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Comedian Patton Oswalt translated his acerbic, defiantly absurdist sensibility into surprising mainstream success, enjoying a thriving television and film career without dulling his edge. Born January 27, 1969, in Portsmouth, VA, Oswalt initially pursued a career as a writer, and also worked as a paralegal before performing his first open-mic gig at the Washington, D.C., club Garvin's in the summer of 1988. He began his professional standup career the following year and in 1992 relocated to San Francisco, continuing to hone his craft in nightclubs. After collaborating with fellow comedian Blaine Capatch on Food for Thought, a series of short films for the cable network Comedy Central, Oswalt settled in Los Angeles in 1995, working as a writer on Fox's fledgling sketch program Mad TV and appearing on HBO Comedy Showcase. In 1996, he made his feature film debut with a brief role in the comedy flop Down Periscope. Cast as nerdy Spence Olchin in the long-running CBS sitcom The King of Queens in 1998, Oswalt worked alongside veteran standups Kevin James and the great Jerry Stiller, solidifying his rising profile via roles in the features Magnolia, Man on the Moon, and Zoolander. In 2003, he even expanded into the world of comic books, writing the DC one-shot JLA: Welcome to the Working Week. Oswalt's debut standup LP, Feelin' Kinda Patton, appeared on Michael Penn and Aimee Mann's United Musicians imprint in 2004. The indie rock fanzine Chunklet also released an unedited and unexpurgated two-disc version of the same performance as 222. In the fall of 2004 Oswalt teamed with Zach Galifanakis, Brian Posehn, and Maria Bamford as the Comedians of Comedy, a collective that eschewed traditional standup clubs in favor of indie rock venues. A feature film documenting their tour followed in 2005, as did a six-episode Comedy Central series. In 2007, Oswalt appeared in a number of voice acting roles, including Jim in an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants and Rémy, the star of the Pixar film Ratatouille. In 2007 he released Werewolves and Lollipops with My Weakness Is Strong following in 2009. Finest Hour arrived in 2011 with Patton discovering The Miracle of Sweatpants.
Wikipedia:
Patton Oswalt (born January 27, 1969) is an American stand-up comedian, writer, actor and voice actor known for roles such as Spencer Olchin in the popular sitcom The King of Queens, and voicing Remy from the film Ratatouille.
Early life [edit]
Oswalt was born January 27, 1969, in Portsmouth, Virginia, to Carla and Larry J. Oswalt, a career United States Marine Corps officer. He was named after General George S. Patton. While a military brat, he later lived in Ohio and Tustin, California, before settling in Sterling, Virginia. He is a 1987 graduate of Broad Run High School in Ashburn, Virginia and later attended the College of William and Mary, where he majored in English and was initiated into the Alpha Theta Chapter of the Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity.
Career [edit]
Oswalt first began performing standup comedy in the late 1980s or early 1990s, by his own reckoning. After writing for MADtv and starring in his own 1996 comedy special for HBO, he went on to garner notable roles in films and television shows. His most prominent and long-running role was as Spence Olchin on The King of Queens. His first starring film role was as the voice of Remy, the lead character in the 2007 Pixar film Ratatouille. He has also appeared in smaller roles in such films as Magnolia and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. He lent his voice as in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas as a caller on the WTCR show "The Tight End Zone", and was the voice of a caller on "Chatterbox" on LCFR in the game Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories. He was also the voice of a reporter on "New World Order", a radio show on VCPR in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories.
Oswalt wrote the comic book story "JLA: Welcome to the Working Week", a backup story in Batman #600; a story for Dwight T. Albatross's The Goon Noir #01 and a story for Masks: Too Hot for TV. Expanding his voice artist repertoire, he began voicing the villainous character "Tobey" on PBS Kids GO! series WordGirl in 2007. He also appeared on the Comedy Central Roast of William Shatner. In August 2007, he appeared on the Comedy Central Roast of Flavor Flav. In 2007, he appeared on an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants, "The Original Fry Cook", as Jim. He also appears as Carl, the Corndog Hut's mascot in American Hi-Fi's music video for "Another Perfect Day". He also appears in an episode of Static Shock. On June 27, 2007, Oswalt was a special guest on the Emeril Live program on the Food Network to promote Ratatouille. Other recent appearances include an episode of Venture Bros. where he voiced an aging boy adventurer Robin parody. In 2008 Oswalt moderated a reunion panel of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 cast at the San Diego Comic-Con International.
In 2009, Oswalt played Paul Aufiero, the leading role in Robert D. Siegel's 2009 directorial debut, Big Fan. He was to star in a 2010 Broadway revival of Lips Together, Teeth Apart. However, the show was postponed then eventually canceled due to Megan Mullally's departure from the production when the director denied her request to replace Oswalt due to his lack of stage experience.
He starred in the Showtime drama The United States of Tara as Neil, an employee of Four Winds Landscaping. He also provides the voice of Thrasher, a robot protagonist from the new Cartoon Network show, Robotomy.
In January 2011, Oswalt released his first book, Zombie Spaceship Wasteland.
In November 2011, Oswalt played the role of Hurlan Heartshe in the surrealist comedy miniseries The Heart, She Holler on Cartoon Network's late-night programming block, Adult Swim. Also in November 2011, Oswalt was depicted blowing the second-ever puff of 3D pot smoke in A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas. In December 2011, Oswalt played Matt Freehauf in Jason Reitman's black comedy Young Adult.
He originated the role of Billy Stanhope on "Two and a Half Men" in 2012. In 2013, he appeared in a CollegeHumor skit as the Penguin, a Batman villain.
Stand-up comedy [edit]
Oswalt's stand-up comedy covers topics ranging from pop culture frivolity such as comic book supervillains and 1980s glam metal to deeper social issues like American excess, materialism, foreign policy and religion. He also discusses his atheism in his stand-up. In 2004, Oswalt released a comedy album entitled Feelin' Kinda Patton and later that year a longer, unedited version of the same performance entitled 222 (Live & Uncut), both through the United Musicians collective, and a stand-up special, No Reason to Complain. He is also on a split EP called Patton vs. Alcohol vs. Zach vs. Patton with Zach Galifianakis and is featured on two Un-Cabaret compilations, "The Un & Only" and "The Good, the Bad and the Drugly". On July 10, 2007, Patton released his second CD Werewolves and Lollipops on Sub Pop records.
In 2004, Oswalt put together the Comedians of Comedy tour, made up of modern alt-comics Zach Galifianakis, Brian Posehn and Maria Bamford. The tour performed at smaller, more intimate indie rock venues instead of traditional (and expensive) comedy clubs. The Fall 2004 tour was documented in a 2005 film of the same name, and was followed by a six-episode Comedy Central series based on the Summer 2005 tour. This tour featured special guest appearances from comedians such as Blaine Capatch, David Cross, Rob Gasper, Bobby Tisdale and Todd Barry. Subsequent incarnations of the tour have included Eugene Mirman and Morgan Murphy.
In 2004 Oswalt's stand up material was featured on Comedy Central's animated series Shorties Watchin' Shorties. That same year a stand up DVD called No Reason to Complain was released. Oswalt appeared several times as a "lawyer" on Lewis Black's Root of All Evil. In the episode "Ultimate Fighting vs. Blogging", he argued that the popular influence of blogging has been evil, and in his closing argument, he performed a rick roll on the audience. He developed much of the material for his closing arguments on the program.
On February 28, 2009, Oswalt recorded his third comedy album at the Lisner Auditorium at George Washington University in Washington D.C. It premiered on Comedy Central as Patton Oswalt: My Weakness is Strong on August 23, 2009, and was released on DVD August 25, 2009.
Oswalt's latest album, Patton Oswalt: Finest Hour, was released on September 19, 2011. The extended and uncensored DVD of this special was released in April 2012, a few days after its television premiere on Comedy Central.
Personal life [edit]
Oswalt married writer Michelle Eileen McNamara on September 24, 2005. Their daughter, Alice Rigney Oswalt, was born on April 15, 2009.
Oswalt is an atheist, and has referenced his atheism in his comedy specials, No Reason to Complain, Feelin' Kind of Patton and My Weakness is Strong. It was also referenced by Katt Williams in the opening act of The Comedy Central Roast of Flavor Flav.
He is also a fan of Metalcore music.
In 2013, he teamed up with PETA and spoke out against chaining pet dogs, and sent a letter to the Mayor and members of the city council of Newport News, Virginia urging them to ban the practice.
