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Combining the timing of yesteryear with the indie comedy of the 21st century, writer, actor, and standup comedian Dana Gould was born and raised in the "ironically named" town of Hopedale, MA. He moved to the West Coast during the mid-'80s comedy boom, landing first in San Francisco, where he became the initial inhabitant of the Comedy Condo, an apartment that would later be rented by Ryan Stout, Daily Show co-creator Lizz Winstead, and many other comedians. After a move to Los Angeles, he made numerous appearances on Letterman and Conan along with some HBO specials. In the early '90s he became a regular on The Ben Stiller Show, then in 1995 he became the voice of the video game character Gex. In 1998 the Uproar label released his debut CD, Fun House, and then in 2001 he began a seven-year gig writing for The Simpsons. The Shout Factory label released his second album (and first standup DVD), Let Me Put My Thoughts in You, in 2009.
Wikipedia:
Dana John Gould (born August 24, 1964) is an American comedian and comedy writer born and raised in Hopedale, Massachusetts. His upbringing and his extended family lent themselves to his stand-up routine, which has been seen on HBO, Showtime, and Comedy Central, among other places.
Career
After high school, he studied communications and theatre at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He eventually moved to San Francisco to pursue a career in comedy. It was there he, along with fellow comedian Alex Reid, founded the San Francisco Comedy Condo in 1986.
Gould wrote and performed on The Ben Stiller Show; one such sketch features Gould as Otto, Cupid's twisted brother, whose arrows convince a young man to fall madly in love with an elderly woman. Another series of sketches features a heavily disguised Gould as Wilford Brimley advertising "Grady's Oats" (a parody of Brimley's Quaker Oats advertisements). In one, he speaks of his Uncle Ray's hobby of dressing in a pink taffeta gown and filling his panties with oatmeal; in another, he brandishes a revolver through the window at children. He also appeared in an episode of MADtv as Newt Gingrich and on one episode of Seinfeld as "Fragile" Franky Mirman, Jerry's childhood friend (aka "The Summer George"). He co-created and was executive producer on the MTV series Super Adventure Team. In addition Gould's stand up material was featured in Comedy Central's animated series Shorties Watchin' Shorties.
For seven years he wrote for The Simpsons, one episode of which he provided the voice of Don Knotts as Barney Fife (an impression that originated in his standup routine). He left the show in late 2006 in order to focus on his own screenwriting, though he served as co-executive producer on seasons 14 through 18.
Gould had a featured cameo in the 2003 film Girls Will Be Girls, in which he played a hit-and-run victim who admits to his alcohol problem after having a desperate one-night stand with aging C-list actress Evie Harris, the other driver in the car accident. He was also featured in the film The Aristocrats, where, among other commentary, he presents an Amish version of the eponymous joke. His short films, Last Man On Earth, Break On Through With J.F.K., A Night On Java Island, and Soul Mates are also available for download on his site. Except for the latter, all feature Gould in acting roles. 2009 saw the release of his new stand up special, "Let Me Put My Thoughts In You" on Shout Factory.
Gould provided the voice for the title character in the U.S. versions of the Gex video game series and the UK version of the first game. Gould, with his frequent writing partner Rob Cohen, wrote the majority of the jokes for the games.
He was a regular contributor to the Adam Carolla radio show where he did impressions of Huell Howser. He appears occasionally on The Adam Carolla Show podcast. The first episode of Gould's own biweekly podcast, The Dana Gould Hour , was made available on iTunes on January 31, 2012. Recurring guests include comedians like Eddie Pepitone, and each episode revolves around a singular theme (i.e. conspiracy theories or the apocalypse).
In 2010 he appeared in actual form on Family Guy episode, "Brian Writes a Bestseller".
Personal life
He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Sue Naegle, President of HBO Entertainment, and their three children. Each of his daughters was adopted from China.
