance indefinitely.

Lucas scored the biggest break in his career when he joined the cast of Tim Burton's trippy 3-D remake of "Alice in Wonderland," in which he played Tweedledee and Tweedledum, fat twin brothers who never contradict each other, even when one of them agrees to engage in a battle. The film was based on Lewis Carroll's classic story of Alice (Mia Wasikowska), a girl who escapes a snooty tea party and follows a white rabbit down a hole back to Wonderland. Burton's adaptation of the epic adventure centered on a teenaged Alice who returns to Wonderland a decade after her initial visit, only to discover that it is up to her and the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) to save the magical land from the evil Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter). Already adept at changing his appearance with prosthetics to portray various characters, Lucas was almost unrecognizable as the egg-shaped brothers who first greet Alice during her second visit to Wonderland.

Credits

The Last Leg in Paris

Guest
Show
2024

Becoming German

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2024

Gladiator II

Actor
Movie
2024

Les Miserables: The Staged Concert

Actor
Thenardier
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2023

WonkaStream

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Prodnose
Movie
2023
82%

This is the Night Mail

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2023

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Prodnose
Movie
2023

Fantasy Football League

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2022

Fantasy Football League

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Show
2022

50 Years of Mr Men with Matt Lucas

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Show
2021

Steph's Packed Lunch

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Show
2020

Reasons to be Cheerful with Matt Lucas

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Show
2020

The Steph Show

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Show
2020

Reasons To Be Cheerful!

Screenwriter
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2020

Reasons To Be Cheerful!

Self
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2020

RuPaul's Drag Race UKStream

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Reality
2019

RuPaul's Drag Race UKStream

Judge
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2019

Celebrity Gogglebox

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2019

Moominvalley

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Teety-Woo
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2019

Moominvalley

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Teety-Woo
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2019

Missing Link

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Mr. Collick
Movie
2019

The Queen's Corgi

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Charlie
Movie
2019

Les Misérables: The Staged Concert

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Thénardier
Movie
2019

Aliens Love Underpants and... Panta Claus

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Show
2018

The Great British Baking Show: Holidays

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2018

The Big Narstie Show

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2018

The Great Celebrity Bake Off: Stand Up To Cancer

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2018

Sherlock Gnomes

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Benny
Movie
2018

A Futile and Stupid GestureStream

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Tony Hendra
Movie
2018
68%

All Round to Mrs Brown's

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2017

How to Talk to Girls at PartiesStream

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PT Wain
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2017
48%

The Labyrinth

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Sam
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2017

Doctor Who: The Return of Doctor Mysterio

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Nardole
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2016

Round Planet

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2016

Mack & Moxy

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2016

Derren Brown: Pushed to the Edge

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2016

Alice Through the Looking GlassStream

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Tweedledee/Tweedledum
Movie
2016
29%

A Midsummer Night's Dream

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Bottom
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2016

Doctor Who: The Husbands of River Song

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Nardole
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2015

Peter Kay: 20 Years of Funny

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2015

Bull

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Mr Richards
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2015

It Was Alright in the 1990s

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2015

It Was Alright in the 1960s

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It Was Alright in the 1980s

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2015

Doctor Who: Extras

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2015

Travel ManStream

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2015

Pompidou

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2015

Pompidou

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2015

Pompidou

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2015

Fresh Off the BoatStream

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Mr. Fisher
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2015
94%

GalavantStream

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2015
89%

It Was Alright in the 1970s

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2014

Monty Python's Best Bits (Mostly)

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2014

The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice

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2014

Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled

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2014

Late Night With Seth MeyersStream

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Talk
2014

The Life of Rock with Brian Pern

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Ray Baker Thomas
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2014

Desert Island Discs Revisited

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2014

Paddington

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le chauffeur de taxi
Movie
2014

At Midnight With Chris Hardwick

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2013

Super Fun Night

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2013

Julia Zemiro's Home Delivery

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2013

Gogglebox

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2013

Catterick

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2013

The Harry Hill Movie

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Otto
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2013

Therese

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Olivier
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2013

The Look of Love

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Divine
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2013

Freddie Mercury: The Great Pretender

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2012

The Matt Lucas Awards

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2012

Freddie Mercury: The Great Pretender

Self
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2012

Small ApartmentsStream

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Franklin Franklin
Movie
2012
30%

Sunday Brunch

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2011

The Jonathan Ross ShowStream

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Talk
2011

QI XL

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2011

Les Misérables 25th Anniversary Concert at the O2

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2011

PortlandiaStream

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Series
2011
94%

Derren Brown: Behind the Mischief

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2011

Gnomeo & Juliet

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Benny
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2011

BridesmaidsStream

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Gil
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2011
89%

Les Mis at 25: Matt Lucas Dreams the Dream

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2010

Come Fly With Me

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2010

Lorraine

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2010

Saturday Kitchen Live

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2010

The Great British Bake OffStream

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Reality
2010
87%

And the Winner Is ...

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2010

Les Misérables in Concert: The 25th Anniversary

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Thenardier
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2010

Alice in WonderlandStream

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Tweedledum/Tweedledee
Movie
2010
51%

In the House With Peter Bart & Peter Guber

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2009

My Life

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2009

CommunityStream

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Toby
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2009
88%

Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire

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Chancellor Dongalor
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2009

Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

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2009

Astro Boy

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Sparx
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2009

Little Britain USAStream

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2008
64%

Little Britain USAStream

Executive Producer
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2008
64%

Little Britain USAStream

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2008
64%

The Bonnie Hunt Show

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2008

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2007

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2007

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2007

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2007

The Graham Norton ShowStream

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2007

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2007

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2007

The One Show

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2006

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Toad
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2006

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2005

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90%

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2005

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God
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2004

The Real Little Britain

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2004

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2004

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2004

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2004

Little Britain

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2003

Little Britain

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2003

Little Britain

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2003

QIStream

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2003

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2003

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2003

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2002

The Radio 4 Appeal

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2002

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2001

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Sir Oswald
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1999

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1987

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1971

Masterpiece

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Toad
Franchise
1971

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