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Fozzie Bear is a Muppet, created by Jim Henson. He is an orange, particularly fuzzy bear who works as a stand-up comic and has a catchphrase, "Wocka Wocka!". Shortly after telling the joke, he is usually the target of rotten tomatoes and ridicule, especially from hecklers Statler and Waldorf. He wears a brown Pork pie hat and a red and white polka-dot necktie.

History[link]

He was originally performed by puppeteer Frank Oz, although in recent years he has been performed by Eric Jacobson. In Jim Henson's Muppet Babies, his voice was provided by Greg Berg, who also voiced Baby Scooter. Berg also voiced him in the ill-fated Little Muppet Monsters. Masashi Ebara voiced the character on the Japanese productions.

Though it is often believed Fozzie's name is a play on Frank Oz (F.Oz), he was actually named after Faz Fazakas, the person who created the mechanism that allowed Fozzie to wiggle his ears.^{[citation needed]}

Fozzie Bear (Fa-zee) was originally Oz's main character. The popularity of Miss Piggy overtook Fozzie's, but he remained popular. One of his largest roles ever was in A Muppet Family Christmas, where he took all of his friends to his mother's farm for Christmas.

In 1988, a video titled Hey, You're as Funny as Fozzie Bear! was released, and was intended to help kids develop comedic talent.

During the 1990s, his roles became much smaller, due to the fact that Oz had turned his focus to directing non-Muppet films and reduced his time with the Muppets. Fozzie was only a supporting character in the Muppet films of that decade, and only appeared in six episodes of Muppets Tonight. However, he returned to prominence when Eric Jacobson took over beginning with It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, in which Fozzie was the focus of a number of scenes.

The character now belongs to The Muppets Studio, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company, after Disney bought the franchise from The Jim Henson Company. The original puppet is kept in the teddy bear museum in Stratford-upon-Avon, founded by Gyles Brandreth.

Family and friends[link]

Fozzie's mother Emily Bear (performed by Jerry Nelson) appeared in A Muppet Family Christmas special. To Fozzie's surprise, she was friends with Statler and Waldorf, despite the heckling they inflict on him. In The Great Muppet Caper, Kermit the Frog and Fozzie are questionable news reporters and apparently twin brothers. Fozzie also has a cousin who appeared in the first season of The Muppet Show, also performed by Frank Oz. In the Muppet Movie Fozzie makes reference to his uncle, whose Studebaker he traded in while his uncle was hibernating.

His cousin is an audience member. In one episode of the Muppet Show he begged the other audience members not to insult his cousin Fozzie.

Since the early days of The Muppet Show, Fozzie has often interacted with Kermit as he is Kermit's best friend. Fozzie got Kermit to reluctantly assist him for one of his best-known monologues, "Good Grief! The Comedian's a Bear!", and has also had quite a bit of interaction with Kermit backstage.

In Episode 115, Fozzie constantly annoys Kermit with a running gag, delivering a number of pun items, such as a "wire" and a "letter" for Kermit the Frog which turned out to be a clothes wire and the letter R, respectively.

Another running gag is Fozzie's hat — as a bear, he is naturally covered with fur, all over. However, upon removing his hat, it is clear that his head shape is modeled on the pate of a bald headed man — thus, the juxtaposition of being both furred and bald simultaneously. This was referenced in the 2011 film The Muppets, where he saw an old picture of himself at the Muppet Theater and ridiculed the "'80s haircut" he sported back then.

Kermit and Fozzie have also frequently been paired together in countless movies, books, and specials. In The Muppet Movie, Fozzie is the first Muppet that Kermit meets on his journey. After Fozzie's unsuccessful comedy performance at the El Sleezo Cafe, Kermit invited Fozzie to come to Hollywood with him. The two friends sing the duet "Movin' Right Along" in the film. Several episodes show Fozzie as dedicated to Kermit, usually responding to his instructions with a chipper "Yes sir." On those rare occasions when Kermit must be away from the theater, he invariably leaves Fozzie in charge of the show, although he equally invariably regrets it.

Fozzie was also frequently teamed up with Rowlf the Dog. In Episode 101, Fozzie plays a western bandit to Rowlf's role as a western hero. Fozzie also appeared in two Veterinarian's Hospital sketches, in which Rowlf starred as Dr. Bob.

In Episode 218, Rowlf learns that Fozzie could play the piano, and they play the piano together in a performance of "English Country Garden". Rowlf has also played back-up to Fozzie's renditions of "Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee (An Actor's Life for Me)" and "I've Got Rhythm". During the latter number, Rowlf attempts to help Fozzie with his singing but is finally reduced to changing the hapless bear's lyrics to "I Don't Got Rhythm." The young incarnations of Fozzie and Rowlf are also frequently paired together on Muppet Babies.

Roles[link]

In the first season of The Muppet Show, the show's opening featured Fozzie telling a joke during an instrumental portion of the theme song. Fozzie was often featured in a sketch where he did a comedy monologue, in which Statler and Waldorf would heckle him (he was their favorite victim). In the second season, Fozzie's comedy routines often had gimmicks such as ventriloquism or performing on roller skates. As the series progressed, he did fewer comedy routines, becoming more involved in the show as a whole. He also preformed as a magician occasionally.

Occasionally, Fozzie uses Jewish humor on the show, presumably because of Frank Oz's Jewish ancestry. For example, "The Telephone Pole Bit" included a reference to Frank Oz's Polish Jewish father, and in Fozzie's magic act, he pulls a rabbi out of his hat.

Though his main job was to be the show's comedian, he has had a number of other roles on The Muppet Show. He sang and danced in many musical numbers, and frequently acted in sketches (most famously his recurring sketch Bear On Patrol where he plays an unlucky police officer). He also often helps backstage and even attempts to plan out the show in one episode, and write the script in another.

Filmography[link]

• The Muppet Movie - himself
• The Great Muppet Caper - Fozzie Bear, Reporter
• The Muppets Take Manhattan - himself
• The Muppet Christmas Carol - Fozziwig
• Muppet Treasure Island - Squire Trelawney
• It's A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (TV) - himself
• Muppets From Space - himself
• The Muppets' Wizard of Oz - (TV) The Cowardly Lion/Fozzie Bear
• A Muppet Family Christmas (TV) - himself
• Muppet Classic Theater (TV) - The Emperor
• Muppet*Vision 3D - himself
• Jim Henson's Muppet Babies (TV) - Baby Fozzie
• Studio DC (TV) - himself
• The Muppets - himself

Appearances in popular culture[link]

Fozzie was featured on the #10 Valvoline Pontiac of Mike Wallace (who was filling in for the car's regular driver Johnny Benson) in the 2002 Tropicana 400 in an advertising campaign in which he and his fellow Muppets were featured on a select few race cars.

Fozzie also appeared alongside his fellow Muppets in the Halloween 2011 episode of WWE Raw, where he and Gonzo encountered Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler and Vickie Guerrero backstage.

Rapper Waka Flocka Flames' name is derived from Fozzie's catchphrase, "Waka Waka".

External links[link]

• Fozzie Bear on Muppet Wiki, an external wiki
• Fozzie Bear at the Internet Movie Database

v t e The Muppets Characters Andy and Randy Pig Animal Annie Sue Beaker Bean Bunny Beauregard Beautiful Day Monster Bobo the Bear Bubba the Rat Camilla the Chicken Clifford Crazy Harry Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem The Elvises Foo-Foo Fozzie Bear The Frackles George the Janitor Gonzo the Great Dr. Bunsen Honeydew Johnny Fiama Kermit the Frog Lew Zealand Link Hogthrob Mildred Huxtetter Miss Piggy Mr. Poodlepants The Muppet Newsman Pepe the King Prawn Pops Rizzo the Rat Robin the Frog Rowlf the Dog Sam the Eagle Scooter Statler and Waldorf Steel Rabbit Dr. Julius Strangepork Marvin Suggs The Swedish Chef Sweetums Uncle Deadly Waldo C. Graphic Yolanda the Rat Muppet performers Terry Angus Pam Arciero Don Austen Jennifer Barnhart Bill Barretta Cheryl Blaylock Fran Brill Julianne Buescher Tyler Bunch Leslie Carrara-Rudolph Kevin Clash Stephanie D'Abruzzo Alice Dinnean Michael Earl John Eccleston Peter Friedman Dave Goelz Louise Gold Tim Gosley Brian Henson Jim Henson John Henson Richard Hunt Eric Jacobson Jerry Juhl John Kennedy Tim Lagasse Bruce Lanoil Peter Linz John Lovelady Noel MacNeal Jim Martin Drew Massey Frank Meschkuleit Ron Mueck Brian Muehl Kathryn Mullen Jerry Nelson Carmen Osbahr Frank Oz Eren Ozker Bob Payne Karen Prell Mike Quinn Martin P. Robinson David Rudman Sandra Shamas Michelan Sisti Judy Sladky Caroll Spinney Bob Stutt John Tartaglia Nikki Tilroe Matt Vogel Cheryl Wagner Steve Whitmire Mak Wilson Victor Yerrid Television series Sam and Friends (1955–61) The Mike Douglas Show (Muppet segments, 1966–79) The Ed Sullivan Show (Muppet segments, 1966–70) Our Place (1967) Sesame Street (1969–present) Saturday Night Live (The Land of Gorch segments, 1975) The Muppet Show (1976–81) Fraggle Rock (1983–87) Muppet Babies (1984–91) Little Muppet Monsters (1985) The Jim Henson Hour (1989) Muppets Tonight (1996–98) Bear in the Big Blue House (1997–2006) Web series Statler and Waldorf: From the Balcony (2005–06) The Muppets Kitchen with Cat Cora (2010) Feature films The Muppet Movie (1979) The Great Muppet Caper (1981) The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984) Sesame Street presents – Follow That Bird (1985) The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) Muppet Treasure Island (1996) Muppets from Space (1999) The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (1999) The Muppets (2011) Television specials Hey, Cinderella! (1969) The Muppets on Puppets (1970) The Great Santa Claus Switch (1970) The Frog Prince (1972) The Muppet Musicians of Bremen (1972) Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (1977) John Denver & the Muppets (1979) The Muppets Go Hollywood (1979) The Muppets Go to the Movies (1981) The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show (1982) Rocky Mountain Holiday (1983) The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years (1985) The Tale of the Bunny Picnic (1986) The Christmas Toy (1986) A Muppet Family Christmas (1987) Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue (1990) The Muppets at Walt Disney World (1990) The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson (1990) Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree (1995) It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002) The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005) Studio DC: Almost Live (2008) A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa (2008) Direct-to-video Wow, You're a Cartoonist! (1988) Muppet Classic Theater (1994) Kermit's Swamp Years (2002) Video games Muppet Adventure: Chaos at the Carnival (1989) Muppet RaceMania (2000) Muppet Monster Adventure (2000) Muppets Party Cruise (2003) Disney Universe (2011) Discography Albums The Muppet Show (1977) Muppet Beach Party (1993) Kermit Unpigged (1994) The Muppet Show: Music, Mayhem, and More (2002) The Muppets: A Green and Red Christmas (2006) Muppets: The Green Album (2011) The Muppets: Original Soundtrack (2011) Songs "The Muppet Show Theme" "Rainbow Connection" "Bein' Green" "Mahna Mahna" "I Hope That Somethin' Better Comes Along" "I'm Going To Go Back There Someday" "Bohemian Rhapsody" "Man or Muppet" Other media Muppet Meeting Films (1975–93) Muppet*Vision 3D (1991–present) Muppet Mobile Lab (2007–present) The Muppet Show Comics Before You Leap Related The Muppets Studio The Walt Disney Company The Jim Henson Company Jim Henson's Creature Shop Sesame Workshop Sesame Street Muppets Portal:Muppets

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2008)

Edgar Bergen
Bergen with his ventriloquist dummy Charlie McCarthy in Stage Door Canteen (1943)
Born	Edgar John Berggren (1903-02-16)February 16, 1903 Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died	September 30, 1978(1978-09-30) (aged 75) Paradise, Nevada, United States
Years active	1930-1978
Spouse	Frances Westerman (1945-1978)

Edgar John Bergen (February 16, 1903 – September 30, 1978) was an American actor and radio performer, best known as a ventriloquist.

Early life[link]

Bergen was born Edgar John Berggren in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Swedish immigrants Nilla Svensdotter (née Osberg) and Johan Henriksson Berggren.^[1] He grew up in Decatur, Michigan. He taught himself ventriloquism from a pamphlet when he was 11. A few years later, he commissioned Chicago woodcarver Theodore Mack to sculpt a likeness of a rascally Irish newspaperboy he knew. The head went on a dummy named Charlie McCarthy, who became Bergen's lifelong sidekick. At age 16, he went to Chicago, where he attended Lake View High School and worked at a silent movie house. He gave his first public performance at Waveland Avenue Congregational Church which was located on the northeast corner of Waveland and Janssen. He lived across the street from the church. In 1965, he gave that church a generous contribution, a thoughtful letter, and a photograph of himself which had been requested by the minister and was displayed in the church's assembly room which was dedicated to Bergen.

[edit] The Chase and Sanborn Hour

His first performances were in vaudeville, at which point he legally changed his last name to the easier-to-pronounce "Bergen". He worked in one-reel movie shorts, but his real success was on the radio. He and Charlie were seen at a New York party by Elsa Maxwell for Noël Coward, who recommended them for an engagement at the famous Rainbow Room. It was there that two producers saw Bergen and Charlie perform. They then recommended them for a guest appearance on Rudy Vallée's program. Their initial appearance (December 17, 1936) was so successful that the following year they were given their own show, as part of The Chase and Sanborn Hour. Under various sponsors (and two different networks), they were on the air from May 9, 1937 to July 1, 1956. The popularity of a ventriloquist on radio, when one could see neither the dummies nor his skill, surprised and puzzled many critics, then and now. Even knowing that Bergen provided the voice, listeners perceived Charlie as a genuine person, but only through artwork rather than photos could the character be seen as truly lifelike. Thus, in 1947, Sam Berman caricatured Bergen and McCarthy for the network's glossy promotional book, NBC Parade of Stars: As Heard Over Your Favorite NBC Station.

Bergen's skill as an entertainer, especially his characterization of Charlie, carried the show (many of which have survived).^{[citation needed]} Bergen's success on radio was paralleled in the United Kingdom by Peter Brough and his dummy Archie Andrews (Educating Archie).

For the radio program, Bergen developed other characters, notably the slow-witted Mortimer Snerd and the man-hungry Effie Klinker. The star remained Charlie, who was always presented as a highly precocious child (albeit in top hat, cape, and monocle) – a debonair, girl-crazy, child-about-town. As a child and a wooden one at that, Charlie could get away with double entendre which were otherwise impossible under broadcast standards of the time.

Charlie: "May I have a kiss good-bye?"

Dale Evans: "Well, I can't see any harm in that!"

Charlie: "Oh. I wish you could. A harmless kiss doesn't sound very thrilling."

Charlie's feud with W. C. Fields was a regular feature of the show.

W.C. Fields: "Well, Charlie McCarthy, the woodpecker's pinup boy!"

Charlie: "Well, if it isn't W.C. Fields, the man who keeps Seagram's in business!"

W.C. Fields: "I love children. I can remember when, with my own little unsteady legs, I toddled from room to room."

Charlie: "When was that? Last night?"

W.C. Fields: "Quiet, Wormwood, or I'll whittle you into a venetian blind."

Charlie: "Ooh, that makes me shutter!"

W.C. Fields: "Tell me, Charles, is it true that your father was a gate-leg table?"

Charlie: "If it is, your father was under it."

W.C. Fields: "Why, you stunted spruce, I'll throw a japanese beetle on you."

Charlie: "Why, you bar-fly you, I'll stick a wick in your mouth, and use you for an alcohol lamp!"

Charlie: "Pink elephants take aspirin to get rid of W. C. Fields."

W.C. Fields: "Step out of the sun Charles. You may come unglued."

Charlie: "Mind if I stand in the shade of your nose?"

Bergen and Charlie with an NBC-produced comic book On the Air, 1947.

Bergen was not the most technically skilled ventriloquist – Charlie McCarthy frequently twitted him for moving his lips  – but Bergen's sense of comedic timing was superb, and he handled Charlie's snappy dialogue with aplomb. Bergen's wit in creating McCarthy's striking personality and that of his other characters was the making of the show. Bergen's popularity as a ventriloquist on radio, where the trick of "throwing his voice" was not visible, suggests his appeal was primarily the personality he applied to his characters.

Bergen and McCarthy are sometimes credited with "saving the world" because, on the night of October 30, 1938, when Orson Welles performed his War of the Worlds radio play hoax that panicked many listeners, most of the American public had instead tuned in to Bergen and McCarthy on another station and never heard Welles' play. Conversely, it has also been theorized that Bergen inadvertently contributed to the hysteria. When the musical portion of Bergen's show, The Chase and Sanborn Hour, aired approximately 12 minutes into the show, many listeners switched stations and found the War of the Worlds presentation already underway with a realistic-sounding reporter detailing terrible events.

Ray Noble was the musical director and composer, and teenage singer Anita Gordon provided the songs on his show. Gordon was said to have been discovered by Charlie, who had a crush on her.

[edit] The Charlie McCarthy Show

In 1949, Bergen went to CBS, with a new weekly program, The Charlie McCarthy Show, sponsored by Coca-Cola.

Comic strip[link]

In addition to his work as a ventriloquist, Bergen was also an actor and comic strip creator. He established the syndicated comic strip Mortimer & Charlie, which ran in newspapers from July 1939 to May 1940, illustrated first by Ben Batsford and then by Carl Buettner. Chase Craig is also believed to have had an uncredited role in the creation of the strip. The comic strip's writer was uncredited, but some of the gags certainly were lifted from the hit radio show.^[2]

Films[link]

in the film Stage Door Canteen (1943) with Mortimer Snerd

As an actor, Bergen portrayed the shy Norwegian suitor in I Remember Mama (1948). He also appeared in Captain China (1949) and Don't Make Waves (1965). Bergen and his alter-ego McCarthy appeared together with top billing in several films, including the Technicolor extravaganza The Goldwyn Follies (1938), opposite the Ritz Brothers. That year they also appeared in You Can't Cheat an Honest Man with W. C. Fields. At the height of their popularity in 1938, Bergen was presented an Honorary Oscar (in the form of a wooden Oscar statuette) for his creation of Charlie McCarthy.

Other film roles for the team include Look Who's Laughing (1941) and Here We Go Again (1942), both with Fibber McGee and Molly. Later, Bergen and McCarthy were featured in Fun and Fancy Free (1947) and much later in The Muppet Movie (1979). Bergen died shortly after completing his scenes in the latter film, marking it as his final public appearance. The film was subsequently dedicated to him. He had earlier appeared in a second season episode of The Muppet Show, a year after his daughter Candice.

Television appearances[link]

Bergen with Ellen Corby in The Homecoming: A Christmas Story.

Although his regular series never made the transition to television, Bergen made numerous appearances on the medium during his career. In a filmed Thanksgiving special, billed as his TV debut, sponsored by Coca-Cola on CBS in 1950, the new character Podine Puffington was introduced. This saucy Southern belle was as tall as a real woman, in contrast to Bergen's other sit-on-the-knee sized characters. Bergen also hosted the television game show Do You Trust Your Wife? in 1956-'57, later succeeded, in a daytime edition, by Johnny Carson. Bergen appeared in the Christmas 1957 episode of NBC's The Gisele MacKenzie Show. In 1958 Bergen appeared with his 12 year old daughter Candice on an episode of You Bet Your Life starring Groucho Marx. In 1959, he appeared in the second episode entitled "Dossier" of the NBC espionage series Five Fingers starring David Hedison. On May 21, 1959, he guest starred with Charlie McCarthy on NBC's The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford.

Bergen continued to appear regularly on television during the 1960s. He guest starred as Charlie in the 1960 episode "Moment of Fear" of CBS's The DuPont Show with June Allyson. He did a stint as one of the What's My Line? mystery guests on the popular Sunday night CBS series. His colleague Paul Winchell happened to be a panel member during that episode.^[3] He also appeared on the NBC interview program Here's Hollywood.

Bergen appeared as Grandpa Walton in the original Waltons movie, The Homecoming: A Christmas Story (1971). The part was played by Will Geer in the subsequent series. Throughout the run of The Waltons—which took place in the late 1930s through the 1940s—the voices of Bergen and Charlie McCarthy were sporadically heard from the Walton family's radio, as family members regularly tuned in for that program.

Family[link]

In 1941, Bergen met Frances Westerman after a radio program when he was 38 and she was 19. Westerman, who had graduated from Los Angeles High School the year before, was in the audience of Bergen's radio program as the guest of a member of his staff. Sitting in the front row, the young fashion model's legs caught Bergen's attention and he asked to meet her. The two were married in Mexico after years of long-distance courtship, on June 28, 1945. On May 9, 1946 Frances gave birth to the future actress Candice Bergen, whose first performances were on Bergen's radio show. They were also the parents of film and television editor Kris Bergen, born October 12, 1961.^[4]

On September 30, 1978, Bergen died in his sleep of kidney disease in Las Vegas, Nevada, at age 75. Bergen died at Caesar's Palace Hotel, just three days after opening, Wednesday September 27, at Caesar's for a two-week engagement that was to be part of his farewell to show business. It was in mid-September that he had announced that he was retiring after 56 years in show business and sending his monocled, top-hatted partner to the Smithsonian Institution.

Today, the iconic wooden Charlie McCarthy rests in Washington D.C.'s Smithsonian Institution. Bergen was interred with his parents (who are buried under their true surname of 'Berggren'), in Inglewood Park Cemetery, Inglewood, California. Edgar Bergen's wife of 33 years, Frances Westerman Bergen, died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, on October 2, 2006, aged 84, from undisclosed causes.^[5] She is also buried in Inglewood Cemetery. In 1990, Bergen was elected to the Radio Hall of Fame, the same year that The Charlie McCarthy Show was selected as an honored program. A message in the closing credits dedicates The Muppet Movie (which featured Edgar and Charlie in their last screen appearance) to the memory and magic of Edgar. In 1991, the United States Postal Service honored him with a 29-cent commemorative stamp.

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Bergen, Candice. Knock Wood.
• Grams, Jr., Martin. "The Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy Show: An Episode Guide and Brief History"
• Strickler, Dave. Syndicated Comic Strips and Artists, 1924-1995: The Complete Index. Cambria, California: Comics Access, 1995. ISBN 0-9700077-0-1
• Funni, Arthur. Thesis: The Radio Years of Bergen and McCarthy. Margaret Herrick Library, 2000.

Listen to[link]

• Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy's first show for The Chase And Sanborn Hour 1937-05-09 (01) Guest: Ann Harding, with a new introduction.
• Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy 1942-05-03 Guest: Judy Garland

External links[link]

Biography portal

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Edgar Bergen

• Edgar Bergen at the Internet Movie Database
• Edgar Bergen at AllRovi
• Edgar Bergen at the National Radio Hall of Fame
• Ventriloquists in Old Time Radio
• Knock On Wood: An Insider's View of Belly Speaking
• "Edgar Bergen". Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=84. Retrieved September 3, 2010. 

Josh Mathews
Josh Mathews in November 2010.
Ring name(s)	Josh Mathews[1]
Billed height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1]
Billed weight	143 lb (65 kg)[2]
Born	(1980-11-25) November 25, 1980 (age 31)[2] Sea Isle City, New Jersey[2]
Billed from	Sea Isle City, New Jersey[1]
Trained by	Al Snow Tazz Jacqueline Moore Tori
Debut	2001[2]
Retired	2006 (from wrestling)

Josh Matthew Lomberger^[2] (born November 25, 1980)^[2] is an American presenter, announcer, and former pro wrestler, better known by the ring name Josh Mathews. He is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment as a commentator/interviewer on all major programming (Raw, SmackDown, WWE Superstars, and PPV).^[1]

Professional wrestling career[link]

Tough Enough and independent promotions (2001–2002)[link]

Lomberger was a runner-up to Maven and Nidia in the first WWE Tough Enough in 2001.^[2] After Tough Enough, Lomberger gained some in-ring experience on the independent circuit and in the X Wrestling Federation, which was run by WWE Hall of Famer Jimmy Hart.^[2]

World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE[link]

[edit] Backstage interviewer and Velocity announcer (2002–2005)

Lomberger was eventually hired by World Wrestling Entertainment, and began using the name "Josh Mathews". In December 2002, he began appearing as the backstage interviewer for the SmackDown! brand and as an announcer on WWE Velocity.^[1][2] He also hosted the WWE webcast Byte This! after Kevin Kelly was released. He later hosted several shows on WWE's official website including Weekly Top 5, The WWE Experience, and WWE After Burn, the latter two of which are televised internationally.^[1]

In 2004 Mathews was given some limited ring-time on SmackDown! when John "Bradshaw" Layfield slapped Mathews for not showing some respect to his chief of staff Orlando Jordan when he was interviewing him. He later offered and was accepted to be Booker T's temporary partner for a tag team match on an episode of SmackDown!. He and Booker ultimately won that match.^[3] He was later assaulted by Jordan and requested from General Manager Theodore Long that he be given a one-on-one match against him. Booker T wanted to be at ringside during the Mathews-Jordan match, as JBL would no doubt be present, and would give Booker T an excuse to beat down JBL before their match at Survivor Series. Mathews would once again emerge victorious against Jordan, with some considerable help from Booker T.^[4] He also tried to help Booker in his WWE Championship match at the Survivor Series, but was given a Clothesline From Hell by JBL for his efforts.^[5] On March 31, 2005 episode of Friday Night SmackDown! Mathews was attacked by Kurt Angle.^[6] Mathews was then (kayfabe) possessed by The Undertaker on the December 9, 2005 episode of Friday Night SmackDown! while interviewing Randy Orton.^[7]

Commentator; Smackdown, Raw, and ECW (2006–present)[link]

Mathews filled in for an absent Todd Grisham on a summer 2006 episode of Raw. He also hosts pre-shows for WWE pay-per-view events, and he provided color commentary on Heat from time to time before the show was cancelled in May 2008.^[8] He was the host of WWE.com's Weekly Top Five when it started and hosted it until April 2009 when he was replaced by Jack Korpela. During Todd Grisham's stint as ECW commentator, Mathews replaced him as Raw's backstage interviewer. Mathews, along with WWE Diva Candice Michelle were WWE's correspondents at both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions in an effort to encourage WWE fans to register to vote for the 2008 Presidential election.^[2]

On the April 7, 2009, episode of ECW, Mathews was announced as the new play-by-play commentator, as the previous commentator, Todd Grisham was moved to SmackDown after Tazz departed WWE.^[9][10] In addition to commentating on ECW and ECW pay-per-view matches, Mathews along with Matt Striker would represent the ECW brand on WWE Superstars every week starting with the inaugural episode on April 16, 2009.^[11] After ECW's closure, Mathews became the Color commentator of WWE NXT. On the April 9, 2010 episode of SmackDown, Mathews was attacked with a sleeper hold by Dolph Ziggler when he was interviewing him. On December 10, Josh Mathews officially replaced Todd Grisham as the play-by-play commentator for SmackDown, commentating alongside Michael Cole.^[12] On the February 4, 2011, episode of SmackDown, Mathews and Cole were joined by Booker T, forming a three-man announce team. Mathews was replaced by William Regal as a commentator on season five of NXT in 2011.

In late 2010, Mathews also very often worked as the color commentator on Raw due to Jerry Lawler's increased in-ring competition. On April 3, 2011, Mathews commentated the majority of WrestleMania XXVII, though he received a 'Stone Cold Stunner' from an angered Stone Cold Steve Austin, cutting his night short.^[13]

Alliance with Jerry Lawler, Booker T and Jim Ross and feud with Michael Cole (2011)[link]

The following night on Raw, Mathews found himself aligned with Jerry "The King" Lawler, and against Michael Cole. He would then become the alternate spokesman for the anonymous Raw General Manager, when Michael Cole is not commentating. On the April 25th edition of Raw, Mathews announced that Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler vs. Michael Cole and Jack Swagger match at Extreme Rules will be a Country Whipping Match, in which Cole and Swagger would win. On the following pay-per-view, at Over the Limit, Mathews supported Lawler, Bret "The Hitman" Hart, and Eve Torres in having Michael Cole kiss Lawler's foot. The following night, again as the spokesman for the anonymous Raw General Manager, Mathews read the e-mail that the General Manager denies The Miz's request for another title shot, seemingly done with John Cena.

Return to Smackdown and WWE Superstars Commentating (2011–present)[link]

He would leave the Raw broadcasting table the following week, after Cole and Lawler (somewhat) reconciled and became a duo again, though he remains on the show as a backstage interviewer alternating with Scott Stanford, his commentary partner for the Raw portion of WWE Superstars. He was reunited with his former ECW and Smackdown broadcast partner Matt Striker on the November 10, 2011 episode of WWE Superstars, commentating on both the Raw and SmackDown portions of the show, Striker and Mathews also called the ECW portion of Superstars at its inception. The Mathews/Striker tandem are the only announce team to call Superstars for all brands Raw, Smackdown and the former ECW brand since the show's inception in April 2009. Mathews and Striker also called the November 9, 2011 broadcast of WWE NXT, thus marking his second return to the show since his run as NXT commentator ended after Season 4. On the April 23, 2012 episode of Monday Night Raw, Josh Matthews was brutally attacked by Brock Lesnar. The following night, it was reported that Josh Mathews injured his ankle. Josh Mathews then returned to commentary on the 1st of May edition of WWE NXT.

In wrestling[link]

• Finishing moves
  • Frog splash^[2]
  • Mathews Neckbreaker(Neckbreaker)

References[link]