Annabelle Gurwitch
Encyclopedia
Annabelle Gurwitch is an American
comedic actress. She is best known as the original hostess of TBS's Dinner and a Movie
. She is also a noted author and columnist and was most recently the host of Wa$ted!
on Planet Green.
and grew up in Florida
, graduating from Miami Beach High School
in 1980. While there, she took acting classes with famed South Florida drama teacher Jay W. Jensen
. After high school, she attended The Experimental Theatre Wing at New York University
. Gurwitch started her work Off-Broadway
in New York City
and her performance in the title role of Murray Mednick
’s Joe and Betty garnered her a place in The New York Times
"Top Ten Performances in Theatre of the Year 2002." She also appeared in the Los Angeles Times
"Top Ten Performances of the Year in Theatre 2001." She currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Emmy Award winning writer Jeff Kahn, and their son.
Gurwitch is a spokesperson for the Do Not Mail Registry sponsored by the NGO
Forest Ethics and a member of the advisory board of United Professionals, an organization founded by Barbara Ehrenreich
. She also donates considerable time to the National Wildlife Federation
.
. Gurwitch and Paul Gilmartin were the original hosts of the show, which combines cooking instruction with the viewing of a feature film. Claud Mann is the host chef
of the series and prepares various themed dinner dishes. Gurwitch served as co-host for six years, departing in 2002.
Other television hosting work includes stints on the HBO award-winning series Not Necessarily the News
, SyFy's The Dream Team with Annabelle and Michael, VH1's "Best Of...," series, Style Network's "You're Invited," and Dot Comedy
in addition to her most recent position as the host of Wa$ted!
on Planet Green for 3 seasons.
Gurwitch has appeared in numerous television programs as an actress including Dexter
, The Cleaner
, Medium
, State of Mind
, The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman
, Seinfeld
and Boston Legal
.
She also frequently gives her opinion on such shows as The Today Show
, Real Time with Bill Maher
, The Joy Behar Show
, Fox & Friends
, The Early Show
on CBS, CNN's In the Money, FOX's Red Eye w/Greg Gutfeld, and in the past she has been invited to share her thoughts on many others: The Oprah Winfrey Show
, The Wanda Sykes Show
, and Bill Maher's Politically Incorrect
, to name a few.
routines, and filmed excerpts from the previously-produced stage play of the same title. David Cross
, Jeff Garlin
, Bob Odenkirk
and Anne Meara
were all featured in addition to UAW workers, former US Secretary of Labor Bob Reich, economist Ben Stein
and many other job seekers. The film was played at the US Department of Labor and labor film festivals around the country including the DC Labor FilmFest.
Gurwitch has appeared in numerous other films as an actress including Melvin Goes to Dinner
and The Shaggy Dog
.
, but was fired during an encounter in which he said that she looked "retarded" among other insults. In 2006 she published a book of essays inspired by that dismissal called Fired!: Tales of the Canned, Canceled, Downsized, and Dismissed. Gurwitch also based a number of live performances on the Fired! theme, and in 2007 completed the Fired! documentary film.
Gurwitch is a contributing writer for NPR's Day to Day
, The Los Angeles Times Magazine
, The Nation
, and the website Freshyarn.com. She has written for Child
, Publishers Weekly
, Marie Claire
, More
, Men's Health
, Glamour
, Cooking Light, Premiere
, Penthouse
and Los Angeles Magazine
.
Her essays have appeared in two anthologies: Note to Self: 30 Women on Hardship, Humiliation, Heartbreak, and Overcoming It All and Rejected: Tales of the Failed, Dumped, and Canceled.
Gurwitch and husband Jeff Kahn signed a six-figure deal with Crown
to publish a memoir. The book, published in February 2010, is You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up
. Recently, the two adapted the book into a theatrical production, in association with Off-Broadway Booking, which is now making the rounds in its first national tour.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comedic actress. She is best known as the original hostess of TBS's Dinner and a Movie
Dinner and a Movie
Dinner and a Movie is a cooking and entertainment television program produced in the U.S. by TBS from 1995 to 2011.Each episode included a movie and the preparation of a creative dinner to go with the theme of the movie, generally via a pun...
. She is also a noted author and columnist and was most recently the host of Wa$ted!
Wa$ted! (U.S. TV show)
Wa$ted! is a U.S. television show currently running on Planet Green and hosted by Annabelle Gurwitch and Holter Graham. It originates from a television show from New Zealand by the same name....
on Planet Green.
Personal life
Gurwitch was born in Mobile, AlabamaMobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
and grew up in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, graduating from Miami Beach High School
Miami Beach High School
Miami Beach Senior High School, commonly referred to as "Beach High" or "MBSH", is a secondary school located at 2231 Prairie Avenue in the Miami Beach, Florida, right around the corner from the Miami Beach Convention Center and Botanical Gardens on Prairie Avenue and Dade Boulevard...
in 1980. While there, she took acting classes with famed South Florida drama teacher Jay W. Jensen
Jay W. Jensen
Jay W. Jensen was a Miami Beach, Florida drama teacher known as "The Teacher to the Stars". Jensen is credited with inspiring the acting talents of such well known actors as Andy García and Mickey Rourke.-Early years:...
. After high school, she attended The Experimental Theatre Wing at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
. Gurwitch started her work Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and her performance in the title role of Murray Mednick
Murray Mednick
Murray Mednick is an American playwright and poet. He's best known as founder of the Padua Hills Playwrights Workshop/Festival, where he served as artistic director from 1978 to 1995...
’s Joe and Betty garnered her a place in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
"Top Ten Performances in Theatre of the Year 2002." She also appeared in the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
"Top Ten Performances of the Year in Theatre 2001." She currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Emmy Award winning writer Jeff Kahn, and their son.
Gurwitch is a spokesperson for the Do Not Mail Registry sponsored by the NGO
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
Forest Ethics and a member of the advisory board of United Professionals, an organization founded by Barbara Ehrenreich
Barbara Ehrenreich
-Early life:Ehrenreich was born Barbara Alexander to Isabelle Oxley and Ben Howes Alexander in Butte, Montana, which she describes as then being "a bustling, brawling, blue collar mining town."...
. She also donates considerable time to the National Wildlife Federation
National Wildlife Federation
The National Wildlife Federation is the United States' largest private, nonprofit conservation education and advocacy organization, with over four million members and supporters, and 48 state and territorial affiliated organizations...
.
Television projects
In 1996 TBS premiered a show called Dinner and a MovieDinner and a Movie
Dinner and a Movie is a cooking and entertainment television program produced in the U.S. by TBS from 1995 to 2011.Each episode included a movie and the preparation of a creative dinner to go with the theme of the movie, generally via a pun...
. Gurwitch and Paul Gilmartin were the original hosts of the show, which combines cooking instruction with the viewing of a feature film. Claud Mann is the host chef
Chef
A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ...
of the series and prepares various themed dinner dishes. Gurwitch served as co-host for six years, departing in 2002.
Other television hosting work includes stints on the HBO award-winning series Not Necessarily the News
Not Necessarily the News
Not Necessarily the News was a satirical sketch comedy series that ran on HBO from 1983 to 1990. It featured sketches, parody news items, commercial parodies, and humorous bits made from overdubbing or editing actual news footage. It was based on the British series, Not the Nine O'Clock News...
, SyFy's The Dream Team with Annabelle and Michael, VH1's "Best Of...," series, Style Network's "You're Invited," and Dot Comedy
Dot Comedy
Dot Comedy is a television series that attempted to use humor found on the internet to entertain a television audience. The show was hosted by Annabelle Gurwitch and the Sklar Brothers. The show replaced The Trouble With Normal on ABC, which had been cancelled after five episodes...
in addition to her most recent position as the host of Wa$ted!
Wa$ted! (U.S. TV show)
Wa$ted! is a U.S. television show currently running on Planet Green and hosted by Annabelle Gurwitch and Holter Graham. It originates from a television show from New Zealand by the same name....
on Planet Green for 3 seasons.
Gurwitch has appeared in numerous television programs as an actress including Dexter
Dexter (TV series)
Dexter is an American television drama series, which debuted on Showtime on October 1, 2006. The sixth season premiered on October 2, 2011. The series centers on Dexter Morgan , a bloodstain pattern analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department who moonlights as a serial killer...
, The Cleaner
The Cleaner (TV series)
The Cleaner was an A&E television series starring Benjamin Bratt. It debuted on Tuesday, July 15, 2008 at 10:00 pm EST and the last episode aired on September 15, 2009, when the show was officially cancelled....
, Medium
Medium (TV series)
Medium is an American television drama series that premiered on NBC on January 3, 2005, and ended on CBS on January 21, 2011. Themed on supernatural gifts, its lead character, Allison DuBois , is a medium employed as a consultant for the Phoenix, Arizona district attorney's office...
, State of Mind
State of Mind (TV series)
State of Mind is a one-hour drama series created by novelist Amy Bloom. The series starred Lili Taylor as psychiatrist Anne Bellowes, who unexpectedly finds her husband cheating on her with their marriage counselor. The series deals with Bellowes and her relationship with her patients as well as...
, The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman
The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman
The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman is an American comedy television series from World of Wonder Productions, co-written, executive produced by and starring Laura Kightlinger. The series premiered on IFC August 4, 2006...
, Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
and Boston Legal
Boston Legal
Boston Legal is an American legal dramedy created by David E. Kelley, which was produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for the ABC...
.
She also frequently gives her opinion on such shows as The Today Show
The Today Show
Today is an iconic American morning news and talk show airing every morning on NBC. Debuting on January 14, 1952, it was the first of its genre on American television and in the world. The show is also the fourth-longest running American television series...
, Real Time with Bill Maher
Real Time with Bill Maher
Real Time with Bill Maher is a talk show that airs weekly on HBO, hosted by comedian and political satirist Bill Maher. Much like his previous show, Politically Incorrect on ABC , Real Time features a panel of guests that discuss current events in politics and the media...
, The Joy Behar Show
The Joy Behar Show
The Joy Behar Show is a news program and talk show that premiered on HLN on September 29, 2009. The show is hosted by Joy Behar, who is one of the five co-hosts of The View. The show originally aired in the 9:00PM EST slot and 8:00PM CST, but was moved to 10:00PM EST in January 2011...
, Fox & Friends
Fox & Friends
Fox & Friends is an American morning television show on the Fox News Channel.-History:The show begins at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time with the latest Fox News Live headlines and analyzes the news of the morning...
, The Early Show
The Early Show
The Early Show is an American television morning news talk show broadcast by CBS from New York City. The program airs live from 7 to 9 a.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday; most affiliates in the Central, Mountain, and Pacific time zones air the show on tape-delay from 7 to 9 a.m. local time. ...
on CBS, CNN's In the Money, FOX's Red Eye w/Greg Gutfeld, and in the past she has been invited to share her thoughts on many others: The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
, The Wanda Sykes Show
The Wanda Sykes Show
The Wanda Sykes Show was an American talk show hosted by comedian Wanda Sykes on Fox that debuted on November 7, 2009. The show was announced in March 2009 by the president of Fox, Kevin Reilly...
, and Bill Maher's Politically Incorrect
Politically Incorrect
Politically Incorrect is a late-night, half-hour political talk show hosted by Bill Maher that ran from 1993 to 2002. It premiered on Comedy Central from 1993 to 1997, and later on ABC in 1997, which cancelled it in 2002....
, to name a few.
Film projects
In 2007 Gurwitch wrote, produced, directed, and appeared in the documentary film Fired!. It documents the experiences of twenty-five people, including Gurwitch, who were fired from various jobs. They recount their firings through interviews, skits, stand-up comedyStand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
routines, and filmed excerpts from the previously-produced stage play of the same title. David Cross
David Cross
David Cross is an American actor, writer and stand-up comedian perhaps best known for his work on HBO's sketch comedy series Mr...
, Jeff Garlin
Jeff Garlin
Jeffrey "Jeff" Garlin is an American stand-up comedian, actor, producer, voice artist, director, writer and author, best known for his role as Jeff Greene on the HBO show Curb Your Enthusiasm...
, Bob Odenkirk
Bob Odenkirk
Robert "Bob" Odenkirk is an American actor, comedian, writer, director and producer. He is best known as the co-creator and co-star of the HBO sketch comedy series Mr...
and Anne Meara
Anne Meara
Anne Meara is an American actress and comedian. She and Jerry Stiller were a prominent 1960s comedy team, appearing as Stiller and Meara, and are the parents of actor/comedian Ben and actress Amy Stiller.- Personal life :...
were all featured in addition to UAW workers, former US Secretary of Labor Bob Reich, economist Ben Stein
Ben Stein
Benjamin Jeremy "Ben" Stein is an American actor, writer, lawyer, and commentator on political and economic issues. He attained early success as a speechwriter for American presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford...
and many other job seekers. The film was played at the US Department of Labor and labor film festivals around the country including the DC Labor FilmFest.
Gurwitch has appeared in numerous other films as an actress including Melvin Goes to Dinner
Melvin Goes to Dinner
Melvin Goes to Dinner is a 2003 American film adaptation of Michael Blieden's stage play Phyro-Giants!, directed by Bob Odenkirk. Blieden wrote the screenplay from his stage play, and he also stars in the film , along with Stephanie Courtney, Matt Price and Annabelle Gurwitch.-Plot:Melvin is a...
and The Shaggy Dog
The Shaggy Dog (2006 film)
The Shaggy Dog is a 2006 film by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the second remake of the 1959 film of the same name, which was first remade as a television film in 1994....
.
Literary projects
Gurwitch once worked for Woody AllenWoody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
, but was fired during an encounter in which he said that she looked "retarded" among other insults. In 2006 she published a book of essays inspired by that dismissal called Fired!: Tales of the Canned, Canceled, Downsized, and Dismissed. Gurwitch also based a number of live performances on the Fired! theme, and in 2007 completed the Fired! documentary film.
Gurwitch is a contributing writer for NPR's Day to Day
Day to Day
Day to Day was a one-hour weekday American radio newsmagazine distributed by National Public Radio , and produced by NPR in collaboration with Slate. Madeleine Brand served as host since 2006...
, The Los Angeles Times Magazine
Los Angeles Times Magazine
The Los Angeles Times Magazine is a monthly magazine which supplements the Sunday edition of the Los Angeles Times newspaper on the first Sunday of the month...
, The Nation
The Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
, and the website Freshyarn.com. She has written for Child
Child (magazine)
Child is a discontinued American parenting magazine founded by Jackie Leo and MaryAnn Sommers in 1986 and published through 2007. It was originally backed by Italian publishers, then sold to The New York Times Magazine Group which published it until 1995 along with its other women’s magazines,...
, Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
, Marie Claire
Marie Claire
Marie Claire is a monthly women's magazine first published in France but also distributed in other countries with editions specific to them and in their languages. While each country shares its own special voice with its audience, the United States edition focuses on women around the world and...
, More
More (magazine)
More, launched in September 1998, is a women's lifestyle magazine published once a month by the Meredith Corporation with a rate base of 1.3 million and a circulation of 1.5 million...
, Men's Health
Men's health
Men's health refers to health issues specific to human male anatomy. These often relate to structures such as male genitalia or to conditions caused by hormones specific to, or most notable in, males....
, Glamour
Glamour (magazine)
Glamour is a women's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. Founded in 1939 in the United States, it was originally called Glamour of Hollywood....
, Cooking Light, Premiere
Premiere (magazine)
Premiere was an American and New York City-based film magazine published by Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., published between the years 1987 and 2007. The original version of the magazine, Première , was started in France in 1976 and is still being published there.-History:The magazine originally...
, Penthouse
Penthouse (magazine)
Penthouse, a men's magazine founded by Bob Guccione, combines urban lifestyle articles and softcore pornographic pictorials that, in the 1990s, evolved into hardcore. Penthouse is owned by FriendFinder Network. formerly known as General Media, Inc. whose parent company was Penthouse International...
and Los Angeles Magazine
Los Angeles (magazine)
Los Angeles magazine is a monthly regional magazine of national stature. Published by Emmis Communications and produced monthly since the spring of 1961, LA Magazine is a combination of award-winning feature writing, investigative reporting, service journalism, and design, the definitive resource...
.
Her essays have appeared in two anthologies: Note to Self: 30 Women on Hardship, Humiliation, Heartbreak, and Overcoming It All and Rejected: Tales of the Failed, Dumped, and Canceled.
Gurwitch and husband Jeff Kahn signed a six-figure deal with Crown
Crown Publishing Group
-External links:*...
to publish a memoir. The book, published in February 2010, is You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up
You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up
You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up: A Love Story is a 2010 book by Annabelle Gurwitch and Jeff Kahn. The book concerns the authors' thirteen years of marriage and life with their son Ezra, who was born with VACTERL. The book is written in a "he said, she said" style, with each chapter featuring...
. Recently, the two adapted the book into a theatrical production, in association with Off-Broadway Booking, which is now making the rounds in its first national tour.
External links
- Annabelle Gurwitch official site
- NPR Audio Commentary by Annabelle Gurwitch "Myth-Busting in the Journey to Save Our Planet"
- NPR Audio Commentary by Annabelle Gurwitch "Cell Phones, Relativity, and Tardiness"
- NPR: Annabelle Gurwitch Tells the Story of "The 17-Hour Brisket"
- Los Angeles Times Article: "Flee the Fire, Pack the Panties!"
- The Nation Articles by Annabelle Gurwitch
- HoboTrashcan.com interview with Annabelle Gurwitch
- Annabelle Gurwitch on Bill Maher