Joshua Lyons Gondelman (born January 15, 1985) is an American author, comedy writer, producer, and stand-up comedian. He was a supervising producer and writer for '' Desus & Mero'' on

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

. He was previously a writer 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 ...

''. He is also known for co-creating the parody

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

account @SeinfeldToday.

Early life and education

Gondelman grew up in Stoneham,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, to parents Ellion Lyons and David Gondelman. He grew up in a Jewish family. Gondelman graduated from Stoneham High School in 2003. He graduated from

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

in 2007, where he double majored in

creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes beyond the boundaries of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on craft and technique, such as narrative structure, character ...

and English and minored in Spanish.

Career

When he was 19 years old, Gondelman began doing standup comedy in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. He did stand-up in Boston for seven years and occasionally returns. After college, he worked as a pre-school teacher and taught elementary school Spanish. In 2011, Gondelman moved to

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 ...

, where his then-girlfriend lived, to pursue stand-up comedy. During this time he also began doing freelance writing. He co-wrote his first major story, "Both Sides of a Break Up", with his ex-girlfriend; it was published in ''

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Clay Felker and Milton Glaser in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'' a ...

'' in 2012. In 2013, he wrote a story for ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'' describing his experience running in a

Tough Mudder Tough Mudder is an endurance event series in which participants attempt obstacle courses. It was co-founded by Will Dean and Guy Livingstone. The obstacles often play on common human fears, such as fire, water, electricity and fear of heights, ...

race in which he was sponsored by

Wheaties Wheaties is an American brand of breakfast cereal that is made by General Mills. It is well known for featuring list of athletes on Wheaties boxes, prominent athletes on its packages and has become a cultural icon in the United States. Originall ...

in exchange for monetary compensation from

General Mills General Mills, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded ultra-processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in ...

and Zeus Jones. He has also written for ''McSweeney's'', ''The New Yorker'', and ''The New York Times''. In October 2015, a book co-authored by Gondelman and Joe Berkowitz entitled ''You Blew It!: An Awkward Look at the Many Ways in Which You've Already Ruined Your Life'', was published.

Stand-up

As a stand-up comedian, he has opened for

John Oliver John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is a British and American comedian who hosts ''Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'' on HBO. He started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United Kingdom and came to wider attention for his work ...

Jen Kirkman Jennifer Ann Kirkman (born August 28, 1974) is an American stand-up comedian and screenwriter, podcaster, and actress. She is known for her regular appearances as a round-table panelist on ''Chelsea Lately'' for 70 episodes from 2008 to 2014. J ...

and

Pete Holmes Peter Benedict Holmes (born March 30, 1979) is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and podcaster. Holmes gained recognition in the early 2010s as a stand-up comic, during which he launched his podcast ''You Made It Weird'' (2011–p ...

, and also performs regularly at New York City venues. Eve Peyser has said that during his stand-up, Gondelman "radiates humility and a relatable, everyday awkwardness alongside fierce confidence and wit." ''Everything's The Best'', his debut album, came out in 2011. His second album, ''Physical Whisper'', was released on March 18, 2016. In 2010, he won the Laughing Skull Comedy Festival in Atlanta, Georgia. In March 2016, he made his late-night television debut on ''Conan''. He made his network television debut in January 2018 on

Late Night with Seth Meyers ''Late Night with Seth Meyers'' is an American late-night news and political satire variety talk show hosted by Seth Meyers on NBC. The show premiered on February 24, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. Airing w ...

. Gondelman also was a stand-up consultant for the final season of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel."

SeinfeldToday

In December 2012, Gondelman created the Twitter account "SeinfeldToday", along with Jaclyn Moore, formerly of

BuzzFeed BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet mass media, media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John Seward Johnson III, John S. Johnson III to ...

. The account posted humorous tweets reimagining ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...

'' characters in modern-day situations. As of October 2015, the last time the account was active, it had more than 900,000 followers. At the 6th annual

Shorty Award The Shorty Awards (also known as "The Shortys") are awards for outstanding and innovative work in digital and social media content by brands, advertising agencies, and creators. The awards, which generally focus on short-term content, honor achiev ...

s in 2014, the account won an award in the "#Fakeaccount" category.

''Last Week Tonight with John Oliver''

In 2014, Gondelman was hired by ''

'' as the web producer for the show's first season, and became a staff writer for the second season. In 2016, he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series for his work on the show. He and the writing team of ''Last Week Tonight'' won this same award in 2017, as well as a

Writers Guild of America Award The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949. Eligibility Th ...

in 2017.

''Desus & Mero''

In 2019, Gondelman left ''Last Week Tonight'' to become a senior staff writer and producer on '' Desus & Mero'' after the series moved to

''Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me!''

Since 2019, Gondelman has been a regular panelist on the

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

show '' Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!''. In March 2023, Gondelman was the guest host filling in for

Peter Sagal Peter Daniel Sagal (born January 31, 1965) is an American humorist, writer, and host of the National Public Radio game show '' Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!'' and the PBS special ''Constitution USA with Peter Sagal''. __TOC__ Early life, famil ...

while Sagal was on paternity leave.

Personal life

Gondelman is married to Maris Kreizman, the creator of the blog and book ''Slaughterhouse 90210.'' They live in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

with Bizzy, a senior

pug The Pug is a breed of dog with the physically distinctive features of a wrinkly, short-muzzled face, and curled tail. An ancient breed, with roots dating back to 400 B.C., they have a fine, glossy coat that comes in a variety of colors, most ...

Awards

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
s

* 2014:

Shorty Awards The Shorty Awards (also known as "The Shortys") are awards for outstanding and innovative work in digital and social media content by brands, advertising agencies, and creators. The awards, which generally focus on short-term content, honor achiev ...

, #Fakeaccount category * 2014:

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

for ''

'' * 2017:

, Comedy/Variety Series for ''Last Week Tonight with John Oliver''

Discography

* 2011: ''Everything's The Best!'' * 2016: ''Physical Whisper'' * 2019: ''Dancing on a Weeknight'' * 2022: ''People Pleaser''

Filmography

* 2011: ''Quiet Desperation'' (TV series) – Actor (3 episodes) * 2011: ''Viral Video'' (short) – as Agent * 2013: ''Splashie'' (TV series short) – as Criminal * 2014: '' Billy on the Street with Billy Eichner'' (TV series) – Creative consultant (2 episodes) * 2014: ''Ramsey Has a Time Machine'' (TV series) – as Jackson Pollock in "Art" * 2015–present: ''

'' (TV Series) – Producer (11 episodes), Writer (14 episodes) * 2016: ''

Night Train with Wyatt Cenac Wyatt John Foster Cenac Jr. ( ; born April 19, 1976) is an American comedian, actor, producer, and writer. He was a correspondent and writer for ''The Daily Show'' from 2008 to 2012. He starred in the TBS series ''People of Earth'' and in Barr ...

'' (TV series) – Actor in "Links & Logs" * 2016: ''The Comedy Show Show'' (TV series) – Actor in "RISK! With Kevin Allison" * 2016: ''@Midnight'' (TV series) – as himself * 2017: ''Wiki What'' (

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

show) - Host *2020: ''

The George Lucas Talk Show ''The George Lucas Talk Show'' is an improvised talk show in New York City hosted by comedian Connor Ratliff, who appears as George Lucas, the creator of ''Star Wars'', and he interviews real guests as themselves in a panel format. He is jo ...

'' - as himself. Episode: "Revenge of the Sick: After Show"

Works and publications

* * * ;Selected articles * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ;''Wiki What?'' * * * *

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gondelman, Joshua Lyons 1985 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 comedy writers American Internet celebrities American magazine writers American male comedians American male screenwriters American male television actors American male television writers American stand-up comedians American television writers Brandeis University alumni Comedians from Massachusetts Comedians from New York City Jewish American comedians Jewish American comedy writers Jewish American male actors Jewish male comedians Jewish American screenwriters Male actors from Massachusetts Male actors from New York City People from Stoneham, Massachusetts Primetime Emmy Award winners Screenwriters from Massachusetts Screenwriters from New York (state) Writers from Massachusetts Writers from New York City Writers Guild of America Award winners