Bob Gervais Is Also a Funny Man – Meet Ricky Gervais’ Brother

Ricky Gervais hails from a family where humor was of utmost value, but his brother, Bob Gervais, was the one who inspired him the most. Ricky has shared many hilarious anecdotes about Bob and the valuable lessons he grasped from his actions.

Acclaimed writer and comedian Ricky Gervais may need no introduction, as his talents have left an indelible mark in the industry worldwide. Born and raised in Reading, Berkshire, he was the last of four much older siblings to join the family.

Over a decade before him, his parents, Eva and Jerry Gervais, had welcomed a son, his brother Bob Gervais. Bob was a model example of everything Ricky wanted to be: bold and unapologetic about his opinions.

Ricky learned to embody those traits and has gained quite a reputation for them. However, in Bob's case, he has said they remain much more amplified, as they have for their older siblings, Marsha Gervais, and their late older brother, Larry Gervais.

Bob Gervais: Ricky Gervais's Older Brother Is the Funniest Person He Knows

During a chat with hosts Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford on "TODAY" in 2018, Ricky said Bob was the funniest person he knew, crediting his brother as his most significant influence growing up.

"And he's just a—he's a fatter, older, balder version [of me] with no restriction. So, that's my future, I'm gonna look like my brother, Bob," he joked. Ricky added that Bob had always been funny, noting that the most humorous person one knows is often not a comedian.

He always admired his brother's ability to walk into a room and unapologetically say what he wanted, regardless of who he was talking to. Bob, a painter and decorator, also didn't care about outside opinions, even when Ricky used him in his comic material.

Bob Gervais's Hilarious Disregard for Authority Figures

In an older interview, Ricky described his brother as having little to no limits. "My brother is sort of like me, but ten times worse; I edit what I say, he doesn't," the actor explained. He recounted an incident where a policeman inspected a van Bob was driving with co-workers.

The policeman's helmet fell off during the process, and 20 cigarettes, Ricky said, fell out. He tried to brush it off, saying, "I bet you've always wondered what we kept under our helmets," to which Bob replied, "I knew it wasn't [expletive] brains."

In another incident, Ricky recalled how humor was still prevalent even when their mother, Eva Gervais, died of lung cancer in 2001. They were organizing the funeral when the vicar asked Bob what Eva was like.

"And my brother, just winding up the vicar, said, 'She was a keen racist.' And the vicar said, 'I can't say that!" So Bob went, 'Oh, OK then . . . she liked gardening,'" Ricky recounted.

Still, Bob Gervais Is More than a Funny Man

While Ricky and his family, at large, believe nothing is off-limits when it comes to comedy, animal cruelty is one thing the Gervaises will not tolerate. In an August 2020 interview, Rick recalled when Bob punched a man in a park for kicking a dog.

When Bob returned home, his children ran to their grandmother to tell her what had happened. Ricky said his mother was horrified, but when Bob explained everything, she responded, "Oh, alright." Ricky said he learned a valuable lesson from Bob that day.

Besides such occurrences, humor was always the order of the day in their household among his siblings and their partners. Ricky has had one steady partner, Jane Fallon, for 40 years. Many other celebrities have also chosen not to marry, including Judi Dench, Carla Gugino, and Jamie Foxx.