Tom Purcell is an American television writer and executive who is notable for his work with
Stephen Colbert
Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program '' The Colbert Report'' from 2005 ...
on ''
The Colbert Report
''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show fo ...
'' and ''
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Spartina Productions and CBS Studios, it is the second ...
''. He is the winner of 7 Primetime Emmy awards.
Early life and education
Tom Purcell grew up in St. Joseph, Michigan, just north of South Bend, Indiana, and graduated from St. Joseph High School.
While attending St. Josephs', he started writing comedy at 15 years old, having his own comedy column and serving as features editor for his high school comedy newspaper called The Wind Up.
In 1985, Purcell graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from
Loyola University in Chicago.
After college, Purcell took a job at Loyola’s law library to pay the bills while working on his comedy routine and attending improvisation classes at
The Second City
The Second City is an improvisational comedy enterprise and is the oldest ongoing improvisational theater troupe to be continually based in Chicago, with training programs and live theatres in Toronto and Los Angeles. The Second City Theatre o ...
in Chicago.
In the summer of 1987, Purcell wrote and performed with the resident theatre company
New Age Vaudeville
New Age Vaudeville was an American professional theater troupe founded by Richard O'Donnell (playwright), Richard O'Donnell and Amy McKenzie, and was part of the Chicago comedy boom of the 1980s.
History Peninsula Players' Comedy Cabaret
In New ...
.
Career
In 1997 to 2000, while living in Los Angeles, Purcell served as story editor and writer for the
Cosby TV Series.
He went on to write for such television shows as
Grounded for Life
''Grounded for Life'' is an American television sitcom that debuted on January 10, 2001, as a mid-season replacement on Fox. Created by Mike Schiff and Bill Martin, it ran for two seasons on the network until being canceled only two episodes into ...
,
Run of the House
''Run of the House'' is an American sitcom television series created by Betsy Thomas, that aired on The WB between September 11, 2003, and May 7, 2004. Nineteen episodes were produced but only sixteen were aired before the show was cancelled. The ...
, and
The Daily Show
''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form from ...
.
In 2005, Purcell relocated to New York City, being hired as a writer for
The Colbert Report
''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show fo ...
on Comedy Central and then in 2015 followed his boss to CBS’s Late Show With
Stephen Colbert
Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program '' The Colbert Report'' from 2005 ...
.
Purcell currently serves as an executive producer of
the Late Show with Stephen Colbert
''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Spartina Productions and CBS Studios, it is the second ...
, where he oversees the show’s writers and helps write and polish Colbert’s material.
Purcell has said that he often relies on his Catholic, Jesuit education from Loyola University while working for Colbert, who is known for using Catholic humor.
As of 2021, he is the winner of 7 Primetime Emmy awards.
Awards
* 2013 Emmy, Nominee, Writing for a variety series (Colbert Report)
* 2014 Emmy, Winner, Writing for a variety series (Colbert Report)
* 2015 Writers Guild of America, Nominee, Comedy/variety (including talk) -- series:(Colbert Report)
* 2015 Producers Guild of America, Nominee, Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment & Talk Television (The Colbert Report)
References
External links
Bio at IMDb
{{DEFAULTSORT:Purcell, Tom
Living people
American television writers
Year of birth missing (living people)
Primetime Emmy Award winners