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Improv on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles

The Improv is a comedy club franchise. Originally, it was a single venue founded in 1963 by Budd Friedman and located in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City on West 44th near the SE corner of 9th Ave.^[1] A second location was opened in 1974 at 8162 Melrose Avenue in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles, California (the old location of the Ash Grove). The LA Improv was the original site for the A&E Network television series An Evening at the Improv, which ran from 1982 until 1996, and was produced by Larry O'Daly, Created by Larry O'Daly and Barbara Hosie-O'Daly, with Budd Friedman as a warm-up host. Other locations have opened since then, such as in Tampa, Florida,^[2] Fort Lauderdale, Florida,^[2] Atlantic City,^[3] and Louisville, Kentucky.^[2] Levity Entertainment Group is the largest shareholder of The Improv comedy clubs.^[4]

The Improv was the place to see Richard Pryor, Robert Klein, Steve Landesberg, Bette Midler, Lily Tomlin, Jay Leno, and others when they were just starting out. Dustin Hoffman played piano there. On any given night in the later 1970s, one could see Gilbert Gottfried, Joe Piscopo, Bruce Mahler, Mark Schiff, Larry David, and many others. Often famous comedians would walk in to "work out" before appearances on The Tonight Show. It was not unusual to find celebrities in the audience.

Nearly every big name in comedy has played The Improv, including Milton Berle, Drew Carey, George Carlin, Chevy Chase, Bill Cosby, Billy Crystal, Rodney Dangerfield, Jeff Dunham, David Letterman, Steve Martin, Freddie Prinze, Joan Rivers, Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall, Bill Hicks, Ron White, Joe Rogan and Jerry Seinfeld. Even Liza Minnelli appeared at The Improv.

New and upcoming performers have performed there as well. Comedy Central's Dave Attell frequents Improv locations in Tampa and Hollywood. Comics Lewis Black, Mike Birbiglia, Louis CK and Jimmy Fallon have performed at the Improv in Louisville, Kentucky.^[2]

Comedian Eddie Murphy was a regular at The Comic Strip in New York City, but in California performed at the Improv when he was only 15 years old,^{[citation needed]} Jeremy Ruder at 18, and Jim Carrey at 19. Actresses Karen Black and Debra Winger worked there as waitresses before getting their big breaks as movie stars.^{[citation needed]}

Locations[link]

Improv locations, past and present, include:

• New York City, New York^[2]
• Hollywood, California^[1]
• Brea, California^[1]
• Irvine, California^[1]
• Ontario, California^[1]
• San Diego, California^[1]
• San Francisco, California^[1]
• San Jose, California^[2]
• Denver, Colorado^[2]
• Washington, DC^[1]
• Fort Lauderdale, Florida^[2]
• Miami, Florida^[1]
• Orlando, Florida^[2]
• West Palm Beach, Florida^[2]
• Tampa, Florida^[2]
• Schaumburg, Illinois^[2]
• Baltimore, Maryland^[1]
• Lake Tahoe, Nevada^[2]
• Las Vegas, Nevada^[1]
• Reno, Nevada^[1]
• Cleveland, Ohio^[1]
• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania^[1]
• Addison, Texas (Dallas area)^[1]
• Arlington, Texas^[2]
• Houston, Texas^[2]
• Tempe, Arizona^[2]
• Kansas City, Missouri^[2]
• Atlantic City, New Jersey^[3]
• Louisville, Kentucky^[3]
• London, England^[1]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Improv in Louisville, Kentucky
• Interview with Chris Albrecht

References[link]

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. It includes attribution to IMDb, which may not be a reliable source for biographical information. Please help by adding additional, reliable sources for verification. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (November 2007)

Bill Chott (born July 23, 1969) is an American actor and comedian.

Early life[link]

During his school years, Chott appeared in numerous plays and musicals. As a graduate of Ritenour High School he was inducted into the school's hall of fame for his tremendous success. He continued appearing when he was in college at Central Methodist University in Fayette, Missouri, with starring roles in both comedic and dramatic plays and musicals. Leaving St. Louis in 1992, he headed to Chicago, IL and immediately broke into improvisational theater at ComedySportz, IO (formerly known as Improv Olympic), and became one of the creme de la creme of the Second City comedy troupe, where he studied with people such as Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.

Career[link]

Chott toured the country with the Second City (alongside Tina Fey and Amy Poehler) which resulted in his appearance at a gig in New York City in 1995 with The Dana Carvey Show, reuniting him with Carell and Colbert. Working with fellow castmate Robert Smigel, he was cast as the announcer for the animated short The Ambiguously Gay Duo which continued on after The Dana Carvey Show to Saturday Night Live. His movies (in chronological order) include Galaxy Quest, Dude Where's My Car, Brainwarp, Dante's Inferno, Wild Girls Gone, Dancing at the Blue Iguana and The Ringer.

His television appearances (in date order) include The Dana Carvey Show, Third Rock from the Sun, Freaks and Geeks, Popular, ER, Crossballs, Weekends at the DL, CSI, Wizards of Waverly Place, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, She Spies, and Monk. Chott is also a Special Olympics supporter, and this one reason for his character, Thomas, in the Ringer (2005 film).

Partial filmography[link]

• Crossfire (1998)
• Tomorrow Night (1998)
• Galaxy Quest (1999)
• Dancing at the Blue Iguana (2000)
• Dude, Where's My Car? (2000)
• Outpost (2004)
• Nerd Hunter 3004 (2004)
• The Ringer (2005)
• Four Weddings and a Shaadi (2011)
• The Rum Diary (2011)

External links[link]

• Bill Chott at the Internet Movie Database
• theimprovtrick.com
• [1]

Norm Macdonald
Norm Macdonald, September 2009
Birth name	Norman Gene Macdonald
Born	(1963-10-17) October 17, 1963 (age 48) Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
Medium	Stand-up, television, film
Nationality	Canadian
Years active	1987–present
Genres	Satire, political satire, current events, observational comedy
Subject(s)	American culture, American politics, current events, pop culture, sports, mass media/news media/media criticism
Influences	Don Rickles, Bob Newhart[1]
Spouse	Connie Macdonald (1988-?) (divorced) 1 child
Notable works and roles	Weekend Update anchor on Saturday Night Live Norm Henderson on The Norm Show Lucky in Dr. Dolittle Norm the Genie in The Fairly Oddparents Host of Sports Show with Norm Macdonald

Norman Gene "Norm" Macdonald^[2] (born October 17, 1963) is a Canadian stand-up comedian, writer, producer and actor. He is best known for his five seasons as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, which included anchoring Weekend Update for three years. Early in his career, he wrote for the sitcom Roseanne and made appearances on shows including The Drew Carey Show and NewsRadio. He also starred in The Norm Show from 1999 to 2001. Comedy Central named him #83 on the five-part miniseries 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time. He is noted as one of Conan O'Brien's favorite and most frequent guests on his various talk shows. His brother is Canadian journalist Neil Macdonald, of CBC News' Washington, D.C. bureau.^[3]

Starting February 26, 2011, Macdonald became the new host of High Stakes Poker on Game Show Network.^[4] He also hosted Sports Show with Norm Macdonald on Comedy Central, which began airing on April 12, 2011. It was announced on June 7, 2011, that the Sports Show would not be renewed for a second season, reportedly due to low ratings,^[5] even though Sports Show steadily averaged one-million viewers per episode.^[6][7]

Early life[link]

Macdonald was born and raised in Quebec City. His father was Percy Macdonald, a Scottish-Canadian^{[citation needed]} who served with the Canadian Army during World War II and helped liberate the Netherlands. His mother is Ferns Macdonald (née Mains). Macdonald has two brothers, Leslie and Neil, who are both journalists with the CBC.^[8][9]

In the early 1970s, Macdonald attended grade school where his parents taught at Alexander Wolff School, on Canadian Forces Base Valcartier, outside Quebec City. Macdonald has said that he was a student in his father's class, and that he had to call him "Mr. Macdonald" while in class. His father, often described as a very strict man, was his homeroom teacher for two years (grades 6 and 7). After completing 7th grade, Macdonald attended Quebec High School in Quebec City.

Early career[link]

Macdonald began performing stand-up at clubs in Ottawa. His first big break was at the 1987 Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal.^[10]

[edit] Saturday Night Live

Macdonald joined the cast of NBC's Saturday Night Live (SNL) television program in 1993, where he performed impressions of Larry King, Burt Reynolds, David Letterman, Charles Kuralt and Bob Dole, among others. Following Kevin Nealon's departure from SNL, Macdonald anchored the segment Weekend Update. Chevy Chase, the first anchor of Weekend Update, has opined that Macdonald was the "best Weekend Update anchor since - well - Chevy Chase".^[11]

Macdonald's version of Weekend Update often included repeated references to prison rape, crack whores and the Germans' love of Baywatch star David Hasselhoff. Macdonald would occasionally deliver a piece of news, then take out his personal compact tape recorder and leave a "note to self" relevant to what he just discussed. He also commonly and inexplicably used Frank Stallone as a non sequitur punchline. Macdonald repeatedly ridiculed public figures such as Marion Barry, Michael Jackson and O. J. Simpson. Throughout Simpson's trial for murder, Macdonald constantly pilloried the former football star, often heavily implying Simpson was guilty of the brutal slaying of his wife Nicole and her friend Ronald Goldman. In the broadcast following Simpson's acquittal, Macdonald opened Weekend Update by saying: "Well, it's official: murder is legal in the state of California." During the February 24, 1996 episode, Macdonald made a controversial joke about the sentencing of John Lotter, one of the two men who committed the notorious murder of Teena Brandon: "In Nebraska, a man was sentenced to death for killing a female crossdresser, who accused him of rape, and two of her friends. Excuse me if this sounds harsh, but in my mind, they all deserved to die."^{[12] [13]}

After the announcement that Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley planned to divorce, Macdonald joked about their irreconcilable differences on Weekend Update: "She's more of a stay-at-home type, and he's more of a homosexual pedophile." He followed this up a few episodes later with a report about the singer's recent collapse and hospitalization. Referring to a report of how Jackson had decorated his hospital room with giant photographs of Shirley Temple, Macdonald remarked that viewers should not get the wrong idea, adding, "We'd like to remind you that Michael Jackson is, in fact, a homosexual pedophile." The joke elicited audible gasps from some audience members. He responded to this by saying, "What? He is a homosexual pedophile."^[14]

Macdonald's time with Saturday Night Live effectively ended in late 1997, when he was fired from the Weekend Update segment upon the insistence of NBC West Coast Executive Don Ohlmeyer, who pressured the producers to remove him, explaining that Macdonald was "not funny." Some believe that Don Ohlmeyer's friendship with O.J. Simpson — a celebrity whom Macdonald often antagonized on the show — may have fueled Ohlmeyer's decision,^[15][16] but Macdonald has been quoted as saying that he "finds that thesis 'weird' and takes Ohlmeyer's explanation at face value".^[15]

On February 28, 1998, one of his last appearances on SNL occurred as host of a fictitious TV show called Who's More Grizzled?, who asked questions of "mountain men" played by that night's host Garth Brooks and special guest Robert Duvall. In the sketch, Brooks's character said to Macdonald's character, "I don't much care for you," to which Macdonald replied, "A lot of people don't."

In a Late Show with David Letterman interview, Macdonald said that after being fired, he could not "do anything else on any competing show."^[17]

Macdonald went on the Celebrity Jeopardy! sketch on the 34th season finale of SNL when Will Ferrell hosted. Macdonald reprised the impression of Burt Reynolds that he did when he was a regular cast member.

[edit] Characters on SNL

• Stan Hooper, a cynical man who exploits other people. (The short-lived FOX sitcom A Minute With Stan Hooper featured a version of this character).

Celebrity impersonations[link]

Later work[link]

Soon after leaving Saturday Night Live, Macdonald co-wrote and starred in the "revenge comedy" Dirty Work (1998), with Jack Warden, Don Rickles, Chevy Chase, Chris Farley, Artie Lange and Adam Sandler. Later that year, Macdonald voiced the character of Lucky the dog in the Eddie Murphy remake of Dr. Dolittle. He reprised the role in both Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001) and Dr. Dolittle 3 (2006). Macdonald voiced the character of Death on an episode of Family Guy. Due to a conflict with his stand-up comedy schedule, he was unavailable to voice the character for his next appearance; Death has since been voiced by Adam Carolla. In 1999, Macdonald starred in the sitcom The Norm Show (later renamed Norm), co-starring Laurie Metcalf, Artie Lange and Ian Gomez. It ran for three seasons on ABC. Macdonald voiced Hardee's restaurants' (Carl's Jr. on the U.S. west coast) costumed mascot, the Hardee's star in advertisements. Macdonald also appeared on several Miller Lite commercials that year. He appeared on the September 1999 Saturday Night Live primetime special celebrating the program's 25th year on the air. Macdonald was one of only three former Weekend Update anchors to introduce a retrospective on the segment (the others being Chevy Chase and Dennis Miller).

Macdonald returned to Saturday Night Live to host the October 23, 1999 show. In his opening monologue, he expressed resentment at having been fired, then concluded that the only reason he was asked to host was because "the show has gotten really bad" since he left.^[21] The next episode, airing November 6, 1999 and hosted by Dylan McDermott, featured a sketch where Chris Kattan, as the androgynous character Mango, is opening letters from celebrity admirers and, after opening the last one, says "[the letter is from] Norm Macdonald, who is that?" Also in 1999, Macdonald made a cameo appearance in the Andy Kaufman biopic Man on the Moon. When Michael Richards refused to portray himself in the scene re-enacting the famous Fridays incident where Kaufman throws water in his face, Macdonald stepped in to play Richards, although he is never referred to by name.

On Macdonald's first appearance on The Daily Show after Jon Stewart took over, he caused controversy when he said "I'm really glad to see you're hosting the show, man. I hated that other guy." In a previous interview, Macdonald retorted: "I hate that . . . [expletive] 'Daily Show.' I know you critics love it, but it just seems like the most obvious type of comedy." After Jon Stewart got the job he explained his previous comments. "I was joking," he contended. "I love 'The Daily Show.' And I love Jon Stewart. But in print, you can't italicize irony, know what I mean? It's all just words. A guy could say right now: 'I hate David Letterman. I really hate him.' And you could print that. But don't print it."

In 2000, Macdonald starred in his second motion picture, Screwed, which, like Dirty Work, fared poorly at the box office.

On November 12, 2000, Macdonald appeared on the Celebrity Edition of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? winning $500,000.00 for Paul Newman's Charity Camp. Macdonald could have won a million dollars, but admitted he was too nervous to go for it. Had he done so, his initial guess at the million dollar question (The Greenbrier) would have been correct. Prior to entering the Hot Seat, he got his own personalized Fastest Finger question, which asked him to "Put the following letters in order to spell a popular man's name", with the four answers being all four letters in his name, spelled out in order as the correct order.

Macdonald continued to make appearances on television shows and in films, including Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo and The Animal, all of which starred fellow Saturday Night Live alumnus Rob Schneider and were produced by Adam Sandler. In 2003 he played the title character in the Fox sitcom A Minute with Stan Hooper, which was canceled after six episodes.

In 2005, Macdonald signed a deal with Comedy Central to create a new sketch comedy pilot called Back to Norm, which debuted that May. The pilot was never turned into a series. Its infamous cold opening parodied the suicide of Budd Dwyer, a Pennsylvania politician who, facing decades of incarceration, committed suicide on live television in 1987. Rob Schneider appeared in the pilot. Also in 2005, Macdonald performed as a voice actor, portraying a genie named Norm, on two episodes of the cartoon series The Fairly Odd Parents. But he could not return for the third episode, "Fairy Idol", due to a scheduling conflict. In 2006, Macdonald again performed as a voice actor, this time in a series of commercials for Canadian cellphone services provider Bell Mobility, as the voice of "Frank the Beaver". The campaign had a commercial tie-in with the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin and with the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The ads ran heavily on CBC during the Olympics and throughout the National Hockey League's postseason. Due to its success, the campaign was extended throughout 2006, 2007 and into 2008 to promote offerings from other Bell Canada divisions such as Bell Sympatico Internet provider and Bell TV satellite service.^[22] In August 2008, the new management at Bell decided that they would go in a different direction with advertising, and would no longer be using the beavers.

In September 2006, Macdonald's sketch comedy album, Ridiculous, was released by Comedy Central Records. It features appearances by Will Ferrell, Jon Lovitz, Tim Meadows, Molly Shannon and Artie Lange. On September 14, 2006, Macdonald appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to promote Ridiculous. During the appearance, Macdonald made some jokes about the recent death of Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter. Stewart, holding back laughter, asked Norm to change the subject, but he kept going and Stewart kept trying to hold back the laughter. Macdonald was a guest character on My Name Is Earl in the episode "Two Balls, Two Strikes" as "Lil Chubby", the son of "Chubby" (played by Burt Reynolds), similar to Macdonald's portrayals of Reynolds on SNL.

In the 2007 World Series of Poker, he came in 20th place out of 827 entrants in the $3,000 No Limit Texas Hold 'em event, winning $14,608.^[23] He also made it to round two of the $5,000 World Championship of Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em. On the comedy website, Super Deluxe, he has created an animated series entitled "The Fake News".^[24] Norm has filled in during Dennis Miller's weekly O'Reilly Factor "Miller Time" segment on January 2, 2008, and guest-hosted Dennis Miller's radio show on January 3, 2008. Norm had also been a regular contributor on Miller's show every Friday, prior to an unexplained absence that left Miller wondering on-air if the show had somehow miffed Norm. Macdonald returned after many months on May 30, 2008, but not before missing a scheduled appearance the day before. He also hosted Miller's radio show for the second time on July 16, 2008, along with friend Stevie Ray Fromstein.

On June 19, 2008, Macdonald was a celebrity panelist on two episodes of a revived version of the popular game show Match Game, which was taped at CBS Television City in Los Angeles. The new version featured the same set used in the early years of the 1970s version and also starred comedienne Sarah Silverman as a fellow celebrity panelist.^[25] On August 17, 2008, Norm was a participant in the Comedy Central Roast of Bob Saget, performing intentionally cheesy and G-rated material that contrasted greatly with the raunchy performances of the other roasters. In AT&T commercials around Christmas 2007 and 2008, Macdonald voiced a gingerbread boy wanting a prepaid mobile phone from his dad (voiced by Steve Buscemi), who repeatedly rebuilds his house because "people won't stop eating it".^[26] The ad was for AT&T's GoPhone. Norm is working on a program for the FX network called The Norm Macdonald Reality Show, in which he plays a fictional, down-on-his-luck version of himself.^[27] On the May 16, 2009, episode of Saturday Night Live, Macdonald reappeared as Burt Reynolds on Celebrity Jeopardy!. He also appeared in another sketch later on playing the guitar. On May 31, 2009, he appeared on Million Dollar Password.

Macdonald became a frequent guest on The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien during its 2009 and 2010 run. Norm was among the first guests on O'Brien's Tonight Show, and appeared also during the show's final week. Initially, The Tonight Show faced network opposition to bringing Norm on so early in the show's run, and Norm having nothing but local stand-up appearances to promote on-air. Despite this, O'Brien's insistence prevailed and Norm's first and subsequent appearances were highlights of O'Brien's brief Tonight Show run. Norm was a guest on Conan's new TBS show, Conan on May 17, 2011. Macdonald has also made frequent appearances on the internet talk show Tom Green's House Tonight, and on May 20, 2010, he guest hosted the show.

In September 2010, it was reported that Macdonald was developing a new series for Comedy Central that he described as a sports version of The Daily Show.^[28] As of April 2011, the show was titled Sports Show with Norm Macdonald and premiered on April 12 on Comedy Central.^[29] The Sports Show was not renewed, reportedly due to low ratings, after all nine ordered episodes were broadcast. Macdonald's first stand-up special, Me Doing Stand-Up, aired on Comedy Central on March 26.^[30] On May 23, 2011 Comedy Central announced the release an audio CD and DVD of the special on June 14 on Comedy Central Records, and Home Entertainment.^[31] The CD will be made available digitally and physically. Both releases will contain uncensored and unseen material from the special, and the DVD features will include the sitcom pilot Back To Norm, an animated featurette The Twelve Days Of Christmas, and Norm's appearance on The Comedy Central Roast of Bob Saget.^[32]

Macdonald is currently the commentator and co-host of the seventh season of High Stakes Poker on Game Show Network along with Kara Scott.

Politics[link]

Despite referring to himself as apolitical, Macdonald has made controversial references to politically charged issues. At the end of the last Weekend Update segment before the 1996 presidential election, Norm urged viewers to vote for Bob Dole (of whom Macdonald frequently performed a comic impersonation), though hinting that he had solely said it so that he could continue impersonating him.

On the November 16, 2000 episode of The View Macdonald said that he thought George W. Bush was "a decent man" and he called Bill Clinton a "murderer" (regarding the Vince Foster case). Macdonald later stated in Maxim magazine that he is completely apolitical, and that he was joking when he said Clinton "killed a guy" (he further explained on The Adam Carolla Show that the comments were simply designed to anger Barbara Walters). In a phone interview he later clarified his views on George W. Bush and the Iraq war thusly: "I wish there was another president, a different president engaging the war, since we're in the war because I don't think Bush did a very good job with it. The war itself, you know, if it works it was worth it. But I don't know if it's going to work, so I don't know."^[33]

In 2003, Macdonald appeared on Barbara Walters's program The View, publicly renouncing his Canadian citizenship as a joke over his home country's decision not to participate in the Iraq War, stated his belief that Ronald Reagan was the greatest president ever and said that he would be becoming a naturalized citizen of the United States. Later he affirmed that he was joking about renouncing his Canadian citizenship, stating in a telephone interview that "I'm not an American citizen. I'm a Canadian citizen. I just keep renewing my green card... I don't want to be American." He further burnished his apolitical stance in regards to both America and Canada saying that he was not eligible to vote in American elections and never voted in Canadian elections either: "I figured since I never did when I was in Canada... I never voted because I don't want to make a mistake. I'm so uninformed that I don't want that on my hands, you know?"^[33]

On the January 2, 2008 episode of The O'Reilly Factor, Macdonald stated that he is "very pro-life, but against the death penalty." His friend Artie Lange would soon afterwards confirm these opinions as sincere on The Howard Stern Show.

Views on comedy[link]

Speaking about Canada's homegrown comedy industry, Macdonald reflected that he would have liked there to have been more opportunity for him to stay in the country early in his career, stating:

"Now I know there's more of, like, an industry there. Like, I was happy that Brent Butt got that show. Because he's a really funny guy. But there wasn't that opportunity when I was there. I remember Mike McDonald had one short-lived series, but that was about it. Otherwise there was nothing to do. But it was great with standup. It was way, way better with standup than in the States. Like, I think the standups are generally much better in Canada. Because, like, when I was in Canada, none of us had any ambition to movies or TV because there were no movies or television. So it was all standup and we just assumed we'd be standups for our whole lives and that was what was fun. And then when I came to the States, I realized, whoa, they don't take their standup very seriously here because they're just trying to do something other than standup and using standup as, like, a springboard to something else that they're generally not as good at."^[33]

Reflecting on the state of modern comedy, Macdonald bemoans the influx of dramatic actors into comedy and comedians into dramatic acting:

"What young, handsome person is funny? I remember on Saturday Night Live hosts would come in. You know, like handsome hosts. They'd be dramatic actors generally. And the publicist would always be like, 'This is a big chance for this guy because he's really a funny guy and people don't know it. He's hilarious!' And then he'd just suck, you know?...I always liked Steve Martin when he was crazy. Because dramatic actors know how to be likeable and stuff. To me, if you've got a guy like Steve Martin or Jim Carrey or something, who are unbelievably funny, I don't know why they'd want to be dramatic actors when they have no chance. They're completely outclassed by actual dramatic actors. How many funny comedy actors are there? There's like a million great dramatic actors. I don't know why they'd want to switch. I guess to get respect or something, I don't know."^[33]

Filmography[link]

Footnotes[link]

External links[link]

• Norm Macdonald at the Internet Movie Database
• Norm Macdonald on Myspace
• Norm Macdonald on Twitter
• Norm Macdonald on Tom Green Live, 10 February 2007
• Norm Macdonald on Tom Green Live, 31 January 2007

Sally Kellerman starred with James Caan and Peter Boyle in Slither 1973

Sally Kellerman
Sally Kellerman, November 1979
Born	Sally Clare Kellerman (1937-06-02) June 2, 1937 (age 75) Long Beach, California, United States
Occupation	Actress, producer, singer, voice-over
Years active	1957–present
Spouse	Jonathan D. Krane (1980-present; separated) Rick Edelstein (1970-1975; divorced)

Sally Clare Kellerman (born June 2, 1937)^[1] is an American actress and singer known for her role as Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan in the film MASH (1970), for which she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

Early life[link]

Sally Clare Kellerman was born in Long Beach, California, to Edith Baine (née Vaughn) and John Helm Kellerman.^[2] She attended Hollywood High School, and went on to Los Angeles City College. She also studied at the Actor's Studio in New York City with Jeff Corey, Shirley Knight, Jack Nicholson, Dean Stockwell and Robert Blake.

Singing career[link]

Kellerman already had a recording contract with Verve Records when she was eighteen. After giving a performance in Robert Altman's Brewster McCloud, she recorded her first demo with Lou Adler and then went into the recording studio with arranger/producer Gene Paige to record Roll With The Feelin, an album for Decca Records. She also contributed to the musical film Lost Horizon (1973), in which she collaborated with Burt Bacharach, Liv Ullman, and Olivia Hussey; the soundtrack was released by Razor & Tie.

Kellerman sang again in the independent film Open House (2004) opposite Ann Magnuson, Anthony Rapp and Kellie Martin. She was a hit in Teatro ZinZanni in the same year.^[3][4]

In September 2008, Kellerman contributed to the song "I Thought About You" in a duet with singer Ray Brown, Jr. (son of Ella Fitzgerald and Ray Brown) on Brown, Jr.'s duets CD titled Friends and Family. She also released a jazz and blues album, Sally, in 2009.

Selected television work[link]

She portrayed psychiatrist Dr. Elizabeth Dehner in "Where No Man Has Gone Before", the second pilot for Star Trek (1966). She also appeared in The Outer Limits (1963) episodes "The Human Factor" with James B. Sikking, "The Bellero Shield" with Martin Landau, written by Joseph Stefano, Centennial (1978), and in the 1998 Columbo episode "Ashes To Ashes"

She recently guest-starred in the popular CW hit teen drama series 90210 as the character 'Marla', an aging Hollywood actress with signs of dementia and thoughts of assisted suicide.

She also guest starred in The Hawaii Five O series.

Personal life[link]

Kellerman was briefly married to director Rick Edelstein (1970–1971). Since 1980 she has been married to producer Jonathan Krane. On April 3, 1976, the single Sally was released by the seminal power trio Grand Funk Railroad in tribute. She and the band's Mark Farner had a serious relationship at that time. The song also featured on the band's Born to Die album in 1976 and many subsequent hit compilations. She has one daughter, Claire, her niece, whom she adopted in 1976 when Sally's sister, Claire's birth mother, moved to France and Claire's father died two days after giving permission for the adoption. She and Krane are parents to adopted twins, Jack and Hannah.^{[citation needed]}

Selected filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Sally Kellerman at the Internet Movie Database
• Sally Kellerman at MySpace
• Sally Kellerman at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
• Sally Kellerman at Yahoo! Movies

Jim Carrey
Carrey at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival
Born	James Eugene Carrey (1962-01-17) January 17, 1962 (age 50) Newmarket, Ontario, Canada
Occupation	Actor, comedian, producer
Years active	1979–present
Height	6' 2"
Spouse	Melissa Womer (1987–1995) Lauren Holly (1996–1997)
Partner	Jenny McCarthy (2005–2010) Anastasia Vitkina (2011–present)
Children	1
Website
JimCarrey.com

James Eugene "Jim" Carrey (born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian, and producer. Carrey has received four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning two. Known for his highly energetic, slapstick performances, he has been described as one of the biggest movie stars in Hollywood.^[1]

Carrey first gained recognition in 1990 after landing a recurring role in the sketch comedy In Living Color. His first leading roles in major productions came with Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994), Dumb and Dumber (1994), The Mask (1994), and Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995). In 1997, he gave a critically acclaimed performance in Liar Liar, which earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actor. He then starred in the critically acclaimed hits The Truman Show (1998) and Man on the Moon (1999), both garnering him two Golden Globe Awards for Best Actor.

In 2000, he gained further recognition for his portrayal of the The Grinch in How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Three years later, Carrey starred in the major blockbuster film Bruce Almighty (2003). The following year he starred in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), for which he received another Golden Globe nomination in addition to a BAFTA Award nomination. He then starred in popular productions Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004), Fun with Dick and Jane (2005), Yes Man (2008), A Christmas Carol (2009), and Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011).

He is set to star in Burt Wonderstone in 2013 as Steve Gray, in addition to reprising his role as Lloyd Christmas in Dumb and Dumber 2 in 2014. He is also set to star as Mr. Applegate in a film adaption of the broadway musical Damn Yankees.

Early life[link]

Carrey was born in Newmarket, Ontario, the son of Kathleen (née Oram), a homemaker, and Percy Carrey, a musician and accountant.^[2][3] He has three older siblings, John, Patricia, and Rita. He was raised Roman Catholic.^[4][5] His mother was of French,  Irish,  and Scottish descent^[6] and his father was of French Canadian ancestry (the family's original surname was Carré).^[7][8] After his family moved to Scarborough, Ontario, when Carrey was 14 years old, he attended Blessed Trinity Catholic School, in North York, for two years, enrolled at Agincourt Collegiate Institute for another year, then briefly attended Northview Heights Secondary School for the remainder of his high school career (all together, he spent three years in Grade 10).

Carrey lived in Burlington, Ontario, for eight years and attended Aldershot High School, where he once opened for 1980s new wave band Spoons. In a Hamilton Spectator interview (February 2007), Carrey remarked, "If my career in show business hadn't panned out I would probably be working today in Hamilton, Ontario at the Dofasco steel mill." When looking across the Burlington Bay toward Hamilton, he could see the mills and thought, "Those were where the great jobs were."^[9] At this point, he already had experience working in a science testing facility in Richmond Hill, Ontario.

Career[link]

Early work[link]

While struggling to obtain work and making a name for himself, Carrey's father decided to help the young comedian put together a stage act, driving him to Toronto to debut at comedy club Yuk Yuk's.^[10] Unfortunately, Carrey's impersonations bombed and this gave him doubts about his capability as a professional entertainer. His family, at the time, were struggling financially meaning it was difficult for them to support Carrey's ambitions. Eventually, the family's financial problems were soon dealt with and they moved into a new home.^[10] With a now more domestic stability, Carrey worked up the nerve to return to the stage with a more polished act. In a short period of time, Carrey went from open mic nights to regular paid shows; a growing reputation building in the process. One reviewer in the Toronto Star raved that Carrey was "a genuine star coming to life."^[11] Carrey was soon noticed by comedian Rodney Dangerfield, who signed the young comedian to open Dangerfield's tour performances.^[12] He eventually brought Carrey to Las Vegas, after which he decided to move to Hollywood. Carrey began performing at The Comedy Store and in 1982, appeared on the televised stand-up show An Evening at the Improv.^[13] The following year, he debuted his act on The Tonight Show.^[14]

Despite his increasing popularity as a stand-up comedian, Carrey turned his attention to the film and television industries, auditioning to be a cast member for the 1980–1981 season of NBC's Saturday Night Live. Carrey was not selected for the position (although he did host the show in May 1996, and again in January 2011^[15] ). He was, after a period of time, cast in seveal low-budget films: Rubberface (1981) playing a struggling young comic, and Copper Mountain (1983) playing a sex-starved teen, the latter including his impersonation of Sammy Davis Jr. Since the film had a less than one hour runtime consisting largely of musical performances by Rita Coolidge and Ronnie Hawkins, it was not considered a full-length feature film.

In 1984, Carrey was soon cast, surprisingly, as the lead in the NBC sitcom The Duck Factory, in which he played a quirky young artist alongside Jay Tarses. However, the show was unceremoniously cancelled during its first season. Despite the sudden cancellation, Carrey landed supporting roles in several low-budget films: Once Bitten (1985), Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), and The Dead Pool (1988). When Carrey returned to stand-up, he retired his old act vowing that he didn't want to be famous for imitating other people; "Some nights it was a melee, literally, where I'd be standing trying to defend myself for what I was doing. People would be screaming at me to do my old act, and getting actually violent and angry at me,".^[14] While many thought he was "crazy" for retiring his old act, others were increasingly interested in what Carrey was attempting to do, Judd Apatow in particular. The pair struck up a friendship and soon began writing material together.

Carrey continued to land small roles in film and television productions, which led to a friendship with fellow comedian Damon Wayans, who co-starred with Carrey as an extraterrestrial in 1989's Earth Girls Are Easy. Damon soon introduced Carrey to his brother Keenen, who at the time, was creating a sketch comedy show known as In Living Color, for the new Fox network. Carrey eventually landed a recurring role in the show which first aired on April 15, 1990. By the third season, Carrey was one of the few remaining original cast members and was ready to move onto bigger things, after agreeing to take on his first lead role in a Hollywood blockbuster film.

Rise to fame[link]

Carrey did not experience true stardom until landing the lead role in the slapstick comedy Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994), which premiered only months before In Living Color ended. Despite agreeing to play the title character, Carrey would only take the role if he was allowed to rewrite the script, mostly to suit his over-the-top visions. The film, while dismissed by most critics, was an international hit, and transformed Carrey into a bankable box-office star overnight. In that same year, he landed two lead roles in The Mask and Dumb and Dumber, respectively. The Mask garnered him his first Golden Globe Award for Best Actor nomination, with Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times praising him for his "joyful performance".^[16] Well-received by critics, Dumb and Dumber was a commercial success, grossing over $270 million worldwide,^[17] and again boosting Carrey's fanbase.

Carrey in Madrid, Spain on December 13, 2008.

In 1995, Carrey starred in the Joel Schumacher-directed superhero film Batman Forever, in which Batman tries to stop Two-Face and the Riddler (played by Carrey) in their villainous scheme to drain information from all the brains in Gotham City. The feature received reasonable reviews upon release with most criticism aimed towards the movie's "blatant commercialism", as stated by Peter Travers.^[18] In that same year, Carrey reprised his role as Ace Ventura in Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls. Like the original film, it was well-received by the public but heavily criticised by critics. However, it was a huge box-office success, earning $212 million worldwide in addition to breaking records, with a $40 million opening weekend.^[19] Carrey earned $20 million for his next film, The Cable Guy (1996). Directed by Ben Stiller, Carrey played a lonely, slightly menacing cable TV installer who infiltrates the life of one of his customers (played by Matthew Broderick). The film tested Carrey's boundaries of his tried and true "hapless, hyper, overconfident" characters that he is known for regularly playing. However, it did not fare well with critics, many reacting towards Carrey's change of tone to previous films.^[20] Despite the reviews, The Cable Guy grossed $102 million worldwide.^[21]

He soon bounced back in 1997 with the critically acclaimed comedy Liar Liar, playing Fletcher Reede, an incredibly successful lawyer who has built his career on lying, regularly breaking promises that he makes to his son Max. Max soon makes a birthday wish that for just one day, his dad can't tell a lie. Carrey was praised for his performance, earning a second Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actor. Janet Maslin of The New York Times said, "Well into his tumultuous career, Mr. Carrey finally turns up in a straightforward comic vehicle, and the results are much wilder and funnier than this mundane material should have allowed."^[22]

Critical acclaim[link]

The following year he decided to take a pay cut to play the serious role of Truman Burbank in the satirical comedy-drama film The Truman Show (1998).^[23] The film was highly praised and brought Carrey further international acclaim, leading many to believe he would be nominated for an Oscar.^[24] However, he did pick up his first Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama. The Truman Show was a commercial success also, earning $264 million worldwide against a budget of $60 million.^[25][26] According to a Film4 critic, the film, "...allows Carrey to edge away from broad comedy." but nonetheless called it "A hilarious and breathtakingly conceived satire..."^[27] That same year, Carrey appeared as a fictionalized version of himself on the final episode of Garry Shandling's The Larry Sanders Show, in which he deliberately ripped into Shandling's character. In 1999, Carrey had the lead role in Man on the Moon. He portrayed comedian Andy Kaufman to critical acclaim,^[28] with many believing that Carrey would finally be nominated for Best Actor. He again received his second Golden Globe Award for the second consecutive year. Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times commented on Carrey's performance stating, "A brilliant, almost terrifying impersonation."

In 2000, Carrey reteamed with the Farrelly Brothers, who had directed him in Dumb and Dumber, in the comedy classic, Me, Myself & Irene, a film that received mixed reviews^[29] but enjoyed box office success. Carrey played the role of state trooper Charlie Baileygates, who has multiple personalities and romances a woman portrayed by Renée Zellweger. That same year, Carrey starred in the second highest grossing Christmas film of all time, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, playing the title character, for which he received praise and criticism.^[30] The film garnered him his third Golden Globe Award nomination in addition to countless other nominations and several wins.

For his next feature film, Carrey starred opposite Jennifer Aniston and Morgan Freeman in Tom Shadyac's international hit comedy Bruce Almighty (2003). Carrey played a TV newsman who unexpectedly receives God's omnipotent abilities when the deity decides to take a break. The film received mixed reviews upon release^[31] but despite this was a financial success, earning over $484 million worldwide, and going on to become the seventeenth highest-grossing live action comedy of all time. The film has since gained a cult following.^[19][32] In 2004, Carrey starred in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The film received overwhelming acclaim upon release; Carrey was highly praised for his portrayal of Joel Barish, in addition to his co-star Kate Winslet, who received an Oscar nomination. According to CNN's reviewer Paul Clinton, Carrey's performance was "the best, most mature and sharply focused performance ever."^[33] He received his fourth Golden Globe Award nomination, and was also nominated for his first BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.

Carrey at the Yes Man premiere in 2008

Carrey's next appearance was in the 2004 black comedy drama film Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, which was based on the popular children's novels of the same name. The film received a positive reception, with Desson Thomson from The Washington Post commenting on Carrey's approach to the character of Count Olaf, stating "Olaf is a humorless villain in the book. He's not amusing like Carrey at all. To which I would counter: If you can't let Carrey be Carrey, put someone boring and less expensive in the role. In his various disguises he's rubbery, inventive and improvisationally inspired. I particularly liked his passing imitation of a dinosaur."^[34][35] That same year, Carrey was inducted into the Canadian Walk of Fame.^[36] In 2005, Carrey starred in a remake of Fun with Dick and Jane, playing Dick, a husband who becomes a bank robber after he loses his job. The film was dismissed by most critics but did manage to become a box office hit.

Continued success[link]

In 2007, Carrey reunited with Joel Schumacher, director of Batman Forever, for The Number 23, a psychological thriller co-starring Virginia Madsen and Danny Huston. In the film, Carrey plays a man who becomes obsessed with the number 23, after finding a book about a man with the same obsession. The film was lauded by critics and did not fare well at the box office. The following year Carrey provided his voice for Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! (2008). Carrey voiced the beloved elephant for the CGI-animated feature, which received overwhelmingly positive reviews and delivered family crowds en masse. The film was also a box office success raking in over $290 million worldwide.^[37] Later in the year, Carrey returned to live action comedy, starring opposite Zooey Deschanel and Bradley Cooper in Yes Man (2008). Carrey played down-and-out man, Carl Allen, who had gone nowhere in life, thanks to always saying no to everything, until he signs up for a self-help program that teaches him the power of saying yes. Despite reviews being mixed, Rene Rodriquez of The Miami Herald stated, "Yes Man is fine as far as Jim Carrey comedies go, but it's even better as a love story that just happens to make you laugh."^[38] The film had a decent performance at the box office, earning $225 million worldwide.

Since 2009, Carrey's work has included a leading role in Glenn Ficarra and John Requa's I Love You Phillip Morris, premiering in January 2009 at the Sundance Film Festival before receiving a wide release in February 2010. Carrey portrayed Steven Jay Russell, a con artist, imposter and multiple prison escapee who falls in love with his fellow inmate, Phillip Morris (played by Ewan McGregor). The film received largely positive reviews with Damon Wise of The Times giving the film four stars out of five, stating, "I Love You Phillip Morris" is an extraordinary film that serves as a reminder of just how good Carrey can be when he's not tied into a generic Hollywood crowd-pleaser. His comic timing remains as exquisite as ever."^[39]

For the first time in his career, Carrey portrayed multiple characters in Disney's 3D animated take on the classic Charles Dickens tale, A Christmas Carol (2009), voicing Ebenezer Scrooge and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, the film also starred Robin Wright Penn, Bob Hoskins, Colin Firth, Gary Oldman and Cary Elwes. The film received reasonable reviews and was a financial success. In 2011, Carrey landed the lead role in Mr. Popper's Penguins, playing Thomas "Tom" Popper Jr. a realtor who becomes the caretaker of a family of penguins. The film received a mixed reception upon release.^[40] He is set to star alongside former co-star Steve Carell in the Don Scardino-directed comedy film Burt Wonderstone (2013). Carrey will play Steve Gray, a dangerous street magician who overshadows Burt Wonderstone (played by Carell), a formerly successful magician whos partnership with another magician ends; Gray must convince Burts old partner to return to the act. Carrey entered negotiations for the role in October 2011. Principal photography began on January 10, 2012 and concluded on March 13. The film is currently in post-production.

On April 1, 2012 it was confirmed that Carrey, along with Jeff Daniels, would return for Dumb and Dumber 2. Bobby and Peter Farrelly are scheduled to direct and write the script, with the movie going into production in September 2012.^[41]

As of April 2012, Carrey's films have grossed over $4.6 billion worldwide, unadjusted for inflation.^[42]

Personal life[link]

Relationships[link]

Carrey with his family at the Horton Hears a Who! premiere in 2008.

Carrey has been married twice. His first marriage was to former actress and Comedy Store waitress Melissa Womer, whom he married on March 28, 1987. The two divorced in 1995. A year later Carrey married his Dumb and Dumber co-star Lauren Holly, on September 23, 1996; the marriage lasted less than a year.^[43] In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Carrey was involved in a series of relationships, including Laurie Holden, January Jones, and Anine Bing. In addition, Carrey had a much-publicized yet short-lived romance with his Me, Myself and Irene co-star Renée Zellweger, whom he dated, and at one point engaged, from 1999 to 2000.^[44]

Carrey met model and actress Jenny McCarthy in 2005 and made their relationship public in June 2006. In April 2010, the two ended their near five-year relationship.^[45] Despite the split and media circulations, McCarthy stated in October 2010 that, "Jim and I are still good friends".^[46]

Family[link]

Carrey has one child, a daughter named Jane Erin Carrey (born September 6, 1987 in Los Angeles County) from his first marriage.^[47] Carrey announced via his Twitter account on February 27, 2010, in Los Angeles^[48] that his daughter had given birth to her first child with musician husband Alex Santana. He announced that his grandson's name was Jackson Riley Santana.

Citizenship[link]

Carrey received U.S. citizenship in October 2004 and remains a dual citizen of both the United States and his native Canada.^[49]

Beliefs[link]

Carrey has been a critic of the scientific consensus that no evidence links the childhood MMR vaccination to the development of autism, and wrote an article questioning the merits of vaccination and vaccine research for the Huffington Post.^[50] With former partner Jenny McCarthy, Carrey led a "Green Our Vaccines" march in Washington, D.C., to advocate for the removal of toxins from children's vaccines, out of a belief that children had received "too many vaccines, too soon, many of which are toxic".^[51]

Filmography[link]

Actor[link]

Producer[link]

Other appearances[link]

Other accolades[link]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Jim Carrey

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jim Carrey

• Official website
• Jim Carrey at the Internet Movie Database
• Jim Carrey's channel on YouTube
• Jim Carrey on Twitter