Matt Kirshen
Encyclopedia
Matt Kirshen is a British comedian
. Kirshen has performed around the world, including Singapore
, Dubai
, Holland, Germany
, and France
. In 2007, he enjoyed a successful run in NBC
's Last Comic Standing
. Initially known for jokes poking fun at his young appearance, he has since turned his attention to more general, real world and topical subjects, with a tightly-written style involving multiple "taglines" for every joke. He is an alumnus
of Clare College, Cambridge
.
, where he attended Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood
. He subsequently studied Mathematics
at Clare College, Cambridge
. University marked the beginning of his comedy career. At university, Kirshen briefly edited Clareification
, a magazine in which students mocked Cambridge traditions, satirized the events of the week, reported on silly student antics and spread college gossip. He also started a comedy club in Clare College cellars and became well known within the Cambridge University comedy scene. He compèred these "Clare Comedy" nights during the latter years of his degree and has continued to return as guest compère, in addition to performing at the Clare May Ball
. Since 2001, Kirshen has become a frequent performer at London clubs including The Comedy Store
, and has completed several university tours. Kirshen was a finalist in So You Think You're Funny? at the 2003 Edinburgh Festival Fringe
and was named Hackney Empire New Act of the Year
. In 2007, he was one of the final seven comics in NBC
's reality TV show Last Comic Standing
. In 2008, he recorded a 30-minute special for Paramount Comedy
. Ethnically an Ashkenazi Jew
, he is a professed atheist. In 2009, he co-wrote and starred in the BBC Radio 4
sketch comedy series Bigipedia
. He also released an album entitled "I Guess We'll Never Know", which ranked in Punchline Magazine's Top 10 comedy albums of 2009.
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
. Kirshen has performed around the world, including Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
, Holland, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. In 2007, he enjoyed a successful run in NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Last Comic Standing
Last Comic Standing
Last Comic Standing is an American reality television talent show that has aired from 2003 through 2010.The goal of the program is to select a comedian from a group, who will receive a development contract with the NBC network, and a television special first to air on the cable-TV network Comedy...
. Initially known for jokes poking fun at his young appearance, he has since turned his attention to more general, real world and topical subjects, with a tightly-written style involving multiple "taglines" for every joke. He is an alumnus
Alumnus
An alumnus , according to the American Heritage Dictionary, is "a graduate of a school, college, or university." An alumnus can also be a former member, employee, contributor or inmate as well as a former student. In addition, an alumna is "a female graduate or former student of a school, college,...
of Clare College, Cambridge
Clare College, Cambridge
Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1326, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. Clare is famous for its chapel choir and for its gardens on "the Backs"...
.
Biography
Kirshen originates from North LondonNorth London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
, where he attended Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood
Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood
Merchant Taylors' School is a British independent day school for boys, originally located in the City of London. Since 1933 it has been located at Sandy Lodge in the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire ....
. He subsequently studied Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
at Clare College, Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
. University marked the beginning of his comedy career. At university, Kirshen briefly edited Clareification
Clareification
Clareification is the weekly student newsletter of Clare College, Cambridge, a college of Cambridge University. One of the things that distinguishes Clare as a particularly friendly and informal college is the fellows' tolerance of the publication, even after the 2007 Muhammad cartoons controversy...
, a magazine in which students mocked Cambridge traditions, satirized the events of the week, reported on silly student antics and spread college gossip. He also started a comedy club in Clare College cellars and became well known within the Cambridge University comedy scene. He compèred these "Clare Comedy" nights during the latter years of his degree and has continued to return as guest compère, in addition to performing at the Clare May Ball
May Ball
A May Ball is a ball at the end of the academic year that happens at any one of the colleges of the University of Cambridge. They are formal affairs, requiring evening dress, with ticket prices of around £65 to £200 , with some colleges selling tickets only in pairs...
. Since 2001, Kirshen has become a frequent performer at London clubs including The Comedy Store
The Comedy Store
The Comedy Store is a comedy club located in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. It has a sister comedy club in La Jolla, San Diego, California.-History:...
, and has completed several university tours. Kirshen was a finalist in So You Think You're Funny? at the 2003 Edinburgh Festival Fringe
2003 Edinburgh Festival Fringe
The 2003 Edinburgh Festival Fringe was the 56th Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The Fringe ran from 3–25 August 2003 and presented 1541 shows over 207 venues...
and was named Hackney Empire New Act of the Year
Hackney Empire New Act of the Year
The Hackney Empire New Act of the Year was a long-running annual competition that ran at the Hackney Empire theatre in London in order to encourage, discover and promote new stand-up comedy and New Variety talent...
. In 2007, he was one of the final seven comics in NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's reality TV show Last Comic Standing
Last Comic Standing
Last Comic Standing is an American reality television talent show that has aired from 2003 through 2010.The goal of the program is to select a comedian from a group, who will receive a development contract with the NBC network, and a television special first to air on the cable-TV network Comedy...
. In 2008, he recorded a 30-minute special for Paramount Comedy
Paramount Comedy
Paramount Comedy is a 24-hour Spanish cable television and satellite television comedy channel available in Spain. It is owned by MTV Networks Europe and Viacom. In other parts of the world, such as the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland and Italy, the channel is known as Comedy Central...
. Ethnically an Ashkenazi Jew
Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
, he is a professed atheist. In 2009, he co-wrote and starred in the BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
sketch comedy series Bigipedia
Bigipedia
Bigipedia is a comedy sketch show broadcast on BBC Radio 4 that first aired between 23 July and 13 August 2009. A second series of four episodes began on 12 July, 2011. The show's storyline revolves around "Bigipedia", a fictional website broadcast on radio, intended to be a parody of Wikipedia,...
. He also released an album entitled "I Guess We'll Never Know", which ranked in Punchline Magazine's Top 10 comedy albums of 2009.
Filmography
- Late Night With Jimmy FallonLate Night with Jimmy FallonLate Night with Jimmy Fallon is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon on NBC. The show premiered on March 2, 2009, as the third incarnation of the Late Night franchise originated by David Letterman....
(2011) - The Green Room with Paul ProvenzaThe Green Room with Paul ProvenzaThe Green Room with Paul Provenza is a talk show on Showtime, hosted by Paul Provenza. It features a panel of guests, discussing various topics about comedy.-Synopsis:...
(2011) - The Late Late Show With Craig FergusonThe Late Late Show with Craig FergusonThe Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson is a Peabody Award-winning American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish American comedian Craig Ferguson. Ferguson, the third regular host of the Late Late Show franchise, follows Late Show with David Letterman in the CBS late-night lineup...
(2011) - Global Comedians (2010)
- The Most Annoying People of 2009The Most Annoying People of 2009The Most Annoying People of 2009 was broadcast on BBC Three on 27–28 December 2009 and narrated by Richard Bacon.-The top ten:...
(2009) - Rude TubeRude TubeRude Tube is a television show broadcast on Channel 4. The pilot aired on 16 February 2008. It listed the top 50 original videos on YouTube...
(2008) - The World Stands Up (2008)
- Last Comic StandingLast Comic StandingLast Comic Standing is an American reality television talent show that has aired from 2003 through 2010.The goal of the program is to select a comedian from a group, who will receive a development contract with the NBC network, and a television special first to air on the cable-TV network Comedy...
(2007) - Comedy CutsComedy CutsComedy Cuts is a comedy programme on the British TV channel ITV2 that aims to provide an opportunity for new comedy performers to present their talents. Featuring 40 performers demonstrating a mix of stand up and sketches, the series is shot entirely on location...
(2007) - 28 Acts in 28 Minutes28 Acts in 28 Minutes28 Acts in 28 Minutes is a stand-up TV comedy show aired on the UK's BBC Three. It comprises 28 acts, each given a minute to perform. A 3-part series also aired on BBC Radio 4 in June 2006, chaired by John Humphrys.- Show One :- Show Two :...
(2005)