Harrison Greenbaum (born September 14, 1986) is an American stand-up comedian and comedy writer.
Early life
Greenbaum was born in
Manhattan, New York
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. stat ...
, and grew up in
Woodmere, New York
Woodmere is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 17,554 at the 2016 census.
Woodmere is one of the Long Island communities known as the Five Towns, ...
, on
Long Island. He graduated as valedictorian of his class at
Lawrence High School.
Greenbaum attended
Harvard, where he graduated summa cum laude in 2008 and won the 2006 Visiting Committee Prize for Undergraduate Book Collecting for his collection of magic books.
He also won the Gordon W. Allport Prize for his psychology thesis, "'Did you hear the one about the...?': The effect of racial humor on prejudice."
While at
Harvard, Greenbaum co-founded the
Harvard College Stand-Up Comic Society.
Career
Greenbaum has performed at many of the leading comedy clubs throughout the world including
Carolines on Broadway
Carolines on Broadway is a venue for stand-up comedy situated at 750 Seventh Avenue, on Broadway between 49th and 50th Streets, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City.
History
Caroline Hirsch opened Carolines as a cabaret ...
,
Gotham Comedy Club
Gotham Comedy Club is a venue for stand-up comedy in New York City. The comedy club is located on 208 West 23rd Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues in Chelsea.
Several movies and television shows have been filmed at the club. Numerous ...
,
Comix NY Opened in September 2006 by business partners Harlan Halper and Michael Palitz, Comix was a venue for stand-up comedy located in The Meatpacking District in New York City on 14th Street and 9th Avenue. It was Zagat's top rated stand-up comedy club ...
,
Comic Strip Live
The Comic Strip Live is the oldest stand-up comedy showcase club in New York City, located at 1568 Second Avenue (between 81st and 82nd Streets).
History
The Comic Strip was opened in 1976. Richard Tienken and Robert Wachs were two of the club ...
, and the
Laugh Factory
Laugh Factory is a chain of comedy clubs in the United States. The chain is owned by Laugh Factory Inc., and the founder and current chief executive is Jamie Masada.
Endurance record
The Laugh Factory keeps track of an endurance record ...
, and is a regular at the
Comedy Cellar
The Comedy Cellar is a comedy club in Manhattan where many top New York comedians perform. It is widely considered to be the best comedy club in the United States. It was founded in 1982 by then stand-up comedian, and current television writer/ ...
.
He continues to perform in more than 600 shows a year, making him one of the most in-demand stand-up comedians currently working in New York City, and leading the ''
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 Ta ...
'' to refer to him as "the hardest-working man in comedy."
Currently performing as a Comedian with the Cirque du Soleil show, Mad Apple, at the New York New York Hotel in Las Vegas. He has been with the show since it began its run in May of 2022.
Television
In 2013, Greenbaum was the
warm-up comedian for the first season of ''
Katie
Katie is an English feminine name. It is a form Katherine, Kate, Caitlin, Kathleen, Katey and their related forms. It is frequently used on its own.
People Sports
* Katie Boulter (born 1996), British tennis player
* Katie Clark (born 1994), B ...
'',
Katie Couric
Katherine Anne Couric ( ; born January 7, 1957) is an American journalist and presenter. She is founder of Katie Couric Media, a multimedia news and production company. She also publishes a daily newsletter, ''Wake Up Call''. From 2013 to 2017, ...
's talk show on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
, and a producer on ''
Would You Fall for That?'' on ABC.
He was also featured in the first season of ''
Gotham Comedy Live
Gotham may refer to:
Places
United Kingdom
* Gotham, Dorset, a hamlet near Verwood, Dorset, England
* Gotham, Nottinghamshire, England
United States
* New York City; see Nicknames of New York City
* Gotham, Wisconsin
* Gotham Comedy Club, ...
'' on
AXS.TV
AXS TV is an American cable television channel. Majority-owned by Anthem Sports & Entertainment, it is devoted primarily to music-related programming (such as concert films, documentaries, and reality series involving musicians) and combat spo ...
and in the special ''Gotham Comedy Live'' episode, "Best of Season 4: New York, the City that Never Bleeps".
In 2014, Greenbaum was a special guest on ''
Brain Games
''Brain Games'' is a collection of memory video games programmed by Larry Kaplan and released by Atari, Inc. for the Atari 2600 in 1978. It is a group of memory games, in which the player is faced with outwitting the computer in sound and pictur ...
'' on
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by the National Geographic Global Networks unit of Disney General ...
.
In 2015, Greenbaum was a semi-finalist on ''
Last Comic Standing
''Last Comic Standing'' was an American reality television talent competition show on NBC that aired from June 1, 2003, to August 9, 2010, then again in 2014 and 2015. The goal of the program was to select a comedian from an initially large group ...
'' on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...
.
In 2017, Greenbaum auditioned for ''
America's Got Talent
''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distribu ...
'' on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...
, performing stand-up comedy.
In 2018, Greenbaum performed on ''
Conan'' on
TBS.
Hosting
Greenbaum was an official co-host of the 2010 Times Square New Year's Eve World Wide Webcast
and was the host of the
New York Innovative Theatre Awards
The New York Innovative Theatre Awards (also known as NYIT Awards and IT Awards) are accolades given annually by the New York Innovative Theatre Foundation, a not-for-profit arts organization founded in 2004, to honor individuals and organizati ...
, held at Cooper Union's Great Hall in 2011 and at Kaye Playhouse in 2012.
Greenbaum is a writer for ''
MAD Magazine
Mad, mad, or MAD may refer to:
Geography
* Mad (village), a village in the Dunajská Streda District of Slovakia
* Mád, a village in Hungary
* Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport, by IATA airport code
* Mad River (disambiguation), several ...
''.
Awards and recognition
Greenbaum is the winner of the 2010
Andy Kaufman
Andrew Geoffrey Kaufman ( ; January 17, 1949 – May 16, 1984) was an American entertainer and performance artist. While often called a "comedian", Kaufman preferred to describe himself instead as a "song and dance man". He has sometimes b ...
Award,
given in recognition of creativity and originality in comedy. He is also the winner of the 2011 Magners Comic Stand-Off and a 2011
Shorty Award for excellence in short-form social media (i.e.
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
).
Greenbaum was named one of 2010's "Comics to Watch" by Comedy Central
and one of the "Best of the Breakout Artists" by
Carolines on Broadway
Carolines on Broadway is a venue for stand-up comedy situated at 750 Seventh Avenue, on Broadway between 49th and 50th Streets, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City.
History
Caroline Hirsch opened Carolines as a cabaret ...
and ''
Punchline Magazine''.
As part of Carolines' Breakout Artists Series, Greenbaum headlined the club, becoming the first performer to sell out a "Breakout" show. Greenbaum became a member of the
New York Friars' Club
The Friars Club is a gentlemen's club, private club in New York City. Famous for its risqué Roast (comedy), roasts, the club's membership is composed mostly of comedians and other celebrities. Founded in 1904, it is located at 57 East 55th Str ...
in 2009, making him one of the youngest people ever inducted into the legendary club. On August 5, 2017, Greenbaum was awarded the Clarke Crandall Award for Comedy at the 80th Abbott's Magic Get-Together in Colon, Michigan, the Magic Capital of the World.
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenbaum, Harrison
1986 births
American stand-up comedians
American comedy writers
Harvard College alumni
Living people
People from Manhattan
People from Woodmere, New York
Comedians from New York (state)
Lawrence High School (Cedarhurst, New York) alumni
21st-century American comedians
Shorty Award winners