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Alex Edelman[1][2] (born March 20, 1989)[3] is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer based in New York City. He is an internationally touring comic and found early success in the United Kingdom where 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 |
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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]
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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]
He is close friends with composer Benj Pasek.
Shows
- Millennial (2014–2015)
- Everything Handed to You (2015–2016)
- Just for Us (2018–2020; 2023–2024)
Radio
- Millennial (2015) – BBC Radio 4
- Alex Edelman's Special Relationships (2018) – BBC Radio 4
- Alex Edelman's Peer Group (2017–2021) – BBC Radio 4
Specials and album
- Alex Edelman: Live at the BBC (2016) – Netflix UK; hour-long special
- Until Now (2020) – album
- Just for Us (2024) – MAX
| 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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