Russell Gilbert was a boy from  industrial Footscray in the west of Melbourne who took the plunge and started doing stand-up comedy at the Last Laugh Theatre Restaurant.  He was an instant success and was soon sharing the bill with performers like Glenn Robbins and Wendy Harmer .

Russell began as a writer on the Comedy Company but was soon given his own spots including "Russ the Postie" - the mailman who made Mr Mac's (Ian McFadyen's) life a misery - and  Craig the recent homeleaver learning about life in "Craig's Homeleaver Hints." Later he created the character of Russ the Taxi Driver - the cabbie who had an opinion on everything under the sun.

Russell is one of the most popular comedians in Australia. He became a regular member of the "Hey Hey It's Saturday" team and had his own show on Saturday nights.