Judah Friedlander (born March 16, 1969) is an American comedian and actor, known for his trademark
trucker's hatsA trucker hat is a type of baseball cap. It is also sometimes known as a "gimme cap" or a "feed cap" because this style of hat originated as a promotional give-away from feed or farming supply companies to farmers, truck drivers, or other rural workers...
, oversized glasses and unkempt appearance, which he retains in most of his screen roles.
Friedlander was born in
Gaithersburg, MarylandGaithersburg is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. , the city had an estimated total population of 58,744, making it the fourth largest city in the state behind Baltimore, Rockville, and Frederick...
; his mother, a native of Pittsburgh, is Croatian American, and his father is of
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n
JewThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
ish descent. Friedlander started in show business as a soundman on
Chris RockChristopher Julius "Chris" Rock III is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. He was voted by Comedy Central as the fifth greatest stand-up comedian of all time....
's short
Who is Chris Rock?.
Judah Friedlander (born March 16, 1969) is an American comedian and actor, known for his trademark
trucker's hatsA trucker hat is a type of baseball cap. It is also sometimes known as a "gimme cap" or a "feed cap" because this style of hat originated as a promotional give-away from feed or farming supply companies to farmers, truck drivers, or other rural workers...
, oversized glasses and unkempt appearance, which he retains in most of his screen roles.
Life and career
Friedlander was born in
Gaithersburg, MarylandGaithersburg is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. , the city had an estimated total population of 58,744, making it the fourth largest city in the state behind Baltimore, Rockville, and Frederick...
; his mother, a native of Pittsburgh, is Croatian American, and his father is of
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n
JewThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
ish descent. Friedlander started in show business as a soundman on
Chris RockChristopher Julius "Chris" Rock III is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. He was voted by Comedy Central as the fifth greatest stand-up comedian of all time....
's short
Who is Chris Rock?. Ten years later, Friedlander began working in front of the
camerathumb |right|Cameras from Large to Small, Film to Digital A camera is a device that records images, either as a still photograph or as moving images known as videos or movies...
, with appearances on
Lateline and roles in numerous feature film comedies including
Meet the ParentsMeet the Parents is a American comedy film written by Greg Glienna and directed by Jay Roach of Austin Powers fame. Starring Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller, the film chronicles a series of unfortunate events that befall a good hearted but hapless male nurse while visiting his girlfriend's parents...
,
ZoolanderZoolander is a 2001 comedy film directed by Ben Stiller. The films concept is based on the Bret Easton Ellis book Glamorama, with elements from a pair of short films directed by Russell Bates and written by Drake Sather and Stiller for the VH1 Fashion Awards television specials in 1996 and 1997....
and
Full Grown MenFull Grown Men is an American independent comedy film directed by David Munro and starring Matt McGrath, Judah Friedlander, Alan Cumming, Amy Sedaris, and Deborah Harry, is the bittersweet story of a thirtysomething man with family who grudgingly realizes it is time to trade adolescence for adulthood...
. Friedlander's most noted movie role to date was in the film
American SplendorAmerican Splendor is a 2003 biopic about Harvey Pekar, the author of the American Splendor comic book series. The film is also in part an adaptation of the comics, which dramatize Pekar's life. The film was written and directed by documentarians Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, who share...
, as
Toby RadloffToby Radloff is a former file clerk who became a minor celebrity owing to his appearances in Cleveland writer Harvey Pekar’s autobiographical comic book American Splendor. He works at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Cleveland. Radloff currently works as a courier...
. His first exposure to many was as "The Hug Guy" from the
Dave Matthews BandDave Matthews Band, sometimes shortened to DMB, is an American band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991. Founding members include singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, violinist Boyd Tinsley, and drummer Carter Beauford. Founding-member saxophonist LeRoi...
2001 video "Everyday". He was also a series regular on
VH1VH1 is an American cable television network based in New York City...
's
Best Week EverBest Week Ever with Paul F. Tompkins is a weekly television program on the United States cable/satellite network VH1. It started airing in...
and currently on
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices in Burbank,California...
's
30 Rock30 Rock is an American television comedy series created by Tina Fey that currently airs on NBC on Thursday nights. The series takes place behind the scenes of a fictional live sketch comedy series depicted as airing on NBC; the name "30 Rock" refers to the address of the GE Building where NBC...
, on which he plays
Frank RossitanoFrancis "Frank" Rossitano is a fictional character played by Judah Friedlander on the American television series 30 Rock.-Appearance on the show:...
, one of the writers of
TGS with Tracy Jordan, a spoof of
Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a weekly late-night sketch comedy and variety show filmed in New York City. It made its debut on October 11, 1975, under a slightly different title. The show features a regular cast of comedy actors, joined by a guest host and musical act...
. In every episode, Friedlander can be seen wearing a different slogan on his trademark hat, which he designs himself.
Friedlander headlines at various standup comedy venues in New York and LA, including
Caroline'sCarolines on Broadway is a venue for stand-up comedy located in Times Square in New York City on Broadway between 49th and 50th Street. It is one of the most established, famous, and recognized stand-up comedy clubs in the United States. Its marketing slogan is "America's Premiere Comedy...
. His best-known "
schtickA shtick is a comic theme or gimmick. "Shtick" is derived from the Yiddish word shtik , meaning "piece"; the closely-related German word Stück has the same meaning. The English word "piece" itself is also sometimes used in a similar context...
" is "The World Champion of the World", in which he makes outlandish claims of greatness. For example, he claims on his website to have once scored 243 goals in a single game of international soccer in
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
while also acting as the
refereeA referee is a person who has authority to make decisions about play in many sports. Officials in various sports are known by a variety of titles, including: referee, umpire, judge, linesman, commissaire, timekeeper or touch judge.- Origin :The term referee originated in association football...
.
For the second year in a row, Friedlander is the backstage host of The
TV Land AwardsA TV Land Award is an American television award that generally commemorates shows now off the air, rather than in current production as with awards such as the Emmys. It is presented in a manner that spoofs other entertainment award ceremonies...
online.
External links