Cole Stratton (born September 21, 1976) is an American actor, comedian, podcaster, writer and producer, best known as one of the Co-Founders of

SF Sketchfest SF Sketchfest, or The San Francisco Comedy Festival, is an American comedy festival founded in 2002 by Bay Area actor-comedians David Owen, Janet Varney and Cole Stratton. It takes place every January and February in a variety of Bay Area venues a ...

, the San Francisco Comedy Festival and the co-host of the Pop My Culture Podcast.

Early life

Stratton was born in Lansing, Michigan and moved to Davis, California when he was 9 years old, where he attended Davis Senior High School. He graduated with a degree in Cinema from

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...

. He moved to Los Angeles in 2003, where he currently resides.

Career

SF Sketchfest

Stratton co-founded

, the San Francisco Comedy Festival with David Owen and

Janet Varney Janet Varney (born February 16, 1976) is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer, known for voicing Korra in the Nickelodeon animated television series ''The Legend of Korra'', co-starring as Sheriff Evie Barret in the television seri ...

in 2002. One of the most prestigious festivals in the country, it showcases sketch, stand-up, improv, tributes, movies, cast reunions, musical and

alternative comedy Alternative comedy is a term coined in the 1980s for a style of comedy that makes a conscious break with the mainstream comedic style of an era. The phrase has had different connotations in different contexts: in the UK, it was used to describe ...

. Past performers include Carol Burnett,

Conan O'Brien Conan Christopher O'Brien (born April 18, 1963) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known for having hosted late-night talk shows for almost 28 years, beginning with ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' (19 ...

The State A state is a centralized political organization that imposes and enforces rules over a population within a territory. There is no undisputed definition of a state. One widely used definition comes from the German sociologist Max Weber: a "stat ...

, Gene Wilder,

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 ...

, The Kids in the Hall,

Mr. Show ''Mr. Show with Bob and David'', also known as ''Mr. Show'', is an American sketch comedy series starring and hosted by Bob Odenkirk and David Cross. It aired on HBO from November 3, 1995, to December 28, 1998. Cross and Odenkirk introduced m ...

, Paul Reubens,

Upright Citizens Brigade The Upright Citizens Brigade is an improvisational and sketch comedy group that emerged from Chicago's ImprovOlympic in 1990. The original incarnation of the group consisted of Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh, Adam McKay, Ri ...

, Neil Patrick Harris and many more.

Pop My Culture Podcast

Stratton co-hosted the Pop My Culture Podcast alongside Vanessa Ragland. The podcast ranked second on '' Rolling Stone''s Best Comedy Podcast of the Moment, one of the top 20 Comedy Podcasts of 2013 by Paste Magazine and one of 10 Favorite Comedy Podcasts by IFC and

Mashable.com Mashable is a digital media platform, news website and entertainment company founded by Pete Cashmore in 2005. History Mashable was founded by Pete Cashmore while living in Aberdeen, Scotland, in July 2005. Early iterations of the site were a ...

. After 6 years, the podcast wrapped up in January 2017 with their 213th and final episode with guests

Paul F. Tompkins Paul Francis Tompkins (born September 12, 1968) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He is known for his work in television on such programs as ''Mr. Show with Bob and David'', ''Real Time with Bill Maher'', and ''Best Week Ever'', later ...

Rhett Miller Stewart Ransom "Rhett" Miller II (born September 1970) is the lead singer of the country rock band Old 97's. He also records and performs as a solo musician, and has been published as a writer of both fiction and non-fiction. Early life Mille ...

and

Samm Levine Samuel Franklin Levine (born March 12, 1982) is an American actor, comedian and podcaster. He is known for his portrayal of Neal Schweiber on NBC's ''Freaks and Geeks'' and PFC Hirschberg in the 2009 film ''Inglourious Basterds''. Levine was al ...

. The episodes are available 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 ...

, Nerdist and the podcast's website. He's a frequent guest host and improviser on Kevin Pollak's podcast, Alchemy This, appearing on over 40 episodes. He also is a recurring guest on

Chuck Bryant ''Stuff You Should Know'', often abbreviated as SYSK, is a podcast and video series published by iHeartRadio and hosted by Josh Clark and Charles W. "Chuck" Bryant. The podcast, which releases episodes several times a week, educates listeners o ...

's Movie Crush Podcast, with episodes focused on ''

Searching for Bobby Fischer ''Searching for Bobby Fischer'', released in the United Kingdom as ''Innocent Moves'', is a 1993 American Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Steven Zaillian in his List of directorial debuts, directorial debut. Starr ...

,'' ''

The Manchurian Candidate ''The Manchurian Candidate'' is a novel by Richard Condon, first published in 1959. It is a political thriller about the son of a prominent U.S. political family who is brainwashed into being an unwitting assassin for a Communist conspiracy. The ...

'', '' Still Crazy'' and a special episode discussing his "100 Lesser-Known Movies to Watch at Home" list. Other podcast guest appearances include Voyage to the Stars, Dumb People Town,

Never Not Funny ''Never Not Funny'' is a podcast hosted by American comedian Jimmy Pardo, since spring 2006, currently releasing two episodes a week. He and producer/co-host Matt Belknap have appeared in every episode. Comedian Mike Schmidt appeared as co-host f ...

with Jimmy Pardo, Alison Rosen is Your New Best Friend, Comedy Film Nerds, Hello from the Magic Tavern,

Jordan, Jesse, Go! ''Jordan, Jesse, Go!'' (often abbreviated to ''JJGO'') is a weekly comedy audio podcast, which began airing in 2007. It is hosted by comedian Jordan Morris, a television writer, producer, and actor, and Jesse Thorn, a public radio host. The show ...

, James Bonding, The JV Club, Totally Laime with Elizabeth Laime, Competitive Erotic Fan Fiction, The Wahlberg Solution, The Mutant Season, Talkin Walkin and Probably Science.

RiffTrax

Stratton has written and performed several comedic audio commentaries for films along with Janet Varney. These appear on the RiffTrax website under the "RiffTrax Presents" branding, as being officially sanctioned by RiffTrax founder and ''

Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...

'' alum, Michael J. Nelson. RiffTrax commentaries featuring Stratton & Varney include '' Dirty Dancing'', ''

Ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

'', '' Footloose'', ''

Poltergeist In ghostlore, a poltergeist ( or ; German for "rumbling ghost" or "noisy spirit") is a type of ghost or spirit that is responsible for physical disturbances, such as loud noises and objects being moved or destroyed. Most claims or fictional descr ...

'', '' The Lost Boys'', ''

Jaws 3D ''Jaws 3-D'' (titled ''Jaws III'' in its 2-D form) is a 1983 American thriller film directed by Joe Alves and starring Dennis Quaid, Bess Armstrong, Lea Thompson and Louis Gossett Jr. It is the second sequel to Steven Spielberg's ''Jaws'' a ...

'', ''

Flatliners ''Flatliners'' is a 1990 American psychological horror film directed by Joel Schumacher, produced by Michael Douglas and Rick Bieber, and written by Peter Filardi. It stars Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, William Baldwin, Oliver Platt, and Ke ...

'' and '' Dreamscape''.

Television and film

Television appearances include: '' American Horror Story'', '' Good Girls'', ''

9-1-1 , usually written 911, is an emergency telephone number for the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Palau, Argentina, Philippines, Jordan, as well as the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), one of eight N11 codes. Like other emergency nu ...

'', ''

Nash Bridges ''Nash Bridges'' is an American police procedural television series created by Carlton Cuse. The show stars Don Johnson and Cheech Marin as two Inspectors with the San Francisco Police Department's Special Investigations Unit (SIU). The seri ...

'', ''

America's Most Wanted ''America's Most Wanted'' (often abbreviated as ''AMW'') is an American television program whose first run was produced by 20th Television, and second run is under the Fox Alternative Entertainment division of Fox Corporation. At the time of i ...

'' (featuring The Zodiac Killer), the Animal Planet original film ''

The Retrievers ''The Retrievers'' is a 2001 television film starring Robert Hays, Mel Harris, Alan Rachins, Alana Austin, Taylor Emerson, Betty White and Robert Wagner. It was directed by Paul Schneider and written by Larry Ketron. Plot A family adopts a stra ...

'', MTV's ''

Yo Momma ''Yo Momma'' is an American television show based upon insulting one's mother. Creators, executive producers and hosts are Wilmer Valderrama, along with Sam Sarpong (Seasons 1 and 2), Jason Everhart and Destiny Lightsy. The show was produced ...

'', and he was a cast member on NBC's competitive comedy pilot ''Comedy Colosseum''. Film projects include: ''Diani & Devine Meet The Apocalypse'', Callback opposite

Kevin Farley Kevin Prindiville Farley (born June 8, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer and director. Early life Farley was born in Madison, Wisconsin, the son of Mary Anne (née Crosby), a homemaker, and Thomas Farley, who owned an oil ...

, ''Around the Fire'', '' Dead Man on Campus'' and ''The Selling''.

Improv and sketch comedy

Stratton has studied improvisation at The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre and M.I.'s Westside Comedy Theater, where he performs frequently with the groups Pretty, Pretty Pony and The Cobranauts. He tours with the improv group Theme Park (featuring Rachel Dratch, Oscar Nunez,

Simon Helberg Simon Maxwell Helberg (born December 9, 1980) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for playing Howard Wolowitz in the CBS sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory'' (2007–2019), for which he won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supp ...

, Danny Pudi, John Michael Higgins,

Michael Hitchcock Michael Hitchcock (born July 28, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and television producer. Early life Hitchcock received his Bachelor of Science degree from Northwestern University and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Un ...

, Ian Brennan,

and

Jessica Makinson Jessica Makinson (born November 29, 1978) is an American actress, comedian, and improviser known as a series regular for several Comedy Central programs, for voice-over work for animation, and as a sketch player for late night talk shows. Early ...

). Theme Park has performed at

, the

Bridgetown Comedy Festival The Bridgetown Comedy Festival is a stand-up comedy festival located in the Hawthorne district of Portland, Oregon that took place every spring from 2008 to 2017, featuring standup comedy showcases, live podcasts, panel discussions and improv comed ...

, Bentzen Ball, the Moontower Comedy Festival and the Rooftop Comedy Festival. He co-founded the Bay Area sketch collective Totally False People (who performed at the 2004 HBO

U.S. Comedy Arts Festival The Comedy Festival, formerly known as the US Comedy Arts Festival, was a comedy festival that ran from 1995 to 2008. The festival included stand-up comedy performances, appearances by the casts of television shows, and has a film component calle ...

in Aspen, Colorado). He's also performed with Greg Proops, Patton Oswalt, Jack McBrayer,

Bob Odenkirk Robert John Odenkirk (; born October 22, 1962) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker best known for his role as Saul Goodman on ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013) and its spin-off ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–2022). For the latter, he has re ...

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 ...

, Rick Overton, Matt Walsh, and Jeff Garlin.

References

External links

Website for Cole Stratton
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stratton, Cole American male television actors Living people 1976 births People from the San Francisco Bay Area Davis Senior High School (California) alumni