March 16, 2020
Weird Al Yankovic (b.1959) is an American musical comedian whose humorous songs make light of popular culture and often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts; original songs that are style pastiches of the work of other acts; and polka medleys of several popular songs, featuring his favored instrument, the accordion.
Since his first-aired comedy song in 1976, he has sold more than 12 million albums (as of 2007), recorded more than 150 parody and original songs, and performed more than 1,000 live shows. His works have earned him five Grammy Awards and a further eleven nominations, four gold records, and six platinum records in the United States. Yankovic’s first top ten Billboard album (‘Straight Outta Lynwood’) and single (‘White & Nerdy’) were both released in 2006, nearly three decades into his career.
read more »
Posted in Art, Humor |
Leave a Comment »
December 5, 2018
Richard Jay Potash (1946 – 2018), known professionally as Ricky Jay, was an American stage magician, actor, bibliophile, and writer. In a profile for ‘The New Yorker,’ Mark Singer called Jay ‘perhaps the most gifted sleight of hand artist alive.’
In addition to sleight of hand, Jay was known for his card tricks, card throwing, memory feats, and stage patter. He also wrote extensively on magic and its history. His acting credits included the films ‘The Prestige,’ ‘The Spanish Prisoner,’ ‘Mystery Men,’ ‘Heist,’ ‘Boogie Nights,’ ‘Tomorrow Never Dies,’ ‘House of Games,’ and ‘Magnolia,’ and the HBO series ‘Deadwood.’
read more »
Posted in Art |
1 Comment »
July 4, 2018
Marc Maron (b. 1963) is an American stand-up comedian, podcaster, writer and actor.
In 2009, Maron began hosting the twice-weekly podcast ‘WTF with Marc Maron’ where he interviews comedians, authors, musicians, and celebrities in his garage in Highland Park, Los Angeles. From 2013 to 2016, he starred and executive produced in his own IFC television comedy series, ‘Maron,’ a loosely autobiographical show, revolving around his life as a twice-divorced, sober comedian running a comedy podcast out of his garage. Since 2017, he has co-starred in the Netflix comedy series ‘GLOW.’
read more »
Posted in Art, Humor |
Leave a Comment »
April 21, 2018
Ben Burtt (b. 1948) is an American sound designer, film editor, director, screenwriter, and voice actor. As a sound designer, his credits include the ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Indiana Jones’ film series, ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ (1978), ‘E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial’ (1982), ‘WALL-E’ (2008), and ‘Star Trek’ (2009).
Burtt is notable for popularizing the ‘Wilhelm scream’ in-joke and creating many of the iconic sound effects heard in the ‘Star Wars’ film franchise, including the ‘voice’ of R2-D2, the lightsaber hum, the sound of the blaster guns, and the heavy-breathing sound of Darth Vader. Burtt was also the sound editor for ‘WALL-E’ and performed the vocalizations of the titular character as well as other robots in the film.
read more »
Posted in Art, Technology |
Leave a Comment »
December 7, 2017
Tommy Wiseau is an American actor and filmmaker. He produced and directed ‘The Room’ (2003), which has been described by many critics as ‘one of the worst movies ever made’ and has gained cult film status. He also directed the 2004 documentary ‘Homeless in America’ and the 2015 sitcom ‘The Neighbors.’
Wiseau is secretive about his early life. In various interviews, he has claimed to have lived in France ‘a long time ago,’ asserted that he grew up in New Orleans, and described having ‘an entire family’ in Chalmette, Louisiana.
read more »
Posted in Art, Humor |
Leave a Comment »
October 6, 2017
Eric Andre (b. 1983) is an American actor, comedian, and television host. He is the creator, host, and co-writer of ‘The Eric Andre Show,’ a surreal parody of low-budget public-access talk shows that airs on ‘Adult Swim’ (a nighttime programming block on ‘Cartoon Network’). Andre also played ‘Mike’ on the ‘FXX’ comedy series ‘Man Seeking Woman.’
‘The Eric Andre Show’ premiered in 2012. The series is hosted along with comedian Hannibal Buress, who serves as André’s sidekick. The show was influenced, in part, by surreal spoof talk show ‘Space Ghost Coast to Coast,’ a series that has previously aired on ‘Cartoon Network’ and later ‘Adult Swim.’
read more »
Posted in Art, Humor |
1 Comment »
September 5, 2015
Don Herbert (1917 – 2007) was the creator and host of educational television programs for children devoted to science and technology, notably ‘Watch Mr. Wizard’ (1951–65, 1971–72) and ‘Mr. Wizard’s World’ (1983–90). He also produced many short video programs about science and authored several popular books about science for children. Marcel LaFollette of the Smithsonian notes that no fictional hero was able to rival the popularity and longevity of ‘the friendly, neighborly scientist.’
In Herbert’s obituary, Bill Nye wrote, ‘Herbert’s techniques and performances helped create the United States’ first generation of homegrown rocket scientists just in time to respond to Sputnik. He sent us to the moon. He changed the world.’ Herbert is credited with turning ‘a generation of youth’ in the 1950s and early 1960s onto ‘the promise and perils of science.’
read more »
Posted in Art, Education, Science |
2 Comments »
January 23, 2014
Robert Smigel [smy-guhl] (b. 1960) 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.’
read more »
Posted in Humor |
Leave a Comment »
January 16, 2014
Spike Jonze (b. 1969) is an American filmmaker best known for his collaborations with writer Charlie Kaufman, which include the 1999 film ‘Being John Malkovich’ and the 2002 film ‘Adaptation,’ and as the co-writer and director of the 2009 film ‘Where the Wild Things Are.’ He is also well known for his music video collaborations with Fatboy Slim, Weezer, Beastie Boys, and Björk.
He was also a co-creator and executive producer of ‘MTV’s Jackass.’ Since 2007, he has been the creative director at VBS.tv, an online television network supplied by Vice and funded by MTV. He is also part owner of skateboard company Girl Skateboards with riders Rick Howard and Mike Carroll. He also co-founded Directors Label, with filmmakers Chris Cunningham and Michel Gondry, and the Palm Pictures company
read more »
Posted in Art |
Leave a Comment »
September 26, 2013
Danny Tamberelli (b. 1982) is an American actor, comedian and musician. Tamberelli played Jackie Rodowsky on the television series ‘The Baby-Sitters Club’ shortly before more notably playing Little Pete on the Nickelodeon television show ‘The Adventures of Pete & Pete’ and provided the voice for Arnold in ‘The Magic School Bus,’ as well as appearing in the films ‘Igby Goes Down’ and ‘The Mighty Ducks.’ Many may also know him for his work on Nickelodeon’s ‘All That,’ as well as ‘Figure It Out’ (and his famed ‘head flip,’ where he would flip his head back after getting slimed to cover the audience in slime).
Tamberelli was born in Wyckoff, New Jersey. He is a graduate of Hampshire College, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Arts focusing on music performance and booking management. He is the bassist and vocalist for the rock band Jounce, formed in Northern New Jersey. They released an eponymous debut album in 2006, followed by their sophomore effort, ‘These Things’ in 2009. Tamberelli is also a member of the sketch comedy group ‘Man Boobs Comedy’ with co-creators Brendan O’Rourke and Jeremy Balon. Tamberelli appears in the 2013 video game ‘Grand Theft Auto V’ as Jimmy De Santa.
Posted in Humor |
Leave a Comment »
August 14, 2013
Jenny McCarthy (b. 1972) is an American model, actress, author, and activist. She began her career in 1993 as a nude model for ‘Playboy’ magazine and was later named their Playmate of the Year. McCarthy then parlayed her ‘Playboy’ fame into a television and film acting career.
More recently, she has written books about parenting, and has become an activist promoting research into environmental causes, and alternative medical treatments for autism. She has claimed that vaccines cause autism and that chelation therapy helped cure her son of autism. Both claims are controversial and unsupported by any medical evidence. Additionally, her son’s autism diagnosis is disputed.
read more »
Posted in Health, Humor, Sex |
Leave a Comment »
August 9, 2013
Angelyne is an American singer, actress and model who is known for purchasing billboards advertising herself. Her billboards became a trademark of Los Angeles and made her an icon who is considered one of the pioneers of the term ‘famous for being famous.’
A significant part of her ‘mystique’ comes from her refusal to answer questions (and giving contradictory information when she does). Consequently, much of Angelyne’s actual biographical information is unknown or doubtful.
read more »
Posted in Humor, Money, Sex |
Leave a Comment »
The Daily Omnivore 