Robert Smigel
Encyclopedia
Robert Smigel is an American
actor
, humorist, comedian
and writer
known for his Saturday Night Live
"TV Funhouse
" cartoon shorts and as the puppeteer
and voice behind Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog
.
. His father is Dr. Irwin Smigel
, DDS, "The Father of Cosmetic Dentistry", and the founder and president of the American Society for Dental Aesthetics
. He attended and graduated from NYU. In the Adam Sandler
feature film Punch-Drunk Love
(2002), Smigel played a dentist.
Smigel began developing his comedic talent at The Players Workshop
in Chicago
, where he studied improvisation with Josephine Forsberg
. Fellow students included Bob Odenkirk
. Smigel was also a member of the Chicago
comedy troupe "All You Can Eat" in the early 1980s.
by joining the writing staff when Lorne Michaels
returned as executive producer for the 1985-1986 season. Smigel was hired after then-SNL producers Al Franken
and Tom Davis saw Smigel in a Chicago sketch show. After the 1985-1986 season proved to be a disappointment with critics, in the ratings, and with Brandon Tartikoff
(who was planning to have SNL canceled by the last episode of season 11 due to its sliding ratings), Michaels fired most of the cast and writers, retained the cast and writers who were standouts during the otherwise dismal season (Smigel being one of them), and hired new ones for the 1986-1987 season. This is when Smigel began to write more memorable sketches, including one where host William Shatner
urged worshipful attendees at a Star Trek
convention to "get a life." Smigel rarely appeared on screen; although, he was credited as a feature player in the early 1990s and has played a recurring character in the Bill Swerski's Superfans
sketches.
While on a writers' strike from Saturday Night Live following the 1987–88 season, Smigel wrote for an improvisational comedy revue in Chicago
with fellow SNL writers Bob Odenkirk
and Conan O'Brien
called Happy Happy Good Show
.
Smigel co-wrote Lookwell
with Conan O'Brien
for NBC. The pilot never went to series, but it has become a cult hit and has screened live at "The Other Network", a festival of un-aired TV pilots produced by Un-Cabaret
, featuring live and taped intros by Smigel. Smigel later became the first head writer at Late Night with Conan O'Brien
, where he created numerous successful comedy bits, including one where Smigel performed only the lips of public figures which were superimposed on photos of the actual people. (This technique was pioneered on the Clutch Cargo
cartoon series as a cost-saving measure, and was known as Syncro-Vox
.)
In 1996, Smigel wrote and performed on the short-lived Dana Carvey Show
, a primetime sketch comedy
program on ABC
. Despite its premature end, the show provided Smigel the opportunity to debut his first cartoon, The Ambiguously Gay Duo
. Upon the show's cancellation, Smigel continued developing more cartoon ideas the following summer and would begin airing them on Saturday Night Live under the TV Funhouse
banner. Smigel would later claim, "My whole career came out of the impulse to do cartoons on The Dana Carvey Show."
Smigel's most famous creation, however, would be the foul-mouthed puppet Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog
, who mercilessly mocks celebrities and others in the style of a Borscht Belt
comedian. This character debuted on Late Night with Conan O'Brien
in February 1997 and would continue to make appearances on the show, as well as others, for many years to come.
Smigel continued to establish himself on Saturday Night Live by producing infamous, provocative, short animated segments under the title TV Funhouse
, which usually satirizes
public figures and popular culture. It spawned a TV show on Comedy Central
featuring a mix of puppets, animation, and short sketches, although only eight episodes were aired (during the winter of 2000 - 2001). Smigel occasionally appears in films (usually alongside SNL veterans such as Adam Sandler
). According to interviews, Smigel helped punch up the scripts for Little Nicky
and the Wedding Singer. Smigel acted alongside fellow SNL writer Bob Odenkirk
in Wayne's World 2
as a nerd backstage at an Aerosmith
concert. His contributions were uncredited.
No TV Funhouse segments were produced for the 2009-10 season of SNL, and his future with the show is unknown.
Currently Smigel is working on an animated sitcom for Fox called Animals. Fox has not made any official statement regarding the show. Additionally, Smigel played a gay mailman in the Adam Sandler film I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
and Yari the Mechanic in the "Mister Softee" episode of "Curb Your Enthusiasm
".
Smigel, along with Adam Sandler and Judd Apatow
, wrote the script for the film You Don't Mess with the Zohan
. In the film he played Yosi, an Israeli electronics salesman. The film was released June 6, 2008. Smigel is also one of the executive producers of the film which is a first for him despite his frequent collaborations with Sandler.
Smigel has a child with autism
and is active in raising money for New Jersey-based autism services.
Recurring characters on Late Night with Conan O'Brien
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, humorist, comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
known for his Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
"TV Funhouse
TV Funhouse
Saturday TV Funhouse is the title of a recurring skit on NBC's Saturday Night Live featuring cartoons created by longtime SNL writer Robert Smigel as well as a short-lived spinoff series TV Funhouse that ran on Comedy Central...
" cartoon shorts and as the puppeteer
Puppeteer
A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object, such as a puppet, in real time to create the illusion of life. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the audience. A puppeteer can operate a puppet indirectly by the use of strings, rods, wires, electronics or directly by his or...
and voice behind Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog
Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog
Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog is a character puppet best known for mocking celebrities. Triumph was identified in the early appearances as a Yugoslavian Mountain Hound, hence his distinct Eastern European accent . As his name indicates, Triumph's comedic style is almost exclusively insult comedy...
.
Early life
Smigel was born to a Jewish family in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. His father is Dr. Irwin Smigel
Irwin Smigel
Dr. Irwin Smigel, DDS is an American Aesthetic Dentist and entrepreneur. Acknowledged as “one of the great pioneers of aesthetic dentistry” by Dentistry Today, The National Museum of Dentistry, created The Smile Experience, marking the achievements of his career in aesthetic dentistry. New York...
, DDS, "The Father of Cosmetic Dentistry", and the founder and president of the American Society for Dental Aesthetics
American Society for Dental Aesthetics
The American Society for Dental Aesthetics was founded in 1977 by current President, Dr. Irwin Smigel. The ASDA is an international non-profit organization which provides a forum for increasing the awareness of dental aesthetics and treatment options to enhance the quality of patient care in...
. He attended and graduated from NYU. In the Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office...
feature film Punch-Drunk Love
Punch-Drunk Love
Punch-Drunk Love is a 2002 romantic comedy-drama written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, starring Adam Sandler and Emily Watson. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Luis Guzmán also appear....
(2002), Smigel played a dentist.
Smigel began developing his comedic talent at The Players Workshop
The Players Workshop
Created in 1971 by Josephine Forsberg, The Players Workshop was Chicago's only official school of Improvisation for over a decade. Although it was never officially a part of The Second City cabaret theater, The Players Workshop was often referred to as Players Workshop Of The Second City, due to...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, where he studied improvisation with Josephine Forsberg
Josephine Forsberg
Josephine Forsberg , ex-wife of film director Rolf Forsberg was hired by Paul Sills and Viola Spolin to join the original Second City in 1959 as the female understudy and Spolin's teaching assistant...
. Fellow students included Bob Odenkirk
Bob Odenkirk
Robert "Bob" Odenkirk is an American actor, comedian, writer, director and producer. He is best known as the co-creator and co-star of the HBO sketch comedy series Mr...
. Smigel was also a member of the Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
comedy troupe "All You Can Eat" in the early 1980s.
Career
Smigel first established himself as a writer on Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
by joining the writing staff when Lorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels, CM is a Canadian-American television producer, writer, and comedian best known for creating and producing Saturday Night Live and producing the various film and TV projects that spun off from it.-Early life:...
returned as executive producer for the 1985-1986 season. Smigel was hired after then-SNL producers Al Franken
Al Franken
Alan Stuart "Al" Franken is the junior United States Senator from Minnesota. He is a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which affiliates with the national Democratic Party....
and Tom Davis saw Smigel in a Chicago sketch show. After the 1985-1986 season proved to be a disappointment with critics, in the ratings, and with Brandon Tartikoff
Brandon Tartikoff
Brandon Tartikoff was a television executive who was credited with turning around NBC's low prime time reputation with such hit series as Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, ALF, Family Ties, The Cosby Show, Cheers, Seinfeld, Miami Vice, The Golden Girls, Knight Rider, The A-Team, St...
(who was planning to have SNL canceled by the last episode of season 11 due to its sliding ratings), Michaels fired most of the cast and writers, retained the cast and writers who were standouts during the otherwise dismal season (Smigel being one of them), and hired new ones for the 1986-1987 season. This is when Smigel began to write more memorable sketches, including one where host William Shatner
William Shatner
William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
urged worshipful attendees at a Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
convention to "get a life." Smigel rarely appeared on screen; although, he was credited as a feature player in the early 1990s and has played a recurring character in the Bill Swerski's Superfans
Bill Swerski's Superfans
Bill Swerski's Superfans was a recurring sketch about Chicago sports fans on the American sketch comedy program Saturday Night Live. It was a prominent feature from 1991–1992, and its characters have made various other appearances since its inception....
sketches.
While on a writers' strike from Saturday Night Live following the 1987–88 season, Smigel wrote for an improvisational comedy revue in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
with fellow SNL writers Bob Odenkirk
Bob Odenkirk
Robert "Bob" Odenkirk is an American actor, comedian, writer, director and producer. He is best known as the co-creator and co-star of the HBO sketch comedy series Mr...
and Conan O'Brien
Conan O'Brien
Conan Christopher O'Brien is an American television host, comedian, writer, producer and performer. Since November 2010 he has hosted Conan, a late-night talk show that airs on the American cable television station TBS....
called Happy Happy Good Show
Happy Happy Good Show
Happy Happy Good Show was an improvisational comedy revue held at the Victory Gardens Studio Theater in Chicago during the summer of 1988. The cast and writers were largely made up of writers on strike from Saturday Night Live after the 1987–1988 season...
.
Smigel co-wrote Lookwell
Lookwell
Lookwell was a television pilot written and produced by Conan O'Brien and Robert Smigel. It starred Adam West as a washed-up TV action hero—who at the peak of his career was ceremonially deputized by local law enforcement—who falsely believes he can solve crimes in real life. His student, Jason,...
with Conan O'Brien
Conan O'Brien
Conan Christopher O'Brien is an American television host, comedian, writer, producer and performer. Since November 2010 he has hosted Conan, a late-night talk show that airs on the American cable television station TBS....
for NBC. The pilot never went to series, but it has become a cult hit and has screened live at "The Other Network", a festival of un-aired TV pilots produced by Un-Cabaret
Un-Cabaret
Un-Cabaret is a Los Angeles-based alternative comedy organization that produces live, TV and multi-media projects, workshops and events.-History:...
, featuring live and taped intros by Smigel. Smigel later became the first head writer at Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am...
, where he created numerous successful comedy bits, including one where Smigel performed only the lips of public figures which were superimposed on photos of the actual people. (This technique was pioneered on the Clutch Cargo
Clutch Cargo
Clutch Cargo is an animated television series produced by Cambria Productions and syndicated beginning on March 9, 1959. Notable for its very limited animation, yet imaginative stories, the series was a surprise hit at the time, and could be seen on 65 stations nationwide in 1960.- Plot :The...
cartoon series as a cost-saving measure, and was known as Syncro-Vox
Syncro-Vox
Syncro-Vox is a filming method which combines static images with moving images, the most common use of which is to superimpose talking lips on a photograph of a celebrity or a cartoon drawing. It is one of the most extreme examples of the cost-cutting strategy of limited animation...
.)
In 1996, Smigel wrote and performed on the short-lived Dana Carvey Show
The Dana Carvey Show
The Dana Carvey Show is an American sketch comedy television show that aired on ABC during the spring of 1996. Dana Carvey was the host and principal player on the show while Louis CK served as head writer....
, a primetime sketch comedy
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
program on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
. Despite its premature end, the show provided Smigel the opportunity to debut his first cartoon, The Ambiguously Gay Duo
The Ambiguously Gay Duo
The Ambiguously Gay Duo is an American animated comedy sketch that debuted on The Dana Carvey Show before moving to its permanent home on Saturday Night Live. It is created and produced by Robert Smigel and J. J. Sedelmaier as part of the Saturday TV Funhouse series of sketches...
. Upon the show's cancellation, Smigel continued developing more cartoon ideas the following summer and would begin airing them on Saturday Night Live under the TV Funhouse
TV Funhouse
Saturday TV Funhouse is the title of a recurring skit on NBC's Saturday Night Live featuring cartoons created by longtime SNL writer Robert Smigel as well as a short-lived spinoff series TV Funhouse that ran on Comedy Central...
banner. Smigel would later claim, "My whole career came out of the impulse to do cartoons on The Dana Carvey Show."
Smigel's most famous creation, however, would be the foul-mouthed puppet Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog
Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog
Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog is a character puppet best known for mocking celebrities. Triumph was identified in the early appearances as a Yugoslavian Mountain Hound, hence his distinct Eastern European accent . As his name indicates, Triumph's comedic style is almost exclusively insult comedy...
, who mercilessly mocks celebrities and others in the style of a Borscht Belt
Borscht Belt
Borscht Belt, or Jewish Alps, is a colloquial term for the mostly defunct summer resorts of the Catskill Mountains in parts of Sullivan, Orange and Ulster counties in upstate New York that were a popular vacation spot for New York City Jews from the 1920s through the 1960s.-Name:The name comes from...
comedian. This character debuted on Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am...
in February 1997 and would continue to make appearances on the show, as well as others, for many years to come.
Smigel continued to establish himself on Saturday Night Live by producing infamous, provocative, short animated segments under the title TV Funhouse
TV Funhouse
Saturday TV Funhouse is the title of a recurring skit on NBC's Saturday Night Live featuring cartoons created by longtime SNL writer Robert Smigel as well as a short-lived spinoff series TV Funhouse that ran on Comedy Central...
, which usually satirizes
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
public figures and popular culture. It spawned a TV show on Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
featuring a mix of puppets, animation, and short sketches, although only eight episodes were aired (during the winter of 2000 - 2001). Smigel occasionally appears in films (usually alongside SNL veterans such as Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office...
). According to interviews, Smigel helped punch up the scripts for Little Nicky
Little Nicky
Little Nicky is a 2000 American comedy film directed by Steven Brill. It stars Adam Sandler as Nicky, one of Satan's three sons.-Plot:The story revolves around a struggle to determine which of Satan's three sons will succeed their father as ruler of Hell...
and the Wedding Singer. Smigel acted alongside fellow SNL writer Bob Odenkirk
Bob Odenkirk
Robert "Bob" Odenkirk is an American actor, comedian, writer, director and producer. He is best known as the co-creator and co-star of the HBO sketch comedy series Mr...
in Wayne's World 2
Wayne's World 2
Wayne's World 2 is a 1993 comedy film starring Mike Myers and Dana Carvey as hosts of a Public-access television cable TV show from Aurora, Illinois. The film was adapted from a sketch on NBC's Saturday Night Live and is the sequel to Wayne's World....
as a nerd backstage at an Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
concert. His contributions were uncredited.
No TV Funhouse segments were produced for the 2009-10 season of SNL, and his future with the show is unknown.
Currently Smigel is working on an animated sitcom for Fox called Animals. Fox has not made any official statement regarding the show. Additionally, Smigel played a gay mailman in the Adam Sandler film I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry is a 2007 comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan, written by Barry Fanaro, and starring Adam Sandler and Kevin James as the title characters. The film was released on July 20, 2007, in the U.S., August 16, 2007, in Australia and on September 21, 2007, in the UK and...
and Yari the Mechanic in the "Mister Softee" episode of "Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy television series produced and broadcast by HBO, which premiered on October 15, 2000. As of 2011, it has completed 80 episodes over eight seasons. The series was created by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, who stars as a fictionalized version of himself...
".
Smigel, along with Adam Sandler and Judd Apatow
Judd Apatow
Judd Apatow is an American film producer, director, and screenwriter. He is well known for his work in comedy films, especially for films he has been involved with throughout the latter half of the 2000s. He is the founder of Apatow Productions, a film production company that also developed the...
, wrote the script for the film You Don't Mess with the Zohan
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
You Don't Mess with the Zohan is a 2008 American comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan, written by Carlito Cabardo, and produced by and starring Adam Sandler. This is the fourth film which has starred Sandler and has been directed by Dugan...
. In the film he played Yosi, an Israeli electronics salesman. The film was released June 6, 2008. Smigel is also one of the executive producers of the film which is a first for him despite his frequent collaborations with Sandler.
Smigel has a child with autism
Autism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
and is active in raising money for New Jersey-based autism services.
Recurring characters on SNL
- Carl Wollarski, from "Bill Swerski's SuperfansBill Swerski's SuperfansBill Swerski's Superfans was a recurring sketch about Chicago sports fans on the American sketch comedy program Saturday Night Live. It was a prominent feature from 1991–1992, and its characters have made various other appearances since its inception....
" - Hank Fielding, with "The Moron's Perspective" on Weekend Update
- One of the Hub's Gyros employees (aka the "You like-ah the Juice?" guys)
- Avi, the "Sabra's Price is Right" announcer
- Bighead, in "The Ambiguously Gay DuoThe Ambiguously Gay DuoThe Ambiguously Gay Duo is an American animated comedy sketch that debuted on The Dana Carvey Show before moving to its permanent home on Saturday Night Live. It is created and produced by Robert Smigel and J. J. Sedelmaier as part of the Saturday TV Funhouse series of sketches...
" cartoons
Celebrity impressions
- Alan DershowitzAlan DershowitzAlan Morton Dershowitz is an American lawyer, jurist, and political commentator. He has spent most of his career at Harvard Law School where in 1967, at the age of 28, he became the youngest full professor of law in its history...
(on SNL) - Woody AllenWoody AllenWoody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
(on SNL) - Al SharptonAl SharptonAlfred Charles "Al" Sharpton, Jr. is an American Baptist minister, civil rights activist, and television/radio talk show host. In 2004, he was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. presidential election...
(on SNL TV Funhouse cartoon) - Al FrankenAl FrankenAlan Stuart "Al" Franken is the junior United States Senator from Minnesota. He is a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which affiliates with the national Democratic Party....
(on SNL TV Funhouse cartoon) - William Ginsburg (on SNL TV Funhouse cartoon)
- Don McLeanDon McLeanDonald "Don" McLean is an American singer-songwriter. He is most famous for the 1971 album American Pie, containing the renowned songs "American Pie" and "Vincent".-Musical roots:...
(on SNL TV Funhouse cartoon) - Lorne MichaelsLorne MichaelsLorne Michaels, CM is a Canadian-American television producer, writer, and comedian best known for creating and producing Saturday Night Live and producing the various film and TV projects that spun off from it.-Early life:...
(on SNL TV Funhouse cartoon) - Pat RobertsonPat RobertsonMarion Gordon "Pat" Robertson is a media mogul, television evangelist, ex-Baptist minister and businessman who is politically aligned with the Christian Right in the United States....
(on SNL TV Funhouse cartoon) - Michael GrossMichael Gross (actor)Michael Gross is an American television, movie, and stage actor who plays both comedic and dramatic roles. His most notable roles are as the father Steven Keaton from Family Ties and the Graboid hunter Burt Gummer from the Tremors franchise.-Early life:Gross was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son...
(on SNL TV Funhouse cartoon) - Thomas MesereauThomas MesereauThomas Arthur Mesereau, Jr. is an American attorney best known for defending Michael Jackson in his 2005 child molestation trial.-The Robert Blake murder trial:...
(on SNL TV Funhouse cartoon) - SinbadSinbad (entertainer)David Adkins better known by his professional name of Sinbad, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He became well known in the 1990s from being featured on his own HBO specials, appearing on several television series, and starring in the films Necessary Roughness, Houseguest, First Kid,...
(on SNL TV Funhouse cartoon)
- Bob DoleBob DoleRobert Joseph "Bob" Dole is an American attorney and politician. Dole represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996, was Gerald Ford's Vice Presidential running mate in the 1976 presidential election, and was Senate Majority Leader from 1985 to 1987 and in 1995 and 1996...
(on The Dana Carvey Show) - Gene ShalitGene ShalitGene Shalit is a film and book critic. He has filled these roles on NBC's The Today Show since January 15, 1973. He is known for his frequent use of puns, his oversized handlebar moustache, and for wearing colorful bowties.-Career:...
(on The Dana Carvey Show) - Joel SiegelJoel SiegelJoel Siegel was an American film critic for the ABC morning news show Good Morning America for over 25 years. Born to a Jewish family of Romanian descent, and raised in Los Angeles, California, he graduated cum laude from UCLA. His Romanian-born grandmother from Botoşani survived the Triangle...
(on The Dana Carvey Show) - Bob RossBob RossRobert Norman "Bob" Ross was an American painter, art instructor, and television host. He is best known as the creator and host of The Joy of Painting, a television program that ran for 12 years on PBS stations in the United States.-Personal life:Ross was born in Daytona Beach, Florida, and...
(on The Dana Carvey Show) - Rip TornRip TornElmore Rual "Rip" Torn, Jr. , is an American actor of stage, screen and television.Torn received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his role in the 1983 film Cross Creek. His work includes the role of Artie, the producer, on The Larry Sanders Show, for which he was nominated...
(on The Dana Carvey Show) - Bill WaltonBill WaltonWilliam Theodore "Bill" Walton III is a retired American basketball player and television sportscaster. The "Big Red-Head", as he was called, achieved superstardom playing for John Wooden's powerhouse UCLA Bruins in the early '70s, winning three straight College Player of the Year Awards, while...
(on The Dana Carvey Show) - Richard NixonRichard NixonRichard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
(on The Dana Carvey Show) - Sam DonaldsonSam DonaldsonSamuel Andrew "Sam" Donaldson, Jr. is a reporter and news anchor, serving with ABC News from 1967 to the present, best known as the network's White House Correspondent and as a panelist and later co-anchor of the network's Sunday Program "This Week."-Early life and career:Donaldson was born in El...
(on The Dana Carvey Show) - Hussein of JordanHussein of JordanHussein bin Talal was the third King of Jordan from the abdication of his father, King Talal, in 1952, until his death. Hussein's rule extended through the Cold War and four decades of Arab-Israeli conflict...
(on The Dana Carvey Show) - Quentin TarantinoQuentin TarantinoQuentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
(on The Dana Carvey Show) - Ringo StarrRingo StarrRichard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
(on The Dana Carvey Show)
Recurring characters on Late Night with Conan O'BrienLate Night with Conan O'BrienLate Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am...
- Triumph, the Insult Comic DogTriumph, the Insult Comic DogTriumph, the Insult Comic Dog is a character puppet best known for mocking celebrities. Triumph was identified in the early appearances as a Yugoslavian Mountain Hound, hence his distinct Eastern European accent . As his name indicates, Triumph's comedic style is almost exclusively insult comedy...
- "Clutch Cargo" celebrity interviews (Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Don King, Bob Dole, etc.)
- One of the "Nicknames for Conan" guys (aka the "Conan the Barbarian" guys)
- One of the "Ameri-clan" guys (with Doug DaleDoug DaleDoug Dale is an American actor, best known for hosting the Comedy Central series TV Funhouse. Doug was also involved in the Happy Happy Good Show, a Chicago sketch show featuring Robert Smigel, Bob Odenkirk and Conan O'Brien...
, Louis CK and Dino StamatopoulosDino StamatopoulosDino Stamatopoulos is an American television comedy writer, actor and producer who has worked on Mr. Show, TV Funhouse, Mad TV, The Dana Carvey Show, Late Show with David Letterman and Late Night with Conan O'Brien...
) - Voice of "The Late Night Emergency Guest" mannequin
- Gibberish Speaking Ronald Reagan on the Phone
- Ira, Conan's publicist