Henry Phillips (born November 14, 1969) is an American comedian, writer, actor, and singer-songwriter known for his unique self-deprecating comedic style. He co-wrote and starred in ''

Punching the Clown ''Punching the Clown'' is a 2009 American comedy film directed by Gregori Viens and starring Henry Phillips as a semi-fictionalized version of himself. Premise Henry (Phillips) is a struggling singer-songwriter comic in Los Angeles who suddenly f ...

'' (2009) and its sequel '' Punching Henry'' (2016), and directed ''My First Comedy Special'' (2018) and TV series ''You and Your Fu*king Coffee'' (2013–). He has made many appearances in films, television shows and

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...

s, and is the creator of the

web series A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single i ...

"Henry's Kitchen".

Early life

Phillips was born on November 14, 1969, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, California. He started playing guitar when he was 8 years old and was inspired by

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...

as a teen.

Career

In 2005, Phillips appeared on

season 9 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

of ''

Comedy Central Presents ''Comedy Central Presents'' is an American stand-up comedy television series created for Comedy Central. It is the network's main half-hour program which highlights either one or a series of stand-up comedians each episode. In 2011, the series e ...

''. In 2009, he co-wrote and starred in ''

'', and appeared in the comedy special ''4:20 Hour Stand-Up'', directed by Lee Abbott and starring

Doug Benson Douglas Steven Benson (born July 2, 1962) is an American comedian, marijuana rights advocate, television host and actor, best known for hosting the podcasts and TV series ''Doug Loves Movies'' (2006-present), ''The Benson Interruption'' (2010-20 ...

. From 2013, Phillips directed and starred in the television and

''You and Your Fu*king Coffee''.'''' The series stars

Mike Judge Michael Craig Judge (born October 17, 1962) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, director and musician. He is the creator of the animated television series ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' (1993–1997, 2011, 2022–present), and the co-cre ...

and is produced by '' Jash.'' The series is described as being about "a man who politely asks for coffee, and in doing so, ends up destroying the lives of those around him." On July 22, 2014, Phillips appeared on

Season 2 Season 2 may refer to: * ''Season 2'' (Infinite album) * '' 2econd Season'' See also

* {{disambig ...

Episode 4 of ''

Drunk History ''Drunk History'' is an American educational comedy television series produced by Comedy Central, based on the Funny or Die web series created by Derek Waters and Jeremy Konner in 2007. They and Will Ferrell and Adam McKay are the show's exec ...

''. In 2016, he co-wrote and starred in '' Punching Henry,'' a sequel to ''Punching the Clown''. From 2016 to 2019, he had a recurring supporting role as John Stafford in ''

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo County ...

''. In 2018, he directed ''My First Comedy Special''. The film was produced by Big Ugly Laugh Productions, LLC, and stars

Grey Griffin Grey DeLisle (; born Erin Grey Van Oosbree; August 24, 1973), sometimes credited as Grey Griffin, is an American voice actress, comedian and singer-songwriter. DeLisle is known for various roles in animated productions and video games. On Sept ...

. Phillips's several web series include "Henry's Kitchen", "The Loner" for IFC, "Loser", and "The Highway Man", a

Patreon Patreon (, ) is a membership platform that provides business tools for content creators to run a subscription service. It helps creators and artists earn a monthly income by providing rewards and perks to their subscribers. Patreon charges a co ...

series. He has also appeared on ''

Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The nightly hour-long show debuted on January 26, 2003, at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, Los ...

''. Phillips has said he would not be doing stand-up comedy if not for

Doug Stanhope Doug Stanhope (born March 25, 1967) is an American stand-up comedian, author, political activist and podcast host. His stand-up material favors caustic and often obscene observations of life in the style of Bill Hicks and Bill Burr, which he del ...

. He also appears on Stanhope's 2000 album '' Something to Take the Edge Off''.

Cooking

Phillips holds a strong presence as a comical

cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * ...

. He creates cooking content via

Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle con ...

and his satirical

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

and Patreon web series "Henry's Kitchen", a

cooking show A cooking show, cookery show, or cooking program (also spelled cooking programme in British English) is a television genre that presents food preparation, often in a restaurant kitchen or on a studio set, or at the host's personal home. Ty ...

where Henry gives lessons whilst being comically inept at his work. "Henry's Kitchen" has been praised by critics. Writer David Britton states " nlya true genius could purposely edit something this poorly." Jenn Harris from the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' describes one episode as "amazing".

Gabe Dunn Gabe Dunn (born June 1, 1988) is an American writer, actor, pop journalist, comedian, LGBTQ activist, and podcaster. They were a writer and director for BuzzFeed Video, before leaving to focus on their YouTube comedy show and podcast ''Just Betwe ...

in 2013 said, "Is it parody or just plain weird? It's hard to tell, but you'll laugh either way." From September to November 2018, Phillips hosted ''Henry's Kitchen: Masterclass'', a cooking show produced by

Thrillist Thrillist is an online media website covering food, drink, travel and entertainment. The company was founded in 2004 and is based in New York City, United States. In October 2016, Thrillist merged with internet brands '' The Dodo'', NowThis News ...

. He is also the author of two

cookbook A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food. Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (appetizer, first cour ...

''Neither Here Nor There''

In 2016, Phillips performed his 56-minute debut

stand-up Stand-up comedy is a comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories, ...

comedy special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of ent ...

''Neither Here Nor There'' at the Lyric Theatre in Los Angeles. It was directed by Steven Feinartz and produced by United Comedy LLC. The show featured Mark Cohen, Audrey Tess,

Brendon Walsh Brendon Michael Walsh (born July 27, 1978) is an American stand-up comedian and podcaster originally from Philadelphia. Career Walsh started performing stand-up comedy in Austin, Texas in 2002. He has appeared on '' The Price Is Right'', '' ...

, and

Todd Glass Todd Steven Glass (born December 16, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian. Life and career Glass was born and raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He first began performing stand-up comedy in Philadelphia in 1982 while attendi ...

. The show released exclusively on

Vimeo on Demand Vimeo, Inc. () is an American video hosting, sharing, and services platform provider headquartered in New York City. Vimeo focuses on the delivery of high-definition video across a range of devices. Vimeo's business model is through software as ...

on August 15, and released as an album on August 19.

Style

Phillips does

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

-style and

comedy music Comedy music or musical comedy is a genre of music that is comic or humorous in nature. Its history can be traced back to the first century in ancient Greece and Rome, moving forward in time to the Medieval Period, Classical and Romantic eras ...

. His albums feature a mix of live tracks and studio recordings. He is often compared to

Tom Lehrer Thomas Andrew Lehrer (; born April 9, 1928) is an American former musician, singer-songwriter, satirist, and mathematician, having lectured on mathematics and musical theater. He is best known for the pithy and humorous songs that he recorded in ...

, a musical satirist known for his humorous songs. Phillips typically portrays a classic loser character who is hapless with women and unsuccessful in show business. His musical style is frequently in ballad form where the sincerity of the musical style contrasts with the sad or angry lyrics which become comically absurd as the song progresses. Graham Reid describes some of Phillips' humor as "wickedly funny" whilst "very close to being offensive".

Discography

* ''On the Shoulders of Freaks'' (1997) * ''Number 2'' (1999) * ''Why Haven't I Heard from You'' (2005) * ''L.A. Dream'' (2010) * ''Neither Here nor There'' (2016)

Filmography

The following films and television shows were directed or written by Phillips:

Film

* ''

'' (2009) * '' Punching Henry'' (2016) * ''My First Comedy Special'' (2018)

Television

* ''You and Your Fu*king Coffee'' (2013–)

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Henry 1969 births Living people 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians 20th-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American singer-songwriters 20th-century American male singers 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American guitarists 20th-century American musicians 21st-century American musicians 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians American folk guitarists American comedy musicians American male singer-songwriters Parody musicians Guitarists from Los Angeles Singers from Los Angeles Singer-songwriters from California Comedians from Los Angeles American male comedians