Josh Gondelman

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Josh Gondelman
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Gondelman in 2024
Born
Joshua Lyons Gondelman

(1985-01-15) January 15, 1985 (age 40)
Stoneham, Massachusetts, U.S.
Education Brandeis University (BA)
OccupationComedian
Years active2004–present

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]

Contents

Early life and education

Gondelman 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

When 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

As 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

In 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

In 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, 2018, and 2019 as well as a Writers Guild of America Award in 2017. [34] [35]

Desus & Mero

In 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!

Since 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]

The Bugle

Gondelman has been a frequent guest on The Bugle and The Gargle. In 2020, he also played an alternate universe version of himself on Alice Fraser’s daily podcast, The Last Post.

Personal life

Gondelman 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

Emmy Awards

YearCategoryNominated workResultRef.
2015 Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Nominated [42]
2016 Won [43]
2017 Won [44]
2018 Won [45]
2019 Won [46]

Discography

Filmography

Works and publications

Selected articles
Wiki What?

References

  1. ↑ Zinoman, Jason (29 April 2016). "Sick of Angry Comics? Try Some Sweet-Tempered Stand-Up". The New York Times .
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Grant, Drew (6 October 2015). "Nice Guys Finish First: Josh Gondelman, a New Writer of 'Last Week Tonight'". The Observer .
  3. ↑ Eakin, Marah (24 March 2016). "Last Week Tonight writer Josh Gondelman on Bernie Mac, Hillary Clinton, and Weird Twitter". The A.V. Club .
  4. 1 2 Framke, Caroline (2019-02-20). "Desus & Mero Are Doing Late-Night Their Own Way". Variety. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  5. 1 2 "Here's the Writing Staff for Showtime's Desus & Mero". www.vulture.com. 15 February 2019. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  6. ↑ "Modern Seinfeld (@SeinfeldToday)". Twitter .
  7. 1 2 Power, Tom; Gondelman, Josh (18 November 2016). "Comedian Josh Gondelman's past as a pre-school teacher" (Audio interview). CBC Radio .
  8. 1 2 "Comedian Josh Gondelman staying busy while home in Boston". The Boston Globe . 31 December 2014.
  9. ↑ "Frank "Cal" Lyons". The Boston Globe – via Legacy.com.
  10. ↑ Gondelman, Josh (16 March 2015). "I Had Given Up On The NFL. Then Nana Became A Patriots Fanatic". BuzzFeed .
  11. ↑ Goodman, Elyssa (24 September 2016). "Why Josh Gondelman Is a Rising Star in Stand-Up Comedy". The Forward .
  12. ↑ Willison, Margaret H. (10 December 2015). "Josh Gondelman can't deny his inner Bostonian". Metro US .
  13. ↑ Gaffney, Theresa (2015-08-21). "Brandeis alum nominated for Emmy for 'Last Week Tonight'". The Brandeis Hoot . Retrieved 2018-01-15.
  14. 1 2 3 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.
  15. ↑ Sutherland, Amy (21 August 2011). "Transformers: Taking his show on the road". The Boston Globe .
  16. 1 2 "Josh Gondelman: "It's about creating a feeling of warmth along with humor"". The Toast. 2016-03-22. Retrieved 2018-01-15.
  17. ↑ Ham, Robert (18 March 2016). "Now What?: Josh Gondelman on His New Stand-up Album and Last Week Tonight". Paste .
  18. ↑ "Both Sides of a Breakup: The Stray Condom Mystery". The Cut. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
  19. ↑ Gondelman, Josh (6 August 2013). "Mudder's Boy". Esquire .
  20. ↑ 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.
  21. ↑ Ham, Robert (2016-03-18). "Now What?: Josh Gondelman on His New Stand-up Album and Last Week Tonight". Paste. Retrieved 2018-01-15.
  22. 1 2 Peyser, Eve (10 November 2015). "Comedian Josh Gondelman Is Proof Kindness Can Kill in Comedy". Mic .
  23. ↑ White, Caitlin (21 March 2016). "The Brooklyn 100: Josh Gondelman, Writer and Comedian". Brooklyn Magazine .
  24. ↑ Rahman, Ray (18 March 2016). "'Last Week Tonight' writer Josh Gondelman discusses his new stand-up album". Entertainment Weekly .
  25. ↑ "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.
  26. ↑ Tickle, Glen (2016-03-24). "Comedian Josh Gondelman Talks About Ghosting, Confidence, and Grandparents on Conan". Laughing Squid . Retrieved 2018-01-15.
  27. ↑ "Josh Gondelman Stand-Up Performance". 25 January 2018. Retrieved Nov 4, 2019– via www.youtube.com.
  28. ↑ "Josh Gondelman, a clever and accomplished comedy writer, makes his Spokane debut". 4 May 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023. "Josh Gondelman Bio". 12 April 2016. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  29. ↑ Chung, Nicole (22 March 2016). "Josh Gondelman: "It's about creating a feeling of warmth along with humor"". The Toast .
  30. ↑ McCann, Erin (29 August 2013). "Josh Gondelman: meet the man behind @SeinfeldToday". The Guardian .
  31. 1 2 Ruiz, Michelle (15 October 2015). "Meet the George and Amal of the Twitter-Lit World". Vogue .
  32. ↑ The Deadline Team (8 April 2014). "Shorty Awards Winners Announced". Deadline Hollywood .
  33. ↑ Littleton, Cynthia (12 September 2016). "Creative Arts Emmy Awards: 'Making a Murderer,' 'Grease Live,' 'Archer,' 'Shark Tank' Take Top Awards". Variety .
  34. ↑ "2017 Emmy Award Winners List". CBS Cleveland. 2017-09-18. Retrieved 2018-01-15.
  35. ↑ "2018 Writers Guild Awards Nominees". awards.wga.org. Retrieved 2018-01-15.
  36. ↑ "Josh Gondelman | Panelists | Wait Wait Don't Tell Me! Stats Page".
  37. ↑ "Malala Yousafzai on winning the Nobel Peace Prize while in chemistry class". NPR. March 4, 2023.
  38. ↑ Bloomgarden-Smoke, Kara (1 April 2016). "Jobs Report: Kickstarter's Publishing Ambassador Maris Kreizman Details Her Day". The Observer .
  39. ↑ Schwartz, Dana (15 March 2016). "An Interview With Josh Gondelman, The Nicest Guy In Comedy". Brooklyn Magazine .
  40. ↑ 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.
  41. ↑ Wilder, Alice (4 December 2016). "Q&A with 'Sweater Weather' comedian Josh Gondelman". The Daily Tar Heel .
  42. ↑ "2015 – 67th Emmy Awards". emmys.com. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  43. ↑ "2016 – 68th Emmy Awards". emmys.com. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  44. ↑ "2017 – 69th Emmy Awards". emmys.com. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  45. ↑ "2018 – 70th Emmy Awards". emmys.com. Retrieved 2025-07-14.
  46. ↑ "2019 – 71st Emmy Awards". emmys.com. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  47. ↑ "Josh Gondelman". Shorty Awards .
  48. ↑ French, Jana Lynn (14 March 2016). "Honoring the Impact of John Oliver's Last Week Tonight". Peabody Awards . Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  49. ↑ 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.
  50. ↑ Gondelman, Josh (18 March 2016). "Physical Whisper". Rooftop Comedy. Archived from the original (audio) on 28 January 2018. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  51. ↑ Frissore, Angela (21 February 2016). "Boston native Josh Gondelman nails it with sophomore comedy album". AXS TV .
  52. ↑ "Josh Gondelman busts out some new moves in 'Dancing on a Weeknight'". Vanyaland. Apr 19, 2019. Retrieved Nov 4, 2019.
  53. ↑ Volk-Weiss, Brian (2022-06-21), Josh Gondelman: People Pleaser (Comedy), Comedy Dynamics, retrieved 2022-11-14
  54. ↑ Roettgers, Janko (9 August 2017). "Facebook Unveils Shows From 30-Plus Partners Including Univision, MLB, NBA, Hearst, Time Inc" . Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  55. ↑ "Behind Hearst's Facebook Watch Programming Strategy – min Online". 12 September 2017. Archived from the original on 17 October 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  56. ↑ "The George Lucas After Show – Episode XIII with Josh Gondelman, Emily Heller, Julie Cotnoir". Youtube. 27 October 2020.
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