Lewis Schaffer is an American

comedian A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertainment, entertain an audience by making them laughter, laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop c ...

and broadcaster, based in

Nunhead Nunhead () is an inner-city suburb in the London Borough of Southwark, England,Southwark Council Nunhead and Peckham Rye Community Council southeast of Charing Cross. It is the location of the Nunhead Cemetery.BBC London Nunhead Cemetery/ref> ...

, south-east

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England, where he moved in 2000. He hosts a weekly radio show on Resonance 104.4FM in London, is a presenter on the GB News show Headliners, and tours Britain as a

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage and delivers humorous and satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical acts. These performances are typically composed of rehear ...

Career

Schaffer's show "Free until Famous" ran from October 2008 until April 2014 at a venue in

Soho SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

and later at The Rancho Grill in

Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...

, London. His show was the "longest running solo stand-up show in London and perhaps all of Britain", running in excess of 400 performances. Schaffer performed his show "Lewis Schaffer: American in London" every Sunday at the

Leicester Square Theatre The Leicester Square Theatre is a 400-seat theatre in Leicester Place, immediately north of Leicester Square, in the City of Westminster, London. It was previously known as Notre Dame Hall, Cavern in the Town and The Venue. The theatre hosts st ...

in London for over three years until June 2014, making it the longest solo comedy residency at the theatre. He has hosted "Nunhead American Radio with Lewis Schaffer" on Resonance 104.4FM London since 2009. The show is broadcast live every Monday at 6:30PM GMT. Guests have included comedians

Russell Howard Russell Joseph Howard (born 23 March 1980) is an English comedian, television presenter, radio presenter and actor. He has hosted his own television shows, ''Russell Howard's Good News'' and ''The Russell Howard Hour'', and appeared on the topi ...

Richard Herring Richard Keith Herring (born 12 July 1967) is an English stand-up comedian and writer whose early work includes the comedy double act Lee and Herring (alongside Stewart Lee). He is described by ''The British Theatre Guide'' as "one of the leadin ...

, and

Stewart Lee Stewart Graham Lee (born 5 April 1968) is an English comedian. His stand-up routine is characterised by repetition, internal reference, and deadpan delivery. Lee began his career in 1989 and formed the comedy duo Lee and Herring with Richard ...

. In 2009, he won the

Malcolm Hardee Malcolm Hardee (5 January 1950 – 31 January 2005) was an English comedian and comedy club proprietor. His high reputation among his peers rests on his outrageous publicity stunts and on the help and advice he gave to successful British Alte ...

Cunning Stunt Award for best publicity stunt at the

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

for persuading the magazine '' The List'' that he would be sponsoring the

Edinburgh Comedy Awards The Edinburgh Comedy Awards (formerly the Perrier Comedy Awards, and also briefly known by other names for sponsorship reasons) are presented to the comedy shows deemed to have been the best at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland. Establ ...

. Schaffer said he had purchased the naming rights to the awards for £99 and his mother would be on the judging panel. In 2017, he won the Wee Review Fringe Experience Award for his Fringe show "Unopened Letters From My Mother", in which he opened and read a series of letters sent to him by his mother after he moved to London.

Controversy

On the 3rd July, he appeared on GB News and suggested in response to a question on how to reduce the disability benefit cost? That disabled people should be starved and that they should be shoot, although acknowledging that in today’s society that couldn’t happen. Backlash online has suggested his comments are indicative of Nazi rhetoric during the 1930s.

Personal life

In September 2019, Schaffer was assaulted while he was cycling in south London. He received treatment for a broken nose and facial wounds at

King's College Hospital King's College Hospital is a major teaching hospital and major trauma centre in Denmark Hill, Camberwell in the London Borough of Lambeth, referred to locally and by staff simply as "King's" or abbreviated internally to "KCH". It is managed by ...

Denmark Hill Denmark Hill is an area and road in Camberwell, in the London Borough of Southwark, London, England. It is a sub-section of the western flank of the Norwood Ridge, centred on the long, curved Ruskin Park slope of the ridge. The road is part of ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schaffer, Lewis Living people 1957 births 21st-century American comedians American expatriates in England Hoaxers British stand-up comedians Comedians from Brooklyn GB News