John Fugelsang

Last updated

John Fugelsang
John Fugelsang.jpg
John Fugelsang performs comedy at a Women Who Write event in 2011.
Born
John Joseph Fugelsang [1]

(1969-09-03) September 3, 1969 (age 55)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • comedian
  • writer
  • television host
  • political commentator
  • television personality
Years active1996–present
Spouse
Charmien LaFramenta
(m. 2004)
Children1

John Joseph Fugelsang (born September 3, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, writer, television host, political commentator and television personality. [2]

Contents

Early life and education

Fugelsang was born on Long Island, New York. Of Danish, German, and Irish descent, [3] he is the son of a former Carmelite nun and a former Franciscan friar. [4]

At New York University, Fugelsang attended the Tisch School of the Arts and graduated with a degree in Film and Television. [5] [6] Fugelsang also studied theatre at the Boston University Theatre Institute and the Circle in the Square Theatre. [6]

Career

Stage and screen

Fugelsang has appeared in diverse projects as an actor, ranging from CSI and Providence to Coyote Ugly . As a comedian, he has performed at the US Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen and the Just for Laughs Festival in Montréal and made over 20 appearances on Politically Incorrect .

In 2007, he premiered the acclaimed solo show All The Wrong Reasons Off Broadway at New York Theatre Workshop. [4] The show received a Drama League nomination for "Distinguished Performance". [7] New York Magazine said "Fugelsang has the soul of an iconoclast" and The New York Daily News said the piece "packed an unexpectedly lovely and life affirming wallop." [8]

Subsequent runs included Los Angeles, Seattle, New York City's Barrow Street Theatre, Albuquerque, and closing the South Beach Comedy Festival in Miami.

Additional film, television, and stage credits include Becker , Somewhere in the City, The Michael Richards Show , Beyond Belief, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Hamlet, Blue Window, and Savage in Limbo .

Fugelsang also appeared in the 2015 documentary film Dream On . [9]

Host and presenter

Fugelsang has hosted George Harrison: The Last Performance and Paul McCartney's Live Town Hall on VH1. He was also on America's Funniest Home Videos [4] (co-hosting with Daisy Fuentes) for two seasons (1998–99), co-hosted John McEnroe's short-lived CNBC talk show in 2004, and was a regular on CNBC's Bullseye and Red Eye on Fox News. He was the co-host of the World Series of Blackjack on GSN alongside Bringing Down the House author Ben Mezrich. He also co-hosted, along with Debra Wilson and Teresa Strasser, TV Watercooler on TV Guide Channel (2005–09). In 2012, John Fugelsang hosted a series of videos on the YouTube channel "POLIPOP". From January 2013 until August 2013, Fugelsang was the host of the Current TV political talk show Viewpoint . [10] The show ended with the end of all live programming on Current.[ citation needed ]

Political commentator

In addition to his appearances on the late-night political talk show Politically Incorrect (1993–2002), Fugelsang has been a contributor to HuffPost weblog.

Fugelsang is a regular commentator and guest on nationally syndicated progressive radio program The Stephanie Miller Show , and has served as guest host on occasion. His usual guest spot on the show is called "Fridays with Fugelsang." He also tours alongside Miller and comedian and musician Hal Sparks as part of the Sexy Liberal Comedy Show. For 2017, the tour was called "Sexy Liberal Resistance Tour" [11] along with Frangela (Frances Callier and Angela Shelton). The first show for the new tour was at the Barrymore, April 22, 2017, Madison.

Fugelsang been featured on CNN, Fox News, Dennis Miller, The Young Turks , [12] Air America, CNBC, and MSNBC. He served as the host on the Current TV political talk show, So That Happened. Additionally, he has contributed to Current TV's coverage of the 2012 presidential campaign. In an appearance on CNN in 2012, a question of his prompted the Romney campaign's Etch-a-sketch gaffe. On January 6, 2013, he replaced Eliot Spitzer as host of Viewpoint on Current TV. [13] Since 2015, Fugelsang has been hosting Tell Me Everything, a "progressive talk" show on Sirius XM Insight. [14]

Personal life

He lives with his wife, designer Charmien La Framenta, and their son, Henry Jack, in Hollywood and New York City's Greenwich Village. [15] [16] Fugelsang debated with atheist Jamie Kilstein, noting his views as being founded upon what Jesus preached. [17] [18] He is politically liberal.

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1996ConceptionJackShort film
VH1 ArchivesHimself/hostTelevision series documentary
1997George Harrison & Ravi Shankar: Yin & YangHimself/hostTelevision special
1998 Somewhere in the City Henry
Twice Upon a Time BrettTelevision film
Decampitated Phone Voice Specialist
The Daily ShowHimself1 episode
1998–1999 America's Funniest Home Videos Himself/host21 episodes
1999Final RinseOzzie
Politically Incorrect Himself1 episode
1999Beyond Belief: Fact or FictionArtieSeason 3 episode 12
1999–2002 Providence Mr. Chris Calloway3 episodes
2000 Coyote Ugly Richie the Booker
The Michael Richards Show MauskopfEpisode: "Simplification"
Becker Greg JacksonEpisode: "Beckerethics"
Flix Himself/host
2001 18 Wheels of Justice N/AEpisode: "Come Back, Little Diva"
2002 Late Friday Himself1 episode
The Conspiracy Zone HimselfEpisode: "FEMA"
2003House of CluesN/AEpisode: "Pilot"
2004 McEnroe Himself/co-host22 episodes
2005 The Basement The Man
2009 The Whole Truth Prosecutor Smith
2010Curb: The DiscussionHimself4 episodes
2011The Moms ViewFeature GuestUnknown episodes
2012 Price Check Jake
John Fugelsang: So That HappenedHost
Caffeinated with John FugelsangHimself20 episodes
2014 The Girl on the Train Lottery Guy
2017Maggie BlackPaul
Tutor PimpJacobTelevision film
2019Jonathan Pie's American PieSelfTelevision film
2021Radio GodsChoade1 episode

References

  1. "John Fugelsang Biography". TV Guide . Retrieved September 17, 2013.
  2. "John Fugelsang Filmography". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . 2012. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012.
  3. Fugelsang, John (April 2, 2011). "Bio | John Fugelsang". johnfugelsang.com. Archived from the original on September 26, 2013. Retrieved September 17, 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 Charles Isherwood. "Goodness gracious, that's why he's a mess" (review of "All the Wrong Reasons"), The New York Times, April 16, 2007. Retrieved 2011-08-02.
  5. "Notable Undergraduate Alumni of Film & TV". NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Retrieved June 26, 2013.
  6. 1 2 "John Fugelsang". Nancy Vogl Speakers Bureau. Archived from the original on June 17, 2013. Retrieved June 26, 2013.
  7. "Playbill.com". Playbill.com. April 25, 2007. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved July 14, 2012.
  8. Dziemianowicz, Joe (April 17, 2007). "A stellar storyteller & standup comic". New York Daily News .
  9. Shattuck, Kathryn (October 7, 2016). "What's on TV Friday". The New York Times .
  10. "Actor and Comedian Fugelsang to Speak on Humor and Politics – Inside UW-Green Bay News". news.uwgb.edu. November 17, 2010. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  11. "Sexy Liberal". sexyliberal.com.
  12. The Young Turks. Is The Album Dead?. The Point with Ana Kasparian. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021 via YouTube.
  13. Stelter, Brian (June 1, 2013). "Eliot Spitzer Ends His Show on Current TV". New York Times. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
  14. "Tell Me Everything with John Fugelsang". SiriusXM. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  15. Fugelsang, John [@JohnFugelsang] (November 14, 2014). "Backstage with Charmien LaFramenta and Carol Burnett, NYC. http://t.co/G6VxhZ431H" (Tweet). Retrieved September 1, 2021 via Twitter.
  16. Fugelsang, John [@JohnFugelsang] (May 15, 2013). "That last tweet came courtesy of Henry Jack, 14 months old this week" (Tweet). Retrieved September 1, 2021 via Twitter.
  17. Friel, Todd. "Burning Bush Communications". Burningbushcommunications.com/future.html. Burning Bush Media. Archived from the original on February 17, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  18. Totally Biased: The God Debate. Johnfugelsang.com. September 11, 2013. Archived from the original on October 5, 2014. Retrieved September 17, 2013 via YouTube.
Media offices
Preceded by Co-Host of America's Funniest Home Videos with Daisy Fuentes
1998–1999
Succeeded by