Andrew J. Lederer
Encyclopedia
Early life
Growing up in New York City, Andrew appeared as a vocal soloist with the BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
Borough
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
-Wide Chorus
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
, both in live performance and on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
-TV. He became a comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
as a teenager and acted in movies and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, including Family Ties
Family Ties
Family Ties is an American sitcom that aired on NBC for seven seasons, from 1982 to 1989. The sitcom reflected the move in the United States from the cultural liberalism of the 1960s and 1970s to the conservatism of the 1980s. This was particularly expressed through the relationship between young...
, The Facts of Life
The Facts of Life (TV series)
The Facts of Life is an American sitcom that originally ran on the NBC television network from August 24, 1979 to May 7, 1988. A spin-off of the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes, the series' premise focused on Edna Garrett as she becomes a housemother at the fictional Eastland School, a prestigious...
, and Fame
Fame (1982 TV series)
Fame is an American television series originally produced between 1982 and 1987. The show was based on the 1980 motion picture of the same name. Using a mixture of drama and music, it followed the lives of the students and faculty at the New York City High School for the Performing Arts. Although...
plus starring roles in the movies Out of Control and Body Count
Camping del terrore
Camping del Terrore is a 1987 slasher/horror film directed by Ruggero Deodato and filmed in Italy....
(which was nominated for an International Fantasy Film Award ) plus an excised scene - later restored on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
- in This is Spinal Tap
This Is Spinal Tap
This Is Spinal Tap is an American 1984 rock musical mockumentary directed by Rob Reiner about the fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap...
. Later, he became an entertainment
Entertainment
Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as sports, are more often considered to be recreation...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, working as a writer and/or editor for Film Threat Magazine
Film Threat
Film Threat is a former print magazine and, now, webzine which focuses primarily on independent film, although it also reviews DVDs of mainstream films and Hollywood movies in theaters. It first appeared as a photocopied zine in 1985, created by Wayne State University students Chris Gore and André...
, Wild Cartoon Kingdom
Wild Cartoon Kingdom
Wild Cartoon Kingdom was an animation magazine published from 1993-1994 by Larry Flynt Publications.-History:The magazine was created by Film Threat founder Chris Gore. It was edited by a number of people during its run, including Kevin Burke, Andrew J...
, Sci-Fi Universe and others (even the National Enquirer!). (He returned to journalism in 2008 and 9 with a series of articles for the newspaper, The Scotsman.)
Career
Andrew wrote a substantial portion of the famous DisneyThe Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
/McDonalds Trivia
Trivia
The trivia are the three lower Artes Liberales, i.e. grammar, rhetoric and logic. These were the topics of basic education, foundational to the quadrivia of higher education, and hence the material of basic education, of interest only to undergraduates...
Challenge (which was so hard it was reported on in the major newsweeklies and caused the overworked library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures...
to suspend its information line for the duration of the contest). His original screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
,Won't Fade Out, was given its own chapter in the book The 50 Greatest Movies Never Made (St. Martin’s Press, 1999), alongside unfinished efforts by the likes of Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
, Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder was an Austro-Hungarian born American filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, artist, and journalist, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age...
, and Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
.
With Dave Feinman, Andrew created CWA, a semi-cooperative management company
Talent manager
A talent manager, also known as an artist manager or band manager, is an individual or company who guides the professional career of artists in the entertainment industry...
that represented many of the better Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
comedians for acting work during the late 1990s.
Andrew was a prominent “alternative” comedian
Alternative comedy
Alternative comedy is a term that originated in the 1980s for a style of comedy that makes a conscious break with the mainstream comedic style of an era, and typically avoids relying on a standardised structure of a sequence of jokes with punch lines. Patton Oswalt defines it as "comedy where the...
, as that term was understood in the U.S. at the turn of the millennium. His long-running The Second Show and Eugene Mirman
Eugene Mirman
Eugene Boris Mirman is a Russian-born American comedian, writer, and filmmaker. Mirman currently plays Yvgeny Mirminsky on Delocated, and voices Gene Belcher for the animated comedy Bob's Burgers.-Early life:Mirman was born in Russia to Jewish parents...
and Bobby Tisdale's Invite Them Up were the first comedy shows at Rififi
Rififi
Rififi is a 1955 French crime film adaptation of Auguste le Breton's novel of the same name. Directed by American filmmaker Jules Dassin, the film stars Jean Servais as the aging gangster Tony le Stéphanois, Carl Möhner as Jo le Suédois, Robert Manuel as Mario Farrati, and Jules Dassin as César le...
/Cinema Classics, one of alternative or indie comedy's most important New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
venues. His one-person shows, Petula Clark
Petula Clark
Petula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...
's Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits
A Greatest hits album is a compilation album of successful, previously released songs by a particular music artist or band.Albums entitled Greatest Hits, or similar titles, listed alphabetically by band name or artist's last name, include:-0-9:...
, Bridge-Burner, and Me and Hitler were all presented as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe In 2003, he made a high profile return to singing as part of the Loser's Lounge
Loser's Lounge
Loser's Lounge is an ongoing tribute project which performs music by songwriters and bands like Queen, Serge Gainsbourg, Neil Diamond, Paul Williams, Lee Hazlewood, Devo, and David Bowie. Each show explores greater- and lesser-known works by a single artist, or pits two musical forces against one...
Tribute to the Bee Gees
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees are a musical group that originally comprised three brothers: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was successful for most of their 40-plus years of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a pop act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as a...
, which was followed by two New York-area solo shows. In 2007, Andrew was a consultant for a new Fringe venue
Theater (structure)
A theater or theatre is a structure where theatrical works or plays are performed or other performances such as musical concerts may be produced. While a theater is not required for performance , a theater serves to define the performance and audience spaces...
, The Green Room. His 2006-2008 blog was featured on the UK's Chortle
Chortle Student Comedian Of The Year
The Chortle Student Comedian of the Year is a national search of the UK's universities to find the 'funniest student', run by the comedy website Chortle...
comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
.
Style
Lederer's performancePerformance
A performance, in performing arts, generally comprises an event in which a performer or group of performers behave in a particular way for another group of people, the audience. Choral music and ballet are examples. Usually the performers participate in rehearsals beforehand. Afterwards audience...
style has increasingly tended toward storytelling
Storytelling
Storytelling is the conveying of events in words, images and sounds, often by improvisation or embellishment. Stories or narratives have been shared in every culture as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation and in order to instill moral values...
rather than a recitation of jokes or more standard comic observations. His one-time roommate
Roommate
A roommate is a person who shares a living facility such as an apartment or dormitory. Similar terms include suitemate, housemate, flatmate , or sharemate...
, Marc Price
Marc Price
Marc Price is a television actor primarily known for his role as Erwin "Skippy" Handelman on Family Ties.-Biography:Price also hosted the children's game show Teen Win, Lose or Draw on The Disney Channel from 1989 to 1992....
, has called him the "father of alternative comedy" (as that term was understood in the United States) but, as Lederer points out, this could only be true if any of the major practitioners had actually been influenced by him, which they provably have not.
Influence
Lederer has often worked in the background, privately providing material for other performers and writers. He advised and contributed to animation and film histories by Jerry BeckJerry Beck
Jerry Beck is a well-known animation historian, with ten books and numerous articles to his credit. He is also an animation producer, an industry consultant to Warner Bros., and has been an executive with Nickelodeon and Disney....
and others. He wrote sequences performed by comedian Jackie Diamond (Michael Rosenberg
Michael Rosenberg
Michael Rosenberg is one of the top bridge players in the United States. He moved to Scotland as a child and returned to New York in 1990 where he lives with his wife Debbie, also a top player....
) on Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
TV's Comic Strip Live
Comic Strip Live (TV series)
Comic Strip Live is a weekly, late-night, hour-long stand-up comedy showcase that aired on the Fox network from 1989-1994. It started as a local show at Igby's comedy club. It was originally hosted by John Mulrooney and filmed at the comedy club, Igby's...
, and consulted
Creative consultant
Creative consultant is a credit that has - particularly in the past - been given to screenwriters who have “doctored” a movie screenplay. It is often given by producers in lieu of official credit. Those given this credit in the television field work closely with an Executive Producer, Head...
for Marc Price
Marc Price
Marc Price is a television actor primarily known for his role as Erwin "Skippy" Handelman on Family Ties.-Biography:Price also hosted the children's game show Teen Win, Lose or Draw on The Disney Channel from 1989 to 1992....
on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
TV's The Midnight Hour As a consultant
Consultant
A consultant is a professional who provides professional or expert advice in a particular area such as management, accountancy, the environment, entertainment, technology, law , human resources, marketing, emergency management, food production, medicine, finance, life management, economics, public...
to Will Ryan
Will Ryan
Will Ryan is an American voice actor and producer–writer–composer, well-known for singing about the American West. In the late seventies he teamed up with Phil Baron as Willio and Phillio. They had regular gigs on television, radio and comedy clubs and universities throughout the US...
, he was a key player in some of the more recent attempts to popularize the animated character Elmo Aardvark.
He suggested comedian Harris Peet for the role
Role
A role or a social role is a set of connected behaviours, rights and obligations as conceptualised by actors in a social situation. It is an expected or free or continuously changing behaviour and may have a given individual social status or social position...
of Muddy Mudskipper on The Ren and Stimpy Show
The Ren and Stimpy Show
The Ren & Stimpy Show, often simply referred to as Ren & Stimpy, is an American animated television series, created by Canadian animator John Kricfalusi for Nickelodeon. The series focuses on the titular characters: Ren Höek, a psychotic chihuahua, and Stimpson J. Cat, a good-natured, dimwitted cat...
and directed his audition tape. And though Lederer generally "works clean", edgy, underground comic Rick Shapiro
Rick Shapiro
Rick Shapiro is a Los Angeles-based comedian. He first gained attention in the stand-up scene based around the Lower East Side in New York. He was a mainstay in the underground comedy scene for years, performing a regular Wednesday night set at the Sidewalk Cafe in New York until his role on...
(who very much does not) has credited seeing Andrew with making him realize he could talk about what he wanted to on stage and not be limited by convention.
Lederer was briefly mentored by comedian Jeff Garlin
Jeff Garlin
Jeffrey "Jeff" Garlin is an American stand-up comedian, actor, producer, voice artist, director, writer and author, best known for his role as Jeff Greene on the HBO show Curb Your Enthusiasm...
at around the time Garlin was co-creating Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy television series produced and broadcast by HBO, which premiered on October 15, 2000. As of 2011, it has completed 80 episodes over eight seasons. The series was created by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, who stars as a fictionalized version of himself...
. He was the only regular performer, aside from Garlin himself, on Garlin's live, weekly comedy show in the spring of 1998 and hosted when Garlin could not. Lederer consulted on the rewriting of an abortive sitcom pilot by Garlin and the two glancingly considered a writing collaboration on a possible HBO bio of Milton Berle
Milton Berle
Milton Berlinger , better known as Milton Berle, was an American comedian and actor. As the manic host of NBC's Texaco Star Theater , in 1948 he was the first major star of U.S. television and as such became known as Uncle Miltie and Mr...
. Later, Lederer assisted Garlin during the making of a short Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason was an American comedian, actor and musician. He was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy style, especially by his character Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners, a situation-comedy television series. His most noted film roles were as Minnesota Fats in the drama film The...
documentary and was one of those asked to offer opinions on the feature, I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With
I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With
I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With is a 2006 independent film released by IFC Films and The Weinstein Company. Written, produced and directed by, and starring Jeff Garlin , it features Garlin, Sarah Silverman and Bonnie Hunt...
before the completion of its edit.
The burgeoning comedic storytelling scene in the UK was largely inspired by Lederer's Anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
series at the 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Both Sarah Bennetto's Storytellers' Club and an earlier Amused Moose effort were started by veterans of the Anthology shows. Lederer's 2007 and 2008 London Anthology presentations have been Critic's Choices in both Time Out and the Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
.
Work as Producer
Andrew has been producerTheatrical producer
A theatrical producer is the person ultimately responsible for overseeing all aspects of mounting a theatre production. The independent producer will usually be the originator and finder of the script and starts the whole process...
or co-producer (often with Parker Entertainment) of a number of live productions including many of Scott Blakeman's political comedy shows and the play Lysistrata
Lysistrata
Lysistrata is one of eleven surviving plays written by Aristophanes. Originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BC, it is a comic account of one woman's extraordinary mission to end The Peloponnesian War...
100.
He co-produced comedian Ahmed Ahmed
Ahmed Ahmed
-Early life:Ahmed Ahmed was born in Helwan, Egypt. His family came to the United States when he was one month old and he grew up in Riverside, California.-Career:...
's Richard Pryor
Richard Pryor
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor was an American stand-up comedian, actor, social critic, writer and MC. Pryor was known for uncompromising examinations of racism and topical contemporary issues, which employed colorful vulgarities, and profanity, as well as racial epithets...
Award
Award
An award is something given to a person or a group of people to recognize excellence in a certain field; a certificate of excellence. Awards are often signifiedby trophies, titles, certificates, commemorative plaques, medals, badges, pins, or ribbons...
-winning 2004 Edinburgh Festival Fringe show and the Edinburgh run of Rain Pryor
Rain Pryor
-Personal life:Pryor was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Shelley R. Bonis and American comedian Richard Pryor. Rain Pryor's mother was a Jewish go-go dancer and Rain was largely raised with her Jewish grandparents who taught her about Jewish culture...
's Fried Chicken and Latkes in 2005.
Andrew, with Parker, also produced the musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
variety
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
series, The Savage Breast.
Notable Shows and Venues
Lederer has at various times been a regular performer at New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's fabled Comic Strip
Comic Strip Live
The Comic Strip Live is the oldest stand-up comedy showcase club in New York City and the world. Located at 1568 Second Avenue .-Beginnings:...
, Improvisation
The Improv
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. A second location was opened in 1974 at 8162 Melrose Avenue in the Fairfax District...
, Catch a Rising Star
Catch a Rising Star
Catch a Rising Star is a chain of comedy clubs, founded in New York City in December 1972 and owned by Rick Newman. It has since spread to other areas, such as Las Vegas and New Jersey....
and Caroline's
Caroline's
Carolines on Broadway is a venue for stand-up comedy located in Times Square in New York City on Broadway between 49th and 50th Street. It is one of the most established, famous, and recognized stand-up comedy clubs in the United States. Its marketing slogan is "America's Premiere Comedy...
comedy clubs and at Los Angeles' The Comedy Store
The Comedy Store
The Comedy Store is a comedy club located in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. It has a sister comedy club in La Jolla, San Diego, California.-History:...
.
Alternative venues have included New York's Surf Reality
Surf Reality
Surf Reality's House of Urban Savages, also known as Surf Reality, was a 65 seat performance venue on Manhattan's Lower East Side from 1993-2003...
, Collective: Unconscious
Collective: Unconscious
Collective:Unconscious is a non-profit corporation, founded in New York City in 1994, and incorporated in 1995. Originally based on Ludlow Street on New York's Lower East Side, in 2004 it relocated to Tribeca until July 2008....
and the Nuyorican Poets Cafe
Nuyorican Poets Café
The Nuyorican Poets Café is a non-profit organization in Alphabet City, Manhattan. It is a bastion of the Nuyorican art movement in New York City, USA, and has become a forum for poetry, music, hip hop, video, visual arts, comedy and theatre.-History:...
and L.A's Creativity Bookstore.
Recent live credits include Heeb Magazine
Heeb Magazine
Heeb was a Jewish magazine aimed predominantly at young Jews. The name of the magazine is a variation of the ethnic slur "hebe", an abbreviation of Hebrew. However, in this case, the word "heeb" seeks to function as empowerment for the Jewish community, thus eliminating the hatred associated with...
's storytelling show and The Onion
The Onion
The Onion is an American news satire organization. It is an entertainment newspaper and a website featuring satirical articles reporting on international, national, and local news, in addition to a non-satirical entertainment section known as The A.V. Club...
's comedy series, both at Joe's Pub
Joe's Pub
Joe's Pub at Public Theater is a nightclub that hosts live performances regularly. The venue, which is a non-profit operation, is located at 425 Lafayette Street near Astor Place in Manhattan, New York City...
. Also The Rejection Show
The Rejection Show
The Rejection Show is a comedic based variety show that features the rejected and turned down material of professional and amateur writers, comedians, cartoonists, artists, and human beings who display their creative "failures" live on stage....
at Mo Pitkin's, Nick Kroll
Nick Kroll
Nick Kroll is an American actor and comedian best known for appearing in television shows such as Best Week Ever, Cavemen and Sit Down, Shut Up. He co-stars in the shows The Life & Times of Tim and The League....
and John Mulaney
John Mulaney
John Mulaney is an American comedian and writer for Saturday Night Live .In addition to writing for SNL, Mulaney has appeared on the show's "Weekend Update" segment. Mulaney also previously made regular appearances on Best Week Ever on VH1. Mulaney appeared multiple times on Late Night with Conan...
's Oh, Hello and Sherry Weaver's Speakeasy Stories
.
In the UK, he has appeared on such progressive, live stand-up and variety shows as Robin Ince
Robin Ince
Robin Ince is an English stand-up comedian, actor and writer. He is best known for presenting the BBC radio show The Infinite Monkey Cage .-Stand-up comedy:...
's Book Club and Spank!.
Andrew has also been active in new media. In 2007, he was the last writer under City Lights Television's auspices of Heavy News and his more or less daily blog has a following in both the U.S. and the United Kingdom.
List of One-Person Shows
- AJL: Work in Progress (1996)
- Adventures in Clothing (1997)
- Petula Clark's Greatest Hits (2003)
- Bridge-Burner (2004)
- Me and Hitler (2005)
- Anthology (Free!) (2006)
- Every Day I Write the Book (2007)
- I Need Your Love (2008)
- 9/11 (2010)
Reviews
- Chortle review of 2004 Edinburgh Festival show, "Bridge-Burner"
- The Stage review of 2005 Edinburgh Festival show, "Me and Hitler"
- One4Review.com review of 2008 Edinburgh Festival show, "I Need Your Love"