Ask any parent who's had a child in the past 15 years, and they'll tell you how Jimmy Giggle single handedly kept their kids entertained for hours. He was their free virtual babysitter, who happened to be completely hilarious.
Kids loved him for his colourful personality and cardboard-instrument playing skills. Oh, and his giggle-mobile.
Parents - particularly many mothers - loved him for his expressive eyebrows and sideburns. A group of mothers even began a Facebook page called: I Could Teach Jimmy Giggle a Thing or Two ;)
Watch: Things people say before having kids. Post continues below.
Fans of the 33-year-old are vast and varied, and since leaving his hosting role on ABC's Giggle and Hoot last year, the comedian has successfully pivoted his career to appeal to a new market of generation Zs and millennials via social media.
They've also been introduced to his real name: Jimmy Rees.
Recently, Jimmy's videos have been going viral on Instagram and TikTok, with many completely unaware it's the former host of the ABC's kids show.
So in light of Jimmy Giggles' (Rees?) recent virality, here's everything we know about the comedian and how he went to a preschool entertainer to a popular comedian.
Giggle and Hoot.
When Jimmy was 21 years old, he applied for an open-call audition for the ABC after dropping out of University and while working at his local pub. He was chosen out of the thousands who auditioned, and by the time he was 22, the children’s entertainer ‘Jimmy Giggles’ was born. For the next 10 years, the performer dedicated his career to putting smiles on the faces of little ones. Each night, Jimmy Giggle would sing to thousands of children.
For a generation of preschoolers, Jimmy Giggle and his friend Hoot the Owl brought countless laughs and a pair of bright yellow pyjamas that will forever remain a symbol of their childhood.
But after ten years, Jimmy Reese stepped away from the show last year, at age 32.
“I’ve loved every day as Jimmy Giggle,” Reese said last November. “After 10 years I decided that it was time to take on the next exciting challenge in my career.”
Speaking to The Age, he said: "This has been a really hard decision. But to the public, I'm sure I'll be Jimmy Giggle for a long while."
Social media sensation.
Since leaving the children's show, Jimmy Rees has become a TikTok sensation, where he has 250,000 followers and his videos have accumulatively received nearly eight million likes.
His most recent skit, where he pretends to be 'The Guy Who Decides Packaging', has so been seen by 1.2 million people.
Tori gave birth to their twin boys just weeks before Rees appeared on Channel 10's Dancing With The Stars, which he later withdrew from due to family reasons. Rees explained his then-seven-week-old son Mack needed CPR and a blood transfusion, after a main blood vessel was cut during a medical procedure. He later shared that Mack had made a full recovery.
The family of five did live in New South Wales' Central Coast when Rees was on 'Giggles and Hoot' but have since moved to Melbourne's Eastern suburbs.
And with that relocation has come new career moves. Farewell, Jimmy Giggle. Hello, 'Packaging Guy'.
Feature image: Instagram.
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