I had the very very good fortune to see him live during his Sexie tour here in December. I say very very good fortune because I was sat about 10 rows from the stage. 
Ahh, Eddie.
So, umm, yeah…
"Squirrels always eat nuts with two hands, always two hands, arararar, and occasionally, they stop and go, oh, uh, ah, as if they’re going, “Did I leave the gas on? No! I’m a fucking squirrel!” "
“My father was a beekeeper before me, his father was a beekeeper. I want to follow in their footsteps. And their footsteps were like this. (Runs screaming) AAAAAAAH! I’m covered in beeeeees!”
Seen him live, twice. Circle and Sexie.
We’ve also got all available recorded performances, going back to Indefinite Article and Unrepeatable.
Dude’s a freakin’ comedy rock star.
He’s dead you know. No really, I heard it on the news earlier.
shakes head to imply ‘no, just kidding’
shakes head to imply ‘yes, he IS dead’
shakes head to imply ‘no, just kidding’
shakes head to imply ‘yes, he IS dead’
MeanJoe
Oh, almost forgot…
My name is General Lafayette, I am here for your women!
<very little laughter>
You don’t know who he is do you?
<insert rest of the line I forgotten>
incredulous
You’ve got a street named after him in New York!
As a slightly smug person myself, I absolutely love his way of throwing little jabs at 50% of his audience, for the express benefit of the other 50%.
“Come in, Swindon, do you have me on your instruments?”
“Yes, we’re monitoring you on a tuba…”
“I would have thought that’ve gotten bigger laugh.”
“Me too, but they’re not going for it…”
“Back in the year Seventeen hundrmumbly mum…Oh, you don’t know anyway!”
His talent at accents is also pretty remarkable. It’s going to go right past most Americans, but he switches between a good half-dozen variants on English accents, depending on who he’s lampooning at the time. Brilliant.
Thanks to Eddy, I know that I will recognize God when I finally meet Him. Because He speaks just like James Mason.
I feel a little put off here.
This thread’s been around for 5 days and no one has moved it to Cafe Society.
Do the mods not think that Eddie isn’t good enough for that forum? Are they discriminating against cross-dressing British humorists? What gives?
“Splashy-splashy.”
I almost wish I didn’t already know and love Eddie Izzard, just so that I could discover him all over again. But I’ve had the pleasure of introducing his brilliant humor to many friends, which is almost as good.
As I recall, there is a doper who knew him in college, or University as it is more properly known at the relevant institution. I can’t remember who it is, and I’m feeling too lazy to do the search.
That would be our own ianzin, who also has the distinction of appearing by name in James Randi’s wonderful Encyclopedia of Frauds and Hoaxes of the Supernatural or whatever it’s called. 
Yeah (sigh.) And he’s not all that prolific here in the States. My understanding is that he’s quite well-known in England, and often appears on talk shows and various specials, but here he’s still fairly obscure, except for his one HBO special.
I’ve seen all his comedy tour tapes - Live at the Ambassadors, Definite Article, Unrepeatable, Glorious, Dress to Kill, Circle and Sexie - and I have noticed that Eddie’s not always on the top of his game. Circle and Sexie, in particular, you very much get the feeling he’s not enjoying himself much, and it does affect the show. When he’s ‘on’, though, he’s awesome (like the universe, not like a hot dog.)
Thanks for the name check, Cervaise. Yep, I was at Sheffield University with Eddie in the very early 1980s, and witnessed his entire journey from a penniless student to an struggling entertainer who couldn’t get arrested (figuratively speaking; he was arrested for fare dodging, as his fans know because it’s in one of his shows) to a superstar actor/comedian. It was actually a fantastic privilege to see this progression - not many people get the chance to witness someone’s rise from utter obscurity to fame and fortune. You may like to know that Ella Productions have been working on a documentary about Eddie’s story, featuring interviews with myself and others who knew him way back when. I don’t know anything about when this will emerge or in what form (TV special? Movie? Straight-to-DVD retail?), but I did my interview back in December.
Actually, Cervaise, since you raise the subject, I’ve been mentioned in quite a few books, including (and this I’m really proud of!) one by Richard Dawkins. I think it’s Unweaving the Rainbow but I’m not sure. Could be Climbing Mount Improbable. It’s on my shelves somewhere but I’m too lazy to check (and I’ve got too many books).