Matt Iseman (born January 22, 1971) is an American

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolish (as in slapstick), or employing prop comedy. A comedian who addresses an audience dir ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...

, and television host, who began his career as a

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

. He is best known for his role as play-by-play announcer and host of ''

American Ninja Warrior 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, pe ...

''. He was the winner of '' The New Celebrity Apprentice'' in 2017, the show's only season.

Early life and medical career

Iseman was born in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

. The son of a pulmonologist, Iseman was raised in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

and followed his father into a medical career, earning a B.A. with honors from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the n ...

and an M.D. from

Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S) is the graduate medical school of Columbia University, located at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. Founded i ...

. Iseman is of

Ashkenazi Jewish Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

, Irish, Danish, and English descent. He did his internship and residency in internal medicine at the University of Colorado Hospital in his hometown of Denver, and later relocated to the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

area.

Comedy career

Iseman began doing

stand-up comedy Stand-up comedy is a comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories, ...

, with a routine based partly on his experiences as a doctor. He worked with the

improvisational comedy Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, a ...

troupe The Groundlings, and in 2002 became a full-time professional comedian. In addition to comedy club work, Iseman's medical background has led to performing for medical and health-related organizations. He has performed at USO shows in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

, and

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...

. He cites Brian Regan as a comedy inspiration. Iseman's comedy outside of humor about medicine and medical profession is mainly

observational Observation is the active acquisition of information from a primary source. In living beings, observation employs the senses. In science, observation can also involve the perception and recording of data via the use of scientific instruments. The ...

, and he generally avoids off-color material.

Television work

Iseman has hosted the game shows ''Scream Play'' on E! and ''Casino Night'' on GSN. He appears as a regular cast member on the home makeover show '' Clean House'' and its companion outtakes show, '' Clean House Comes Clean'', both on the

Style Network Esquire Network was an American pay television network that was a 50/50 joint venture between NBCUniversal and the Hearst Corporation. The network carried programs aimed at a metrosexual audience centering on travel, cooking, sports and fashion ...

. Additionally, he has hosted 13 out of 14 seasons of ''

'' on the channel G4, and then on the NBC network. The only season he did not host was season 1. Iseman began working with ''American Ninja Warrior'' in 2010. He uses his athleticism and work as a comedian to add his style to the show with Akbar Gbaja-Biamila (former NFL player), and

Zuri Hall Zuri Hall (born June 2, 1988) is an American entertainment reporter, television personality, actress and producer. Hall serves as a correspondent for ''Access Hollywood'' on NBC. She is also the sideline reporter for NBC's primetime summer com ...

(sideline correspondent). He also has worked episodically in television shows including ''

The Drew Carey Show ''The Drew Carey Show'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 13, 1995 to September 8, 2004. Set in Cleveland, Ohio, the series revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionali ...

'', ''

NCIS NCIS or N.C.I.S. may refer to: Law enforcement * National Criminal Intelligence Service, the predecessor to the Serious Organised Crime Agency of the United Kingdom * Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a United States law enforcement and intelli ...

'', and '' General Hospital.'' He has appeared on the syndicated '' MAD TV'',

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy program ...

's '' Premium Blend'',

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

's '' The Best Damn Sports Show Period'', and

Fox News Channel The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is ...

's ''

Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld ''Red Eye'', also known as ''Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld'' from 2007 to 2015 and ''Red Eye w/ Tom Shillue'' from 2015 to 2017, was an American late-night/early-morning satirical talk show on Fox News, which aired at 3:00 a.m. ET Tuesday throu ...

''. He was the narrator of '' Dumbest Stuff On Wheels'' on

SPEED In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a scalar quantity ...

. As of May 4, 2010, Iseman is the host of ''

Sports Soup ''Sports Soup'' was a weekly series airing in the U.S. on Versus. The show (first airing October 14, 2008), hosted by Matt Iseman, satirized recent events in sports and the stations that cover them in similar fashion to sister network E! Enterta ...

'', a spin-off of E!'s '' The Soup'', on

Versus Versus (Latin, 'against') may refer to: Film and television * ''Versus'' (2000 film), a Japanese zombie film * ''Versus'' (2016 film), a Russian sports drama film * ''Versus'' (2019 film), a French thriller film * Versus (TV channel), form ...

. Iseman won the 15th overall season and first run of '' The New Celebrity Apprentice'' and appeared as one of the contestants in the third episode of '' RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race'' to raise funds for the Arthritis Foundation. Iseman is the new host of ''

Live Rescue ''Live Rescue'' (stylized as ''Live + Rescue'') is an American television program on the A&E Network. It follows live camera crew ride-alongs with fire departments and rescue squads in cities and towns across the country. The series is a spin-off ...

'' on A&E, taking over for former host Ashleigh Banfield.

Personal life

Iseman was diagnosed with

rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects synovial joint, joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and ...

in 2002, at age 31. His disease is being treated successfully. Iseman is a cancer survivor. In 2018, he wrote on his Instagram account that he had part of a kidney removed due to cancer more than 10 years earlier.

Selected filmography

Television

As actor

As himself

Video game

References

External links

* * *
Headliners with...Clean House's Matt Iseman
'' EntertainmentVine.com, 9 October 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Iseman, Matt 1971 births American male comedians 21st-century American comedians Physicians from California American male television actors Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons alumni Living people Princeton University alumni Physicians from Colorado Male actors from Denver Participants in American reality television series The Apprentice (franchise) winners