Jimmy Tingle (born April 9, 1955) is an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, p ...
comic
a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicat ...
and occasional
actor
An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...
.
Life and career
Tingle was the American correspondent for
David Frost
Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was an English television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme ...
’s show for
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
and the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
, ''The Strategic Humor Initiative''. He completed two seasons with ''
60 Minutes II
''60 Minutes II'' (also known as ''60 Minutes Wednesday'' and ''60 Minutes'') is an American weekly primetime news magazine television program that was intended to replicate the "signature style, journalistic quality and integrity" of the origin ...
'' on
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
as the humorist/commentator in the
Andy Rooney
Andrew Aitken Rooney (January 14, 1919 – November 4, 2011) was an American radio and television writer who was best known for his weekly broadcast "A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney", a part of the CBS News program ''60 Minutes'' from 1978 to 201 ...
spot. He worked as a contributor and satirist for
MSNBC
MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...
and has appeared on ''
Tough Crowd'' with
Colin Quinn
Colin Edward Quinn (born June 6, 1959) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. He first gained widespread attention for his work as a cast member and writer on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1995 to 2000, and he became known for anchor ...
, ''
The Tonight Show
''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has been broadcast on NBC since 1954. The program has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2 ...
'', ''
Larry King's Weekend
Larry is a masculine given name in English, derived from Lawrence or Laurence. It can be a shortened form of those names.
Larry may refer to the following:
People Arts and entertainment
*Larry D. Alexander, American artist/writer
*Larry Boone ...
'', and ''
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the second installment of the ''Late Night (franchise), Late Night'' franchise originally established by David Letterman. Hosted by Conan O'Brie ...
'', ''
The Late Late Show'' with
Tom Snyder
Thomas James Snyder (May 12, 1936 – July 29, 2007) was an American television personality, news anchor, and radio personality best known for his late night talk shows '' Tomorrow'', on NBC in the 1970s and 1980s, and '' The Late Late Show'' ...
, ''
The American Comedy Awards'', as well as his own
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
comedy special.
Tingle appeared as a television talk show host in
Chris Rock
Christopher Julius Rock (born February 7, 1965) is an American comedian, actor, and filmmaker. He first gained prominence for his stand-up routines in the 1980s in which he tackled subjects including race relations, human sexuality, and obse ...
’s film, ''
Head of State
A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "he head of state
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads
* He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English
* He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana)
* Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...
being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...
''. Other film credits include the role of the neighborhood bartender in ''
Next Stop Wonderland
''Next Stop Wonderland'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Brad Anderson, written by Anderson and Lyn Vaus, and starring Hope Davis and Alan Gelfant. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 17, 1998, where it was ...
'', a priest in ''
Boondock Saints'', and a restaurant owner in ''
By the Sea''. Tingle also starred in the International Emmy Award-winning documentary on art censorship, ''Damned in the U.S.A.'' produced by
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
in the United Kingdom for its ''Without Walls'' arts series, in partnership with Channel Thirteen in New York. He co-starred in the PBS ''Travels'' series special "America with the Top Down" and appeared in ''But Seriously'' and ''But Seriously '94'', Showtime documentaries featuring prominent social satirists from Lenny Bruce to the present. As political satirist, practitioner of non-violence and activist, Tingle received the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award for his efforts to support peace and social change and through whom, humor and satire help in combating destructive elements in society.
Tingle has the rare distinction of winning the prestigious “Best of Boston” award as both a performer in 2001 in the “stand up comedy” category and as a producer in 2007 for ''Jimmy Tingle’s OFF BROADWAY Theater''. His theatrical credits include writing and starring in four different one person shows, all of which were directed by Larry Arrick. ''Jimmy Tingle's Uncommon Sense, The Education of an American Comic'' received stellar reviews during a nine-week engagement at the American Place Theater in New York City and continued to succeed brilliantly at the Hasty Pudding Theater in Cambridge, MA becoming the longest running one person show in that theater's history. The show made its Los Angeles debut at the Coast Playhouse in 1998 and was nominated by ''The L.A. Weekly'' for "best male solo performance" for their 20th Annual Theater Awards. ''Uncommon Sense'' was followed by ''Jimmy Tingle in the Promised Land'' (2002) and ''Jimmy Tingle’s American Dream'' (2005), which is currently in production to be released as a film.
He has hosted events such as ''Newton Has Talent''.
Jimmy Tingle's Off-Broadway Theater
From 2002 to 2007 he served as owner, principal performer and producing director of Jimmy Tingle's OFF BROADWAY Theater in
Somerville, Massachusetts
Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population of 81, ...
, which presented over 200 productions and/or co productions from the worlds of comedy, music, theater, television, radio, political events and kids shows during its five years of existence. In August 2007 JTOB was voted “Best of Boston" in "Theater Alternative" category by ''Boston Magazine''.
Education

A 1977 graduate of Southeastern Massachusetts University, now
UMass Dartmouth with a degree in history, Tingle returned to school, earning a master's degree from
Harvard Kennedy School
The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...
in 2010; he was selected to give an address at Harvard's commencement ceremony that year.
Politics
Tingle is a member of the
Democratic Party.
[ In October 2017, he announced that he would run for the office of Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts.][ In the Democratic ]primary election
Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...
held on September 4, 2018, Tingle was defeated by attorney Quentin Palfrey
Quentin Palfrey (born April 29, 1974) is an American lawyer, policymaker, and politician. He currently serves as Director of Federal Funds and Infrastructure in the Massachusetts Executive Office for Administration and Finance. He previously ser ...
.
Filmography
*"CBC Winnipeg Comedy Festival" .... Himself (1 episode, 2008)
*"Mock the Week" .... Himself (1 episode, 2007)
*''Boomtown
A boomtown is a community that undergoes sudden and rapid population and economic growth, or that is started from scratch. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although t ...
'' (2005)
*'' The Strategic Humor Initiative'' (2003) (TV) .... Himself
*''Head of State
A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "he head of state
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads
* He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English
* He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana)
* Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...
being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...
'' (2003) (as James Tingle) .... Talk-show host
*'' By the Sea'' (2002) .... Julian
*''60 Minutes II
''60 Minutes II'' (also known as ''60 Minutes Wednesday'' and ''60 Minutes'') is an American weekly primetime news magazine television program that was intended to replicate the "signature style, journalistic quality and integrity" of the origin ...
'' (1999) TV series .... Himself - Correspondent (unknown episodes, 1999–2000)
... aka 60 Minutes (USA: new title)
... aka 60 Minutes Wednesday (USA: new title)
*''The Boondock Saints
''The Boondock Saints'' is a 1999 Vigilante film, vigilante Action film, action thriller film written and directed by Troy Duffy in his list of directorial debuts, feature directorial debut. Starring Willem Dafoe, Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman R ...
'' (1999) .... The Priest
*''Next Stop Wonderland
''Next Stop Wonderland'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Brad Anderson, written by Anderson and Lyn Vaus, and starring Hope Davis and Alan Gelfant. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 17, 1998, where it was ...
'' (1998) .... Lowrey the Bartender
*'' Travels'' "America with the Top Down" (1992)... Himself
*"One Night Stand" .... Himself (1 episode, 1991)
Episode dated April 6, 1991 (1991) TV episode .... Himself
*Damned in the U.S.A. (1991) .... Himself
... aka Damned in the USA (USA: video box title)
*The 4th Annual American Comedy Awards (1990) (TV) .... Himself
References
External links
Official web site
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tingle, Jimmy
1955 births
Living people
American male film actors
American stand-up comedians
Male actors from Boston
Male actors from Cambridge, Massachusetts
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth alumni
Harvard Kennedy School alumni
Comedians from Cambridge, Massachusetts
20th-century American comedians
21st-century American comedians