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
editGondelman 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
editWhen 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
editAs 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
editIn 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
editIn 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
editIn 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!
editSince 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
editGondelman 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
edit| 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
editFilmography
edit- 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
edit- 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
edit- ^ Zinoman, Jason (29 April 2016). "Sick of Angry Comics? Try Some Sweet-Tempered Stand-Up". The New York Times.
- ^ a b c d e f g Grant, Drew (6 October 2015). "Nice Guys Finish First: Josh Gondelman, a New Writer of 'Last Week Tonight'". The Observer.
- ^ Eakin, Marah (24 March 2016). "Last Week Tonight writer Josh Gondelman on Bernie Mac, Hillary Clinton, and Weird Twitter". The A.V. Club.
- ^ a b Framke, Caroline (2019-02-20). "Desus & Mero Are Doing Late-Night Their Own Way". Variety. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
- ^ a b "Here's the Writing Staff for Showtime's Desus & Mero". www.vulture.com. 15 February 2019. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
- ^ "Modern Seinfeld (@SeinfeldToday)". Twitter.
- ^ a b Power, Tom; Gondelman, Josh (18 November 2016). "Comedian Josh Gondelman's past as a pre-school teacher" (Audio interview). CBC Radio.
- ^ a b "Comedian Josh Gondelman staying busy while home in Boston". The Boston Globe. 31 December 2014.
- ^ "Frank "Cal" Lyons". The Boston Globe – via Legacy.com.
- ^ Gondelman, Josh (16 March 2015). "I Had Given Up On The NFL. Then Nana Became A Patriots Fanatic". BuzzFeed.
- ^ Goodman, Elyssa (24 September 2016). "Why Josh Gondelman Is a Rising Star in Stand-Up Comedy". The Forward.
- ^ Willison, Margaret H. (10 December 2015). "Josh Gondelman can't deny his inner Bostonian". Metro US.
- ^ Gaffney, Theresa (2015-08-21). "Brandeis alum nominated for Emmy for 'Last Week Tonight'". The Brandeis Hoot. Retrieved 2018-01-15.
- ^ a b c Dorval, Mike (14 March 2016). "07 – Josh Gondelman". Bombing with Mike Dorval. Rox Labs. Archived from the original (Audio podcast) on 24 September 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
- ^ Sutherland, Amy (21 August 2011). "Transformers: Taking his show on the road". The Boston Globe.
- ^ a b "Josh Gondelman: "It's about creating a feeling of warmth along with humor"". The Toast. 2016-03-22. Retrieved 2018-01-15.
- ^ Ham, Robert (18 March 2016). "Now What?: Josh Gondelman on His New Stand-up Album and Last Week Tonight". Paste.
- ^ "Both Sides of a Breakup: The Stray Condom Mystery". The Cut. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
- ^ Gondelman, Josh (6 August 2013). "Mudder's Boy". Esquire.
- ^ Gondelman, Josh (2017-09-01). "Opinion | What if I Bombed at My Own Wedding?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-09-25.
- ^ Ham, Robert (2016-03-18). "Now What?: Josh Gondelman on His New Stand-up Album and Last Week Tonight". Paste. Retrieved 2018-01-15.
- ^ a b Peyser, Eve (10 November 2015). "Comedian Josh Gondelman Is Proof Kindness Can Kill in Comedy". Mic.
- ^ White, Caitlin (21 March 2016). "The Brooklyn 100: Josh Gondelman, Writer and Comedian". Brooklyn Magazine.
- ^ Rahman, Ray (18 March 2016). "'Last Week Tonight' writer Josh Gondelman discusses his new stand-up album". Entertainment Weekly.
- ^ "Couldn't happen to a nicer guy: Josh Gondelman wins inaugural Laughing Skull Comedy Festival". The Comic's Comic. 2010-03-19. Retrieved 2017-09-25.
- ^ Tickle, Glen (2016-03-24). "Comedian Josh Gondelman Talks About Ghosting, Confidence, and Grandparents on Conan". Laughing Squid. Retrieved 2018-01-15.
- ^ "Josh Gondelman Stand-Up Performance". 25 January 2018. Retrieved Nov 4, 2019 – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ "Josh Gondelman, a clever and accomplished comedy writer, makes his Spokane debut". Retrieved July 29, 2023."Josh Gondelman Bio". 12 April 2016. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
- ^ Chung, Nicole (22 March 2016). "Josh Gondelman: "It's about creating a feeling of warmth along with humor"". The Toast.
- ^ McCann, Erin (29 August 2013). "Josh Gondelman: meet the man behind @SeinfeldToday". The Guardian.
- ^ a b Ruiz, Michelle (15 October 2015). "Meet the George and Amal of the Twitter-Lit World". Vogue.
- ^ The Deadline Team (8 April 2014). "Shorty Awards Winners Announced". Deadline Hollywood.
- ^ Littleton, Cynthia (12 September 2016). "Creative Arts Emmy Awards: 'Making a Murderer,' 'Grease Live,' 'Archer,' 'Shark Tank' Take Top Awards". Variety.
- ^ "2017 Emmy Award Winners List". CBS Cleveland. 2017-09-18. Retrieved 2018-01-15.
- ^ "2018 Writers Guild Awards Nominees". awards.wga.org. Retrieved 2018-01-15.
- ^ "Josh Gondelman | Panelists | Wait Wait Don't Tell Me! Stats Page".
- ^ "Malala Yousafzai on winning the Nobel Peace Prize while in chemistry class". NPR. March 4, 2023.
- ^ Bloomgarden-Smoke, Kara (1 April 2016). "Jobs Report: Kickstarter's Publishing Ambassador Maris Kreizman Details Her Day". The Observer.
- ^ Schwartz, Dana (15 March 2016). "An Interview With Josh Gondelman, The Nicest Guy In Comedy". Brooklyn Magazine.
- ^ Douglas, Nick (2017-12-11). "I'm Comedian Josh Gondelman, and This Is How I Work". Lifehacker. Retrieved 2018-01-15.
For this special video installment of How I Work, we visited Josh in his Brooklyn home to talk about his Emmy-winning TV work, the process of writing his second book, how he keeps it together on tour, and how he knows when to quit.
- ^ Wilder, Alice (4 December 2016). "Q&A with 'Sweater Weather' comedian Josh Gondelman". The Daily Tar Heel.
- ^ "2015 - 67th Emmy Awards". emmys.com. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
- ^ "2016 - 68th Emmy Awards". emmys.com. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
- ^ "2017 - 69th Emmy Awards". emmys.com. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
- ^ "2019 - 71st Emmy Awards". emmys.com. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
- ^ "Josh Gondelman". Shorty Awards.
- ^ French, Jana Lynn (14 March 2016). "Honoring the Impact of John Oliver's Last Week Tonight". Peabody Awards.
- ^ Gondelman, Josh (8 November 2011). "Everything's The Best!". Rooftop Comedy. OCLC 810329878. Archived from the original (audio) on 24 September 2017. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
- ^ Gondelman, Josh (18 March 2016). "Physical Whisper". Rooftop Comedy. Archived from the original (audio) on 28 January 2018. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
- ^ Frissore, Angela (21 February 2016). "Boston native Josh Gondelman nails it with sophomore comedy album". AXS TV.
- ^ "Josh Gondelman busts out some new moves in 'Dancing on a Weeknight'". Vanyaland. Apr 19, 2019. Retrieved Nov 4, 2019.
- ^ Volk-Weiss, Brian (2022-06-21), Josh Gondelman: People Pleaser (Comedy), Comedy Dynamics, retrieved 2022-11-14
- ^ Roettgers, Janko (9 August 2017). "Facebook Unveils Shows From 30-Plus Partners Including Univision, MLB, NBA, Hearst, Time Inc". Retrieved 24 September 2017.
- ^ "Behind Hearst's Facebook Watch Programming Strategy - min Online". 12 September 2017. Archived from the original on 17 October 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
- ^ "The George Lucas After Show - Episode XIII with Josh Gondelman, Emily Heller, Julie Cotnoir". Youtube. 27 October 2020.
