Stephen Rannazzisi (born July 4, 1977) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. He acted in the

FXX FXX is an American basic cable channel owned by the Walt Disney Television unit of The Walt Disney Company through FX Networks, LLC. It is the partner channel of FX, with its programming focusing on original and acquired comedy series and fe ...

comedy series ''

The League ''The League'' is an American sitcom that aired on FX and later FXX from October 29, 2009, to December 9, 2015, for a total of seven seasons. The series, set in Chicago, Illinois, is a semi-improvised comedy show about a fantasy football leagu ...

'' as Kevin MacArthur.

Personal life

Rannazzisi, born in Smithtown,

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 * '' ...

on July 4, 1977, briefly attended the Catholic St. Anthony's High School in South Huntington, New York on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18 ...

, leaving after a year in what he called a mutual decision. He went on to graduate from

Smithtown High School Smithtown Central School District is a school district in New York which serves residents in the Smithtown communities of Smithtown, Nesconset, Kings Park, and Saint James. Parts of neighboring Smithtown communities Ronkonkoma, Lake Ronkon ...

in 1996. Rannazzisi graduated from

State University of New York at Oneonta The State University of New York College at Oneonta, also known as SUNY Oneonta, is a public college in Oneonta, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. History SUNY Oneonta was established in 1889 as the Oneon ...

, where he majored in communications. He is of

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and

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

descent.

9/11 controversy

Rannazzisi lied about working in the South Tower of the World Trade Center at

Merrill Lynch Merrill (officially Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated), previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investment ba ...

, on the 54th floor during the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

, and described his experience escaping death. He had said the events inspired him to move to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

and pursue stand-up comedy. In September 2015, after being contacted by a reporter from ''

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 ...

'' for an article debunking his claim, Rannazzisi admitted his story was a lie.Rannazzisi, Twitter
"it is to the victims of 9/11...."
/ref> Rannazzisi was never employed by Merrill Lynch, which did not have offices in the World Trade Center then.

Filmography

References

External links

Official website
* 1977 births 21st-century American male actors American male comedians American male film actors American male television actors American stand-up comedians Living people Male actors from New York (state) People from Smithtown, New York State University of New York at Oneonta alumni Comedians from New York (state) 21st-century American comedians {{US-screen-actor-1970s-stub