Judah Friedlander
Encyclopedia
Judah Friedlander is an American actor and comedian, known for his trademark trucker hat
s, oversized glasses and unkempt appearance, which he retains in many of his screen roles.
, the son of Shirley (née Sestric) and Art Friedlander. His father was of Russian Jewish descent and his mother, a native of Pittsburgh, is Croatian American.
's short Who Is Chris Rock?
. Ten years later, Friedlander began working in front of the camera
, with appearances on Lateline and roles in numerous feature film comedies including Meet the Parents
, Zoolander
and Full Grown Men
. Friedlander's most noted movie role to date was in the film American Splendor
, as Toby Radloff
. He appeared as "The Hug Guy" from the Dave Matthews Band
2001 video "Everyday". He was also a series regular on VH1
's Best Week Ever
and currently on NBC
's 30 Rock
, on which he plays Frank Rossitano, one of the writers of TGS with Tracy Jordan, a spoof of Saturday Night Live
. In every episode, Friedlander wears a different slogan on his trademark hat, which he designs himself.
Friedlander headlines at various standup comedy venues in Boston, New York and LA, including Caroline's
and Tufts University
. His best-known "schtick
" is "The World Champion of the World", in which he makes outlandish claims of greatness. For example, he claims on his website to have once scored 243 goals in a single game of international soccer in Brazil
while also acting as the referee
. Friedlander hosted Comedy Central's Live at Gotham.
Friedlander worked as the backstage host of the TV Land Awards
online in 2009.
In 2010, he authored the comedy
book How to Beat Up Anybody: An Instructional and Inspirational Karate Book by the World Champion.
Trucker hat
A trucker hat or mesh hat is a type of baseball cap. It is also sometimes known as a "gimme cap" or a "feed cap" because this style of hat originated as a promotional give-away from feed or farming supply companies to farmers, truck drivers, or other rural workers.The design of a trucker hat is...
s, oversized glasses and unkempt appearance, which he retains in many of his screen roles.
Early life
Friedlander was born in Gaithersburg, MarylandGaithersburg, Maryland
Gaithersburg is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. The city had a population of 59,933 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth largest incorporated city in the state, behind Baltimore, Frederick, and Rockville...
, the son of Shirley (née Sestric) and Art Friedlander. His father was of Russian Jewish descent and his mother, a native of Pittsburgh, is Croatian American.
Career
Friedlander started in show business as cameraman on Chris RockChris Rock
Christopher Julius "Chris" Rock III is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. He was voted in the US as the 5th greatest stand-up comedian of all time by Comedy Central...
's short Who Is Chris Rock?
Who Is Chris Rock?
Who is Chris Rock? is a short film on the life of comedian Chris Rock. It showcased him and his mother talking about his life and work.- External links :* ****...
. Ten years later, Friedlander began working in front of the camera
Camera
A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...
, with appearances on Lateline and roles in numerous feature film comedies including Meet the Parents
Meet the Parents
Meet the Parents is a 2000 American comedy film written by Jim Herzfeld and John Hamburg and directed by Jay Roach. Starring Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller, the film chronicles a series of unfortunate events that befall a good-hearted but hapless male nurse while visiting his girlfriend's parents...
, Zoolander
Zoolander
Zoolander is a 2001 American satirical comedy film directed by and starring Ben Stiller. The film contains elements from a pair of short films directed by Russell Bates and written by Drake Sather and Stiller for the VH1 Fashion Awards television specials in 1996 and 1997. The short films and the...
and Full Grown Men
Full Grown Men
Full Grown Men is a 2006 American independent comedy film directed by David Munro and starring Matt McGrath, Judah Friedlander, Alan Cumming, Amy Sedaris, and Deborah Harry, is the bittersweet story of a thirtysomething man with family who grudgingly realizes it is time to trade adolescence for...
. Friedlander's most noted movie role to date was in the film American Splendor
American Splendor (film)
American Splendor is a 2003 American biographical comedy-drama film about Harvey Pekar, the author of the American Splendor comic book series. The film is also in part an adaptation of the comics, which dramatize Pekar's life...
, as Toby Radloff
Toby Radloff
Toby Radloff is a former file clerk who became a minor celebrity owing to his appearances in Cleveland writer Harvey Pekar's autobiographical comic book American Splendor. He works at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Cleveland. Radloff currently works as a courier.Radloff has a distinctive...
. He appeared as "The Hug Guy" from the Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews Band, sometimes shortened to DMB, is a U.S. rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991. The founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer/backing vocalist Carter Beauford and saxophonist LeRoi Moore. Boyd Tinsley was...
2001 video "Everyday". He was also a series regular on VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
's Best Week Ever
Best Week Ever
Best Week Ever is a weekly television program on the United States cable/satellite network VH1. It started airing in 2004 and was put on hiatus in the summer of 2009...
and currently on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's 30 Rock
30 Rock
30 Rock is an American television comedy series created by Tina Fey that airs on NBC. The series is loosely based on Fey's experiences as head writer for Saturday Night Live...
, on which he plays Frank Rossitano, one of the writers of TGS with Tracy Jordan, a spoof of Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
. In every episode, Friedlander wears a different slogan on his trademark hat, which he designs himself.
Friedlander headlines at various standup comedy venues in Boston, New York and LA, including 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...
and Tufts University
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
. His best-known "schtick
Schtick
A shtick is a comic theme or gimmick. "Shtick" is derived from the Yiddish word shtik , meaning "piece"; the closely related German word Stück has the same meaning. The English word "piece" itself is also sometimes used in a similar context...
" is "The World Champion of the World", in which he makes outlandish claims of greatness. For example, he claims on his website to have once scored 243 goals in a single game of international soccer in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
while also acting as the referee
Referee
A referee is the person of authority, in a variety of sports, who is responsible for presiding over the game from a neutral point of view and making on the fly decisions that enforce the rules of the sport...
. Friedlander hosted Comedy Central's Live at Gotham.
Friedlander worked as the backstage host of the TV Land Awards
TV Land Awards
The TV Land Awards is an American television awards ceremony that generally commemorates shows now off the air, rather than in current production as with awards such as the Emmys. It is presented in a manner that spoofs other entertainment award ceremonies...
online in 2009.
In 2010, he authored the 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...
book How to Beat Up Anybody: An Instructional and Inspirational Karate Book by the World Champion.
Filmography
| Films | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Other Notes |
| 2000 2000 in film The year 2000 in film involved some significant events.The top grosser worldwide was Mission: Impossible II. Domestically in North America, Gladiator won the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor .... |
Endsville | Wrestling Fan | |
| Meet the Parents Meet the Parents Meet the Parents is a 2000 American comedy film written by Jim Herzfeld and John Hamburg and directed by Jay Roach. Starring Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller, the film chronicles a series of unfortunate events that befall a good-hearted but hapless male nurse while visiting his girlfriend's parents... |
Pharmacy Clerk | ||
| 2001 2001 in film The year 2001 in film involved some significant events, including the first of the Harry Potter series and also the first of The Lord of the Rings trilogy... |
Wet Hot American Summer Wet Hot American Summer Wet Hot American Summer is a 2001 satirical comedy film written by David Wain and Michael Showalter, and directed by Wain. The film takes place during the last day at a fictional Jewish summer camp in 1981, before closing for the summer... |
Ronald von Kleinenstein | |
| Spring Break Lawyer | Mervin | (TV) | |
| Zoolander Zoolander Zoolander is a 2001 American satirical comedy film directed by and starring Ben Stiller. The film contains elements from a pair of short films directed by Russell Bates and written by Drake Sather and Stiller for the VH1 Fashion Awards television specials in 1996 and 1997. The short films and the... |
Scrappy Zoolander | (non-speaking) | |
| How High How High How High is a 2001 stoner comedy starring Method Man and Redman, written by Dustin Lee Abraham, and director Jesse Dylan's debut feature film. Entertainment Weekly rated it third in their "Best Stoner Movie" top ten list... |
Student | ||
| 2002 2002 in film The year 2002 in film involved some significant events. The first significant releases of sequels took place between The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Men in Black II, Analyze That, Spy Kids 2: The Island of... |
Showtime Showtime (film) Showtime is a 2002 action-comedy film directed by Tom Dey and starring Robert De Niro and Eddie Murphy.-Plot:The film centers on two cops, Mitch Preston and Trey Sellars , who are paired together for a reality police show and run into real trouble with a crime lord... |
Julio | |
| 2003 2003 in film The year 2003 in film involved some significant events. Releases of sequels took place with movies like The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Pokémon Heroes, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,... |
The Trade | Duffy Dyer | |
| Old School Old School (film) Old School is a 2003 American comedy film released by DreamWorks SKG and directed by Todd Phillips, director of the documentary Frat House. The story was written by Court Crandall, and the film was written by Phillips and Scot Armstrong... |
Action Figure Dude | (TV version) | |
| American Splendor American Splendor (film) American Splendor is a 2003 American biographical comedy-drama film about Harvey Pekar, the author of the American Splendor comic book series. The film is also in part an adaptation of the comics, which dramatize Pekar's life... |
Toby Radloff | ||
| The Janitor | Drunk Man | ||
| 2004 2004 in film The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. Major releases of sequels took place. It included blockbuster films like Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Passion of the Christ, Meet the Fockers, Blade: Trinity, Spider-Man 2, Alien vs. Predator, Kill Bill Vol... |
Channel Surfing Channel surfing Channel surfing is the practice of quickly scanning through different television channels or radio frequencies in order to find something interesting to watch or listen to. Modern viewers, who may have cable or satellite services beaming down dozens if not hundreds or thousands of channels, are... |
(voice) (TV) | |
| Starsky and Hutch Starsky and Hutch Starsky and Hutch is a 1970s American cop thriller television series that consisted of a 90-minute pilot movie and 92 episodes of 60 minutes each; created by William Blinn, produced by Spelling-Goldberg Productions, and broadcast between April 30, 1975 and May 15, 1979 on the ABC... |
Ice Cream Man | ||
| Bad Meat | Maintenance Man | ||
| 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... |
Donald | (TV) | |
| 2005 2005 in film - Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2005... |
Duane Hopwood Duane Hopwood Duane Hopwood is a 2005 film featured in the Sundance Film Festival. It stars David Schwimmer and Janeane Garofalo, and includes John Krasinski, Judah Friedlander, Susan Lynch, Dick Cavett, Rachel Covey, and Mia Dillon... |
Anthony | |
| Southern Belles Southern Belles Southern Belles is a 2005 film directed by Paul S. Myers and Brennan Shroff.This is a story of two best friends who live in a trailer park located in the town of Johnson's Mark in Georgia. Dreaming of a fresh start in Atlanta they soon learn it will be very difficult to make their way there on... |
Duane | ||
| Pizza Pizza (film) Pizza is a 2005 film written and directed by Mark Christopher, filmed in and around Milford, Pennsylvania in 2003. It was screened at the Seattle International Film Festival on May 27, 2005 and had a limited release on January 20, 2006... |
Jimmy | ||
| The Unseen | Earl | ||
| Sunday Pants Sunday Pants Sunday Pants is a half-hour long show on Cartoon Network featuring a collection of very short animated productions. Sunday Pants was compared to older Cartoon Network shows like What-A-Cartoon! and World Premiere Toons. The animations come from a wide range of writers and directors, some of them... |
(voice) (TV series) | ||
| Feast II: Sloppy Seconds Feast 2: Sloppy Seconds Feast 2: Sloppy Seconds is a direct-to-DVD 2008 horror - black comedy film and sequel to the 2005 film Feast. The film was directed by John Gulager and written by Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton.... |
Beer Guy | ||
| 2006 2006 in film - Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2006... |
The Darwin Awards | Simon | |
| Date Movie Date Movie Date Movie is a 2006 American parody film, which was directed and written by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, two of the writers of the first Scary Movie. Much of the story line was based on that of the well-known romantic comedy My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Meet The Fockers... |
Nicky | ||
| Live Free or Die Live Free or Die (film) Live Free or Die is a 2006 American comedy film starring Aaron Stanford, Paul Schneider, Zooey Deschanel, Michael Rapaport, Judah Friedlander, Kevin Dunn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach... |
Hesh | ||
| The Cassidy Kids | Max Cassidy(Adult) | ||
| Full Grown Men Full Grown Men Full Grown Men is a 2006 American independent comedy film directed by David Munro and starring Matt McGrath, Judah Friedlander, Alan Cumming, Amy Sedaris, and Deborah Harry, is the bittersweet story of a thirtysomething man with family who grudgingly realizes it is time to trade adolescence for... |
Elias Guber | ||
| 30 Rock 30 Rock 30 Rock is an American television comedy series created by Tina Fey that airs on NBC. The series is loosely based on Fey's experiences as head writer for Saturday Night Live... |
Frank Rossitano | Recurring 06- | |
| Wonder Showzen Wonder Showzen Wonder Showzen is an American sketch comedy television series that aired between 2005 and 2006 on MTV2. It was created by John Lee and Vernon Chatman of PFFR. The show is rated TV-MA.... |
Crickey | (TV) ep. 203 & 207 | |
| 2007 2007 in film This is a list of major films released in 2007.-Top grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2007... |
Chapter 27 | Paul | |
| The Proctor | Harry | ||
| Flight of the Conchords Flight of the Conchords (TV series) Flight of the Conchords is an American television comedy series that debuted on HBO on June 17, 2007. The show follows the adventures of Flight of the Conchords, a two-man band from New Zealand, as its members seek fame and success in New York City. The show stars the real-life duo, Jemaine Clement... |
Pawn Shop Patron | (TV) | |
| 2008 2008 in film This is a list of all major films made in 2008.-Highest-grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2008... |
Meet Dave Meet Dave Meet Dave is a 2008 American family comedy film directed by Brian Robbins and starring Eddie Murphy. The film was co-written by Bill Corbett and Rob Greenberg... |
Engineer | |
| The Wrestler | Scott Brumberg | ||
| 2009 2009 in film The year 2009 saw the release of many films. Seven made the top 50 list of highest-grossing films, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that as of this year, their Best Picture category would consist of ten nominees, rather than five .- Highest-grossing films :Please note... |
I Hate Valentine's Day I Hate Valentine's Day I Hate Valentine's Day is a 2009 romantic comedy film written and directed by Nia Vardalos. The film stars Vardalos and John Corbett, previously seen together in Vardalos' hit 2002 film My Big Fat Greek Wedding.-Plot:... |
Dan O'Finn | |
| Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever is an American horror film directed by Ti West and starring Giuseppe Andrews and Noah Segan.-Plot:A very disfigured Paul escapes from the creek and wanders through the woods, leaving pieces of his own flesh in the way. When he finally makes it to the highway, his body... |
Toby | ||
| 2010 2010 in film The year 2010 saw many new films released worldwide. 2010 saw a dramatic increase and prominence in the use of 3D-technology in filmmaking and film releases after the success of Avatar in the format, with releases such as Alice in Wonderland, Clash of the Titans, Jackass 3D, all animated films and... |
Beware the Gonzo Beware the Gonzo Beware the Gonzo is a 2010 American film, written and directed by Bryan Goluboff. The film debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2010.-Plot:... |
Cafeteria Guy | (post-production) |