Rupert Jee (born July 16, 1956) is an American
entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...
and television celebrity who gained fame from his frequent appearances on ''
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 The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...
'', where he sometimes used the alter ego Kenny.
He first appeared on the ''Late Show'' during a "Meet the Neighbors" segment on September 20, 1993, and was a frequent accomplice of host
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' ...
during the show's many comedic segments.
Jee holds a bachelor's degree in
economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...
from the
City University of New York
The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven Upper divis ...
.
He made an appearance on the January 7, 2016, episode of ''
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Spartina Productions and CBS Studios, it is the second it ...
'', marking his first and (as of 2022) only appearance on ''The Late Show'' following the retirement of David Letterman in 2015. On the day Colbert's team moved into the theatre, he renamed one of the deli's sandwiches in Colbert's honor,
but as of 2022 the sandwich returned to its former name.
Hello Deli
Jee owns Hello Deli, which is located at 213 W 53rd St, adjacent to the Ed Sullivan Theatre where the ''Late Show'' is taped. His deli is one of the neighborhood's last remaining small businesses.
References
External links
Official Hello Deli website*
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