John Lutz
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John Michael Lutz (born April 23, 1973) is an American actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is best known for playing
J. D. Lutz ''30 Rock'' is an American television comedy Television program, series created by Tina Fey, which aired on NBC. The series takes place behind the scenes of a fictional Live television, live sketch comedy series, also airing on NBC; the name "3 ...
on the
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
sitcom ''
30 Rock ''30 Rock'' is an American satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live'', takes ...
'', and for his work as a writer on the NBC series ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
'' for seven seasons. In 2014, he joined the writing staff of the NBC late-night talk show ''
Late Night with Seth Meyers ''Late Night with Seth Meyers'' is an American late-night news and political satire talk show hosted by Seth Meyers on NBC. The show premiered on February 24, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. Airing weeknights a ...
''.


Early life

Lutz was born in
Pipestone, Minnesota Pipestone is a city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Pipestone County. The population was 4,215 at the 2020 census. The city is also the site of the Pipestone National Monument. History Pipestone was platted in October, 187 ...
, the son of a
Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
minister. He grew up in suburban
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
and
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
,
Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
. He has two brothers: Jeremy, a math teacher in
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
, and Joel; and a sister, Jaime. He attended
Valparaiso University Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana. It is a Lutheran university with about 3,000 students from over 50 countries on a campus of . Originally named Valparaiso Male and Female College, Valparaiso Universit ...
in
Valparaiso, Indiana Valparaiso ( ), colloquially Valpo, is a city and the county seat of Porter County, Indiana, United States. The population was 34,151 at the 2020 census. History The site of present-day Valparaiso was included in the purchase of land from the ...
, where he was a member of the
Sigma Phi Epsilon Sigma Phi Epsilon (), commonly known as SigEp, is a social college fraternity for male college students in the United States. It was founded on November 1, 1901, at Richmond College (now the University of Richmond), and its national headquarte ...
fraternity, majoring in
psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
and minoring in
business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...
. He performed in university theatre productions during his last three semesters on campus.


Career

Lutz began his professional career as a writer-performer with Chicago's
ImprovOlympic iO, or iO Chicago, (formerly known as "ImprovOlympic") is an improv theater and training center in central Chicago, with a former branch in Los Angeles, called iO West and in Raleigh, North Carolina called iO South. The theater taught and hosted ...
and
The Second City The Second City is an improvisational comedy enterprise and is the oldest ongoing improvisational theater troupe to be continually based in Chicago, with training programs and live theatres in Toronto and Los Angeles. The Second City Theatre op ...
theaters. He was hired at
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
's ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
'' in February 2004 after spending three years touring with Second City. NBC flew him in first-class to New York for a face-to-face interview with
Lorne Michaels Lorne Michaels (born Lorne David Lipowitz; November 17, 1944) is a Canadian-American producer, screenwriter, and comedian. He is best known for creating and producing ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1980, 1985–present) and producing the '' La ...
, the creator and executive producer of the sketch comedy show. During this time, he has also appeared in small roles on ''SNL''. Lutz played the role of
J. D. Lutz ''30 Rock'' is an American television comedy Television program, series created by Tina Fey, which aired on NBC. The series takes place behind the scenes of a fictional Live television, live sketch comedy series, also airing on NBC; the name "3 ...
on the NBC sitcom ''
30 Rock ''30 Rock'' is an American satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live'', takes ...
'' until the series completion in January 2013. His character was a part-
Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...
sketch comedy writer from
Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
, who is bisexual and was often targeted by his co-workers for his meek demeanor. Lutz made frequent appearances in the long-running hit improv show ''ASSSSCAT 3000'' at the
Upright Citizens Brigade Theater The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre (shorter UCB Theatre) is an American improvisational theatre company and training center founded by the Upright Citizens Brigade troupe members Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts and Matt Walsh. Prior t ...
in New York City. Starting in November 2010, Lutz has been performing at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York with fellow ''30 Rock'' star
Scott Adsit Robert Scott Adsit (born November 26, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. Born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, Adsit joined the mainstage cast of Chicago's The Second City in 1994 after attending Columbia College Chicago. He app ...
in the two-man improv show ''John and Scott''. He and Scott perform long-form improv with a single suggestion from an audience member. The show has been very successful and is still running as of April, 2019. On October 17, 2011, he appeared in an episode of ''
The Good Wife ''The Good Wife'' is an American legal and political drama television series that aired on CBS from September 22, 2009, to May 8, 2016. It focuses on Alicia Florrick, the wife of the Cook County State's Attorney, who returns to her career in law ...
''. Lutz wrote a radio play entitled ''Escape from Virtual Island'' released on
Audible Audible may refer to: * Audible (service), an online audiobook store * Audible (American football), a tactic used by quarterbacks * ''Audible'' (film), a short documentary film featuring a deaf high school football player * Audible finish or rush ...
in April 2020. The voice cast includes
Paul Rudd Paul Stephen Rudd (born April 6, 1969) is an American actor. He studied theater at the University of Kansas and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, before making his acting debut in 1991. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in ...
,
Jack McBrayer Jack McBrayer (; born May 27, 1973) is an American actor and comedian, who gained national exposure for his portrayal of characters on ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' and as Kenneth Parcell in ''30 Rock''. For his role in ''30 Rock'' he was no ...
,
Paula Pell Paula Pell (born April 15, 1963) is an American comedy writer, producer, and actress, best known for her work writing for the sketch series ''Saturday Night Live,'' being recognized with a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety ...
and
Jane Krakowski Jane Krakowski (; ; born October 11, 1968) is an American actress, comedienne, and singer. She is best known for her starring role as Jenna Maroney in the NBC satirical comedy series ''30 Rock'' (2006–2013, 2020), for which she received four ...
. In 2020, Lutz starred, co-wrote, and executive produced ''
Mapleworth Murders ''Mapleworth Murders'' is an American comedy- mystery series. It stars Paula Pell, John Lutz, J. B. Smoove and Hayley Magnus. Lorne Michaels and Seth Meyers serve as executive producers. It premiered on August 10, 2020, on Quibi. Premise A murde ...
'' a comedy-mystery series for
Quibi Quibi ( ) was a short-lived American short-form streaming platform that generated content for viewing on mobile devices. It was founded in Los Angeles in August 2018 as NewTV by Jeffrey Katzenberg and was led by Meg Whitman, its CEO. The servic ...
opposite
Paula Pell Paula Pell (born April 15, 1963) is an American comedy writer, producer, and actress, best known for her work writing for the sketch series ''Saturday Night Live,'' being recognized with a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety ...
.


Personal life

Lutz is married to ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
'' contributor and ''30 Rock'' co-star Sue Galloway, with whom he has two children.


Filmography


Acting


Writing


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lutz, John 1973 births Living people American male comedians American male television actors American people of German descent American television writers American male television writers Male actors from Minnesota People from Pipestone, Minnesota Valparaiso University alumni 21st-century American male actors Male actors from Chicago Male actors from Detroit Writers from Chicago Writers from Detroit Comedians from Illinois Screenwriters from Illinois Screenwriters from Michigan Screenwriters from Minnesota 21st-century American comedians Late Night with Seth Meyers 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century American male writers