Spike Feresten
Encyclopedia
Spike Feresten is an American
television writer, screenwriter
and television personality.
and raised in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts
, where he attended public schools. Feresten then attended Berklee College of Music
in Boston
, where he planned to prepare for a career in music. However, according to Feresten, while there he was kicked out of his dormitory for dropping light bulbs out of his eighth story window, before seeing David Letterman
perform the same stunt on his show a few weeks later. "I thought, "God, he is getting paid. This is what network television pays you to do. Maybe I need to think twice about this music career." Feresten dropped out of college in order to attempt a career in television, working first as an intern
at NBC
in New York
, before being promoted to receptionist.
Feresten began his career writing for Saturday Night Live
, where he first got the nickname "Spike" while working there as a receptionist. "It came from 'Saturday Night Live'. I was a receptionist, and I had hair licks. And one of the PAs at the time gave me the nickname. And I said, "No problem as long as you don't fire me. Call me whatever you want.". According to Feresten, he started writing for the show when Dennis Miller
, who was hosting "Weekend Update", started using jokes that Feresten was passing on to him. "I think my first joke had something to do with Oliver North. I can't remember it. But I remember once it aired, it was like smoking crack."
He moved from there to the writing staff of Late Night With David Letterman
and then later the Late Show With David Letterman
. Describing the process of working for Letterman:
In the 1990s, he wrote for cult cartoon spoof talk show, Space Ghost Coast to Coast
, which process he described as:
Feresten went on to write for The Dana Carvey Show
, before getting his big break with The Simpsons
and Seinfeld
in 1995.
during its seventh season, called "Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming
", which aired on November 26, 1995, in which Sideshow Bob escapes once again from prison and takes control of a TV screen at an airshow, demanding all television stations immediately go off the air.
Feresten has said that while he wrote and was credited for the script, it was completely rewritten keeping only the basic ideas intact.
during the show's seventh season, and stayed there for three seasons until the show's finale, becoming supervising producer in 1998. During his tenure at Seinfeld, Feresten received three Emmy nominations, including one for his famed "Soup Nazi" episode, which remains part of the pop-culture vernacular. The episodes he wrote were:
Season 7
Season 8
Season 9
) and the short-lived The Michael Richards Show, as well as enjoying a short stint as producer of The Jamie Kennedy Experiment
, which ended in April 2004.
called Talkshow with Spike Feresten
. While originally envisioned as an entertainment news parody, "Talkshow" developed into a mix of traditional talkshow segments with sketch elements, field pieces, fake commercials and pop culture parodies. Feresten described the show's format to Variety magazine as being, "all the comedy you'd find in a talkshow, but without any of the talk." Notable guests on the show included Tom Green
, Jerry Seinfeld
, David Archuleta
, Jason Alexander
, Julia Louis-Dreyfus
, Seth MacFarlane
, Alex Borstein
, Andy Richter
, Tom Arnold
, Carl Reiner
, Tim Heidecker
and Eric Wareheim
. On the process of finding guests for the show, Feresten admitted: "We call friends. Sometimes we are very close to having our receptionist on the air. But because we're not guest driven, we just seek out funny people that we know."
It ran for three seasons, making it the longest-running late night television show in the history of the Fox network. From January 17, 2009, to February 21, 2009, the show had a six-week test run of hour-long episodes airing an hour earlier than usual; this came in the wake of the cancellation of MADtv
. The show was cancelled in May 2009.
film Bee Movie
, with Jerry Seinfeld
, Barry Marder, and Andy Robin
, which was released on November 2, 2007.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television writer, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
and television personality.
Origins and early career
Feresten was born September 3, 1964 in Fall RiverFall River, Massachusetts
Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is located about south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and west of New Bedford and south of Taunton. The city's population was 88,857 during the 2010 census, making it the tenth largest city in...
and raised in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts
West Bridgewater, Massachusetts
West Bridgewater is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,634 at the 2000 census.- History :West Bridgewater was first settled in 1651 as a part of Olde Bridgewater...
, where he attended public schools. Feresten then attended Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, where he planned to prepare for a career in music. However, according to Feresten, while there he was kicked out of his dormitory for dropping light bulbs out of his eighth story window, before seeing David Letterman
David Letterman
David Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...
perform the same stunt on his show a few weeks later. "I thought, "God, he is getting paid. This is what network television pays you to do. Maybe I need to think twice about this music career." Feresten dropped out of college in order to attempt a career in television, working first as an intern
Intern
Internship is a system of onthejob training for white-collar jobs, similar to an apprenticeship. Interns are usually college or university students, but they can also be high school students or post graduate adults seeking skills for a new career. They may also be as young as middle school or in...
at 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...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, before being promoted to receptionist.
Feresten began his career writing for Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
, where he first got the nickname "Spike" while working there as a receptionist. "It came from 'Saturday Night Live'. I was a receptionist, and I had hair licks. And one of the PAs at the time gave me the nickname. And I said, "No problem as long as you don't fire me. Call me whatever you want.". According to Feresten, he started writing for the show when Dennis Miller
Dennis Miller
Dennis Miller is an American stand-up comedian, political commentator, actor, sports commentator, and television and radio personality. He is known for his critical assessments laced with pop culture references...
, who was hosting "Weekend Update", started using jokes that Feresten was passing on to him. "I think my first joke had something to do with Oliver North. I can't remember it. But I remember once it aired, it was like smoking crack."
He moved from there to the writing staff of Late Night With David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman is a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC that was created and hosted by David Letterman. It premiered in 1982 as the first incarnation of the Late Night franchise and went off the air in 1993, after Letterman left NBC and moved to Late Show on CBS. Late Night...
and then later the Late Show With David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...
. Describing the process of working for Letterman:
It's a lot of fun. You come in and read a couple newspapers and start your day with a nice appetizer of opening remarks. And during the day, you get these different writing assignments. We would write four to eight pages of jokes a day -- and at a moment's notice might be flying off to the Daytona 500Daytona 500The Daytona 500 is a -long NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held annually at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is one of four restrictor plate races on the Cup schedule....
with Mujibur and SirajulSirajul and MujiburSirajul Islam and Mujibur Rahman are businessmen in New York City who are known for numerous guest appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman....
.
In the 1990s, he wrote for cult cartoon spoof talk show, Space Ghost Coast to Coast
Space Ghost Coast to Coast
Space Ghost Coast to Coast is an American animated parody talk show hosted by the 60s Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Space Ghost. The show premiered on April 15, 1994 on Cartoon Network...
, which process he described as:
Two things: First you pitch them an idea that you want to do. Once they say they like the direction you are going, there is a lot of creative freedom, so they let you write it. They send you a list of people they have interviewed as guests. They have already done the interviews. They have the voice of Space Ghost ask a bunch of questions and they have a bunch of responses. You can pick your guest and see if it works within the premise of your show then you get to re-write the questions.
Feresten went on to write for The Dana Carvey Show
The Dana Carvey Show
The Dana Carvey Show is an American sketch comedy television show that aired on ABC during the spring of 1996. Dana Carvey was the host and principal player on the show while Louis CK served as head writer....
, before getting his big break with The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
and 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...
in 1995.
Work on The Simpsons
Feresten wrote one episode for The SimpsonsThe Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
during its seventh season, called "Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming
Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming
"Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming" is the ninth episode of The Simpsons seventh season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 26, 1995. In the episode, Sideshow Bob becomes disturbed when he hears the other inmates laughing at the inane antics of Krusty the Clown's...
", which aired on November 26, 1995, in which Sideshow Bob escapes once again from prison and takes control of a TV screen at an airshow, demanding all television stations immediately go off the air.
Feresten has said that while he wrote and was credited for the script, it was completely rewritten keeping only the basic ideas intact.
Work on Seinfeld
In 1995, Feresten left the late-night realm to join the writing staff of the hugely successful sitcom SeinfeldSeinfeld
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...
during the show's seventh season, and stayed there for three seasons until the show's finale, becoming supervising producer in 1998. During his tenure at Seinfeld, Feresten received three Emmy nominations, including one for his famed "Soup Nazi" episode, which remains part of the pop-culture vernacular. The episodes he wrote were:
Season 7
- "The Soup NaziThe Soup Nazi"The Soup Nazi" is the title of the 116th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld, which was the 6th episode of the 7th season. It first aired in the United States on November 2, 1995....
" - "The Wig MasterThe Wig Master"The Wig Master" is the 129th episode of the NBC situation comedy Seinfeld. This was the 19th episode for the 7th season. It aired on April 4, 1996.-Plot:...
"
Season 8
- "The Little KicksThe Little Kicks"The Little Kicks" is the 138th episode of the American television sitcom Seinfeld. This was the 4th episode for the 8th season. It was originally broadcast on the NBC network on October 10, 1996.-Plot:...
" - "The Andrea DoriaThe Andrea Doria"The Andrea Doria" is the 144th episode of American television sitcom Seinfeld. This was the 10th episode for the 8th season. It aired on NBC on December 19, 1996.-Plot:George is excited about the new apartment he is going to move into...
" - "The Muffin TopsThe Muffin Tops"The Muffin Tops" is the 155th episode of the sitcom Seinfeld. This was the 21st episode of the eighth season. It aired on May 8, 1997.-Plot:...
"
Season 9
- "The Junk MailThe Junk Mail"The Junk Mail" is the 161st episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. It was the 5th episode of the 9th and final season. The episode aired on October 30, 1997.-Plot:...
" - "The Reverse PeepholeThe Reverse Peephole"The Reverse Peephole" is the 12th episode of the ninth season of the television comedy series, Seinfeld. It was written by Spike Feresten and directed by Andy Ackerman. In this episode, Kramer and Newman reverse the peepholes on their apartment doors, which could lead to the landlord kicking them...
" - "The BookstoreThe Bookstore"The Bookstore" is the 173rd episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the 17th episode for the 9th and final season. It aired on April 16, 1998.-Plot:...
" - "The Puerto Rican DayThe Puerto Rican Day"The Puerto Rican Day Parade" is the 176th and antepenultimate episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. It aired on May 7, 1998, and was the 20th episode of the 9th and final season. It was the show's second-highest-rated episode of all time, with 38.8 million viewers, only behind the series finale...
"
Television work post-Seinfeld
After Seinfeld ended in 1998, Spike went to work writing on pilots (including one with Louis C.K.Louis C.K.
Louis Szekely , known professionally as Louis C.K., is a stand-up comedian, television and film writer, actor, producer, and director...
) and the short-lived The Michael Richards Show, as well as enjoying a short stint as producer of The Jamie Kennedy Experiment
The Jamie Kennedy Experiment
The Jamie Kennedy Experiment is a half-hour-long American hidden camera/practical joke reality television series that was broadcast on The WB...
, which ended in April 2004.
Talkshow with Spike Feresten
In 2006, Feresten began his own talk-show on Saturday nights on FoxFox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
called Talkshow with Spike Feresten
Talkshow with Spike Feresten
Talkshow with Spike Feresten is an American late-night talk show television program on Fox starring Spike Feresten that aired from September 16, 2006 to May 16, 2009. It was the longest-running late night talk show in Fox's history, with three seasons...
. While originally envisioned as an entertainment news parody, "Talkshow" developed into a mix of traditional talkshow segments with sketch elements, field pieces, fake commercials and pop culture parodies. Feresten described the show's format to Variety magazine as being, "all the comedy you'd find in a talkshow, but without any of the talk." Notable guests on the show included Tom Green
Tom Green
Michael Thomas "Tom" Green is a Canadian actor, rapper, writer, comedian, talk show host and media personality. Best known for his shock humour brand of comedy, Green found mainstream prominence via his MTV television show The Tom Green Show...
, Jerry Seinfeld
Jerry Seinfeld
Jerome Allen "Jerry" Seinfeld is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and television and film producer, known for playing a semi-fictional version of himself in the situation comedy Seinfeld , which he co-created and co-wrote with Larry David, and, in the show's final two seasons,...
, David Archuleta
David Archuleta
David Archuleta, is a former United States Air Force Airman of Okinawan stationary troops and is currently an American male kickboxer.-Biography:...
, Jason Alexander
Jason Alexander
Jay Scott Greenspan , better known by his professional name of Jason Alexander, is an American actor, writer, comedian, television director, producer, and singer. He is best known for his role as George Costanza on the television series Seinfeld, appearing in the sitcom from 1989 to 1998...
, Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus is an American actress and comedienne, widely known for her sitcom roles in Seinfeld and The New Adventures of Old Christine....
, Seth MacFarlane
Seth MacFarlane
Seth Woodbury MacFarlane is an American animator, writer, comedian, producer, actor, singer, voice actor, and director best known for creating the animated sitcoms Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show, for which he also voices many of the shows' various characters.A native of Kent,...
, Alex Borstein
Alex Borstein
Alexandrea "Alex" Borstein is an American actress, singer, voice actress, writer and comedian. She is best known for her long-running role as Lois Griffin on the animated television series Family Guy, and as a cast member on the sketch comedy series MADtv.A native of Highland Park, Illinois,...
, Andy Richter
Andy Richter
Paul Andrew "Andy" Richter is an American actor, writer, comedian, and late night talk show announcer. He is best known for his role as the sidekick of Conan O'Brien on each of the host's programs: Late Night and The Tonight Show on NBC, and Conan on TBS...
, Tom Arnold
Tom Arnold (actor)
Thomas Dwaine "Tom" Arnold is an American actor and comedian. He has appeared in many films, perhaps most notably True Lies . He was the host of The Best Damn Sports Show Period for four years.-Early life:...
, Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner is an American actor, film director, producer, writer and comedian. He has won nine Emmy Awards and one Grammy Award during this career...
, Tim Heidecker
Tim Heidecker
Tim Heidecker is an American actor, comedian, musician, writer and director. He is one half of the comedy team of Tim and Eric...
and Eric Wareheim
Eric Wareheim
Eric Wareheim is an American actor, comedian, writer and director. He is one half of the comedy team of Tim and Eric. Wareheim, along with Tim Heidecker, created the television shows Tom Goes to the Mayor, Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! and Check It Out! with Dr...
. On the process of finding guests for the show, Feresten admitted: "We call friends. Sometimes we are very close to having our receptionist on the air. But because we're not guest driven, we just seek out funny people that we know."
It ran for three seasons, making it the longest-running late night television show in the history of the Fox network. From January 17, 2009, to February 21, 2009, the show had a six-week test run of hour-long episodes airing an hour earlier than usual; this came in the wake of the cancellation of MADtv
MADtv
MADtv is an American sketch comedy television series. It licensed the name and logo of Mad, but otherwise had no connection with the humor magazine outside the animated Spy vs. Spy and Don Martin cartoon shorts and images of Alfred E. Neuman that the show featured during the late 1990s. Its first...
. The show was cancelled in May 2009.
Film
Most recently he co-wrote the DreamworksDreamWorks
DreamWorks Pictures, also known as DreamWorks, LLC, DreamWorks SKG, DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC, DreamWorks Studios or DW Studios, LLC, is an American film studio which develops, produces, and distributes films, video games and television programming...
film Bee Movie
Bee Movie
Bee Movie is a 2007 computer animated family comedy film starring Jerry Seinfeld, Renée Zellweger, Matthew Broderick, Megan Mullally, John Goodman, Chris Rock, Kathy Bates, and Patrick Warburton. Produced by DreamWorks Animation, it is directed by Simon J...
, with Jerry Seinfeld
Jerry Seinfeld
Jerome Allen "Jerry" Seinfeld is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and television and film producer, known for playing a semi-fictional version of himself in the situation comedy Seinfeld , which he co-created and co-wrote with Larry David, and, in the show's final two seasons,...
, Barry Marder, and Andy Robin
Andy Robin
Andy Robin is a writer and director and student at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University. He started his career at Saturday Night Live and spent several seasons on NBC's Seinfeld, initially solo, later partnering with collaborator Gregg Kavet...
, which was released on November 2, 2007.