The 50-year-old English comedian says he wants to spend more time with his family and his decision was influenced by the death of his manager Addison Cresswell.
- Nov 21, 2014
AceShowbiz - Lee Evans will retire from comedy at the end of his current "Monsters" tour. Lee announced his decision in an interview with Jonathan Ross on "The Jonathan Ross Show", which will air on Saturday, November 22.
When asked whether he has a "game plan" following his current tour, Lee replied, "This is it. Finished... It's the end." Jonathan then said, "I wouldn't have asked if I knew that was the answer. You're not going to tour anymore?" to which the star of "The Medallion" responded, "No, I'm not doing anything. This is it. Yeah finished."
Lee said that he wanted to spend more time with his wife and daughter. "To be fair, I've been working," he shared, "I started off cleaning toilets when I was a kid and I've had loads of jobs and I just kept working and working and working and my dad always said to us 'you've got to work' so I've just continuously worked, done comedy, toured, but I've ignored, I think for far too long, my missus and I want to spend a lot more time with her."
The comedian added, "I'm a nightmare to live with because I'm always working... I don't know I've come to a junction in my life where - please forgive me it sounds very narcissistic - I've done musicals and plays and films and stand up and you sort of get to a point where you go 'I don't know what else to do next.' "
Lee went on to speak about the death of his manager Addison Cresswell, who passed away at the age 53 last year. "Well my manager died last year," he shared, "He was a great bloke... All I have ever done is work and Addison always used to put his arm around me and say, 'Don't worry, I will look after you. It is OK.' "
He recalled, "[Addison] used to say to me every gig I ever did he used to get me round the neck and he'd say 'Lee, this is your Wembley!' and then one day, we played Wembley and he knocked on my dressing room and he said 'Lee this is your Wembley' and I went 'Addison, this is Wembley!' and he went 'Oh yeah we're at Wembley, how about that!' So I started off with him, I was just a kid... I've known him ever since I was a kid."
Lee's final show will be held at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff on Sunday, November 30.
