| Patton Oswalt |
Patton Oswalt after a performance at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in 2006 |
| Born |
January 27, 1969 (1969-01-27) (age 39)
Portsmouth, Virginia |
| Medium |
Stand-up, Television, Film |
| Nationality |
American |
| Years active |
1988 - Present |
| Genres |
Observational comedy, Surreal humor, Black comedy |
| Subject(s) |
Pop culture, American culture |
| Influences |
Jonathan Winters, Richard Pryor, Emo Philips, Louis C.K., Bugs Bunny, Bill Hicks, Blaine Capatch, Bobcat Goldthwait, Jay Leno, Steve Martin[1] |
| Notable works and roles |
Spence Olchin in The King of Queens
Remy in Ratatouille
Frat Aliens, and Ezekiel in Aqua Teen Hunger Force |
| Website |
Official website |
Patton Oswalt (born January 27, 1969) is an American stand-up comedian, voiceover artist and actor.
Biography
Personal life
Oswalt was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, to Carla and Larry J. Oswalt. He is a 1987 graduate of Broad Run High School in Ashburn, Virginia, and attended the College of William and Mary, where he majored in English and was initiated into the Alpha Theta Chapter of the Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity.
Oswalt married writer Michelle McNamara, on September 24, 2005.[2]
Career
Oswalt first began headlining comedy clubs in 1996. After writing for MADtv and starring in his own 1997 comedy special for HBO, he went on to garner notable roles in films and television shows. His most prominent and long-running role was as Spence Olchin on The King of Queens. His most notable film role was as the voice of Rémy, the lead character in the 2007 Pixar film Ratatouille. He has also appeared in smaller roles in such films as Magnolia and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. He lent his voice as in the Playstation 2 video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas as a caller on the WTCR show "The Tight End Zone," and was the voice of a caller on "Chatterbox" on LCFR in the PlayStation Portable game Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories. He was also the voice of a reporter on "New World Order", a radio show on VCPR in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories.
Oswalt wrote the comic book JLA: Welcome to the Working Week, a backup story in Batman #600, a story for Dwight T. Albatross's The Goon Noir #01 and a story for Masks: Too Hot for TV. Expanding his voice artist repertoire, he will voice a character in the upcoming PBS Kids GO! show The Amazing Colossal Adventures of WordGirl.
In July 2006, Oswalt's comic script "Fruit Pies!" was turned into a short film available at YouTube and MySpace. He also appeared on the Comedy Central Roast of William Shatner. In August 2007, he appeared on the Comedy Central Roast of Flavor Flav. In 2007, he appeared on an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants, "The Original Fry Cook," as Jim. He also appears as Carl, the Corndog Hut's mascot in American Hi-Fi's music video for "Another Perfect Day". On June 27, 2007, Oswalt was a special guest on the Emeril Live program on the Food Network to promote Ratatouille.
Oswalt returned to his high school in 2008 to deliver the commencement speech at the graduation.
Oswalt recently completed filming in an upcoming comedy-drama titled Big Fan, written and directed by former The Onion editor and The Wrestler writer Robert D. Siegel.
Stand-up comedy
He started doing standup in San Francisco. Upon moving to Los Angeles, he began performing at Un-Cabaret.
Oswalt's style of stand-up comedy is often described as acerbic and sarcastic, and it covers topics ranging from pop culture frivolity such as comic book supervillains and 1980s glam metal to deeper societal issues like American excess, rampant materialism, Mesopotamian cuneiform script, foreign policy and religion (Oswalt is an avowed atheist himself.[3]).
In 2004, Oswalt released a comedy album entitled Feelin' Kinda Patton and later that year a longer, unedited version of the same performance entitled 222, both through the United Musicians collective, and a stand-up special "No Reason to Complain." He is also on a split EP called, Patton vs. Alcohol vs. Zach vs. Patton with Zach Galifianakis. On July 10, 2007, Patton released his second CD Werewolves and Lollipops on Sub Pop records.
In 2004, Oswalt put together the Comedians of Comedy tour, comprised of modern alt-comics Zach Galifinakis, Brian Posehn and Maria Bamford. The tour performed at smaller, more intimate indie rock venues instead of traditional (and expensive) comedy clubs. The Fall 2004 tour was documented in a 2005 film of the same name, and was followed by a six-episode Comedy Central series based on the Summer 2005 tour. This tour featured special guest appearances from comedians such as Blaine Capatch, Bobby Tisdale and Todd Barry. Subsequent incarnations of the tour have included Eugene Mirman, and Morgan Murphy.
Recently, Oswalt has appeared as a "lawyer" in Lewis Black's Root of All Evil. At the 2008 BlizzCon, Patton Oswalt provided the stand-up comedy for the ending ceremony.
Discography
Albums
EPs
Compilation Album Appearances
DVDs
- No Reason to Complain (DVD) (2004)
DVD Appearances
TV
Stand-up Specials
- HBO Half Hour Comedy Hour (1997)
- Comedy Central Presents (1999)
- No Reason to Complain (2004)
TV Appearances
Voice Acting Appearances
Films
References
External links
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