Josh Gondelman
American writer and comedian From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joshua Lyons Gondelman (born January 15, 1985) is an American author, comedy writer, producer, and stand-up comedian.[1][2][3] He was a supervising producer and writer for Desus & Mero on Showtime.[4][5] He was previously a writer on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. He is also known for co-creating the parody Twitter account @SeinfeldToday.[6][7]
Josh Gondelman | |
|---|---|
Gondelman in 2024 | |
| Born | Joshua Lyons Gondelman January 15, 1985 Stoneham, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Education | Brandeis University (BA) |
| Occupation | Comedian |
| Years active | 2004-present |
Early life and education
Gondelman grew up in Stoneham, Massachusetts,[8] to parents Ellion Lyons and David Gondelman.[9] He grew up in a Jewish family.[10][11]
Gondelman graduated from Stoneham High School in 2003.[8][12] He graduated from Brandeis University in 2007, where he double majored in creative writing and English[2] and minored in Spanish.[13]
Career
Summarize
Perspective
When he was 19 years old, Gondelman began doing standup comedy in Boston. He did stand-up in Boston for seven years and occasionally returns.[14] After college, he worked as a pre-school teacher[7][15] and taught elementary school Spanish.[16] In 2011, Gondelman moved to New York City, where his then-girlfriend lived, to pursue stand-up comedy.[2]
During this time he also began doing freelance writing.[17][2] He co-wrote his first major story, "Both Sides of a Break Up", with his ex-girlfriend; it was published in New York Magazine in 2012.[2][18] In 2013, he wrote a story for Esquire describing his experience running in a Tough Mudder race in which he was sponsored by Wheaties in exchange for monetary compensation from General Mills and Zeus Jones.[19] He has also written for McSweeney's, The New Yorker,[16] and The New York Times.[20]
In October 2015, a book co-authored by Gondelman and Joe Berkowitz entitled You Blew It!: An Awkward Look at the Many Ways in Which You've Already Ruined Your Life, was published.[2] [21]
Stand-up
As a stand-up comedian, he has opened for John Oliver, Jen Kirkman and Pete Holmes, and also performs regularly at New York City venues.[22][23] Eve Peyser has said that during his stand-up, Gondelman "radiates humility and a relatable, everyday awkwardness alongside fierce confidence and wit."[22]
Everything's The Best, his debut album, came out in 2011. His second album, Physical Whisper, was released on March 18, 2016.[14][24]
In 2010, he won the Laughing Skull Comedy Festival[25] in Atlanta, Georgia. In March 2016, he made his late-night television debut on Conan.[26] He made his network television debut in January 2018 on Late Night with Seth Meyers.[27] Gondelman also was a stand-up consultant for the final season of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel."[28]
SeinfeldToday
In December 2012, Gondelman created the Twitter account "SeinfeldToday", along with Jaclyn Moore, formerly of BuzzFeed.[29] The account posted humorous tweets reimagining Seinfeld characters in modern-day situations.[30] As of October 2015, the last time the account was active, it had more than 900,000 followers.[31] At the 6th annual Shorty Awards in 2014, the account won an award in the "#Fakeaccount" category.[32]
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
In 2014, Gondelman was hired by Last Week Tonight with John Oliver as the web producer for the show's first season, and became a staff writer for the second season.[2][14] In 2016, he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series for his work on the show.[33] He and the writing team of Last Week Tonight won this same award in 2017, as well as a Writers Guild of America Award in 2017.[34][35]
Desus & Mero
In 2019, Gondelman left Last Week Tonight to become a senior staff writer and producer on Desus & Mero after the series moved to Showtime.[4][5]
Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me!
Since 2019, Gondelman has been a regular panelist on the NPR show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!.[36] In March 2023, Gondelman was the guest host filling in for Peter Sagal while Sagal was on paternity leave.[37]
Personal life
Gondelman is married to Maris Kreizman, the creator of the blog and book Slaughterhouse 90210.[31][38] They live in Brooklyn[39][40] with Bizzy, a senior pug.[41]
Awards
Emmy Awards
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series | "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" | Nominated | [42] |
| 2016 | "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" | Won | [43] | |
| 2017 | "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" | Won | [44] | |
| 2019 | "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" | Won | [45] |
- 2014: Shorty Awards, #Fakeaccount category[46]
- 2014: Peabody Award for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver[47]
- 2017: Writers Guild of America Award, Comedy/Variety Series for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Discography
Filmography
- 2011: Quiet Desperation (TV series) – Actor (3 episodes)
- 2011: Viral Video (short) – as Agent
- 2013: Splashie (TV series short) – as Criminal
- 2014: Billy on the Street with Billy Eichner (TV series) – Creative consultant (2 episodes)
- 2014: Ramsey Has a Time Machine (TV series) – as Jackson Pollock in "Art"
- 2015–present: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (TV Series) – Producer (11 episodes), Writer (14 episodes)
- 2016: Night Train with Wyatt Cenac (TV series) – Actor in "Links & Logs"
- 2016: The Comedy Show Show (TV series) – Actor in "RISK! With Kevin Allison"
- 2016: @Midnight (TV series) – as himself
- 2017: Wiki What (Facebook show) - Host[53][54]
- 2020: The George Lucas Talk Show - as himself. Episode: "Revenge of the Sick: After Show" [55]
Works and publications
- Gondelman, Josh (2007). Anything to Fill the Silence (thesis/dissertation). Waltham, MA: Brandeis University. OCLC 126859941.
- Gondelman, Josh; Berkowitz, Joe (2016). You Blew It!: An Awkward Look at the Many Ways in Which You've Already Ruined Your Life. New York: Plume. ISBN 978-0-147-51580-3. OCLC 910009187.
- Gondelman, Josh (2019). Nice Try: Stories of Best Intentions and Mixed Results. Harper Perennial. ISBN 978-0062852755.
- Selected articles
- Gondelman, Josh (13 July 2011). "Monologue: A Timid Ghost Requests Help Exacting Vengeance". McSweeney's.
- Gondelman, Josh; Dunn, Gaby (17 August 2012). "Both Sides of a Breakup: The Stray Condom Mystery". New York.
- Gondelman, Josh (13 March 2013). "My Adventures With 'Penis-Numbing' Spray". New York.
- Gondelman, Josh (11 June 2013). "So You Want To Leak Classified Documents?". Esquire.
- Gondelman, Josh (6 August 2013). "Mudder's Boy". Esquire.
- Gondelman, Josh (13 August 2013). "I Want to Make Love to You Like In the Movies". McSweeney's.
- Gondelman, Josh (9 December 2013). "Call of Duty: Homeland". McSweeney's.
- Gondelman, Josh (10 February 2014). "Live Coverage from a George Zimmerman Fight That Never Happened". Esquire.
- Gondelman, Josh (17 September 2014). "Works from the Los Angeles Museum of Photographic Self-Portraiture". The New Yorker.
- Gondelman, Josh (1 January 2015). "Famous Writers Play Taboo". The New Yorker.
- Gondelman, Josh (16 March 2015). "I Had Given Up On The NFL. Then Nana Became A Patriots Fanatic". BuzzFeed.
- Gondelman, Josh (31 July 2015). "Opinion: Welcome to Your Airbnb". The New York Times.
- Gondelman, Josh (16 September 2015). "Outerspanx, Butt Lampshades, and Zoolandery Vibes: A Fashion-Week Virgin Reviews Chromat". ELLE.
- Gondelman, Josh (29 September 2015). "How to Ruin a First Date: An Easy, 4-Step Guide". ELLE.
- Gondelman, Josh (15 September 2016). "Why You Should Give Thirsty Guys a Chance!". Glamour.
- Gondelman, Josh (23 May 2017). "One Day We Will Be Dead, but Scaachi Koul Will Still Matter". Esquire.
- Wiki What?
- Bruney, Gabrielle; Gondelman, Josh; Miller, T.J. (September 3, 2017). "Watch T.J. Miller Have a Check-Up with the Wikipediatrician (Wiki What? #1)" (Includes video). Esquire.
- Miller, Matt; Gondelman, Josh; Bradley West, John (8 September 2017). "'Game of Thrones' Star John Bradley Reveals His Actual Name in This Hilarious Video (Wiki What? #2)" (Includes video). Esquire.
- Miller, Matt; Gondelman, Josh; Gilliard, Jr., Lawrence (18 September 2017). "Lawrence Gilliard Jr. of 'The Deuce' Explains the Tupac Connection on His Wikipedia Page (Wiki What? #3)" (Includes video). Esquire.
- Rense, Sarah; Gondelman, Josh; Upton, Kate (22 September 2017). "Kate Upton Doesn't Like Her Wikipedia Page Photo (Wiki What? #4)" (Includes video). Esquire.
References
External links
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.