Joshua Lyons Gondelman (born January 15, 1985) is an American author, comedy writer, producer, and stand-up comedian. He was a supervising producer and writer for '' Desus & Mero'' on

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

. He was previously a writer on '' Last Week Tonight with John Oliver''. He is also known for co-creating the parody

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

account @SeinfeldToday.

Early life and education

Gondelman grew up in Stoneham,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, to parents Ellion Lyons and David Gondelman. He grew up in a Jewish family. Gondelman graduated from Stoneham High School in 2003. He graduated from

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , ...

in 2007, where he

double major A double degree program, sometimes called a dual degree, combined degree, conjoint degree, joint degree or double graduation program, involves a student's working for two university degrees in parallel—either at the same institution or at diffe ...

ed in

creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on narrative craft, character development, and the use of literary ...

and English and minored in Spanish.

Career

When he was 19 years old, Gondelman began doing standup comedy 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 ...

. He did stand-up in Boston for seven years and occasionally returns. After college, he worked as a pre-school teacher and taught elementary school Spanish. In 2011, Gondelman moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where his then-girlfriend lived, to pursue stand-up comedy. During this time he also began doing freelance writing. He co-wrote his first major story, "Both Sides of a Break Up", with his ex-girlfriend; it was published in ''

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker' ...

'' in 2012. In 2013, he wrote a story for '' Esquire'' describing his experience running in a

Tough Mudder Tough Mudder is an endurance event series in which participants attempt obstacle courses. It was co-founded by Will Dean and Guy Livingstone. The obstacles often play on common human fears, such as fire, water, electricity and heights. The fi ...

race in which he was sponsored by

Wheaties Wheaties is an American brand of breakfast cereal that is made by General Mills. It is well known for featuring prominent athletes on its packages and has become a cultural icon in the United States. Originally introduced as Washburn's Gold Meda ...

in exchange for monetary compensation from

General Mills General Mills, Inc., is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, the company orig ...

and Zeus Jones. He has also written for ''McSweeney's'', ''The New Yorker'', and ''The New York Times''. In October 2015, a book co-authored by Gondelman and Joe Berkowitz entitled ''You Blew It!: An Awkward Look at the Many Ways in Which You've Already Ruined Your Life'', was published.

Stand-up

As a stand-up comedian, he has opened for

John Oliver John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is a British-American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. Oliver started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United Kingdom. He came to wider attention ...

Jen Kirkman Jennifer Ann Kirkman (born August 28, 1974) is an American stand-up comedian and screenwriter, podcaster, and actress. She is known for her regular appearances as a round-table panelist on ''Chelsea Lately'' for 70 episodes from 2008 to 2014. ...

and

Pete Holmes 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, ...

, and also performs regularly at New York City venues. Eve Peyser has said that during his stand-up, Gondelman "radiates humility and a relatable, everyday awkwardness alongside fierce confidence and wit." ''Everything's The Best'', his debut album, came out in 2011. His second album, ''Physical Whisper'', was released on March 18, 2016. In 2010, he won the Laughing Skull Comedy Festival in Atlanta, Georgia. In March 2016, he made his late-night television debut on ''Conan''. He made his network television debut in January 2018 on Late Night with Seth Meyers. Gondelman also was a stand-up consultant for the final season of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel."

SeinfeldToday

In December 2012, Gondelman created the Twitter account "SeinfeldToday", along with Jaclyn Moore, formerly of BuzzFeed. The account posted humorous tweets reimagining ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...

'' characters in modern-day situations. As of October 2015, the last time the account was active, it had more than 900,000 followers. At the 6th annual

Shorty Award The Shorty Awards (also known as “The Shortys”) honors the most innovative work globally in digital and social media by brands, agencies, nonprofits and creators. The Shortys’ mission is to celebrate, inspire and push the boundaries of exce ...

s in 2014, the account won an award in the "#Fakeaccount" category.

''Last Week Tonight with John Oliver''

In 2014, Gondelman was hired by '' Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'' as the web producer for the show's first season, and became a staff writer for the second season. In 2016, he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series for his work on the show. He and the writing team of ''Last Week Tonight'' won this same award in 2017, as well as a Writers Guild of America Award in 2017.

''Desus & Mero''

In 2019, Gondelman left ''Last Week Tonight'' to become a senior staff writer and producer on '' Desus & Mero'' after the series moved to

''Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me!''

Since 2019, Gondelman has been a regular panelist on the

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

show '' Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!''. In March of 2023, Gondelman was the guest host filling in for Peter Sagal while Sagal was on paternity leave.

Personal life

Gondelman is married to

Maris Kreizman Maris may refer to: Personal names *Māris (name), a Latvian masculine given name, including a list of people with the name *Maris (given name), including a list of people and mythical or fictional characters *Maris (surname), including a list of ...

, the creator of the blog and book ''Slaughterhouse 90210.'' They live in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

with Bizzy, a senior pug.

Awards

* 2014:

Shorty Awards The Shorty Awards (also known as “The Shortys”) honors the most innovative work globally in digital and social media by brands, agencies, nonprofits and creators. The Shortys’ mission is to celebrate, inspire and push the boundaries of exce ...

, #Fakeaccount category * 2014: Peabody Award for '' Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'' * 2015:

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

, Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series for ''Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'' (nominee) * 2016: Emmy Awards, Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series for ''Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'' * 2017: Writers Guild of America Award, Comedy/Variety Series for ''Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'' * 2017: Emmy Awards, Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series for ''Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'' * 2019: Emmy Awards, Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series for ''Last Week Tonight with John Oliver''

Discography

* 2011: ''Everything's The Best!'' * 2016: ''Physical Whisper'' * 2019: ''Dancing on a Weeknight'' * 2022: ''People Pleaser''

Filmography

* 2011: ''Quiet Desperation'' (TV series) – Actor (3 episodes) * 2011: ''Viral Video'' (short) – as Agent * 2013: ''Splashie'' (TV series short) – as Criminal * 2014: '' Billy on the Street with Billy Eichner'' (TV series) – Creative consultant (2 episodes) * 2014: ''Ramsey Has a Time Machine'' (TV series) – as Jackson Pollock in "Art" * 2015–present: '' Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'' (TV Series) – Producer (11 episodes), Writer (14 episodes) * 2016: ''

Night Train with Wyatt Cenac Wyatt John Foster Cenac Jr. (; born April 19, 1976) is an American comedian, actor, producer, and writer. He was a correspondent and writer for ''The Daily Show'' from 2008 to 2012. He starred in the TBS series ''People of Earth'' and in Barry ...

'' (TV series) – Actor in "Links & Logs" * 2016: ''The Comedy Show Show'' (TV series) – Actor in "RISK! With Kevin Allison" * 2016: ''@Midnight'' (TV series) – as himself * 2017: ''Wiki What'' (

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

show) - Host *2020: ''

The George Lucas Talk Show ''The George Lucas Talk Show'' is an improvised talk show in New York City hosted by comedian Connor Ratliff, who appears as George Lucas, the creator of '' Star Wars'', and he interviews real guests as themselves in a panel format. He is join ...

'' - as himself. Episode: "Revenge of the Sick: After Show"

Works and publications

* * * ;Selected articles * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ;''Wiki What?'' * * * *

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gondelman, Joshua Lyons 1985 births Living people 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American screenwriters American comedy writers American Internet celebrities American magazine writers American male comedians American male screenwriters American male television actors American male television writers American stand-up comedians American television writers Brandeis University alumni Comedians from Massachusetts Comedians from New York City Jewish American comedians Jewish American comedy writers Jewish American male actors Jewish male comedians Jewish American screenwriters Jewish American writers Male actors from Massachusetts Male actors from New York City People from Stoneham, Massachusetts Primetime Emmy Award winners Screenwriters from Massachusetts Screenwriters from New York (state) Writers from Massachusetts Writers from New York City Writers Guild of America Award winners