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Jeff Altman (born August 13, 1951) is an American
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 ...
comedian and
actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...
who has appeared as a guest on ''
Late Night with David Letterman ''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on NBC, the first iteration of the ''Late Night'' franchise. It premiered on February 1, 1982, and was produced by Letterman's production compan ...
'' and ''
Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production co ...
'' a combined 45 times. Altman mesmerized contemporaries like
David Letterman David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He hosted late night television talk shows for 33 years, beginning with the February 1, 1982 debut of '' Late Night with David Letterman ...
and
Jerry Seinfeld Jerome Allen Seinfeld ( ; born April 29, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He is best known for playing a semi-fictionalized version of himself in the sitcom ''Seinfeld'', which he created and wrote with Larr ...
, and inspired future comedians like
Judd Apatow Judd Apatow (; born December 6, 1967) is an American comedian, director, producer, and screenwriter, best known for his work in comedy and drama films. He is the founder of Apatow Productions, through which he produced and directed the films ...
. Altman has also had numerous acting roles in
movies A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
and
television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, e ...
such as Dr. Gene Splicer in ''
Tiny Toon Adventures ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' is an American animated comedy television series that was broadcast from September 14, 1990, to December 6, 1992. It was the first collaborative effort of Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television and Warner Bros. Animation ...
'', Professor Dweeb in ''Slimer'' and ''
The Real Ghostbusters ''The Real Ghostbusters'' is an American animated television series, a spin-off/sequel of the 1984 comedy film ''Ghostbusters''. The series ran from September 13, 1986, to October 5, 1991, and was produced by Columbia Pictures Television and DI ...
'', Clint Mullet on ''Mork and Mindy'', and five different guest characters on ''
Baywatch ''Baywatch'' is an American action drama television series about lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, and Hawaii, starring David Hasselhoff. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz, and Gregory J. Bonan ...
''. He had a recurring role as Hughie Hogg, the nephew of Jefferson Davis Hogg, on ''
The Dukes of Hazzard ''The Dukes of Hazzard'' is an American action comedy TV series that was aired on CBS from January 26, 1979 to February 8, 1985. The show aired for 147 episodes spanning seven seasons. It was consistently among the top-rated television series ...
''.


Early life and education

Altman was born in
Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, Yonkers, and Rochester. At the 2020 census, the city's ...
, to Genelle, a housewife, and Arthur, a sales manager. At Nottingham Senior High School in Syracuse, he played third singles on the school's tennis team and was on the wrestling team. He graduated from
Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consiste ...
in 1974 with a degree in
social science Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of socie ...
s.


Career

Altman began his career in 1974 at the
Comedy Store The Comedy Store is an American comedy club opened in April 1972. It is located in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. An associated club is located in La Jolla, San Diego, California. History The Comedy ...
. In 1976, came his first appearance on television, on ''Cos'', a
Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and media personality. He made significant contributions to American and African-American culture, and is well known in the United States for his eccentric ...
children's
variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a comp� ...
. A year later he joined '' Starland Vocal Band Show'', where he was alongside celebrities such as
David Letterman David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He hosted late night television talk shows for 33 years, beginning with the February 1, 1982 debut of '' Late Night with David Letterman ...
and Mark Russell. In 1978 he appeared as sleazy record promoter Lennie Richfield in the movie '' American Hot Wax''. Altman also had a starring role as the host of the short-lived
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are ...
variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a comp� ...
''
Pink Lady and Jeff ''Pink Lady'' is an American variety show that aired for five weeks on NBC in 1980, starring the Japanese musical duo of the same name. The show also is referred to by the title ''Pink Lady and Jeff'', referring to co-star Jeff Altman. The show w ...
'' in 1980, which ''
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corporate ...
'' has ranked No. 35 on its "50 Worst TV Shows of All Time" list. Altman appeared on the first episode of ''
An Evening at the Improv The Improv is a comedy club franchise. It was founded as a single venue in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City in 1963, and expanded into a chain of venues in the late 1970s. History Originally, it was a single venue founded in 19 ...
''. Later in the decade, he became the in-house comedian on '' Solid Gold'', where his characters included Al Punker, fast-talking proprietor of "Al Punker's Music Barn," the "music vampire Count Downula," and the ex-boxer Leonard Moon, the last of whom would state "I don't have the brains of a ice cube" and claim, "I am the ''Solid Gold'' music critic. Tonight, my subject is music." Altman has directed many
sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use new ...
s. In the mid-1980s, he was the spokesman for
Arby's Arby's is an American fast food sandwich restaurant chain with more than 3,300 restaurants system wide and third in terms of revenue. In October 2017, ''Food & Wine'' called Arby's "America's second largest sandwich chain (after Subway)". Arb ...
restaurants, Tostitos corn chips, and Valvoline motor oil, and by 1990 he was a
Budweiser Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, part of AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. ''Budweiser'' may also refer to an unrela ...
spokesman. In 1982, he appeared in a movie, '' Send in the Clowns''. In 1989, Altman released his one and only comedy record album, titled "I'll Flip You Like A Cheese Omelette" (Mercury 842 070-1) and the same year had appeared in three Hollywood clubs: the
Laugh Factory Laugh Factory is a chain of comedy clubs in the United States. The chain is owned by Laugh Factory Inc., and the founder and current chief executive is Jamie Masada. Endurance record The Laugh Factory keeps track of an endurance record ...
,
the Comedy Store The Comedy Store is an American comedy club opened in April 1972. It is located in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. An associated club is located in La Jolla, San Diego, California. History The Comedy S ...
and the Irvine Improvisation. He also has been the (uncredited) host of the
defensive driving Defensive driving describes the practice of anticipating dangerous situations, despite adverse conditions or the mistakes of others when operating a motor vehicle. It can be achieved by adhering to general guidelines, such as keeping a two- or ...
course available through
Blockbuster Video Blockbuster or Block Buster may refer to: *Blockbuster (entertainment) a term coined for an extremely successful movie, from which most other uses are derived. Corporations * Blockbuster (retailer), a defunct video and game rental chain ** Bloc ...
. In the 1990s, Altman was on the
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are ...
series ''
Nurses Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ca ...
'' during its first season (1991–1992). He was written out as the show was re-worked for its second season. A regular feature of his stand-up act has typically included a comical impression of his father, and Altman continued to find his Nixon impression humorous well into the 1980s. In 1991 he was a host of ''The Sunday Comics'', but later was replaced by
Lenny Clarke Lenny or Lennie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Lenny (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Lennie (surname), a list of people * Lenny (singer) (born 1993), Czech songwriter Arts and entertainment Music * '' ...
. On February 22, 1991, Altman had created his own show called ''Jeff Altman's Scrap Book'', where he continued to parody his "Dad" as Uncle Carl which he started back in early 1980s. In 2017, Jeff Altman played a fundraiser, at the Chicago branch of the
Laugh Factory Laugh Factory is a chain of comedy clubs in the United States. The chain is owned by Laugh Factory Inc., and the founder and current chief executive is Jamie Masada. Endurance record The Laugh Factory keeps track of an endurance record ...
, for McCormac College of
Lake View, Chicago Lakeview, also spelled Lake View, is one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois. Lakeview is located in the city's North Side. It is bordered by West Diversey Parkway on the south, West Irving Park Road on the north, North Ravenswood A ...
.


Altman and Letterman

Altman met Letterman in 1975 at the Comedy Store in Hollywood. After a few dinners and even attending
Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianap ...
together, they became great friends. During one such outing, a woman, who was a huge Letterman fan, had approached them and asked if Altman could take a picture of her and Letterman, using her camera. As they posed and Altman was lining up the shot, he suddenly broke away and ran, pretending to steal the camera. Since that time, Jeff Altman appeared on ''
Late Night with David Letterman ''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on NBC, the first iteration of the ''Late Night'' franchise. It premiered on February 1, 1982, and was produced by Letterman's production compan ...
'' and ''
Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production co ...
'' a combined 45 times.


Personal life

Altman is a drummer, and a longtime fan of
Buddy Rich Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time. Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York ...
, whom he once enticed to appear at Hopkins for one of his classes. In 1979 he married Leslie Ackerman and together they had a daughter, Faith. Altman is also an accomplished magician. A much admired "card man," one of his effects has been included in the famous Tarbell Course in Magic.


Filmography


Film


Television


References


External links

* *
Comedians site biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Altman, Jeff 1951 births Living people Jewish American comedians Jewish American male actors American stand-up comedians American male comedians American male television actors American male film actors Johns Hopkins University alumni Male actors from New York (state) Male actors from Syracuse, New York Comedians from New York (state) People from Syracuse, New York 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians Tau Epsilon Phi