Gregg Turkington | |
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Born | Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia | November 25, 1967
Nationality | American |
Occupations |
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Years active | 1983–present |
Spouse | Simone Turkington |
Musical career | |
Also known as |
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Origin | San Francisco, California, U.S. |
Genres | |
Instrument | Vocals |
Labels | |
Website | americasfunnyman |
Gregg Turkington (born November 25, 1967) [1] [2] is an American comedian, entertainer, actor, musician and writer. He is known for his performances as Neil Hamburger, a stand-up comedian persona he developed in the 1990s. Alongside Tim Heidecker, Turkington also stars as a fictionalized version of himself on the comedic web series On Cinema (2011–). In addition, he formed one-half of the band Zip Code Rapists and has collaborated on numerous projects with musicians including Trey Spruance (Mr. Bungle, Secret Chiefs 3).
In the 1990s, Turkington ran an independent label, Amarillo Records, which distributed his original albums and albums of other artists from the San Francisco punk scene. In 2015, he starred as a variant of the Neil Hamburger character for the feature-length drama film Entertainment , directed by Rick Alverson, and subsequently gave his first interviews as himself instead of an assumed persona. [3] Turkington also was a regular voice actor on the Disney XD series Gravity Falls , and had minor roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Ant-Man (2015) and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023). [4]
Turkington rose to prominence in the mid-1980s as the publisher of underground zine Breakfast Without Meat which brought punk respectability to "square" musical artists such as Tiny Tim, Jimmy Webb, the 101 Strings, and Richard Harris through feature articles. A frequent contributor to the zine was Derrick Bostrom of the Meat Puppets.
In the 1980s, Turkington also performed in obscure San Francisco bands such as Caroliner, Hello Kitty on Ice and Bean Church, and worked at Subterranean Records, contributing artwork and live recordings to Flipper's Public Flipper Limited Live 1980-1985 album.
In the early 1990s, Turkington operated the Amarillo Records label, which released works by many artists from San Francisco's post-punk avant-garde music scene. He was a member of The Easy Goings, Totem Pole of Losers and the Zip Code Rapists (with John Singer). He collaborated with Trey Spruance of Mr. Bungle in The Three Doctors, Faxed Head (with James Goode, Trey Spruance, and Phil Franklin), Secret Chiefs 3, Colonel Truth (with Brandan Kearney and Rebecca G. Wilson) and The Bon Larvis Band. Many of these bands appeared on 1996's Amarillo Records compilation CD, You Gan’t Boar Like An Eabla When You Work With Turkrys, along with the likes of Sun City Girls, Thinking Fellers Union Local 282, U.S. Saucer, Harvey Sid Fisher, Dieselhed, and Church of Satan founder Anton Szandor LaVey. He was also a tour manager for both Link Wray and Mr. Bungle. He contributed lead vocals to two tracks by the Secret Chiefs 3. [5]
In the late 1990s, Turkington had abandoned Amarillo Records and all of his musical projects and moved to Melbourne, Australia, where he lived until 2003. Since then, he has written the book Warm Voices Rearranged: Anagram Record Reviews with fellow Three Doctors alumnus Brandan Kearney, also of World of Pooh, Caroliner, and Archipelago Brewing Co. He was a contributing editor to the British version of Maxim in 2005 and 2006, as well as to Johan Kugelberg's 2013 book Enjoy The Experience: Homemade Records 1958–1992.
In 2005 and 2006, after ten years of inactivity, his musical duo Zip Code Rapists did a handful of reunion shows, performing in San Francisco, Saint Paul, Minnesota, Toronto, and Montreal.
He has provided various voices for the animated series The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack , Aqua Teen Hunger Force , [6] Adventure Time , Sanjay and Craig , and Gravity Falls . A parody screenplay entitled "Bicycle Built for Two" which was co-written with Tim Heidecker was published in McSweeney's #36 in December 2010.
Turkington appears in the full-length independent drama The Comedy , directed by Rick Alverson and starring Tim Heidecker. [7] The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2012.
Tim Heidecker and Gregg Turkington star in Adult Swim's web series On Cinema at the Cinema , portraying a pair of hapless movie reviewers. Turkington's persona in the series is that of a self-described movie expert, although he rarely provides any useful criticism, lauds forgettable films, and often fails to correctly answer simple trivia questions. [8] The series has run for thirteen seasons thus far, [9] with guest appearances by Jimmy McNichol, Joe Estevez, Sally Kellerman, Candy Clark, Peyton Reed, and John Aprea. In 2013 the On Cinema Film Guide app was released, featuring the voices of Turkington and Heidecker reviewing over 17,000 films. Turkington also co-stars as Special Agent Kington in the On Cinema at the Cinema spin-off series Decker. [3]
Turkington had a role in Marvel Studios' 2015 movie Ant-Man , which subsequently becomes a major running plot point in the On Cinema universe. [10] [11] He appeared in the series finale of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as bombing suspect Lawrence Territo. [12] [3]
In 2022, Turkington appeared as his On Cinema persona in the episode about The Wizard of Oz of the Shudder movie documentary series Cursed Films . [13]
Turkington is best known for creating anti-comedian Neil Hamburger. In 1992, Turkington released an album of prank phone calls with several tracks featuring an early version of the character and soon after began developing a stand-up comedian persona. The character constantly clears his throat while telling off-paced jokes that, for the most part, fail. Neil's unique brand of comedy has thrilled, perplexed and repulsed audiences worldwide. Since 1998, he has released a number of records on the Drag City record label. [14]
In the 2000s, he appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! , Tom Green Live , Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! , and Fox News' Red Eye . He also appeared in the short film Left For Dead in Malaysia, and had a brief cameo appearance in the 2006 film Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny . The Neil Hamburger character plays the role of Osric in the 2014 film, Hamlet A.D.D. , a live action and animated version of William Shakespeare's Hamlet . [15] He was rumored to appear in his Neil Hamburger persona in Greg Mottola's 2011 ensemble comedy film Paul , but he did not. [16]
Turkington co-wrote and starred in the 2015 feature film Entertainment , directed by Rick Alverson, with a supporting cast including John C. Reilly, Tye Sheridan, Lotte Verbeek, Amy Seimetz, Michael Cera, David Yow, and Annabella Lwin. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2015. [17] [3] While unnamed, the character in the film is a clear adaptation of the Hamburger character. [18]
Turkington was born in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, [19] to American parents, and grew up in Tempe, Arizona, and San Francisco, California. [20] He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Simone Turkington. He is a vegan. [21]
as Totem Pole of Losers
as The Golding Institute
with the Zip Code Rapists
with The Easy Goings
with the Three Doctors
with Faxed Head
with Secret Chiefs 3
with Hard-Ons
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2007–2008 | Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! | Egg-Zackly Guy / Neil Hamburger | 2 episodes |
2008 | Tom Green's House Tonight | Neil Hamburger | Episode: "6 February 2008" |
2009 | Free Radio | Episode: "Lance's Posse" | |
SpongeBob SquarePants | Camera Operator (voice) | Episode: "Truth or Square" | |
2009–2010 | The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack | Various voice roles | 12 episodes |
2010 | The New Big Ball With Neil Hamburger | Neil Hamburger | Unaired pilot; writer and producer |
2011 | Aqua Teen Hunger Force | Wi-tri (voice; as Neil Hamburger) | Episode: "Wi-tri" |
2012–2016 | Gravity Falls | Toby Determined (voice) | 16 episodes and Mabel's Guide to Life short |
2012 | Pick-a-Split | Neil Hamburger (voice) | Game show; host |
Adventure Time | Chipler / Shrub (voice) | 2 episodes | |
2014 | Tom Green Live! | Neil Hamburger | Episode: "Season 2, Episode 10" |
Comedy Bang! Bang! | Drinking Man | Episode: "Rob Corddry Wears Tan Dress Shoes & Red Socks" | |
2014–2020 | Decker | Special Agent Jonathan Kington, Trooper Walker, Gregg Turkington, Bar Patron, Tripp Spencer | 48 episodes & 2 specials; also writer; uncredited director for 4 episodes & 2 specials |
2015 | Sanjay and Craig | D.I.N.K. (voice) | Episode: "Dangerous Debbie/D.I.N.K." |
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Lawrence Territo | Episode: "Immortality" | |
2017 | Clarence | Greg / Square Dad / Punk (voice) | Episode: "Rock Show" |
Too Loud | Miz Abbott | 5 episodes | |
2019 | Tigtone | Blood King / Fire King / Shadow King (voice) | Episode: "...And Those Elemental Kings" |
2022 | Cursed Films | Gregg Turkington | Episode: " The Wizard of Oz " |
2023 | What We Do in the Shadows | Gregg | Episode: "The Campaign" |
Harley Quinn | Clegg (voice) | Episode: "A Potato-Based Cloning Incident" |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1994 | Terminal USA | Six | Film debut |
2003 | Neil Hamburger Live at the Phoenix Greyhound Park | Neil Hamburger | |
2006 | The Amazing Adventures of Pleaseeasaur | Direct-to-video | |
Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny | |||
2009 | Coco Lipshitz: Behind the Laughter | Short film | |
2010 | The Great Intervention | Josh (voice) | |
2012 | The Comedy | Bobby | |
2014 | Hamlet A.D.D. | Osric | |
The Begun of Tigtone | The Cave Demon (voice) | ||
2015 | Entertainment | The Comedian | Feature film; lead role, co-writer |
Ant-Man | Dale | ||
2018 | A Futile and Stupid Gesture | Advertiser | |
2019 | Mister America | Gregg Turkington | Also co-producer, co-writer |
2023 | Fremont | Dr. Anthony | |
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania | Dale | [4] | |
2024 | Christmas Eve in Miller's Point | Sergeant Brooks | Completed |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | Shaky Advice from Neil Hamburger | Neil Hamburger | writer |
2015 | On Cinema Film Guide | Gregg Turkington | writer |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2006–2007 | Poolside Chats with Neil Hamburger | Neil Hamburger | Live webcast; co-creator |
2012–present | On Cinema | Gregg Turkington | 13 seasons and 8+ specials. Also writer, producer. |
2013 | Think Talk | Neil Hamburger | Episode: "Neil Hamburger" |
Neil Hamburger is a standup comedian and singer character created and portrayed by Australian-American entertainer Gregg Turkington. Distinguished for his misanthropic jokes and anti-comedy style, Turkington has released a number of albums as Hamburger and has appeared as the character in various films, television shows, and other media. In 2015, the act inspired the feature-length film Entertainment, which stars Turkington as a "variant" of the character.
Eric Alexander Wareheim is an American comedian, actor, writer, director, musician, and winemaker. He is best known as one half of the comedy duo Tim & Eric, alongside Tim Heidecker. He also had a recurring role on the Netflix series Master of None.
Timothy Richard Heidecker is an American comedian, writer, director, actor, and musician. Along with Eric Wareheim, he is a member of the comedy duo Tim & Eric.
Joseph Estévez, sometimes credited as Joe Phelan, is an American actor and director. He is the younger brother of actor Martin Sheen and the uncle of Emilio Estevez, Charlie Sheen, Renée Estevez, and Ramon Estevez.
Atom Ellis is a bass guitarist from San Francisco, California. Atom was a founding member of the Thrash Funk band Psychefunkapus from 1986 to 1992 and a member of the San Francisco band Dieselhed from 1993 to 2000. During and after his tenure with Dieselhed he also performed as a regular sideman for Link Wray from 1996 to 2003.
Mister America is a 2019 American mockumentary film directed by Eric Notarnicola and starring Tim Heidecker. The film is an extension of the On Cinema universe, in which Heidecker portrays a fictionalized version of himself who reviews films with fellow comedian Gregg Turkington; the film follows Heidecker as he runs for the office of San Bernardino County district attorney, attempting to unseat the incumbent D.A. that previously attempted to imprison him in a mass murder charge. The film has received mixed reviews from critics.
Amarillo Records was an independent record label owned by Gregg Turkington that operated out of San Francisco, California, from 1992 to 2001. The label specialized in releasing experimental rock music and comedy records. It released several solo recordings by Church Of Satan founder Anton LaVey, as well as the 1996 sampler compilation You Gan't Boar Like an Eabla When You Work with Turkrys.
Hamlet A.D.D. is a 2014 American independent film and web series directed by Bobby Ciraldo and Andrew Swant and produced by Special Entertainment. It re-imagines William Shakespeare's Hamlet as a bizarre and comical tour through the ages. The world premiere was held at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art in April 2014.
Tim & Eric are an American comedy duo consisting of Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim. They are the creators and stars of the Adult Swim television series Tom Goes to the Mayor, Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule, Tim & Eric's Bedtime Stories, and Beef House.
Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! is an American sketch comedy television series created by Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim for Cartoon Network's nighttime programming block Adult Swim. It premiered on February 11, 2007 and originally ran until May 2, 2010. The show features surreal, dark and often satirical humor, public-access television-style musical acts, bizarre faux-commercials with a unique editing and special effects style by Doug Lussenhop to make the show appear off-kilter.
Special Entertainment is a Milwaukee based media production company established in 2003 by Bobby Ciraldo and Andrew Swant.
Zip Code Rapists were an avant-garde band active in the 1990s. The band was composed of guitarist John Singer and singer Gregg Turkington. The band is known for their confrontational, deconstructionist, absurd live performances, as well as their bizarre, more fleshed-out recordings. During the group's fake break-up in 1994, Singer and Turkington formed competing spin-off bands, the Zip Code Revue and The Three Doctors Band, presumably attempts to siphon off Zip Code Rapists fans for themselves.
Mark Proksch is an American comedian and character actor. He is best known for acting in the television series The Office, Better Call Saul, Dream Corp LLC, What We Do in the Shadows and as a fictionalized version of himself in the On Cinema universe.
Patrick James Alverson Jr. is an American film director, screenwriter and musician, living in Richmond, Virginia. His films have been characterized by their confrontational nature and unconventional dramatic structure.
The Comedy is a 2012 American drama film co-written, co-edited, and directed by Rick Alverson, and starring Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim, James Murphy, and Gregg Turkington. The film was executive produced by David Gordon Green, Danny McBride, Jody Hill, Darius Van Arman, and Larry Fessenden.
On Cinema is an American comedy web series and podcast starring Tim Heidecker and Gregg Turkington. The duo appear, using their own names, as a pair of hapless movie reviewers to promote new film releases. The show started as an independently released podcast from 2011 to 2013, before being picked up as a professionally produced web video series by Thing X in 2012, continuing after the site merged with Adult Swim's website in 2013. The show moved to HEI Network, an independent service, in 2021, with funding given by user subscriptions and special event ticket purchases.
Entertainment is a 2015 American drama film directed by Rick Alverson, starring Gregg Turkington, Tye Sheridan, and John C. Reilly. It is loosely based on Turkington's Neil Hamburger character. The plot follows a stand-up comedian as he performs in various locations where the audience is either hostile or indifferent to him. Alverson, Turkington and Tim Heidecker co-wrote the film.
Decker is an American comedy web series and series created by Tim Heidecker and Gregg Turkington. The show is a web spinoff/tie-in to the series On Cinema at the Cinema and began on July 17, 2014. Many recurring jokes and the personas and mutual antipathies expressed by Decker and Turkington carry over from the relationship of the "real" actors, Heidecker and Turkington, in On Cinema.
Eric Notarnicola is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and musician. He is best known for his work in comedy that intersects reality.
The Neil Hamburger persona is the invention of 45-year-old Californian Gregg Turkington.
Born November 25, 1967 in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.