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Bill Burr is an American stand-up comedian, writer, actor, and podcaster. He is best known for playing Patrick Kuby in the crime drama series Breaking Bad (2008), and creating and starring in the Netflix animated sitcom F Is for Family (2015).
In 2008, Burr's voice was featured in the game Grand Theft Auto IV (2008) as Jason Michaels of the biker gang The Lost MC in the mission "No Love Lost." In 2009, he reprised his role in the game's expansion pack Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned (2009).- Writer
- Producer
- Actor
Louis C.K. was born on 12 September 1967 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Louie (2010), American Hustle (2013) and Horace and Pete (2016). He was previously married to Alix Bailey.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
George Denis Patrick Carlin was born and raised in Manhattan, New York City, to Mary (Bearey), a secretary, and Patrick John Carlin, an advertising manager for The Sun; they had met while working in marketing. His father was from Donegal, Ireland, and his mother was Irish-American. His parents divorced when he was two months old, and he was raised by his mother. The long hours the mother worked left the young George by himself for long hours every day, providing him (in his own words), the time he needed to think about various subjects, listen to radio, and practice his impersonations, that where acclaimed by his mother and coworkers since an early age. Carlin started out as a conventional comedian and had achieved a fair degree of success as a Bill Cosby style raconteur in nightclubs and on TV until the late 1960s, when he radically overhauled his persona. His routines became more insightful, introducing more serious subjects. As he aged, he became more cynic and bitter, unintentionally changing his stage persona again in a radical way throughout the '90s. This new George Carlin, usually referred to as the late George Carlin, is one of the most acclaimed and enjoyed by the public and critics. Carlin's forte is Lenny Bruce-style social and political commentary, spiced with nihilistic observations about people and religion peppered with black humor. He is also noted for his masterful knowledge and use of the English language. Carlin's notorious "Seven Dirty Words" comedy routine was part of a radio censorship case that made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1978.- Actor
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Dane Cook was born on 18 March 1972 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Good Luck Chuck (2007), My Best Friend's Girl (2008) and Dan in Real Life (2007). He has been married to Kelsi Taylor since 23 September 2023.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Aziz Ansari was born in Columbia, South Carolina, to Fatima, a medical office worker, and Shoukath, a gastroenterologist. His family is from Tamil Nadu, India. He graduated from NYU as a business major in 2004. He graduated from the South Carolina Governor's School for Math and Science in Hartsville, SC. He previously attended Marlboro Academy, a private school in his home town of Bennettsville, SC.
Starting out in television like the hit comedy Parks and Recreation (2009), he later had bit parts in the films I Love You, Man (2009), Funny People (2009), and Get Him to the Greek (2010), among others, before co-starring in the comedy 30 Minutes or Less (2011).- Composer
- Soundtrack
Flight of the Conchords is known for The Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012), Todd's Pop Song Reviews (2009) and Danville 2nd Ward Young Men (2008).- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Jim Gaffigan is a six-time Grammy nominated comedian, actor, writer, producer, two-time New York Times best-selling author, three-time Emmy winning top touring performer, and multi-platinum-selling recording artist. He is known around the world for his unique brand of humor, which largely revolves around his observations on life. A top ten earning comedian according to Forbes' 2019 comedy list, Jim recently released his 9th stand-up special, Comedy Monster, on Netflix. He was also recently awarded for being the first comedian to reach one billion streams on Pandora.
Up next, Gaffigan will be seen as the lead in the Sci-Fi drama Linoleum, which will premiere at SXSW in 2022, and will star as Mr. Smee in Disney's Peter Pan and Wendy, opposite Jude Law's Captain Hook He was also recently heard in Disney/Pixar's highly anticipated film, Luca, opposite Jacob Tremblay and Maya Rudolph.
On the silver screen, his many credits include Three Kings, Super Troopers 1 & 2, and Chappaquiddick. 2019 was Gaffigan's biggest year to date with an astonishing eight films releasing, three which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival including Troop Zero with Viola Davis and Alison Janney, Them That Follow and Light From Light - with many festival goers and press calling Gaffigan the "King of Sundance." Gaffigan also had two films recently in which he debuted as the lead. The comedic film Being Frank, and American Dreamer, a dark thriller which was the grand finale of 2019 for Jim and features him as a ride share driver who moonlights as a private driver for a drug dealer. Both films are now available for download. Gaffigan can also be seen opposite Ethan Hawke in IFC Films Tesla, as well as opposite Josh Hartnett in Saban Films Most Wanted.
In addition to two seasons of the critically acclaimed semi-autobiographical The Jim Gaffigan Show, which he wrote and produced with his wife Jeannie, and his widely popular stand-up comedy specials, Gaffigan has guest starred on many television comedies and dramas, ranging from Portlandia and Bob's Burgers to the HBO cult hits Flight of the Concords to dramatic roles in Law & Order. Gaffigan regularly does humorous commentaries on CBS Sunday Morning for which he has won 3 Emmys. In 2018 Jim served as master of ceremony at The Al Smith Memorial dinner. In 2015, Gaffigan had the great honor of performing for Pope Francis and over 1 million festival attendees at the Festival of Families in Philadelphia. Gaffigan starred on Broadway with Brian Cox, Kieffer Sutherland, Chris Noth and Jason Patric in That Championship Season.
Gaffigan and his wife currently live in Manhattan with their five loud and expensive children.- Writer
- Actress
- Producer
Jen Kirkman is a podcaster, television writer, comedian, author, and actor. Her comedy specials are streaming now on Netflix; "I'm Gonna Die Alone (And I Feel Fine)" was hailed by the Atlantic as the best of 2015. "And perhaps best of all....Jen Kirkman's I'm Gonna Die Alone (And I Feel Fine), a searing, open-hearted work about growing older and pushing back against cultural norms." - The Atlantic. Her second comedy special, "Just Keep Livin'?" was recognized internationally.
Jen is a writer on The Amazon Prime series, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. She's written for sitcoms and late-night shows as well such as E!'s Chelsea Lately, Adult Swim's The Eric Andre Show, NBC's Perfect Couples, CW's Girls on the Bus (airdate 2021-22) and the Kids in the Hall Reboot (airdate 2021-22).
Jen is a New York Times Bestselling author. Her first book, I Can Barely Take Care of Myself (Tales From a Happy Life Without Kids) became an instant New York Times bestseller. Her follow up book, I Know What I'm Doing and Other Lies I Tell Myself was lauded by the prestigious Kirkus Reviews
Jen has made appearances not only on her eight-year run as a cast member of Chelsea Lately and the spin-off sitcom After Lately but as a frequent narrator for the Emmy winning Drunk History and, Conan. Other appearances include Lights Out with David Spade, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, The View, The Wendy Williams Show. She's voiced many characters Cartoon Network cult-hit "Home Movies." She also appeared on Modern Family and in the 2017 Reese Witherspoon feature film "Home Again."- Writer
- Actor
- Producer
Denis Leary was born and raised in Worcester, Massachusetts, the son of Nora (Sullivan) and John Leary, Irish immigrants who had grown up together. His mother was a maid and his father was an auto mechanic. After a childhood in the 1960s, Leary went to Emerson College in Boston, where he tried his hand at acting and writing. He was a charter member of Emerson's Comedy Workshop, and taught at the college for five years after graduating. By that point, he had written several pieces for magazines and had worked at stand-up comedy for a time. In 1990, he and his wife, Ann Leary, flew to London to perform in the BBC's Paramount City. That weekend, Ann's water broke. Their planned weekend trip became a stay of months, and Denis, with not a whole lot to do in London, wrote a one-man comedy act. He brought friends in from the States, and they wrote songs to perform on stage. Leary, with Chris Phillips and Adam Roth on guitar, performed "No Cure For Cancer" at the Edinburgh International Arts Festival in Scotland. Despite some protests about the title, the show won the Critic's Award and the BBC Festival Recommendation. The next year, the show was moved to America, and it was eventually taped and broadcast on Showtime (Denis Leary: No Cure for Cancer (1993)). The show spawned a book, CD, cassette, and a videotape. It also started Leary's movie career. Since then, he has starred in several films and has had two of his own TV series.- Writer
- Producer
- Actor
Dennis Miller was born on 3 November 1953 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for The Net (1995), Joe Dirt (2001) and Murder at 1600 (1997). He has been married to Ali Espley since 10 April 1988. They have two children.- Producer
- Writer
- Actor
Jay Leno began his career in night clubs, where he worked 300 nights a year before hitting it big in 1992 with his own late-night talk show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992). By that time he had appeared on television, acted in a few films (American Hot Wax (1978)) but hit paydirt with his late-night television appearances (he made a record number of visits to [error]); for several years, he served as Johnny Carson's permanent guest host on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962). A big, sweet guy with a very good comedy routine, he vied with David Letterman to inherit Carson's seat when Johnny retired in 1992. His victory was well-publicized, but empty, though he did gain a measure of revenge when his show beat Letterman's for the Emmy in 1995. Though he consistently lost in the ratings to Letterman except on special occasions, like Hugh Grant's first TV appearance after his encounter with Divine Brown, he surged ahead in 1996, as CBS plunged further into oblivion.- Actor
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Donald Jay Rickles was born May 8, 1926 in New York. Following the Golden Era of Hollywood, he remained active until early 2017. He got his start in night clubs, toiling for over 20 years, until 1958, when he made his film debut in Run Silent Run Deep (1958). The movie was a big hit. Afterward, Rickles continued acting, starring in films like X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes (1963), Bikini Beach (1964), Enter Laughing (1967), and Kelly's Heroes (1970). In 1973, Don became a regular on Dean Martin's Celebrity Roasts.
From 1973-84, he appeared frequently on Dean's show, paying tribute to some of his friends, like Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball, and was even the roast master on the roast for Dean Martin himself. In 1976, he had his own TV series CPO Sharkey (1976), which enjoyed a two year run. After 1984, he slowed down, appearing in a few minor film roles. In 1995, he made a comeback, appearing with Tom Hanks and Tim Allen in Toy Story (1995) in the role of the grouchy Mr. Potato Head. In 1999, he returned as Mr. Potato Head in Toy Story 2 (1999). He died on April 6, 2017, in Los Angeles, California, aged 90. He is interred at Mount Sinai Memorial Park in Los Angeles, California, in the Courts of Tanach.- Writer
- Actor
- Producer
Steve Martin was born on August 14, 1945 in Waco, Texas, USA as Stephen Glenn Martin to Mary Lee (née Stewart; 1913-2002) and Glenn Vernon Martin (1914-1997), a real estate salesman and aspiring actor. He was raised in Inglewood and Garden Grove in California. In 1960, he got a job at the Magic shop of Disney's Fantasyland, and while there he learned magic, juggling, and creating balloon animals. At Santa Ana College, he took classes in drama and English poetry. He also took part in comedies and other productions at the Bird Cage Theatre, and joined a comedy troupe at Knott's Berry Farm. He attended California State University as a philosophy major, but in 1967 transferred to UCLA as a theatre major.
His writing career began on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (1967), winning him an Emmy Award. Between 1967 and 1973, he also wrote for many other shows, including The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour (1969) and The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour (1971). He also appeared on talk shows and comedy shows in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 1972, he first appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962), doing stand-up several times each year, and even guest hosting a few years later. In 1976, he served for the first time as guest-host on Saturday Night Live (1975). By 2016, he has guest-hosted 15 times, which is one less than Alec Baldwin's record, and also appeared 12 other times on SNL.
In 1977, he released his first comedy album, a platinum selling "Let's Get Small". He followed it with "A Wild and Crazy Guy" (1978), which sold more than a million copies. Both albums went on to win Grammys for Best Comedy Recording. This is when he performed in arenas in front of tens of thousands of people, and begun his movie career, which was always his goal. His first major role was in the short film, The Absent-Minded Waiter (1977), which he also wrote. His star value was established in The Jerk (1979), which was co-written by Martin, and directed by Carl Reiner. The film earned more than $100 million on a $4 million budget. He also starred in Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982), The Man with Two Brains (1983), and All of Me (1984), all directed by Reiner. To avoid being typecast as a comedian, he wanted do more dramatic roles, starring in Pennies from Heaven (1981), a film remake of Dennis Potter's 1978 series. Unfortunately, it was a financial failure.
He also starred in John Landis's Three Amigos! (1986), co-written by himself, opposite Martin Short and Chevy Chase. That year, he also appeared in the musical horror comedy, Little Shop of Horrors (1986) opposite Rick Moranis. Next year, he starred in Roxanne (1987), co-written by himself, and in John Hughes' Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987), opposite John Candy. His other films include Parenthood (1989) and My Blue Heaven (1990), both opposite Moranis. In 1991, he wrote and starred in L.A. Story (1991), about a weatherman who searches meaning in his life and love in Los Angeles. It also starred his then-wife, Victoria Tennant. Same year, Father of the Bride (1991) was so successful that a 1995 sequel followed.
During the 1990s, he continued to play more dramatic roles, in Grand Canyon (1991), playing a traumatized movie producer, in Leap of Faith (1992), playing a fake faith healer, in A Simple Twist of Fate (1994), playing a betrayed man adopting a baby, and in David Mamet's thriller The Spanish Prisoner (1997). Other, more comedic roles include in HouseSitter (1992) and The Out-of-Towners (1999), opposite Goldie Hawn, in Nora Ephron's Mixed Nuts (1994), and in Bowfinger (1999), written by himself and co-starring Eddie Murphy. After Bowfinger, he starred in Bringing Down the House (2003) and Cheaper by the Dozen (2003), both earning more than $130 million. He wrote and starred in Shopgirl (2005), and appeared in the sequel of Cheaper by the Dozen. After them, he appeared in The Pink Panther (2006) and The Pink Panther 2 (2009), which he both co-wrote, as Inspector Clouseau.
He continues to do movies, more recently appearing in The Big Year (2011), Home (2015), and Love the Coopers (2015). Besides aforementioned, he has been an avid art collector since 1968, written plays, written for The New Yorker, written a well-received memoir (Born Standing Up), written a novel (An Object of Beauty; 2010), hosted the Academy Awards three times, released a Grammy award winning music album (The Crow: New Songs for the 5-String Banjo; 2009), and another album (Love Has Come For You; 2013) with Edie Brickell. Since 2007, he has been married to Anne Stringfield, with whom he has a daughter.- Actor
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Edward Regan Murphy was born April 3, 1961 in Brooklyn, New York, to Lillian Lynch (born: Lillian Laney), a telephone operator, and Charles Edward Murphy, a transit police officer who was also an amateur comedian and actor. After his father died, his mother married Vernon Lynch, a foreman at a Breyer's Ice Cream plant. His brothers are Charlie Murphy & Vernon Lynch Jr. Eddie had aspirations of being in show business since he was a child. A bright kid growing up in the streets of New York, Murphy spent a great deal of time on impressions and comedy stand-up routines rather than academics. His sense of humor and wit made him a stand out amongst his classmates at Roosevelt Junior-Senior High School. By the time he was fifteen, Murphy worked as a stand-up comic on the lower part of New York, wooing audiences with his dead-on impressions of celebrities and outlooks on life.
In the early 1980s, at the age of 19, Murphy was offered a contract for the Not-Ready-For-Prime-Time Players of Saturday Night Live (1975), where Murphy exercised his comedic abilities in impersonating African American figures and originating some of the show's most memorable characters: Velvet Jones, Mr. Robinson, and a disgruntled and angry Gumby. Murphy made his feature film debut in 48 Hrs. (1982), alongside Nick Nolte. The two's comedic and antagonistic chemistry, alongside Murphy's believable performance as a streetwise convict aiding a bitter, aging cop, won over critics and audiences. The next year, Murphy went two for two, with another hit, pairing him with John Landis, who later became a frequent collaborator with Murphy in Coming to America (1988) and Beverly Hills Cop III (1994). Beverly Hills Cop (1984) was the film that made Murphy a box-office superstar and most notably made him a celebrity worldwide, and it remains one of the all-time biggest domestic blockbusters in motion-picture history. Murphy's performance as a young Detroit cop in pursuit of his friend's murderers earned him a third consecutive Golden Globe nomination. Axel Foley became one of Murphy's signature characters. On top of his game, Murphy was unfazed by his success, that is until his box office appeal and choices in scripts resulted into a spotty mix of hits and misses into the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Films like The Golden Child (1986) and Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) were critically panned but were still massive draws at the box office. In 1989, Murphy, coming off another hit, Coming to America (1988), found failure with his directorial debut, Harlem Nights (1989). Another 48 Hrs. (1990), his turn as a hopeless romantic in Boomerang (1992) and as a suave vampire in Vampire In Brooklyn did little to resuscitate his career. However, his remake of Jerry Lewis's The Nutty Professor (1996) brought Murphy's drawing power back into fruition. From there, Murphy rebounded with occasional hits and misses but has long proven himself as a skilled comedic actor with laudable range pertaining to characterizations and mannerisms. Though he has grown up a lot since his fast-lane rise as a superstar in the 1980s, Murphy has lived the Hollywood lifestyle with controversy, criticism, scandal, and the admiration of millions worldwide for his talents. As Murphy had matured throughout the years, learning many lessons about the Hollywood game in the process, he settled down with more family-oriented humor with Doctor Dolittle (1998), Mulan (1998), Bowfinger (1999), and the animated smash Shrek (2001), in a supporting role that showcased Murphy's comedic personality and charm. Throughout the 2000s, he further starred in the hits The Haunted Mansion (2003), Shrek 2 (2004), Dreamgirls (2006) (for which he was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar), Norbit (2007), Shrek the Third (2007), and Shrek Forever After (2010).
Murphy was married to Nicole Mitchell Murphy from 1993 to 2006. Murphy has ten children.- Podcaster
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- Actor
Joe Rogan was born on 11 August 1967 in Newark, New Jersey, USA. He is a podcaster and writer, known for The Joe Rogan Experience (2009), NewsRadio (1995) and Zookeeper (2011). He has been married to Jessica Rogan since 2009. They have three children.- Producer
- Actor
- Writer
Christopher Julius Rock was born in Andrews, South Carolina and raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York. He is the son of Rosalie (Tingman), a teacher and social worker for the mentally handicapped, and Julius Rock, a truck driver and newspaper deliveryman, whose own father was a preacher.
Rock has been in stand-up comedy for several decades. He made his big screen debut in Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) and spent three years on the cast of Saturday Night Live (1975). He does commercials for 1-800 Collect and Nike and covered the presidential campaign for the show Politically Incorrect (1993). He lives in Alpine, New Jersey.- Producer
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Jerry Seinfeld was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Betty (Hesney) and Kalman Seinfeld. His father was of Hungarian Jewish descent, while Jerry's maternal grandparents, Salha and Selim Hosni, were Syrian Jewish immigrants (from Aleppo). He moved with his family, including sister Carolyn, to suburban Massepequa, Long Island, at a young age. Jerry's dad, who had a terrific sense of humor, was a commercial sign maker.
Jerry attended Oswego College in upstate New York however transferred to Queens College back in New York City. Developed an interest in stand-up comedy after brief stints in college productions. Went straight from college graduation to amateur night tryout at New York's Catch a Rising Star, 1976.
Continued to perform in local clubs and Catskill Mountain resorts until his career was boosted by an appearance on a Rodney Dangerfield HBO special, 1976. Career took off after first successful spot on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962), May 1981, at age 27. Appearances on [error] and The Merv Griffin Show (1962) followed. Also appeared four times as Frankie on Benson (1979) sitcom. After he was abruptly fired from the show, he swore never to do another sitcom unless he had greater control. This opportunity emerged when he was invited to create a sitcom for NBC in 1989 and teamed with one-time stand-up colleague Larry David.
Progression of "The Seinfeld Chronicles" into the long-running Seinfeld (1989) series phenomenon was ended by its co-creator and co-executive producer, Larry David. Still unmarried, he moved back to New York City into a new multimillion-dollar, multilevel apartment on Central Park West just down the street from his small bachelor studio on West 81st.- Producer
- Writer
- Actor
Daniel Tosh was born on 29 May 1975 in Germany. He is a producer and writer, known for The Love Guru (2008), Daniel Tosh: Happy Thoughts (2011) and Tosh.0 (2009). He has been married to Carly Hallam since 15 April 2016.- Actor
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- Producer
Chris D'Elia was born on 29 March 1980 in Montclair, New Jersey, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Celeste & Jesse Forever (2012), Little Evil (2017) and Glory Daze (2010). He has been married to Kristin Taylor since 18 June 2022. They have one child. He was previously married to Emily Montague.- Actor
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- Producer
David Brenner was born on 4 February 1936 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Worth Winning (1989), Theory of a Deadman: Not Meant to Be (2009) and Modern Family (2009). He was married to Ruth Davey, Elizabeth Slater and Geraldine (Geri) Judith Leno. He died on 15 March 2014 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.- Writer
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Garry Shandling was born on 29 November 1949 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for The Larry Sanders Show (1992), It's Garry Shandling's Show. (1986) and Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014). He died on 24 March 2016 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
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Bob Newhart is an American actor and stand-up comedian. His comedic style involves deadpan delivery of dialogue, a slight stammer when talking, and comedic monologues. He has cited earlier comedians George Gobel (1919-1991), Ray Goulding (1922-1990), and Bob Elliott (1923-2016) as his main influences in developing his comedy style.
In 1929, Newhart was born in a hospital in Oak Park, Illinois. His parents were George David Newhart (1900-1985) and his wife Julia Pauline Burns (1900-1994). George was the son of an American father and a Canadian mother, had both German and Irish ancestry, and claimed maternal descent from the O'Conor family of Connacht; his mother was an Irish-American. George had partial ownership in a plumbing and heating-supply business, which was the Newhart family's main source of income.
Bob Newhart was raised in the vicinity of Chicago and attended a number of local Roman Catholic schools: first the St. Catherine of Siena Grammar School in Oak Park, then St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago. He graduated the prep school (equivalent to a high school) in 1947, then enrolled at the Loyola University Chicago. He graduated in 1952 with a Bachelor's Degree in business management.
Shortly after graduating from the university, Newhart was drafted into the the United States Army. He served as a personnel manager for the Army during the Korean War (1950-1953). He was honorably discharged in 1954, during the post-war demobilization of the American armed forces. He attempted to continue his studies, and enrolled into the Loyola University Chicago School of Law. However he never completed his degree, quitting a required internship because his employer had demanded "unethical" behavior from him.
Newhart briefly worked as an accountant for the USG Corporation (United States Gypsum Corporation), a Chicago-based company which manufactures construction materials. He quit after regularly facing trouble in "adjusting petty cash imbalances". He then proceeded to work as a clerk for various employers, but found himself struggling financially.
In 1958, Newhart was hired as an advertising copywriter for a Chicago-based production company. To entertain himself, he started exchanging "long telephone calls about absurd scenarios" with a friendly co-worker. The 29-year-old Newhart had the idea to try his hand as a comedian, and developed a comedy routine based on the telephone calls. He recorded his routine into audition tapes, and send them to radio stations. His routine was met favorably. In 1959, Newhart started performing as a stand-up-comedian in nightclubs, and signed a contract with a new record company which was seeking to recruit some talent. The company was Warner Bros. Records (established in 1958), a subsidiary of the film studio Warner Bros.
Newhart became famous primarily through his audio releases. His comedy album "The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart" (1960) became the first comedy album to make number one on the Billboard charts, and earned him the 1961 Grammy Award for Best New Artist.
This success opened to him new career opportunities, in television and film. NBC offered him his own variety television show, the short-lived "The Bob Newhart Show" (October, 1961-June 1962). The show won the 1962 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series, but was canceled anyway. It had won the award while facing four other candidates: "The Andy Griffith Show", "Car 54, Where Are You?", "Hazel", and "The Red Skelton Show". Each of them managed to outlast the award-winning show.
In 1962, Newhart made his film debut in the war film "Hell Is for Heroes". Newhart played the character James Driscoll, an Army company clerk who broadcasts misleading radio messages to the enemy limes during World War II. As essentially comic role in an otherwise dramatic film.
Newhart appeared frequently as a guest star in television over the subsequent years, but had relatively few film roles. He appeared in the caper story "Hot Millions" (1968), the reincarnation-themed fantasy film "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever" (1970), the war film "Catch-22" (1970), and the tobacco-smoking-themed satirical film "Cold Turkey" (1971).
From 1972 to 1978, Newhart starred in the hit sitcom "The Bob Newhart Show". He played the character Robert "Bob" Hartley, Ph.D. (Newhart), a Chicago psychologist who is surrounded by eccentric patients, work colleagues, friends, and family members. Hartley was effectively the "straight man" to the wacky characters surrounding him.
In 1977, Newhart voiced Bernard, the male lead in the animated film "The Rescuers" (1977). The film features the Rescue Aid Society, an international mouse organization, with its headquarters located in New York City. Bernard is not initially one of its members, but works as their janitor. When Miss Bianca, Hungary's representative in the organization, must choose a partner for her first field mission, she impulsively chooses Bernard over the the other available agents. Part of the success of the film is based on the contrast between the two partners, the adventurous, brave, but rather impulsive Bianca, and the overly cautious, shy, and reluctant hero Bernard. "The Rescuers" earned worldwide gross rentals of 48 million dollars at the box office during its initial release, and had a total lifetime worldwide gross of 169 million dollars through subsequent re-releases.
In 1980, Newhart appeared in two live-action films, the comedy-drama "Little Miss Marker", and the political comedy "First Family". The first features Newhart as a member of a gangster-run gambling operation. The gangsters are surprised when a client uses his 6-year-old daughter as collateral for a bet, and and more surprised when the client commits suicide. The film deals with jaded criminals who develop parental feelings for the orphan girl. The other film was a more cynical comedy, with Newheart as an inept President of the United States. The main plot deals with the President tolerating the kidnapping of American citizens by a fictional African country, because the country offers some valuable resources in exchange for their new American slaves.
From 1982 to 1990, Newhart starred in a second hit sitcom, called simply "Newhart". He played the character Dick Loudon, a Vermon-based innkeeper who finds himself surrounded by strange employees, neighbors, and competitors. The show had a famous ending where the entire series is "revealed" to be a dream of Robert Hartley, Newhart's character from his first sitcom.
In 1990, Newhart returned to the role of Bernard, in the sequel film "The Rescuers Down Under". Early in the film, Bernard is preparing a marriage proposal for Miss Bianca, but his plans are derailed when they are both send to Australia for an urgent mission. The duo are partnered with Australian agent Jake, and Bernard is frustrated with when Jake competes with him for Bianca's affections. At the end of the mission, Berbard finally makes his marriage proposal, unwilling to let orders for further missions to interfere with his plans to marry the woman he loves. The film only earned 47.4 million dollars at the worldwide box office, and became Walt Disney Animation Studio's least successful theatrical animated film of the 1990s.
From 1992 to 1993, Newhart starred in his third sitcom, called simply "Bob". He played the character Bob McKay, a veteran comic book writer and artist from the 1950s. Having long retired into obscurity, McKay is hired by a corporation to produce a revival of his classic character, the superhero "Mad-Dog". The first season introduced a large cast of eccentric co-workers. The second season dismissed most of these characters, and had McKay serving as the President of a company producing greeting cards. The series suffered from low ratings, and was canceled at the end of its second season. Only 33 episodes were produced.
From 1997 to 1998, Newhart starred in his fourth sitcom "George & Leo". He played the character George Stoody, a bookstore owner who finds himself offering hospitality to a professional magician and part-time criminal, who recently robbed a Mafia-owned casino. The humor was based on the strong contrast between the two men, but the series failed to find an audience.
Newhart returned to theatrical films with the romantic comedy "In & Out" (1997). He had roles in the animated film "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie" (1998), the comedy "Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde" (2003), and the Christmas film "Elf" (2003) . From 2004 to 2008, Newhart played the major character Judson in three television films of "The Librarian" fantasy franchise. The franchise features a mystical library, which hides numerous magical and technological artifacts from various historical eras. A series of librarians have to guard the library and its contents from criminal organizations with sinister designs. Judson is the mentor who trains the current librarian, after the previous one was killed in action. The series hinted that Judson was older than he looked, and he was eventually revealed to be the original librarian. He was nearly immortal, and had trained succeeding librarians for centuries.
In 2011, Newhart played a small role in the black comedy "Horrible Bosses", playing the character of sadistic CEO Louis Sherman. Sherman is described as a "Twisted Old Fuck", who keeps people locked in his trunk.
In 2013, Newhart started playing the recurring character Arthur Jeffries (stage name "Professor Proton") in the sitcom "The Big Bang Theory" (2007-). Arthur was a scientist who decades ago served as the host of a science show aimed at children, inspiring series co-protagonists Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper to start science careers of their own. Leonard and Sheldon, now professional physicists with academic careers, eventually get to meet their childhood idol. Arthur's scientific career ended in disgrace, his television days are long over, and he has been reduced to earning a meager living as a party entertainer.
The role of Arthur Jeffries won Newhart his first Primetime Emmy Award. The character dynamic between Arthur and Sheldon was popular, as Sheldon continued to idolize Arthur, while Arthur found his "student" to be insufferable. Following the character's physical death, Newhart has continued to appear in the series as Arthur Jeffries' ghost. He appears to Sheldon at various points to offer him advice, serving as a mentor figure. Sheldon views Arthur as his version of Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Newhart turned 89 in 2018 but he continues to tirelessly appear in television projects and to entertain new generations of fans.- Actor
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Andrew Dice Clay was born on 29 September 1957 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990), Blue Jasmine (2013) and A Star Is Born (2018). He has been married to Valerie Silverstein since 14 February 2010. He was previously married to Kathleen Monica and Kathleen Swanson.- Actor
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- Additional Crew
Brent Morin was born on 31 August 1986 in South Windsor, Connecticut, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for How to Be Single (2016), Yes Day (2021) and Crunch Time (2016).- Writer
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- Additional Crew
Anthony Jeselnik was born on 22 December 1978 in Upper St. Clair, Pennsylvania, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Anthony Jeselnik: Thoughts and Prayers (2015), Anthony Jeselnik: Fire in the Maternity Ward (2019) and Night of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Concert for Autism Education (2010).- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Nick Swardson was born on 9 October 1976 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Grandma's Boy (2006), Just Go with It (2011) and The Benchwarmers (2006).- Writer
- Actor
- Producer
John Mulaney is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. A native of Chicago, Illinois, he started his career working as a writer for Saturday Night Live (1975) in 2008, where he co-created the recurring character of Stefon with Bill Hader and occasionally appeared on the show's Weekend Update segments. Following his departure from SNL, Mulaney would subsequently work on various other projects, including creating and starring in the sitcom Mulaney (2014) for Fox and voicing Spider-Ham/Peter Porker in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), which marked his first role in a feature film. His other work includes creating the live Broadway show Oh, Hello with frequent writing partner Nick Kroll, voice work for the films Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022) and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022), and writing and starring in various comedy specials for Netflix, among others.- Actor
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Ronny Chieng is a Chinese comedian and actor born in Malaysia and raised in New Hampshire and Singapore. He started performing stand-up in 2009 after graduating with a dual degree in Law and Commerce from The University of Melbourne, Australia. His act caught the attention of the esteemed Montreal Just for Laughs Comedy Festival, where he performed in 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2016. There he was noticed by comedians and talent scouts who helped him launch sold-out stand-up tours in Australia, Hong Kong, and Canada.
Trevor Noah was among the many who loved Ronny's work at the JFL Festival and hired him for Comedy Central's 'The Daily Show' where he's been a correspondent since 2015. Back in Australia, Ronny co-created and starred in the sit-com 'Ronny Chieng: International Student', which aired in the US on Comedy Central and was based on his law school experiences. In 2016, he was named one of Variety's 10 Comics to Watch. In 2018, Ronny starred as Eddie Cheng in the blockbuster Warner Bros. film 'Crazy Rich Asians'. Ronny can most recently be seen in the Amazon film, 'Bliss' opposite Owen Wilson and Salma Hayek and Warner Bros.'s Godzilla v. Kong'.
Ronny's stand-up has been televised on four Australian specials and NBC's 'Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'. He recently released his first Netflix Special, 'Ronny Chieng: Asian Comedian Destroys America!'.- Writer
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- Actor
Dave Chappelle's career started while he was in high school at Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC where he studied theatre arts. At the age of 14, he began performing stand-up comedy in nightclubs. Shortly after graduation, he moved to New York City where he quickly established himself as a major young talent. At the age of 19, Chappelle made his film debut in Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993). Chappelle then starred in the short-lived sitcom, Buddies (1996) and had a featured role in The Nutty Professor (1996).- Actor
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Jim Breuer was born on 21 June 1967 in Valley Stream, Long Island, New York, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Half Baked (1998), Titan A.E. (2000) and Zookeeper (2011). He has been married to Dee Breuer since 28 August 1993. They have three children.- Actor
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Macdonald was born Norman Gene Macdonald in Quebec City, Quebec. He began his career in stand-up comedy. Macdonald's first job was writing for The Dennis Miller Show (1992) and then Roseanne (1988). While writing for Roseanne (1988), he was noticed by Lorne Michaels, who liked Norm's stand up, and gave him his job on Saturday Night Live (1975).
Macdonald became widely popular when he became the Weekend Update anchor with his trademark line, "And now the fake news". He lasted from September 24, 1994 until December 13, 1997, when he was fired by Don Ohlmeyer, president of NBC on the west coast. His last weekend update was December 13, 1997 and he officially left the show in March 1998. His movie, Dirty Work (1998), which he began working on in the summer of 1997, came out 2 months later. In March 1999, his show, called Norm (1999), came out on ABC and had a 3-season run. During that time, he also starred in the movie Screwed (2000), opposite Dave Chappelle.- Writer
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- Actor
Ricky Dene Gervais was born in a suburb of Reading, Berkshire, to Eva Sophia (House) and Lawrence Raymond Gervais, who was a hod carrier and labourer. His father was born in Ontario, Canada, of French-Canadian descent, and his mother was English. He was educated at Ashmead Comprehensive School and went on to study at University College, London, where he gained a degree in Philosophy.
After university, Gervais attempted to pursue a pop career with Seona Dancing, a duo he formed with a fellow student. Similar to many groups in the early 1980s, they were a synth-pop act with a somewhat pretentious name and exhibiting a strong musical influence by David Bowie. Gervais adopted a vocal style that has often been compared to Bowie; comedian Paul Merton would later joke that Bowie nicked their music. Seona Dancing were briefly signed to a recording contract and released two singles, "More to Lose" and "Bitter Heart". The latter was slightly reminiscent of Queen's "Body Language" from a year earlier, featuring a similar synthesizer riff. The act failed to breach the UK top 75 and earn a place in the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles, but clips have survived and they have been frequently used to tease Gervais in interviews. Despite his own lack of success, Gervais stayed within the music industry for a while and even spent time as the manager of Suede.
Gervais had to wait a long time before achieving the fame he had hoped would come with a pop career. In the 1990s he formed a writing partnership with Stephen Merchant. In 2000, he landed his own comedy chat show on Channel 4, Meet Ricky Gervais (2000), which attracted legendary guests such as Jimmy Savile, Michael Winner, Paul Daniels, Peter Purves, Stefanie Powers, Jim Bowen and Midge Ure. The series only ran for six episodes but a year later greater stardom came for Gervais with the debut of BBC comedy The Office (2001). Although it was not initially received to great acclaim or viewing figures, it is now often cited as one of the greatest comedy series of all time and has been credited with reinventing the sitcom. Gervais starred as the obnoxious and embarrassing office manager David Brent, who has since been voted in various polls one of the greatest comic characters. It also prompted an American remake, The Office (2005). Gervais had further success with another sitcom, Extras (2005), which attracted a series of celebrity guests, including Ben Stiller, Samuel L. Jackson and his musical idol David Bowie. It served as a satire on the entertainment industry and leading stars were happy to play along by performing exaggerated versions of themselves.
Gervais has become one of the most popular and omnipresent comedy performers of the 21st century, hosting the Golden Globe awards, lending his talent to films, becoming a voice artist and appearing on numerous talk shows. He has become one of the best known British comedy figures in America. He is also regularly the subject of controversy due to his dark comedy. Some critics have called him insensitive and outrageous. Gervais has responded by saying "offense is the collateral damage of free speech", he has said that he doesn't aim for a mass audience, he's just pleased he's managed to get one, and he has compared his style of comedy and the audience he has acquired with being Iggy Pop in preference to being Phil Collins.- Writer
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Nikki Glaser was born on 1 June 1984 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. She is a writer and producer, known for Trainwreck (2015), I Feel Pretty (2018) and Punching the Clown (2009).- Actor
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Gerry Dee, the son of Scottish immigrant parents, was born in Scarborough and raised in Toronto. He played Varsity hockey at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia and become a high-school physical-education teacher. He was the first Canadian to ever win the prestigious San Francisco Comedy Competition. He is a two handicap at golf.- Writer
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- Actor
Jim Jefferies was born on 4 February 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is a writer and producer, known for Legit (2013), Jim Jefferies: Freedumb (2016) and The Librarians (2014). He has been married to Tasie Lawrence since September 2020. They have one child.- Producer
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- Actress
Emmy-winning talk show host Ellen Lee DeGeneres was born in Metairie, Louisiana, a New Orleans suburb. She is the daughter of Betty DeGeneres (née Elizabeth Jane Pfeffer), a speech therapist, and Elliott Everett DeGeneres, Jr., an insurance agent. Her brother is musician and producer Vance DeGeneres. Her parents divorced when she was 16 years old. Her mother remarried, and her new husband, salesman Roy Gruessendorf, moved the family to Atlanta, Texas.
After graduating from Atlanta High School in 1976, Ellen attended the University of New Orleans as a communications major, but she dropped out after one semester. She held a wide variety of jobs until she turned to stand-up comedy, making her bones at small clubs and coffeehouses before working her way up to emcee Clyde's Comedy Club by 1981. Her comedy was described as a distaff version of Bob Newhart. Beginning in the early 1980s, she toured nationally and was named the funniest person in America after winning a competition sponsored by the cable network Showtime. This led to better gigs, including her first appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962) in 1986.
Though DeGeneres's early forays into series television were not successful (she appeared as a supporting player in two short-lived TV situation comedies in the period 1989-92, Open House (1989) and Laurie Hill (1992)), she scored a hit headlining her own 1994 sitcom on ABC "These Friends of Mine" (renamed Ellen (1994) after its first season). She made TV history in April 1997, when her character, and DeGeneres personally, revealed that she was a lesbian. However, the show was canceled the following season due to declining ratings, after which DeGeneres returned to the stand-up circuit. In 2001, DeGeneres launched a new series, The Ellen Show (2001), on CBS, but it suffered from poor ratings and was canceled.
Redemption as a television artist came in 2003, when DeGeneres's daytime talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2003), proved to be both a critical hit and a commercial success. Along with good ratings, the show has won unprecedented kudos from the industry, winning 15 Emmy Awards in its first three seasons on the air and becoming the first talk show in TV history to win the Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show in its first three seasons.
DeGeneres has also made a name for herself as a host of awards shows. She hosted the Grammy Awards in 1996 and 1997, as well as the Primetime Emmy Awards in 2001 and 2005. In February 2007, she had the ultimate TV awards show gig, hosting the Oscars, which she hosted again in 2014.- Actor
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Sam Kinison was a popular stand-up comedian from Yakima, Washington, mainly active in the 1980s and the early 1990s. He also had a few acting roles in film and television. His only recurring role was that of Hugh, the main character's alter ego in the short-lived sitcom "Charlie Hoover" (1991). The series only lasted 7 episodes. Kinison had previously worked as a Pentecostal preacher, and his comedy routine incorporated sudden tirades and distinctive screams in the style of charismatic preachers. Kinison was noted for a tendency to use black comedy, and to often satirize Christian evangelist scandals.
In 1953, Kinison was born in Yakima, Washington. The city's economy is mostly based on agriculture. Yakima is the primary producer of hops in the United States, a key ingredient in the production of beer. Kinison's parents were the Pentecostal preacher Samuel Earl Kinison and his wife Marie Florence Morrow. Samuel "pastored several churches " throughout the United States, never settling for long in one place and always earning a meager income.
In 1956, Kinison was accidentally hit by a truck. He survived the accident, but suffered brain damage. His childhood was otherwise uneventful until 1964, when his parents divorced. Marie gained custody over Kinison, despite the boy's protestations. Kinison decided to follow in his father's footstep's, training to become a preacher.
From 1968 to 1969, Kinison attended the "Pinecrest Bible Training Center", an unaccredited bible school located in Salisbury Center, New York. From 1970 to 1977, Kinison was employed as a preacher. He reportedly used a typical "fire and brimstone" style in his sermons, punctuated with shouting. Like his father, Kinison earned a meager income and struggled with poverty.
Deciding to change his career path and become a comedian, Kinison moved to Houston, Texas. He found work at the Houston-based comedy club "Comedy Workshop" (1978-early 1990s). He received training at the Workshop's school for improvisational comedic actors, and joined the club's team of "Texas Outlaw Comics". The team reportedly was intended to consist of comedians "who speak their minds" and "who aren't interested in selling out."
In 1980, Kinison decided to move to Los Angeles. He wanted to be hired by the West Hollywood-located comedy club "The Comedy Store" (1972-), where young comedians received press exposure and had a shot of appearing in HBO's "Young Comedians" television specials.
Kinison was initially hired as a doorman by "The Comedy Store", but eventually started performing as a comedian again. While struggling to find work, Kinnison reportedly developed addictions to both cocaine and alcohol. He hired his brother Bill as his manager.
Kinison's big break came when he was chosen as one of 8 performers in the "The 9th Annual Young Comedians Special" (1985). Most of the featured performers failed to impress the critics of the day, but Kinison won praise for voicing the frustrations of a typical married man in his routine. Kinison was next featured as a guest on the talk show "Late Night with David Letterman", and was cast in a supporting role in the comedy film "Back to School".
Kinison was at the height of his popularity by 1989. He was cast in the role of an angel in an episode of then-popular sitcom "Married... with Children" (1987-1997). In 1990, he had a role in the horror anthology series "Tales from the Crypt" (1989-1996). In 1991, he had a co-starring role in the sitcom "Charlie Hoover" (1991). The series' premise was that Charlie was a depressed, middle-aged office worker who is confronted by his own alter ego, who convinces him to turn his life around.
Having divorced twice, on April 4, 1992 Kinison married his long-time girlfriend Malika Souiri. She worked as a dancer. Following the wedding, the couple vacationed in Hawaii for 5 days. They returned to Los Angeles on April 10, as Kinison had to prepare for a performance at the Riverside Resort Hotel and Casino of Laughlin, Nevada. Later that day, Kinison's Pontiac Trans Am was "struck head-on" by a pick-up truck. The driver of the other vehicle was an inebriated 17-year-old boy.
Kinnison was found dead at the scene, with his head having smashed his car's windshield. At the time of the accident, Kinnison was not wearing his seat belt. He was 38-years-old at the the time of his death. His wife was also injured at the accident, but was able to recovered at a hospital. The driver responsible for the death pled guilty to charges of "vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence". He was sentenced to a single year of probation and 300 hours of community service.
Kinison was buried in a family grave plot at Memorial Park Cemetery in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 1993, archival footage of him was used for the television special "A Tribute to Sam Kinison". Kinnison's brother Bill wrote a biography of him, called "Brother Sam: The Short, Spectacular Life of Sam Kinison". Despite a relatively short career, Kinnison has been fondly remembered. He has been cited as an influence by other comedians.- Actor
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Steven Wright was born on 6 December 1955 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Natural Born Killers (1994), So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993) and Reservoir Dogs (1992).- Actor
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Ray Romano grew up in Forest Hills, Queens. He performed in the NYC comedy club circuit before landing a guest spot on The Letterman Show. It was here that he propelled his TV show Everybody Loves Raymond.
He was also the voice of the Mammoth in the extremely successful Ice Age Series Movies.
He is also the inspiration for the character 'Paul', written by his brother Rich in the film "The Investigator".- Producer
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Bill Maher was born William Maher in New York City, New York, and grew up in River Vale, New Jersey. His father, William Aloysius Maher Jr., who was of Irish Catholic descent, was a radio announcer and news editor. His mother, Julie (Berman), was a nurse, who was of Jewish descent. Maher was raised in his father's Catholic faith. While attending Cornell University, he decided to try stand-up comedy. His first stand-up routine was in a Chinese restaurant on Route 17 in Paramus, New Jersey. He soon landed a regular gig at Catch a Rising Star in New York City. After a few years, he became a regular host at the club and was spotted by a scout for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962). Maher made numerous appearances on the show, and Carson had been a hero of his since childhood, but he always felt constrained by the rules of network television. During this time, he appeared in films and made guest appearances on numerous sitcoms.
In 1993, Maher was offered his own talk show by Comedy Central. Maher developed the show as a round table discussion on current events. Politically Incorrect (1993) premiered to critical acclaim and attracted major celebrities as well as politicians and pundits. In 1997, the show moved to ABC where it aired to continued success. On September 17, 2001, Maher made controversial comments regarding the terrorists who orchestrated the September 11 attack on the US. Sponsors pulled their ads and affiliates refused to air the show. ABC canceled the show in 2002, citing "low ratings". Maher had been nominated for 11 Emmys for his work on the show. In 2003, he was able to continue his television work with a similar program on HBO titled Real Time with Bill Maher (2003). He remains single and lives in Los Angeles.- Producer
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Jon Stewart was born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz in New York City, New York, to Marian (Laskin), a teacher, and Donald Leibowitz, a physics professor. His family is Ashkenazi Jewish (from Austria, Ukraine, Poland, and Belarus). Stewart moved to Lawrenceville, New Jersey during his childhood. He graduated from the College Of William And Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1984. He made his breakthrough on The Larry Sanders Show (1992), where he had a role playing himself, the oft-timed "Guest Host" of "The Larry Sanders Show". He became as much a part of the show's fabric as some of the regular performers.
In the 2000s, Stewart emerged as a bonafide television personality with his ascension to host of The Daily Show (1996)/Comedy Central, taking over for Craig Kilborn in 1999. Audiences have embraced his sarcastic, sardonic and incisive sense of humor, covering politics and other news stories.
Stewart and his wife, Tracey, have two children.- Actor
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Timothy Allen Dick was born on June 13, 1953, in Denver, Colorado, to Martha Katherine (Fox) and Gerald M. Dick. His father, a real estate salesman, was killed in a collision with a drunk driver while driving his family home from a University of Colorado football game, when Tim was eleven years old. His mother, a community service worker, remarried her high school sweetheart, an Episcopalian deacon, two years after Tim's father's death. He was raised with his many siblings and step-siblings. When Tim was young, his family moved to Birmingham, Michigan.
In high school, his favorite subject was shop, of course, and after high school, he attended Western Michigan University and graduated with a degree in Television Production in 1975. In 1978, he was arrested on drug charges and spent two years in jail. Upon his release, he had a new outlook on life and on a dare from a friend, started his comedy career at the Comedy Castle in Detroit. Later, he went on to do several cable specials, including, Comedy's Dirtiest Dozen (1988) and Tim Allen: Men Are Pigs (1990). In 1991, he became the star of his own hit television series on ABC called Home Improvement (1991). While continuing to film his television series throughout most of the 1990s, he starred in a string of blockbuster movies, including The Santa Clause (1994), Toy Story (1995), Toy Story 2 (1999) and Galaxy Quest (1999). In August 1996, he developed and unveiled his own signature line of power tools, manufactured by Ryobi. On top of all that, he has his own racing team, Tim Allen/Saleen RRRRacing. In May 1999, he ended his series Home Improvement (1991) after eight seasons and in 2001, he filmed such movies as Big Trouble (2002) and Joe Somebody (2001).- Actor
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Larry Miller was born on 15 October 1953 in Valley Stream, Long Island, New York, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), Pretty Woman (1990) and A Mighty Wind (2003). He has been married to Eileen Conn since 6 March 1993. They have two children.- Actor
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As a seasoned actor, writer, producer, and stand-up comedian, Paul Reiser continues to add to his list of accomplishments. In addition to co-creating and starring on the critically acclaimed NBC series, Mad About You (1992), which garnered him Emmy, Golden Globe, American Comedy Award and Screen Actors Guild nominations for Best Actor in a Comedy Series, his successes also include his book, "Couplehood", which sold over two million copies and reached the number one spot on "The New York Times" best-seller list, and "Babyhood", his follow-up book, which features his trademark humorous take on the adventures of being a first-time father, which also made "The New York Times" best-seller list. He also wrote follow-up bestseller Familyhood.
Born and raised in New York City, Reiser was drawn to Greenwich Village clubs, which featured, among others, George Carlin, Robert Klein and David Steinberg. He subsequently attended college at the State University of New York at Binghamton, where he majored in music (piano and composition) and participated in drama classes. During his university years, he was active in student theater productions at the Hinman Little Theater, an on-campus community theater organization located in Hinman College, his dorm community. Reiser later began performing as a comedian at the Improv and Comic Strip during university summer breaks.
Remembered for notable performances in films, such as Diner (1982), Aliens (1986), Beverly Hills Cop (1984) and Beverly Hills Cop II (1987), The Marrying Man (1991), Bye Bye Love (1995) and One Night at McCool's (2001). More recently, he starred in two original movies for Showtime - Strange Relations (2001) opposite Julie Walters, Chazz Palminteri's Women vs. Men (2002), opposite Joe Mantegna and Christine Lahti. His first original screenplay also became his next film The Thing About My Folks (2005), also starring Peter Falk, Olympia Dukakis and Elizabeth Perkins.
Reiser's development company, "Nuance Productions", has produced several projects for NBC television including, My 11:30 (2004), starring Jeff Goldblum and Donna Murphy - which Reiser co-wrote with Steven Sater. Also in the works - for the Showtime cable network - is a mock-documentary about "The Smothers Brothers" and their battles with television network censorship in the late 1960s. Since then, he has maintained a lower profile, working more as an executive producer and writer than as an actor.
In 2003, Reiser made his stage debut in Woody Allen's directorial play debut Writer's Block. He also paired with Steven Soderbergh to star in the Amazon Original Series Red Oaks.
Reiser tours the country performing to sold-out venues and was recently voted one of Comedy Central's "Top 100 Comedians of All Time."- Actor
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Jay Mohr, born in Verona, New Jersey, USA, wanted to be a comedian all of his life. He performed stand-up comedy at colleges, comedy clubs, and such television forums as An Evening at the Improv (1981) and Two Drink Minimum (1994). He first gained national attention while a cast member on Saturday Night Live (1975), where he became known for his impersonations of such people as Sean Penn and Christopher Walken.- Actor
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One of SNL's most talented alumni, comedian Dana Carvey reigned supreme during his six-season run creating some of the show's most memorable characters, including "Church Lady", "Garth" of Wayne & Garth fame, Grumpy Old Man and bodybuilding "Hans" of Hans & Franz notoriety. This sharp and witty writer, actor and impressionist went on to hatch a modestly successful comedy career in films along with some of his SNL cohorts -- Mike Myers, Adam Sandler and Chris Farley did.
The slightly-built, slightly dorky-looking funny guy was born on June 2, 1955 in Missoula, Montana, to Billie Dahl (McDonald) and Bud Carvey. He is of Norwegian, and smaller amounts of English, German, Swedish, and Irish, ancestry. Carvey was raised in San Carlos, California in typical middle class surroundings. His father taught high school business law and his mother, who was also a schoolteacher, had creative outlets as a painter and musician that inspired the young Dana. His gift for inducing laughter arrived at any early age. As young as 9 or 10, Dana was already mimicking characters he saw on TV, with one of his early icons being Jonathan Winters. His musical gifts came in the form of drums and guitar.
While majoring in Communication Arts at San Francisco State, Dana sought out the comedy stage doing standard impressions of well-known personalities such as John Wayne, Howard Cosell and James Stewart. Within a few months he was beginning to win stand-up comedy awards. In time, however, he replaced his impersonations with self-created characterizations and such ripe forms as the Church ("Isn't that special!") Lady were the result.
After playing various Bay Area comedy venues, Dana decided to relocate to Los Angeles in 1981 and give Hollywood a try. He quickly landed a development deal with NBC. While playing a straight foil to Mickey Rooney wasn't exactly his cup of tea, it did break him into series work as Rooney's grandson in the short-lived sitcom One of the Boys (1982). Mickey played a hip, energetic grandpa who is invited to move out of his retirement home and into the cool pad of his college-student grandson and his roommate (played by another up-and-comer, Nathan Lane).
Dana joined the repertory company of Saturday Night Live (1975) in 1986, and the result was spectacular, helping to reverse the show's disastrous decline in popularity at the time. With his sharp, quicksilver characters and uncanny ability to exaggerate dead-on impersonations of the rich and famous -- from politicos George Bush and Ross Perot to entertainment's Johnny Carson, Woody Allen and Regis Philbin, Dana became the darling of the SNL set for six solid seasons. He was nominated six times for an Emmy Award, finally winning in 1993 for "Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program", and also won multiple American Comedy Awards.
As expected, Dana began seeking comedy film vehicles to extend his stardom, following the pathway of many other successful post-SNL comics. In his first comedy vehicle Opportunity Knocks (1990), he unleashed his typical bag of tricks (dialects, impressions, etc.) in a tale about a con artist who falls for the daughter of one of his wealthy dupes. It was moderately received. His second, Clean Slate (1994), was merely a retread of Bill Murray's earlier Groundhog Day (1993) about a detective who awakens every morning without any recall. Given a thankless role in The Road to Wellville (1994), his third starring film comedy Trapped in Paradise (1994) this time had him joining former SNL alumnus Jon Lovitz. None kick-started movie stardom.
Dana's best results on film came in tandem with Mike Myers in which the duo recreated their memorable "party-on" dudes Wayne and Garth from the famous SNL sketches. Wayne's World (1992) and its sequel Wayne's World 2 (1993) were box-office smashes, but it strangely did not further Dana's film career. He had hopes that a self-titled TV comedy series, The Dana Carvey Show (1996) would connect with audiences but it faltered. As its host, he reprised a number of his popular characters and introduced a slew of future comedians, including Steve Carell and Stephen Colbert. The show was deemed too offensive and was canceled after only six airings.
Into the millennium, Dana's starred in one last comedy vehicle to date. The Master of Disguise (2002), which he co-wrote and was executive-produced by Adam Sandler. Here he played a klutzy Italian waiter who inherits the familial power of disguise. As before, it was a letdown and did little to advance his movie career. Since then he has been seen as a featured player and has appeared in three of Adam Sandler's comedy vehicles (Little Nicky (2000), Jack and Jill (2011) and Sandy Wexler (2017)). He has also been utilized in animated films, voicing such projects as Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015), Ankomsten (1982) and its sequel The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019).
Dana's true brilliance is captured best on the live comedy stage and, in particular, his numerous TV cable specials and stand-up concert appearances. To see Dana perform live is to witness an ideal blend of wit, style, personality and unrestrained, racy humor, something he has not been afforded to do on film. He lives with second wife Paula in Southern California. They have two children.- Writer
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Dave Attell was born on 18 January 1965 in Queens, New York City, New York, USA. He is a writer and actor, known for Pootie Tang (2001), Trainwreck (2015) and I Feel Pretty (2018).- Actor
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Lewis Black was born on 30 August 1948 in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Inside Out (2015), Man of the Year (2006) and Accepted (2006).- Actor
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Foxworthy was born Jeffrey Marshall Foxworthy in Atlanta, Georgia on September 6, 1958.
He followed in his father's footsteps working for IBM in Georgia, but on a dare from friends, he did a few minutes of comedy at an Atlanta comedy club. A few months later, Foxworthy quit his job and started on the stand-up comedy road. His comedy originally centered on family situations, but he soon hit upon his successful "You might be a redneck if..." tagline, which he says signifies "a glorious absence of sophistication." Following two successful albums, Foxworthy joined the growing trend of stand-up comics with their own TV sitcoms.- Actor
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Eddie Griffin was born on 15 July 1968 in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999), John Q (2002) and Norbit (2007).- Actor
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Pete Holmes was born on 30 March 1979 in Lexington, Massachusetts, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for CollegeHumor Originals (2006), Crashing (2017) and Don't Think Twice (2016). He has been married to Valerie Chaney since 2017.- Actor
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Hannibal Buress was born on 4 February 1983 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Tag (2018), Neighbors (2014) and Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017).- Actor
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Rory J. Scovel is an American comedian, writer and actor from Greenville, South Carolina. He released his first stand-up album, Dilation, in 2011. He has since released two hour-long stand-up specials, Rory Scovel: The Charleston Special in 2015 and Rory Scovel Tries Stand-Up for the First Time in 2017 on Netflix and one 75 minutes long special Live Without Fear in 2021 on YouTube. Outside of stand-up comedy, he is known for acting in the TruTV show Those Who Can't and in the 2018 movie I Feel Pretty, as well as writing for The Eric Andre Show. Since 2021, Scovel has been starring in the Apple TV+ series Physical.- Actor
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Demetri Martin was born on 25 May 1973 in New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Dean (2016), Take Me Home Tonight (2011) and In a World... (2013). He has been married to Rachael Beame since 1 June 2012.- Writer
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Doug Stanhope was born on 25 March 1967 in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA. He is a writer and actor, known for Louie (2010), The Road Dog (2023) and Roseanne (1988). He has been married to Renee Morrison since 26 March 2002.- Actor
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For over fifteen years, Marc Maron has been writing and performing raw, honest and thought-provoking comedy for print, stage, radio and television. A legend in the stand-up community, he has appeared on HBO, Conan, Letterman, his two Comedy Central Presents specials and almost every show that allows comics to perform. His book based on his solo show, The Jerusalem Syndrome: My Life as a Reluctant Messiah, is out of print and overpriced by vendors who think it might have some collectors value'. His three CDs, "Not Sold Out', 'Tickets Still Available' and 'Final Engagement' are comedy cult classics.
This year, Marc headlined an episode of John Oliver's NY Stand-Up Show and was ranked #7 in Comedy Central's annual Stand-Up Showdown. His podcast "WTF with Marc Maron" skyrocketed to #1 on the iTunes comedy charts and was ranked #3 Best Podcast of 2009 by iTunes Rewind. He also premiered 'Scorching the Earth,' a one-man show based on his two divorces and anger problem.- Actor
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Robert Pickering Burnham is an American actor, director, writer and producer. He is known for writing and directing the middle school comedy film Eighth Grade. He also acted in Funny People, Rough Night, American Virgin, Hall Pass, The Big Sick and Promising Young Woman.- Producer
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Let's face it: in our increasingly tepid, polite and politically correct culture we need more people like Sebastian Maniscalco. Forever able to seize the moment, never failing to speak his mind, always telling it like it is, this is one man who isn't afraid to put it all out there. Yes, the Chicago-area born, Italian-immigrant-raised comedian behind wildly successful network specials including last year's "Sebastian Maniscalco: Why Would You Do That?," "What's Wrong With People?," and "Aren't You Embarrassed?" is that little voice within all our heads. The one we are too timid to unleash. Maniscalco is bearing the burden of our bizarre and head-scratching modern-day world. You can thank him later.
Make no mistake: Maniscalco's is a meticulous, hard-won comedic point of view.
Distinguished by the New York Times as having his "own kind of panache," Maniscalco is a success story resulting from years of hard work and a keen self-awareness of innate talent. A natural born-storyteller, one constantly regaling his family with madcap tales at the dinner table, Maniscalco moved to Los Angeles in 1998 and began pounding the pavement on his comedic quest. The tireless worker first made his name at the city's famed Comedy Store where he performed at every opportunity -- even if that meant rushing over to the club on a break from his waiter job at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills.
It's quite the understatement: Maniscalco now sits as one of the premier standup comedians. And a multi-faceted one at that: following a massive standup tour of theaters last year, the coming months are monumental ones for the 2016 Just for Laughs Stand Up Comedian of the Year. In addition to starring in his own wildly popular SiriusXM program, "The Pete and Sebastian Show," Maniscalco will make several major motion picture appearances in the coming year. Notably, a voice-over role in the animated feature "Nut Job 2," premiering this year; a role in the New Line Feature comedy "The House" starring Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler (directed by Andrew Cohen); and a turn in the independent drama "Cruise" directed by Rob Siegel and produced by Jeremy Renner.
Still, for Maniscalco, the work continues.- Writer
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Nate Bargatze was born on 25 March 1979. He is a writer and actor, known for Nateland Presents | the Showcase (2023), Joe Zimmerman: Cult Classic (2023) and Mike Vecchione: The Attractives (2023). He has been married to Laura Baines since 13 October 2006. They have one child.- Actor
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Andrew Cameron Schulz is an American stand-up comedian, actor, television producer and pod-caster. In addition to his stand-up, he is known for his work on MTV2's Guy Code (and its two spin-offs), the Flagrant 2 podcast, and The Brilliant Idiots podcast. Schulz's first Netflix special, Schulz Saves America, premiered on December 17, 2020. As an actor, he has appeared in IFC's Benders and the Amazon original series Sneaky Pete.- Actor
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Bobby Lee was born on 17 September 1972 in San Diego, California, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas (2011), Mad TV (1995) and Paul (2011).- Actor
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Dan Soder is known for Trainwreck (2015), Billions (2016) and Inside Amy Schumer (2013). He has been married to Katie Nolan since September 2023.- Writer
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Taylor Tomlinson was born on 4 November 1993 in Orange, California, USA. She is a writer and actress, known for Untitled Taylor Tomlinson- based film, New Couple Gets Quarantined (2020) and Untitled Taylor Tomlinson/ABC Project.- Writer
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Tom Segura was born on 16 April 1979 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. He is a writer and actor, known for Countdown (2019), Instant Family (2018) and Cutman (2009). He is married to Christina Pazsitzky.