American stand-up comedian (born 1989) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alex Edelman[1][2] (born March 20, 1989)[3] is an American stand-up comedian. He was named Best Newcomer at the 2014 Edinburgh Festival Fringe for his show Millennial.[4] He has toured three shows since 2014: Millennial (2014–2015), Everything Handed to You (2015–2016), and Just for Us (2018–2020; 2023–2024[5]). Just for Us opened Off-Broadway in 2022 before premiering on Broadway in 2023 at The Hudson Theatre; it was named a NYT Critic's Pick both times and earned him a 2024 special Tony Award and an Emmy Award.[6] In 2024 he was named to the Time 100 list of the world's most influential people.[7]
| Alex Edelman | |
|---|---|
_01_(cropped).jpg) Edelman performing in 2024 | |
| Birth name | Dovid Yoisef Shimon ben Elazar Reuven Alexander Halevi Edelman |
| Born | March 20, 1989 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Alma mater | New York University |
| Parent(s) | Elazer Edelman (father) |
| Relative(s) | Adam Edelman (brother) |
| Website | www |
Edelman was born in Boston to Cheryl, a real estate lawyer,[8] and Elazer R. Edelman, a biomedical engineer, cardiologist, and professor. He has two brothers, Austin, and Israeli Olympian Adam Edelman.[9] He was raised in Brookline, Massachusetts.[10] He began performing stand-up at age 15.[11] He attended and graduated from Maimonides School in Brookline, a modern Orthodox Jewish day school. A baseball fan, he has worked for the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers.[10][12]
Edelman grew up in a modern Orthodox Jewish family and, following high school, spent a year in a yeshiva in Jerusalem. During his time there, he helped to establish the city's first comedy club, Off the Wall Comedy. In 2008,[12] he moved to New York City to study English at New York University[10] and graduated in 2012.[13] The photographer Mario Tama took his photo during graduation, which was featured in his special Millennial. During college, he continued to perform stand-up and later joined Upright Citizens Brigade.[13] He first performed in the UK in 2012 while studying abroad.[14][10] He made his Australian debut in 2015.[15]
His show Millennial won the Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Newcomer at the 2014 Edinburgh Festival Fringe,[4] the first American to do so since Arj Barker won in 1997.[4] Edelman's 2015 Edinburgh Fringe show was titled Everything Handed to You and was the second most well-reviewed show at that year's festival.[16] His 2018 show, Just For Us, was nominated for the Best Show award at the Edinburgh Fringe.[17] He has appeared in the UK on television shows such as The John Bishop Show, Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled, Live from the BBC, Roast Battle, and contributed several anecdotes about his experiences as a comedian to the 2015 book Off the Mic, by Deborah Frances-White and Marsha Shandur. He has done a BBC Radio 4 comedy series called Alex Edelman's Peer Group.
As a comedy writer, he has contributed to the American television shows The Great Indoors (2016–2017) and Teenage Bounty Hunters (2020). Edelman was the head writer for Saturday Night Seder, a virtual celebrity Passover seder held during the COVID-19 pandemic. He also trained rabbis to infuse humor into the High Holiday services as part of the Jewish communal response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[18]
In Just for Us, Edelman quips, "If I was raised secular I would consider myself bisexual. But because I was raised religious, I consider myself straight with some secrets."[19][20]
Edelman had an on-again, off-again relationship with Canadian comedian Katherine Ryan.[21]
| Year | Ceremony | Award | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Edinburgh Comedy Awards | Best Newcomer | Millennial | Won |
| 2015 | Leicester Comedy Festival | Best Show | Everything Handed to You | Nominated |
| 2018 | Melbourne International Comedy Festival Award | Best Show | Just for Us | Nominated |
| Edinburgh Comedy Awards | Best Show | Nominated | ||
| Herald Angel Award | Won | |||
| 2022 | Obie Award | Special Citation | Just for Us | Won |
| 2024 | Tony Awards | Special Tony Award | "Exemplary debut" in Just for Us | Honored |
| 2024 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special | Just For Us, HBO and Max | Won |
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