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Joseph Pera (born July 24, 1988[1][2]) is an American comedian, writer, and actor. He is best known as the creator and star of Adult Swim's Joe Pera Talks with You, which entered development following the success of the 2016 specials Joe Pera Talks You to Sleep, and ran for three seasons.[3]
Joe Pera | |
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| Born | Joseph Pera July 24, 1988 Buffalo, New York, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Ithaca College |
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Comedy career | |
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Joe Pera was born in Buffalo, New York and raised in the suburb of Amherst.[4][5]
He studied film at Ithaca College, where he competed in and won the college's stand-up competition three times.[6] Pera graduated from Ithaca College in 2010.[7] He moved to New York City to pursue comedy and participated in open mic nights as often as possible.[8]
Known for his slow, "grandfatherly" delivery and his penchant for wearing sweaters, Pera created the Adult Swim Infomercials Joe Pera Talks You to Sleep.[9] This was followed by an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers, and another stand-alone Adult Swim special titled Joe Pera Helps You Find the Perfect Christmas Tree.[10] Thanks to the success of those programs (all produced by Chestnut Walnut, founded by him and Conner O'Malley),[11] Pera developed a television series for Adult Swim, which premiered on May 20, 2018, titled Joe Pera Talks with You.[8] He appeared on the talk show Conan on March 28, 2017, and on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on December 4, 2019.[12][13] In 2021, Joe Pera released a book named A Bathroom Book for People Not Pooping or Peeing but Using the Bathroom as an Escape which was illustrated by Joe Bennett.[14]
On January 31, 2023, Joe and Chestnut Walnut announced a podcast to help people fall asleep called, Drifting Off With Joe Pera. It is similar to his "Talks You To Sleep" series. Episodes are released on the first Sunday of every month, features a guest interview, a guest musician, and a philosophical monologue on a given topic. On March 3, 2023, Joe made a brief appearance on EHFM's Radio show "No Dancing",[15] where he discussed his thoughts on moving slowly and reflectively and shared a piece of music he was working on. He appears at 31:40. On October 6, 2023, Pera released a 56-minute standup special titled Joe Pera: Slow and Steady on YouTube.[16][17]
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In a video to his YouTube channel, Pera endorsed Democratic candidate India Walton for mayor of Buffalo, New York in the 2021 election.[18]
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 5 Doctors | Davis | |
| 2017 | Snowy Bing Bongs Across the North Star Combat Zone | Jim | |
| 2023 | Elemental | Fern Grouchwood (voice) |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–14 | The Chris Gethard Show | Zero Fucks Boyd | 4 episodes |
| 2014 | New Timers | Myron | 2 episodes |
| Pancake Breakfast Critic with Joe Pera | Himself | 3 episodes; Produced with MTV Other | |
| 2016 | Joe Pera Talks You to Sleep | Short; part of Infomercials | |
| Joe Pera Helps You Find the Perfect Christmas Tree | |||
| 2017 | Conan | March 28 | |
| 2018–21 | Joe Pera Talks with You | 32 episodes; also creator, executive producer and writer | |
| 2019 | The Late Show with Stephen Colbert | December 4 | |
| Late Night with Seth Meyers | December 18 | ||
| 2020 | Relaxing Old Footage with Joe Pera | Special | |
| F Is for Family | Alaquippa Ed (voice) | 6 episodes | |
| 2022 | Search Party | Dr. Inane | Episode: "Song of Songs" |
| Bob's Burgers | Christopher (voice) | Episode: "Ferry on My Wayward Bob and Linda" | |
YouTube series
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | The Perfect Week[19] | Himself | 7 episode mini-series hosted by JASH with trailer |
| Pancake Breakfast Critic[20] | 3 episode mini-series hosted by MTV | ||
| 2015 | How To Make It in USA[21] | 9 episode mini-series co-starring Conner O'Malley | |
| 2021 | Townsends[22] | Appears in 7 episodes | |
| 2023 | Stavvy's World[23] | Episode 21: "Dan Licata and Joe Pera" | |
| 2023 | Drifting Off with Joe Pera[24] | mini-series with co-stars |
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