Adam Saul Pally
(born March 18, 1982) is an American comedian and actor. He first earned recognition for starring as
Max Blum in ''
Happy Endings'', as Dr. Peter Prentice in ''
The Mindy Project
''The Mindy Project'' is an American romantic comedy television series created by and starring Mindy Kaling that began airing on Fox in September 2012 and finished its six-season run on Hulu in November 2017. The series was co-produced by Unive ...
'', as Wade Whipple in ''
Sonic the Hedgehog
is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese developers Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara for Sega. The franchise follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battle ...
'' (2020), its
seq uels, and the spin-off series ''
Knuckles'' (2024). Pally also starred in ''
Making History'' and was an executive producer of ''
The President Show
''The President Show'' is an American comedy television series that premiered on April 27, 2017, on Comedy Central. The show was created by Anthony Atamanuik who also stars as Donald Trump, the President of the United States, alongside Peter Gr ...
''.
Early life and education
Pally was born in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
to Dr. Steven Pally, an internist who owns his own medical office, and Caryn Pally, who managed the practice in
Florham Park, New Jersey. He was raised Jewish.
He grew up in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, the
Chicago area
The Chicago metropolitan area, also referred to as Chicagoland, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the Midwest, containing the City of Chicago along with its surrounding suburbs and satellite cities ...
, and New Jersey ,
and has two sisters, Erica and Risa.
In 2004, Pally graduated from
The New School
The New School is a Private university, private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for p ...
University in New York City. He has performed improv and sketch comedy at the
Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre
The Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) is an improvisational and sketch comedy group that emerged from Chicago's ImprovOlympic in 1990. The original incarnation of the group consisted of Amy Poehler, Matthew Walsh, Matt Besser, Ian Roberts, Ad ...
(UCBT) in New York since 2002 and continues to perform in shows such as "Death by Roo Roo" and "ASSSSCAT 3000" at the theater's
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
division. He is a member of the sketch comedy group "Chubby Skinny Kids" with comedians Dan Gregor and Doug Mand. Pally is also part of the improv group "Hot Sauce" with
Gil Ozeri and
Ben Schwartz
Benjamin Joseph Schwartz (born September 15, 1981) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his recurring role as Jean-Ralphio Saperstein on the NBC sitcom '' Parks and Recreation'', his starring role as Clyde Oberholt on the Sh ...
; the group continues to perform their long-form improv show at UCBT occasionally.
Career

Pally has appeared in such films as ''
Iron Man 3
''Iron Man 3'' is a 2013 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Iron Man, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to ''Iron Man (2008 film), Iron Man'' (2008) an ...
'', ''
Taking Woodstock'', ''
Solitary Man'', ''
Assassination of a High School President
''Assassination of a High School President'' is a 2008 American neo noir comedy film directed by Brett Simon and starring Reece Thompson, Bruce Willis, Mischa Barton, Emily Meade and Michael Rapaport. It was written by Tim Calpin and Kevin ...
'', ''
The To Do List'' and ''
A.C.O.D.'' and ''
Slow Learners''. He has made guest appearances on ''
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
''Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'' (often abridged as ''Last Week Tonight'') is an American news satire late-night talk show hosted by comedian John Oliver. The half-hour-long show premiered in the end of April 2014 on HBO and currently has ...
'', ''
Californication
Californication may refer to:
*Californication (word), an expression that refers to the influx of Californians into various western states in the U.S.
*Californication (album), ''Californication'' (album), a 1999 album by the Red Hot Chili Peppers
...
'' and ''
The Colbert Report
''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late night television, late-night Late-night talk show, 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 ...
''. He has written and appeared on the
Adult Swim
Adult Swim (stylized as dult swimand s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...
series ''
NTSF:SD:SUV::''. In 2012, it was reported that Pally and frequent collaborator Gil Ozeri wrote a script being produced by
Will Ferrell
John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is known for his leading man roles in comedy films and for his work as a television producer. Ferrell received various accolades, including ...
&
Adam McKay
Adam McKay (born April 17, 1968) is an American screenwriter, producer, and director. McKay began his career as a head writer for the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') from 1995 to 2001. After leaving ''SNL'', McKay co-w ...
's company
Gary Sanchez Productions.
From April 2011 to May 2013, Pally starred as Max Blum, one of the lead characters on the
ABC ensemble comedy series ''
Happy Endings'', alongside
Eliza Coupe
Eliza Coupe () is an American actress, comedian and model, known for playing Jane Kerkovich-Williams in the ABC comedy series '' Happy Endings'', Denise "Jo" Mahoney in the final two seasons of the medical comedy-drama '' Scrubs'', her starring ...
,
Elisha Cuthbert,
Zachary Knighton,
Damon Wayans Jr., and
Casey Wilson
Cathryn Rose "Casey" Wilson (born October 24, 1980) is an American actress, comedian, and screenwriter. Originally known for her performances with the Upright Citizens Brigade comedy troupe in New York City, Wilson's first major television appe ...
. In 2013, Pally was nominated for "
Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series" at the
Critics' Choice Television Award
The Critics' Choice Television Awards were accolades that were presented annually by the Critics Choice Association (CCA). They were established in 2011, and the first ceremony was held on June 20, 2011, and streamed live on VH1.com. The fou ...
s for his work on season three of ''Happy Endings''. The cast reunited in July 2020 for the pandemic-themed episode "And the Pandemmy goes to..." to raise money for the charities
Color of Change
Color of Change is a progressive nonprofit civil rights advocacy organization in the United States. It was formed in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in order to use online resources to strengthen the political voice of African Americ ...
and
World Central Kitchen
World Central Kitchen (WCK) is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization that Food security, provides food relief. It was founded in 2010 by Spanish American chef and restaurateur José Andrés following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, earthq ...
.
Following the cancellation of ''Happy Endings'' in 2013, Pally joined the cast of ''
The Mindy Project
''The Mindy Project'' is an American romantic comedy television series created by and starring Mindy Kaling that began airing on Fox in September 2012 and finished its six-season run on Hulu in November 2017. The series was co-produced by Unive ...
'' as a series regular for the second and third seasons, playing the role of Dr. Peter Prentice. He left the show midway through the third season, making his final appearances as a series regular in 2015.
Pally filmed a lead role opposite
T.J. Miller and
Thomas Middleditch
Thomas Steven Middleditch (born March 10, 1982) is a Canadian actor. He is known for his role as Richard Hendricks in the HBO series ''Silicon Valley'' (2014–2019), earning a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in ...
in the comedy ''
Search Party''. This film serves as the directorial debut of screenwriter
Scot Armstrong. He also starred in the indie films ''
Slow Learners'' and ''Night Owls'', both released in 2015.
Media contributions and appearances
Pally is a regular contributor to the humor website ''
Funny or Die'', where he is best known for his series ''Riding Shotgun with Adam Pally'', in which he interviews celebrities in his car. In 2009, he created for UCB Comedy a parody of the "
David After Dentist" internet phenomenon; his is called "David After Divorce," and he speaks almost exactly the same lines as David, though to a different set of questions. It received over 4.9 million views on YouTube.
In 2011, Pally co-starred in the comedic stage-show ''The Realest Real Housewives'', created by his ''Happy Endings'' co-star Casey Wilson.
Pally has appeared regularly on many podcasts on the
Earwolf
Earwolf is an American comedy podcasting network founded by Scott Aukerman and Jeff Ullrich in August 2010. initially built around the ''Comedy Death-Ray Radio'' podcast, the network has since grown to include many podcasts on diverse subjects. ...
network such as ''
Comedy Bang! Bang!'', ''improv4humans'', ''Who Charted'', and ''
How Did This Get Made?''.
On June 5, 2015, Pally and fellow comedian friends Gil Ozeri and
John Gemberling
John Gemberling (born February 1, 1981) is an American actor and comedian best known for roles as Bevers on the Comedy Central series ''Broad City'', as Gil on the NBC sitcom '' Marry Me'', and as John Hancock on the Fox sitcom '' Making History ...
gained attention when they teamed with
Funny or Die to live-stream their 50-hour marathon of ''
Entourage'', watching every episode in a row with no breaks for 50 hours straight.
Personal life
Pally lives in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. He married his high school sweetheart Daniella Anne Pally (née Liben) on July 3, 2008;
the couple have three children: a son Cole (b. 2012), daughter Georgia Grace (b. 2013), and another son, Drake (b. 2017).
Filmography
Film
Television
Web series
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pally, Adam
1982 births
Living people
21st-century American comedians
21st-century American Jews
21st-century American male actors
21st-century American male writers
21st-century American screenwriters
American male comedians
American male film actors
American male screenwriters
American male television actors
American male voice actors
American male television writers
American sketch comedians
American television writers
Comedians from Essex County, New Jersey
Comedians from New York City
Jewish American comedians
Jewish American male actors
Jewish American screenwriters
Jewish male comedians
Male actors from Livingston, New Jersey
Screenwriters from New Jersey
Screenwriters from New York City
Television producers from New Jersey
Television producers from New York City
The New School alumni
Upright Citizens Brigade Theater performers
Writers from Livingston, New Jersey