Gregory Sebastian Fitzsimmons (born April 5, 1966) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, podcaster, and Emmy Award-winning television writer.

Greg Fitzsimmons
Fitzsimmons performing stand-up comedy
Birth nameGregory Sebastian Fitzsimmons
Born (1966-04-05) April 5, 1966 (age 58)
New York, New York, U.S.
MediumStand-up, television
Years active1988–present
GenresStand-up comedy
Subject(s)observational comedy
Websitewww.gregfitzsimmons.com

Early life

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Fitzsimmons was raised in Tarrytown, New York to Bob (1939-1993) and Patricia Marie Judith (née McCarthy) Fitzsimmons. Greg's father was a New York City radio and television personality who was one of the original presenters of Good Day New York and was a host of the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Telethon from 1973 to 1989.[1]

Greg began his stand-up comedy career while attending Boston University, where he earned his undergraduate degree and was part of comedy troupe Uncontrolled Substance.[2]

Career

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Fitzsimmons made his late-night debut in 1996 on the Late Show with David Letterman.[3] That same year he began hosting MTV's Idiot Savants which received a CableACE Award for Best Game Show Special or Series.[4]

Greg served as a writer on the first three seasons of The Ellen DeGeneres Show for which he received one nomination and four Daytime Emmy Awards. In a 2010 interview with Howard Stern, Fitzsimmons described the work environment as "toxic."[5] A decade later these allegations would be substantiated in an exposé by Buzzfeed News citing the experiences of ten former employees.[6]

From 2004 to 2009 Greg was a regular commentator on Vh1's Best Week Ever and from 2010 to 2014 he made over 40 appearances on Chelsea Lately.

Fitzsimmons was a frequent guest on The Howard Stern Show throughout the late nineties and early 2000s. He was a finalist to replace Jackie Martling after Martling's departure, a position that ultimately went to Artie Lange. In 2006, Greg began hosting The Greg Fitzsimmons Show on SiriusXM's Howard 101. There were several memorable moments over the course of the series including Greg's interview with Andy Dick that resulted in Dick being banned from the channel over antisemitic comments toward Stern in 2011. The final episode of The Greg Fitzsimmons Show aired in 2018.

Fitzsimmons has toured the United States as a stand-up comedian and has performed on such programs as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

In 2013, his one-hour special "Life on Stage" premiered on Comedy Central.

Fitzsimmons hosts a comedy podcast Fitzdog Radio. The show features interviews with celebrities, musical guests and comedians. Listener call-ins are encouraged throughout the show. Guests have included Zach Galifianakis, Leslie Jones, Whitney Cummings and Judd Apatow. As of August 2023, the series has aired over 1,000 episodes.

He also hosts Sunday Papers with sidekick/producer Mike Gibbons (aka "Gibby") and Childish[7] with comedian Alison Rosen.

Writing

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Fitzsimmons began his writing career on Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher. From 2003 to 2005, he was a writer and producer on The Ellen DeGeneres Show[8] for which he received one nomination and four Daytime Emmy Awards. He has also written for Cedric the Entertainer, The Man Show, The Wanda Sykes Show, Lucky Louie, [9] and most recently HBO's Crashing.

Personal life

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Greg is married and has two children. He is a cousin of professional golfer Denny McCarthy.

Filmography

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Television and film

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Greg Fitzsimmons's performances in television and film
Year Title Role Notes
1999 Doing Time Unaired pilot written by Dave Attell
2002 The Andy Dick Show Brother 1 episode
2003 The Gynecologists Chick Short film by Adam Dubin
2004 The Man Show Frozen Ted Williams 1 episode
2008 CSI Crime Scene Investigation 1 episode
2011 Division III: Football's Finest Jerry
2014 Louie Greg 1 episode
2015 Aqua Teen Hunger Force Randy (voice) 1 episode
2015 Comedy Bang! Bang! Mailman 1 episode
2017 Santa Clarita Diet Sheriff's Deputy 1 episode
2018-2019 Crashing Greg Fitzsimmons 2 episodes

As himself

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Greg Fitzsimmons's non-acting credits
Year Title Credited as Notes
1996-1997 Idiot Savants Host
1997 Make Me Laugh Self
1997-2006 Just For Laughs Self 3 episodes
1997 Premium Blend Self 1 episode
1998 Inside Jokes Self
1998-2006 Comedy Central Presents Self 2 episodes
2001 The Test with Jillian Barberie Panelist 1 episode
2001 Late Friday with Joe Rogan Self 2 episodes
2001 The World Comedy Tour: Melbourne Self The Comedy Channel TV special hosted by Paul McDermott
2002 The N.Y. Friars Club Roast of Chevy Chase Self Comedy Central TV special hosted by Paul Shaffer
2002 Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn Panelist 1 episode
2002 I Love the '80s Self
2003 I Love the '70s Self
2003 Shorties Watchin' Shorties Self 1 episode
2004 I Love the '90s Self
2005 I Love the '90s Self
2005 I Love the '80s Self 3 episodes
2005 I Love the Holidays Self
2005 23rd AVN Awards Host
2006 I Love Toys Self
2006 I Love the '70s Self 4 episodes
2007 Porky's: A Comedy Classic Self Short film with Dante
2007 What I Learned About... From the Movies Self
2007 Heckler Self Documentary film
2007 Rock Band Cometh: The Rock Band Band Story Self Documentary film
2008 History of the Joke Self Documentary film
2008 Here Come the Newlyweds Self 1 episode
2008 25th AVN Awards Host
2008 I Love the New Millennium Self 3 episodes
2008 Best Week Ever with Paul F. Tompkins Self 1 episode
2009 Naked Ambition: An R Rated Look at an X Rated Industry Self Documentary film
2010 John Oliver's New York Stand Up Show Self 2 episodes
2010 The Wanda Sykes Show Self 1 episode
2010 A Night of 140 Tweets: A Celebrity Tweet-A-Thon for Haiti Self Web special by Red Hour Productions and Funny or Die
2010-2014 Chelsea Lately Panelist 41 episodes
2011 Pumped! Host 19 episodes
2011 Dave's Old Porn Self 1 episode
2011 AM Northwest Self 1 episode
2012 Un-Cabaret Self 1 episode
2013 Greg Fitzsimmons: Life on Stage Self Comedy Central Hour Special
2014 Upload with Shaquille O'Neal Self 1 episode
2014-2015 How To Be A Grown Up with Tom Segura Self 11 episodes
2016 This Is Not Happening Self 1 episode
2019-2020 Lights Out with David Spade Panelist 6 episodes

Books

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  • Greg Fitzsimmons. (2010). Dear Mrs. Fitzsimmons: Tales of Redemption from an Irish Mailbox. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-43918-26-9-7.

References

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News articles and interviews