Cole Escola (born November 25, 1986) is an American comedian, actor, and singer. They are best known for their cabaret work and their appearances on the television series '' Jeffery & Cole Casserole'' (2009–2010), ''

Difficult People ''Difficult People'' is an American dark comedy streaming television series created by Julie Klausner. Klausner stars alongside Billy Eichner as two struggling and jaded comedians living in New York City; the duo seemingly hate everyone but each ...

'' (2015–2017), ''

At Home with Amy Sedaris ''At Home with Amy Sedaris'' is an American surreal comedy television series that premiered on October 24, 2017, on truTV. Hosted by Amy Sedaris playing various characters, the show focuses on the comedian's love of entertaining, crafts, and cooki ...

'' (2017–2020), and '' Search Party'' (2016–2022).

Early life

Escola was born and raised in

Clatskanie, Oregon Clatskanie is a city in Columbia County, Oregon, United States. It was named for the Tlatskanai Native American tribe, and the Clatskanie River which flows through the town and empties into the Columbia River about four miles to the north. The p ...

. They are of Finnish and Norwegian descent. When they were six, their father chased the entire family out of their

mobile home A mobile home (also known as a house trailer, park home, trailer, or trailer home) is a prefabricated structure, built in a factory on a permanently attached chassis before being transported to site (either by being towed or on a trailer). U ...

with a gun.Sharkey, M. (June 11, 2015)
"Comedy School with Cole Escola,"
''

Out Out may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 * ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander * ''Out'' (2002 film), a Japanese film ba ...

''. Retrieved September 18, 2017.Vincentelli, Elisabeth (July 6, 2017)
"He’s Got a Good Wig on His Shoulders: Meet Cole Escola,"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. Retrieved September 18, 2017.Goodman, Elyssa (July 18, 2017)
"Is America Ready for Cole Escola?"
''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character t ...

''. Retrieved September 18, 2017. Escola, their mother, and their brother subsequently lived in government housing. Their sister was not living with them at this time; she was elsewhere. They participated in community theater and starred in high school productions of ''

Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in or around 1905. It is based on ''Tevye and his Daughters'' (or ''Tevye the ...

'', ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...

'', and ''

Little Shop of Horrors Little Shop of Horrors may refer to: * ''The Little Shop of Horrors'', a 1960 film directed by Roger Corman ** ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (musical), a 1982 musical based on the 1960 film ** ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (film), a 1986 film adaptati ...

''.Rowe, Amy (August 8, 2017)
"A glimpse into rising comedy and 'Difficult People' star Cole Escola’s way of life,"
''

New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ...

''. Retrieved September 18, 2017. After graduating from

R. A. Long High School R. A. Long High School is the oldest high school serving the city of Longview, Washington. A part of Longview Public Schools, it was erected in 1927, three years after the city of Longview was incorporated. The total student enrollment at the end ...

in 2005, Escola moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to study humanities at

Marymount Manhattan College Marymount Manhattan College is a private college on the Upper East Side of New York City. As of 2020, enrollment consists of 1,571 undergraduates with women making up 80.1% and men 19.9% of student enrollment. The college was founded in 1936. Hi ...

, dropping out after one year.Paulu, Tom (June 15, 2009)
"R.A. Long grad stars in new LOGO TV comedy series,"
'' The Daily News'' (Longview). Retrieved September 18, 2017. They subsequently performed at children's birthday parties and worked at the Scholastic bookstore.

Career

Stage work

From 2008 to 2012, Escola was a perennial guest performer in the ''Our Hit Parade'' cabaret series, and later began performing monthly solo shows at the Duplex Cabaret Theatre. They appeared in

Scott Wittman Scott Wittman (born November 16, 1954) is an American director, lyricist, composer and writer for Broadway, concerts, and television. Life and career Wittman was raised in Nanuet, New York, graduated from Nanuet Senior High School in 1972 and a ...

's 2012 cabaret show ''Jukebox Jackie'' at

La MaMa La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club (La MaMa E.T.C.) is an Off-Off-Broadway theatre founded in 1961 by Ellen Stewart, African-American theatre director, producer, and fashion designer. Located in Manhattan's East Village, the theatre began in the ...

and played an unborn fetus in

Bridget Everett Bridget Everett (born April 21, 1972) is an American comedian, actress, singer, writer, and cabaret performer. She has starred in the semi-autobiographical 2022 HBO series '' Somebody Somewhere'', the movie '' Fun Mom Dinner'', and in a one-hou ...

's 2014 cabaret show ''Rock Bottom'' at

Joe's Pub Joe's Pub, one of the six performance spaces within The Public Theater, is a music venue and restaurant that hosts live performances across genres and arts, ranging from cabaret to modern dance to world music. It is located at 425 Lafayette St ...

. On June 14, 2017, Escola's hourlong solo show ''Help! I'm Stuck'' premiered at Joe's Pub, where it has since played numerous sold-out engagements. Escola has a collection of 38 wigs, which they store under their bed in

7-Eleven 7-Eleven, Inc., stylized as 7-ELEVE, is a multinational chain of retail convenience stores, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The chain was founded in 1927 as an ice house storefront in Dallas. It was named Tote'm Stores between 1928 and 1946. A ...

doughnut boxes. Their wigs often shape and inform their recurring stage characters, which include Broadway legend

Bernadette Peters Bernadette Peters ( ''née'' Lazzara; born February 28, 1948) is an American actress, singer, and children's book author. Over a career spanning more than six decades, she has starred in musical theatre, television and film, performed in solo co ...

, suicidal homemaker Joyce Conner, scheming furniture heiress Jennifer Convertibles, and The Goblin Commuter of Hoboken. In 2013, Escola played Roland Maule in the Two River Theater revival of

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

's ''

Present Laughter ''Present Laughter'' is a comic play written by Noël Coward in 1939 but not produced until 1942 because the Second World War began while it was in rehearsal, and the British theatres closed. The title is drawn from a song in Shakespeare's ''T ...

''.

Television work

In 2008, Escola met fellow comedian

Jeffery Self Jeffery Self (born February 19, 1987) is an American actor, writer, and comedian. Early life Self is a native of Georgia, who grew up in the South. After attending middle school, Self persuaded his parents to let him be homeschooled to avoid deal ...

in New York; bonding over a shared love of theater and 1990s sitcoms, they began creating surreal, semi-scripted

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

videos under the moniker "Very Good Looking (VGL) Gay Boys." The sketches, in which Escola often played the demented comic foil to Self's

straight man The straight man is a stock character in a comedy performance, especially a double act, sketch comedy, or farce. When a comedy partner behaves eccentrically, the straight man is expected to maintain composure. The direct contribution to the c ...

, received over 100,000 views, prompting coverage in ''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

'' magazine and a development deal from

Logo TV Logo TV (often shortened to Logo, and stylized as Logo.) is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Media Networks, a division of Paramount Global. Launched in 2005, Logo was originally dedicated to lifestyle and entertainment progr ...

. '' Jeffery & Cole Casserole'' premiered on Logo on June 19, 2009; it ran for two seasons and has been deemed a "cult classic" by ''

'' magazine. Escola and Self also wrote the screenplay for an as-yet-unproduced comedy in which two friends "have to go through a lot to redeem their free sandwich." From 2015 to 2017, Escola played Matthew on the

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television series ...

television series ''

'', a role that series creator

Julie Klausner Julie Klausner (born July 3, 1978) is an American writer, comedian, actress, and podcaster. She is best known for creating, writing, and starring in the Hulu sitcom '' Difficult People'' (2015–2017), which also starred comedian Billy Eichner. ...

wrote with them in mind. They have appeared in recurring roles on ''

Mozart in the Jungle ''Mozart in the Jungle'' is an American comedy-drama streaming television series developed by Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, Alex Timbers, and Paul Weitz for the video-on-demand service Amazon Prime Video. It received a production order in ...

'', '' Girlboss'', and ''

'', in which they play Sedaris' neighbor, Chassie Tucker. In 2020, Escola appeared as Chip (The Twink) on the

HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Ne ...

original '' Search Party''. Chip became a season regular in season 4. Escola voiced The Secret Keeper on the

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, ...

animated series ''

Craig of the Creek ''Craig of the Creek'' is an American animated television series created by Matt Burnett and Ben Levin for Cartoon Network. The show's pilot episode debuted directly on the official app on December 1, 2017. The series premiered online on February ...

'' in the episode "Secret in a Bottle". In 2021 Escola lent their voice to a gargoyle in a season three episode of ''

What We Do in the Shadows (TV series) ''What We Do in the Shadows'' is an American mockumentary comedy horror television series created by Jemaine Clement that premiered March 27, 2019, on FX. The second television series in the franchise based on the 2014 New Zealand film of th ...

'', alongside “Difficult People” co-star Julie Klausner.

Personal life

In 2022, Escola came out as non-binary and now uses they/them pronouns.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Cole Escola
on

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Escola, Cole 1986 births American gay actors American gay musicians Living people Gay comedians LGBT people from Oregon LGBT singers from the United States People from Clatskanie, Oregon 21st-century American comedians 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people Non-binary comedians American non-binary actors