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Josh Gondelman

American writer and comedian From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Josh Gondelman
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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]

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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

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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]

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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

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Discography

  • 2011: Everything's The Best![49]
  • 2016: Physical Whisper[50][51]
  • 2019: Dancing on a Weeknight [52]
  • 2022: People Pleaser[53]

Filmography

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Works and publications

  • 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.
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References

External links

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