Bill Chott (born July 23, 1969) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Mr. Laritate on the

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

series '' Wizards of Waverly Place''.

Early life

During his school years, Chott appeared in numerous plays and musicals. He graduated from Ritenour High School, and in 2010 was inducted into their Alumni Hall of Fame. He continued pursuing theater in

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

at Central Methodist University in Fayette, Missouri, acting in a wide variety of plays. He was also in Chi Delta fraternity while at Central Methodist as well as Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia's Beta Mu chapter. He left Missouri in 1992, and headed to

Chicago, IL Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

where he quickly became involved with

improvisation Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...

al theater at ComedySportz,

IO Theater iO, or iO Chicago, (formerly known as ImprovOlympic) is an improv theater and training center in central Chicago. The theater teaches and hosts performances of improvisational comedy. It was founded in 1981 by Del Close and Charna Halpern. The ...

, and the Second City comedy troupe. His contemporaries in the Chicago improv scene included Steve Carell,

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 to ...

Tina Fey Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. Known for her comedic roles in sketch comedy, television and film, Fey has received List of awards and nominations received by Tina Fe ...

and Amy Poehler.

Career

Writing

Chott toured the country and in 1995 he made his television debut on '' The Dana Carvey Show'', among a repertory cast that included Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell, and Robert Smigel. His most lasting contribution to the program was as the announcer for '' The Ambiguously Gay Duo,'' a series of animated shorts created by Smigel and J.J. Sedelmaier, which continued to be produced by J.J. Sedelmaier Productions for ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' after the quick cancellation of "The Dana Carvey Show."

Film

His film roles include performances in ''

Galaxy Quest ''Galaxy Quest'' is a 1999 American satirical science fiction comedy film directed by Dean Parisot and written by David Howard and Robert Gordon. It stars Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, and Daryl Mit ...

'', ''

Dude Where's My Car ''Dude, Where's My Car?'' is a 2000 American stoner comedy film directed by Danny Leiner. The film stars Ashton Kutcher and Seann William Scott as two best friends who find themselves unable to remember where they parked their vehicle after a nig ...

'', '' Brainwarp'', ''

Dante's Inferno ''Inferno'' (; Italian for ' Hell') is the first part of Italian writer Dante Alighieri's 14th-century narrative poem '' The Divine Comedy'', followed by and . The ''Inferno'' describes the journey of a fictionalised version of Dante himsel ...

'', '' Wild Girls Gone'', ''

Dancing at the Blue Iguana ''Dancing at the Blue Iguana'' is a 2000 American erotic drama film, directed by Michael Radford, about the lives of strippers at a strip club in Los Angeles, California's San Fernando Valley. The film was based on an improvisational workshop in ...

'' and '' The Ringer''.

Television

His television appearances include ''

3rd Rock from the Sun ''3rd Rock from the Sun'' is an American television sitcom created by Bonnie and Terry Turner, which originally aired from January 9, 1996, to May 22, 2001, on NBC. The show is about four Extraterrestrial life, extraterrestrials who are on an e ...

'', ''

Freaks and Geeks ''Freaks and Geeks'' is an American teen comedy-drama television series created by Paul Feig and executive-produced by Judd Apatow that aired on NBC during the 1999–2000 television season. The show is set in a suburban high school near ...

'', '' Popular'', '' ER'', '' Crossballs'', '' Weekends at the DL'', '' CSI'', '' Wizards of Waverly Place'', ''

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'', also known colloquially simply as ''Always Sunny'', is an American sitcom created by Rob McElhenney and co-developed by Glenn Howerton for FX (TV channel), FX. It premiered on August 4, 2005, and stars Charl ...

'', ''

She Spies ''She Spies'' is an American action-adventure television show that ran from July 20, 2002, until May 17, 2004, in two seasons. The show was sold into syndication but the first four episodes premiered on NBC, whose syndication arm was one of the ...

'', ''

Young Sheldon ''Young Sheldon'' is an American sitcom television series created by Chuck Lorre and Steven Molaro which aired on CBS from September 25, 2017, to May 16, 2024. The series is a Spin-off (media), spin-off prequel to ''The Big Bang Theory'' that ...

'', ''

This Is Us ''This Is Us'' is an American drama television series created by Dan Fogelman that aired on NBC from September 20, 2016, to May 24, 2022. The series follows the lives and families of two parents and their three children in several different ti ...

'', and ''

Monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

''.

Theater

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedian, producer, and studio executive. She was recognized by ''Time (magazine), Time'' in 2020 as one of the most influential women of the 20th century for h ...

fans will recognize him for his award-winning portrayal of Fred Mertz in ''I Love Lucy: Live on Stage''.I Love Lucy: Live on Stage review
. November 1, 2011. ''Entertainment Weekly''. Chott continues to teach and coach improvisational comedy in both Los Angeles and St. Louis, through his school The Improv Trick.

Filmography

References

* *

External links

*
theimprovtrick.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chott, Bill 1969 births Living people 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American male actors American male comedians American male film actors American male television actors American sketch comedians Central Methodist University alumni Comedians from St. Louis Male actors from St. Louis