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Peter Benedict Holmes (born March 30, 1979) is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and podcaster. Musings on spirituality and religion are frequent themes in his works. Holmes gained recognition in the early 2010s as a stand-up comic, during which he launched his long-running podcast ''You Made It Weird'' (2011–present), released his first comedy special, and worked as an actor and television writer. Subsequently, he began his own
late-night talk show A late-night talk show is a genre of talk show popular in the United States, where the format originated. It is generally structured around humorous monologues about the day's news, guest interviews, comedy sketches and music performances. It i ...
''
The Pete Holmes Show ''The Pete Holmes Show'' is an American late-night talk show starring comedian Pete Holmes. It aired Monday through Thursday at midnight on TBS, from October 28, 2013 until June 18, 2014. The show was atypical among late-night talk shows for havi ...
'' (2013–2014), which ran on TBS for two seasons in the time-slot after ''Conan'', a frequent champion of his work. During the decade, he released four comedy specials: ''
Impregnated with Wonder ''Impregnated With Wonder'' is the debut album by comedian Pete Holmes released digitally on November 8, 2011, by Comedy Central Records. Track listing Reception ''Impregnated With Wonder'' was met with positive reviews upon its release. ...
'' (2011), ''
Nice Try, The Devil ''Nice Try, The Devil'' is the second album by comedian Pete Holmes. The stand-up TV special was directed by Marcus Raboy and premiered on Comedy Central on May 12, 2013. The album was released digitally on May 14, 2013 by Comedy Central Records. ...
'' (2013), ''Faces and Sounds'' (2016), and ''Dirty Clean'' (2018). Holmes is most widely known for starring and creating the semi-autobiographical scripted comedy series ''Crashing'', which aired on
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
for three seasons (2017–2019). He has also worked as a voice actor and most recently starred in the 2022
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
sitcom '' How We Roll.''


Early life

Peter Benedict Holmes was born in
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
on March 30, 1979, the son of a Lithuanian refugee mother and an American father of Irish descent. He has a brother who composes music under the name Dr. Holmes. He grew up in
Lexington, Massachusetts Lexington is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is 10 miles (16 km) from Downtown Boston. The population was 34,454 as of the 2020 census. The area was originally inhabited by Native Americans, and was firs ...
, where he graduated from Lexington High School. Holmes attended Gordon College in
Wenham, Massachusetts Wenham () is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts. The population was 4,979 at the time of the 2020 census. The town of Wenham, originally settled in 1635 and incorporated in 1643, has retained much of its historic character and rural scenery ...
, where he graduated with a degree in English and Communications in 2001. During this time, he played in a punk rock band and participated in an
improvisational comedy Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, a ...
troupe called The Sweaty-Toothed Madmen. Partly at the behest of his mother, he had plans to become a
youth pastor Youth ministry, also commonly referred to as youth group, is an age-specific religious ministry of faith groups or other religious organizations, usually from ages 12 to 30, whose mission is to involve and engage with young people who attend th ...
. This gave way to public speaking, and his love for comedy and his devolving faith in God eventually won over his need to preach; he now refers to himself as "Christ-leaning" or jokingly a "hooraytheist". Finding little success as a comedian in his home state, he lived in
Sleepy Hollow, New York Sleepy Hollow is a village in the town of Mount Pleasant, in Westchester County, New York, United States. The village is located on the east bank of the Hudson River, about north of New York City, and is served by the Philipse Manor stop on ...
, before moving to
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
and then
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' ...
.


Career


2001–2009: Early career

Holmes career began in the New York City comedy scene. In the mid-2000s, he was making club appearances and took part in
Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...
's ''
Premium Blend ''Premium Blend'' was a stand-up comedy series created and directed by Paul Miller that aired on the American cable television channel Comedy Central from 1997 to 2005. In 2005 the show was changed, and now known as "Live at Gotham". The show w ...
'', as a regular panelist on VH1's ''
Best Week Ever ''Best Week Ever'' is an American comedy series created and executive produced by Fred Graver. The series originally aired from January 23, 2004, to June 12, 2009, on VH1.Harris, Scott"VH1 Cancels 'Best Week Ever'". ''Inside TV''. January 13, 20 ...
'', and on VH1's ''All Access''. He began working as a touring comic, including on the
Christian comedy Christian comedy is a subgenre of comedy where the material presented is aimed towards a Christian audience. The performances are typically held on church grounds or at off-site, church-sponsored venues. The material often contains Christian ref ...
circuit. Since 2006, his
cartoons A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...
have appeared in ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
''. Holmes also created and appeared in a
Super Bowl XLIII Super Bowl XLIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champions Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champions Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...
ad for
Doritos Doritos () is an American brand of flavored tortilla chips produced since 1964 by Frito-Lay, a wholly owned subsidiary of PepsiCo. The original Doritos were not flavored. The first flavor was Toasted Corn, released in 1966, followed by Taco in ...
in 2009 featuring a fictional new flavor of the product,
beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...
, in which each chip contains as much alcohol as a 16 o.z. can of beer.


2010–2013: Breakthrough


Stand-up and ''You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes''

In 2010, he performed on ''
John Oliver's New York Stand Up Show ''John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show'' is a stand-up comedy television series that aired on Comedy Central in the United States. Hosted by British-American comedian John Oliver John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is a British-Americ ...
'' as well as ''
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by comedian Jimmy Fallon. About pag ...
''. On February 26, 2010, he performed his first television special on the series ''
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 ...
''. On March 21, 2011, and on November 17, 2011, he appeared on the TBS talk show '' Conan''. Holmes released his first album, ''
Impregnated With Wonder ''Impregnated With Wonder'' is the debut album by comedian Pete Holmes released digitally on November 8, 2011, by Comedy Central Records. Track listing Reception ''Impregnated With Wonder'' was met with positive reviews upon its release. ...
'', on
iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
on November 15, 2011. In 2013, he released his second album, ''
Nice Try, The Devil ''Nice Try, The Devil'' is the second album by comedian Pete Holmes. The stand-up TV special was directed by Marcus Raboy and premiered on Comedy Central on May 12, 2013. The album was released digitally on May 14, 2013 by Comedy Central Records. ...
''. In 2011, Holmes launch his long-form comedy podcast ''
You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes ''You Made It Weird'' is a weekly comedy interview podcast, hosted by Pete Holmes. It was hosted on the Nerdist network since October 25, 2011; however, as of August 2022, it is independently distributed. The show originated under the premise t ...
''. It has featured guests such as
Garry Shandling Garry Emmanuel Shandling (November 29, 1949 – March 24, 2016) was an American actor, comedian, writer, director, and producer. Shandling began his career writing for sitcoms, such as '' Sanford and Son'' and ''Welcome Back, Kotter''. He made ...
,
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 '' ...
,
Aziz Ansari Aziz Ismail Ansari (; born February 23, 1983) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. He is known for his role as Tom Haverford on the NBC series '' Parks and Recreation'' (2009–2015) and as creator and star of the Netflix series '' Mas ...
,
John Mulaney John Edmund Mulaney (born August 26, 1982) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He first rose to prominence for his work as a writer on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2008 to 2013, where he contributed to numerous ...
, Ben Schwartz, and
Dana Carvey Dana Thomas Carvey (born June 2, 1955) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, impressionist, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for his seven seasons as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1986 to 1993, which earned him fiv ...
. Topics typically discussed in each episode are the guests' views on comedy, sexuality, and religion.


Television and ''The Pete Holmes Show''

Holmes has provided the voices for several of the characters on Comedy Central's cartoon '' Ugly Americans''. He was the voice of the
E-Trade E-Trade Financial Corporation (stylized as E*TRADE) is a financial services subsidiary of Morgan Stanley, which offers an electronic trading platform to trade financial assets. The company receives revenue from interest income on margin balanc ...
baby on several
television commercial A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...
s and was credited as a writer for those commercials. He wrote for 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 l ...
primetime sitcom '' Outsourced'' and for the
Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
sitcom ''
I Hate My Teenage Daughter ''I Hate My Teenage Daughter'' is an American sitcom that ran on Fox from November 30, 2011 to March 20, 2012. It aired at the 9:30 pm (E/P)/8:30 pm (C) timeslot after ''The X Factor''. The series stars Jaime Pressly and Katie Finneran. On May 1 ...
'' prior to its cancellation in May 2012. Holmes has created a comedic portrayal of
Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
in
CollegeHumor CollegeHumor is an Internet comedy company based in Los Angeles. Aside from producing content for release on YouTube, it was also a former humor website owned by InterActiveCorp ( IAC) until January 2020, when IAC withdrew funding and the websi ...
's internet series ''Badman''. He ran a YouTube channel which was focused around skits alongside
Matthew McCarthy Matthew McCarthy (born 14 December 1981) is a former Australian rules footballer for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), playing 22 games between 2003 and 2006. He is the brother of deceased Port Adelaide pla ...
called frontpagefilms. On August 21 and 23 in 2012, Holmes recorded three episodes of a talk show pilot for TBS, produced by Conan O'Brien, entitled ''The Midnight Show with Pete Holmes''. Holmes's guests on the unaired pilots included Nick Offerman, Joel McHale,
T. J. Miller Todd Joseph Miller (born June 4, 1981) is an American actor and comedian. In 2008, he made his acting debut in ''Cloverfield'', and from 2010 to 2014, he voiced Tuffnut Thorston in the first two ''How to Train Your Dragon'' films. From 2014 to ...
, and
Bill Burr William Frederick Burr (born June 10, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, filmmaker, and podcaster. He has released multiple stand-up comedy specials, most notably ''Why Do I Do This?'' (2008), ''Let It Go'' (2010), '' You People Are ...
. On February 26, 2013, TBS picked up the show and began airing in late 2013. By July 10, 2013, the name of the show was ''
The Pete Holmes Show ''The Pete Holmes Show'' is an American late-night talk show starring comedian Pete Holmes. It aired Monday through Thursday at midnight on TBS, from October 28, 2013 until June 18, 2014. The show was atypical among late-night talk shows for havi ...
''. The series premiered on October 28, after '' Conan''. The show was picked up for a second season by TBS. On December 9, 2013,
Gabe Liedman Gabe Liedman is an American television writer, producer, and actor known for his work on '' PEN15'', '' Brooklyn Nine-Nine'', and '' Inside Amy Schumer''. He is the showrunner of Netflix animation series ''Q-Force'' and the first season of '' PEN ...
performed the show's first stand-up routine. On May 23, 2014, TBS canceled the talk show after two seasons following poor audience ratings. The show ended its run on June 19, 2014.


2014–present: ''Crashing'' and new projects

Holmes released his third comedy special, ''Faces and Sounds'', in 2016. In 2019, he released his fourth album, ''Dirty Clean''. Holmes created and stars in the HBO series '' Crashing.'' ''Crashing'' is a semi-autobiographical show on
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
that revolves around Holmes' character Pete, a young comedian who pursues a career in stand-up comedy after his wife cheats on him, leaving him homeless. Holmes successfully pitched the idea of the show to
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 '' ...
and it was picked up by HBO for filming in September 2015, with Apatow as director. The success of the pilot led HBO to give the
green-light To green-light is to give permission to proceed with a project. The term is a reference to the green traffic signal, indicating "go ahead". Film industry In the context of the film and television industries, to green-light something is to ...
to the first season in January 2016. After four episodes had aired, HBO renewed the series for a second season which premiered on January 14, 2018. On February 21, 2018, HBO renewed the series for a third season. Although season three was praised by critics, HBO canceled ''Crashing'' in March 2019. On May 14, 2019, Holmes released his book ''Comedy Sex God'', which is described as, "part autobiography, part philosophical inquiry, and part spiritual quest." On March 29, 2021, Holmes was selected to play the lead role of a laid-off auto worker-turned-
professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...
bowler (based on the life of
Tom Smallwood Thomas Smallwood (born November 4, 1977) is a professional ten-pin bowler competing on the PBA Tour. In 2009, the right-hander won his first PBA Tour title and first major in the PBA World Championship, defeating 2008–09 PBA Player of the Year ...
) in a
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
sitcom pilot. On May 14, 2021, the pilot for ''Smallwood'' was ordered to series, with a mid-season debut planned for the 2021–22 television season. On November 24, CBS announced the sitcom has been retitled ''How We Roll'', and received an adjusted first-season order of 11 episodes. On December 10, 2021, CBS announced the series would premiere on March 31, 2022. On May 5, 2022, CBS announced the show had been canceled after one season.


Influences

Holmes has listed
Weird Al Weird derives from the Anglo-Saxon word Wyrd, meaning fate or destiny. In modern English it has acquired the meaning of “strange or uncanny”. It may also refer to: Places * Weird Lake, a lake in Minnesota, U.S. People *"Weird Al" Yankovic ...
, Brian Regan, Sinbad,
Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominate ...
, Gallagher,
Jackie Martling John Coger "Jackie" Martling, Jr. (born February 14, 1948) is an American stand-up comedian, writer, radio personality, author, actor, and musician also known as Jackie the Joke Man. He is best known as a former writer and in-studio comedian fo ...
, Conan O'Brien,
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 Jerry Seinfeld (character), semi-fictionalized version of himself in the sitcom ''Seinfeld'', which he ...
,
Chris Farley Christopher Crosby Farley (February 15, 1964 – December 18, 1997) was an American actor and comedian. Farley was known for his loud, energetic comedic style, and was a member of Chicago's Second City Theatre and later a cast member of the ...
,
Dane Cook Dane Jeffrey Cook (born March 18, 1972) is an American stand-up comedian and film actor. He has released six comedy albums: ''Harmful If Swallowed''; ''Retaliation''; '' Vicious Circle''; '' Rough Around the Edges: Live from Madison Square Garde ...
, and
Ray Romano Raymond Albert Romano (born December 21, 1957) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and screenwriter. He is best known for his role as Ray Barone on the CBS sitcom '' Everybody Loves Raymond'', for which he received an Emmy Award, and as t ...
as his biggest comedic influences.


Personal life

Holmes first married when he was 22 years old; he divorced when he was 28. In late 2017, he married Valerie Chaney. Their daughter was born in September 2018. Holmes is a
vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...
.


Works


Comedy specials

* ''
Impregnated with Wonder ''Impregnated With Wonder'' is the debut album by comedian Pete Holmes released digitally on November 8, 2011, by Comedy Central Records. Track listing Reception ''Impregnated With Wonder'' was met with positive reviews upon its release. ...
'' (2011) * ''
Nice Try, The Devil ''Nice Try, The Devil'' is the second album by comedian Pete Holmes. The stand-up TV special was directed by Marcus Raboy and premiered on Comedy Central on May 12, 2013. The album was released digitally on May 14, 2013 by Comedy Central Records. ...
'' (2013) * ''Faces and Sounds'' (2016) * ''Dirty Clean'' (2018)


Film


Television


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Pete 1979 births 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American comedians American comedy writers American people of Lithuanian descent American podcasters American sketch comedians American stand-up comedians American male television actors American male voice actors American television talk show hosts American television writers Comedians from Massachusetts Gordon College (Massachusetts) alumni Late night television talk show hosts Lexington High School alumni Living people People from Lexington, Massachusetts Screenwriters from Massachusetts American male television writers 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century American male writers