David Pasquesi (born December 22, 1960) is an American actor and comedian. His screen credits include ''

Groundhog Day Groundhog Day ( pdc, Grund'sau dåk, , , ; Nova Scotia: Daks Day) is a popular North American tradition observed in the United States and Canada on February 2. It derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerges from ...

'', ''

Strangers with Candy ''Strangers with Candy'' is an American comedy television series produced by Comedy Central. It first aired on April 7, 1999, and concluded its third and final season on October 2, 2000. Its timeslot was Sundays at 10:00 p.m. ( ET). A pre ...

'', ''

Curb Your Enthusiasm ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' is an American television sitcom produced and broadcast by HBO since October 15, 2000, and created by Larry David, who stars as a semi-fictionalized version of himself. It follows David's life as a semi-retired televisio ...

'', ''

Return to Me ''Return to Me'' is a 2000 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Bonnie Hunt and starring David Duchovny and Minnie Driver. It was filmed in Chicago and was released on April 7, 2000 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was Carroll O'Connor's fi ...

'', ''

The Ice Harvest ''The Ice Harvest'' is a 2005 American neo-noir black comedy film directed by Harold Ramis, written by Richard Russo and Robert Benton, based on the 2000 novel of the same name by Scott Phillips and starring John Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton, and ...

'', ''

Veep ''Veep'' is an American political satire comedy television series that aired on HBO from April 22, 2012, to May 12, 2019. The series was created by Armando Iannucci as an adaptation of his sitcom ''The Thick of It''. The protagonist of ''Veep'' ...

'', ''

At Home with Amy Sedaris ''At Home with Amy Sedaris'' is an American surreal comedy television series that premiered on October 24, 2017, on truTV. Hosted by Amy Sedaris playing various characters, the show focuses on the comedian's love of entertaining, crafts, and cooki ...

'', ''

Lodge 49 ''Lodge 49'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Jim Gavin. It aired on the cable television network AMC in the United States from August 6, 2018, to October 14, 2019, spanning two seasons and 20 episodes. The title alludes ...

'', and ''

The Book of Boba Fett ''The Book of Boba Fett'' is an American space Western television series created by Jon Favreau for the streaming service Disney+. It is part of the ''Star Wars'' franchise and a spin-off from the series ''The Mandalorian'', taking place in the ...

''.

Early life

Pasquesi was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and raised in

Lake Bluff, Illinois Lake Bluff is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 5,616. History The first settler family to claim land within the area now part of Lake Bluff arrived in 1836. They claimed 100 acres of ...

. He graduated from Lake Forest High School.

Career

Pasquesi starred in the short film ''Regrets'' that premiered ''An Event Apart'', and co-starred in ''

I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With ''I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With'' is a 2006 American independent romantic comedy film written, produced, directed by, and starring Jeff Garlin, also featuring Sarah Silverman and Bonnie Hunt. Many improv veterans of Chicago's Second City and ...

''. He wrote for ''

Exit 57 ''Exit 57'' is a 30-minute sketch comedy series that aired on the American television channel Comedy Central from 1995 to 1996; its cast was composed of comedians Stephen Colbert, Paul Dinello, Jodi Lennon, Mitch Rouse, and Amy Sedaris, all of ...

'' and ''Strangers with Candy'', co-wrote and appeared in the

Spike TV Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles. The channel was o ...

series ''

Factory A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. T ...

'', and co-wrote and co-starred in ''Cop Show''. In 2009, he was in the cast of ''

Angels & Demons ''Angels & Demons'' is a 2000 bestselling mystery- thriller novel written by American author Dan Brown and published by Pocket Books and then by Corgi Books. The novel introduces the character Robert Langdon, who recurs as the protagonist of Bro ...

'', where he played the character Claudio Vincenzi. He co-created and co-wrote the new show ''Merkin Penal''. Similarly to his role of "Meat Man Stew" in ''

Strangers With Candy ''Strangers with Candy'' is an American comedy television series produced by Comedy Central. It first aired on April 7, 1999, and concluded its third and final season on October 2, 2000. Its timeslot was Sundays at 10:00 p.m. ( ET). A pre ...

'', Pasquesi plays "Knife Man" in ''

''. Pasquesi has performed at

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 ...

iO Theater 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 p ...

Improv Institute The Improv Institute was an improvisational comedy company in Chicago from 1984 until 1994. The mainstage show was improvised following audience suggestions. The troupe had two storefront-theaters, both on West Belmont Avenue on Chicago's North s ...

, and

Annoyance Theatre The Annoyance Theatre, or Annoyance Productions, is a theatre and associated ensemble based in Chicago, Illinois, that deals mainly in absurd and outrageous humor. Many people who have performed with the ensemble have gone on to become successfu ...

, and studied under

Del Close Del Close (March 9, 1934 – March 4, 1999) was an American actor, writer, and teacher who coached many of the best-known comedians and comic actors of the late twentieth century. In addition to an acting career in television and film, he was ...

in the early 80s and became part of the first iO Harold team "Baron's Barracudas". He appeared in four mainstage revues at Second City as well as in plays at the

Steppenwolf Theatre Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Chicago theatre company founded in 1974 by Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry, and Gary Sinise in the Unitarian church on Half Day Road in Deerfield, Illinois and is now located in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood on H ...

and the

Goodman Theatre Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of the Chicago theatre scene, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization. Part of its present theater complex occupies the lan ...

. In 2009, he played a supporting role in the

Harold Ramis Harold Allen Ramis (; November 21, 1944 – February 24, 2014) was an American actor, comedian, director and writer. His best-known film acting roles were as Egon Spengler in ''Ghostbusters'' (1984) and '' Ghostbusters II'' (1989), and as Russel ...

film ''Year One'' as the Prime Minister of Sodom. Pasquesi was a cast member in the Chicago premiere of

Yasmina Reza Yasmina Reza (born 1 May 1959) is a French playwright, actress, novelist and screenwriter best known for her plays '' 'Art and ''God of Carnage''. Many of her brief satiric plays have reflected on contemporary middle-class issues. The 2011 bla ...

's ''

God of Carnage ''God of Carnage'' (originally in French ''Le Dieu du carnage'') is a play by Yasmina Reza that was first published in 2008. It is about two sets of parents; the son of one couple has hurt the son of the other couple at a public park. The paren ...

'' at the Goodman Theatre.

TJ and Dave

Since 2002, he has been performing with

T. J. Jagodowski Thomas James Jagodowski (born September 2, 1971) is an American comedian, actor, and improvisational performer who resides in Chicago. He has been a member of The Second City as well as a performer and teacher at iO Theater, formerly known as "Imp ...

in the all improvised show "TJ and Dave". In 2006 they began an Off Broadway run, performing monthly at The Barrow Street Theatre in New York City. The Chicago Reader has described the show as "an hour of subtle character development, verbal facility, and pantomimic agility that anticipates and plays off the audience's reactions." Guests of the show include '' August: Osage County's''

Tracy Letts Tracy S. Letts (born July 4, 1965) is an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He started his career at the Steppenwolf Theatre before making his Broadway debut as a playwright for '' August: Osage County'' (2007), for which he received ...

, Academy Award Nominee

Michael Shannon Michael Corbett Shannon (born August 7, 1974) is an American actor, producer, musician, and theater director. He is an off beat actor known for his on-screen versatility, performing in both comedies and dramas. He became known for his frequent ...

SNL ''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 ...

's Mike O'Brien, and

Absinthe Absinthe (, ) is an anise-flavoured spirit derived from several plants, including the flowers and leaves of ''Artemisia absinthium'' ("grand wormwood"), together with green anise, sweet fennel, and other medicinal and culinary herbs. Historical ...

's Jet Eveleth. The 2009

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...

Film festival included the documentary ''Trust Us, This is All Made Up'' directed by

Alex Karpovsky Alexander Karpovsky (born September 23, 1975)Rick PorterAlex Karpovsky - Apple TV ''Apple TV'' is an American director, actor, screenwriter, producer and film editor. He is best known for playing Ray Ploshansky on the HBO comedy-drama series ''Gi ...

, which chronicles a "T.J. and Dave" performance.TJ And Dave's T.J. Jagodowski and David Pasquesi

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
Dave Pasquesi's Official SiteTJ and Dave Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pasquesi, David Living people American male comedians American male film actors American male television actors American television writers American writers of Italian descent American male television writers 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors 1960 births Male actors from Chicago Screenwriters from Illinois Comedians from Illinois 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians