Seth Meyers

Seth Adam Meyers (born December 28, 1973) is an American comedian, television host, writer, actor, and producer. He hosts ''Late Night with Seth Meyers'', a late-night talk show on NBC. Prior to hosting Late Night, he was a cast member on NBC's sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2001 to 2014, and served as the host's head writer as well as an anchor of the show's news parody segment Weekend Update from 2006 until he left in 2014.

Early life and education

Meyers was born in Evanston, Illinois, and lived in Okemos, Michigan, between the ages of 4 and 10 years old. After that he grew up in Bedford, New Hampshire. Seth's mother, Hilary Claire (née Olson) was a French teacher and his father, Laurence (Larry) Meyers Jr., worked in finance. At one point, his mother and fellow ''Saturday Night Live'' co-star John Mulaney’s grandmother Carolyn Stanton performed together in a hospital benefit show in Marblehead, Massachusetts called Pills A-Poppin' directed by Tony Award-winning choreographer Tommy Tune. Seth's younger brother, Josh Meyers, is an actor and comedian.

Seth Meyers' paternal grandfather was an Ashkenazi Jewish immigrant from Kalvarija near Marijampolė in modern-day Lithuania.Stated on ''Finding Your Roots'', February 19, 2019 The rest of Seth's ancestry is Czech, Austrian, Croatian (from his paternal grandmother), Swedish (from his maternal grandfather), English, and German. Seth discovered on the show ''Finding Your Roots'' that his family's original surname, Trakianski, was changed by his great-grandfather to Meyers, after his own father Mejer Trakianski.

Seth Meyers attended Edgewood Elementary School in Okemos. He graduated from Manchester High School West in Manchester, New Hampshire. He graduated in 1996 from Northwestern University in Evanston, where he was in the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. His college roommate was fellow actor Peter Grosz. Meyers majored in film and television production. In 2011, he was the grand marshal for the school's homecoming parade. In 2016, he delivered the commencement address at Northwestern's graduation.

Career

While a student at Northwestern University, Meyers began performing improv comedy as a member of the university's improv sketch group Mee-Ow Show. He continued his career at ImprovOlympic with the group Preponderate as well as overseas as a cast member of Boom Chicago, an English language improv troupe based in Amsterdam, where his brother was also a cast member. Seth references living in Amsterdam during ''Late Night with Seth Meyers.'' When a Boom Chicago show he developed was mounted in Chicago, ''Saturday Night Live'' talent scouts noticed him and invited to audition for ''SNL.''

''Saturday Night Live''

Seth Meyers joined the ''Saturday Night Live'' cast in 2001. In 2005, he was promoted to writing supervisor and in January 2006, he became a co-head writer, sharing the role with Tina Fey and Harper Steele. In 2004, Meyers auditioned to co-anchor ''Weekend Update'' with Fey, but Amy Poehler was selected. With Fey's departure, Meyers became head writer for the 2006–2007 season and assumed the role of ''Weekend Update'' co-anchor with Amy Poehler, although his cast contract was up around this time. The show wanted him to sign a contract in which he would solely be the head writer, if he didn't get Weekend Update. He refused to sign the contract, and waited to see what the plans for ''Update'' were. He considered leaving SNL altogether if he wasn't added to ''Update''. In fall 2009, Meyers co-anchored two episodes of '' Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday'' with Poehler. After Poehler's departure, he was a solo anchor from 2008 to 2013. In the 2013–2014 season, Cecily Strong joined Meyers as co-anchor until he left mid-season.

On ''SNL'', Meyers impersonated such figures as John Kerry, Michael Caine, Anderson Cooper, Carrot Top, Prince Charles, David Beckham, Ryan Seacrest, Sean Penn, Stone Phillips, Tobey Maguire, Peyton Manning, Ben Curtis (also known as the Dell Dude), Ty Pennington, Bill Cowher, Brian Williams, Nicollette Sheridan, Wade Robson, Donald Trump Jr., Tom Cruise, and Kevin Federline. His recurring characters included Zach Ricky, host of the kids' hidden camera show "Pranksters"; Nerod, the receptionist in the recurring sketch "Appalachian Emergency Room"; David Zinger, a scientist who often insults his fellow workers; DJ Johnathan Feinstein, the DJ on the webcam show "Jarett's Room"; Dan Needler, half of a married couple "that should be divorced," (opposite Amy Poehler); William Fitzpatrick, from the Irish talk show "Top o' the Morning," and Boston Powers (one of the comedians in the "Original Kings of Catchphrase Comedy" series). In the season 29 episode hosted by Lindsay Lohan, he portrayed Ron Weasley in a parody of ''Harry Potter''.

Meyers received critical praise for his part in several iconic ''SNL'' sketches during his tenure. During the 2008 United States presidential election, he wrote the sketches for former ''SNL'' cast member Tina Fey, who returned as a guest star to impersonate Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. He created the famed if inaccurate phrase uttered by Fey's Palin, "I can see Russia from my house." While they were hosts on ''Weekend Update'', Meyers and Poehler had a popular recurring bit, "Really!?! with Seth and Amy." Both hosts would take turns mocking people in the news, ending each point with a heavily sarcastic "Really!?!", which ''Rolling Stone'' writer Jon Blistein characterized as a "torrent of exasperation and bewilderment." Following Poehler's departure from the show in 2008, they revived the "Really!?!" segment several times when she returned as a guest. After Meyers left the show for his own talk show, Poehler made a surprise appearance on ''Late Night with Seth Meyers'' in June 2015 to join Meyers in mocking ''Sports Illustrated'' sportswriter Andy Benoit, after he disparaged women's sports as "not worth watching."

Additionally, the " Abe Lincoln" sketch Meyers wrote for Louis C.K., done in the style of his sitcom, '' Louie'', and the '' Girls'' parody, starring Tina Fey as the new Albanian "girl", were praised by critics as among the best sketches Meyers contributed to ''SNL''. Meyers supported and picketed during the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike. When interviewed, he said, "We all know how lucky we are to have the jobs we have. We're not asking for much. You have to change the rules because people are watching TV in a different way." Even so, he mentioned in interviews that he regretted missing much of the presidential election primary season.

Meyers performed in his final episode of ''SNL'' on February 1, 2014. Strong, Poehler, Bill Hader (in character as Stefon), Andy Samberg, and Fred Armisen (as former New York state governor David Paterson) joined him at the Weekend Update desk. Meyers returned to host the show in 2018 and Paul Simon was the musical guest.

''Late Night''

NBC announced on May 12, 2013, that Meyers would be the new host of ''Late Night'' in 2014, succeeding Jimmy Fallon, as Fallon became host of ''The Tonight Show''. Meyers assumed his role on ''Late Night'' on February 24, 2014, and his first guest was former ''SNL'' castmate and Weekend Update anchor Amy Poehler. Meyers announced February 10, 2014, that the bandleader for his house band " The 8G Band" would be his former SNL colleague Fred Armisen. More recently, he and his Sethmaker Shoemeyers Productions company signed an overall deal with NBCUniversal.

Other pursuits

Meyers won the third season of Bravo's '' Celebrity Poker Showdown'' in 2004, and donated the $100,000 prize to the Boston-based Jimmy Fund. Meyers and ''SNL'' castmate Bill Hader penned a ''Spider-Man'' one-off entitled ''The Short Halloween''. It was illustrated by Kevin Maguire and was published May 29, 2009. Benjamin Birdie of Comic Book Resources gave the work three and a half stars on a scale of five. Meyers, along with Mike Shoemaker of ''SNL'', created an animated half-hour series titled '' The Awesomes'', produced by Lorne Michaels' company, Broadway Video, that aired on Hulu beginning August 2013.

Seth and his brother Josh host a podcast called ''Family Trips with the Meyers Brothers''; the first episode was released on June 27, 2023. From August 30 to October 10, Meyers hosted the comedy podcast '' Strike Force Five'' with Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, and John Oliver to support their staff members out of work due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike. He also hosts ''The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast'' with The Lonely Island ( Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone) which discusses the comedy group's ''SNL'' Digital Shorts.

Awards hosting

Meyers hosted the Webby Awards twice, in 2008 and 2009. In 2009, he hosted the Microsoft Company Meeting at Safeco Field in Seattle. He hosted the 2010 and 2011 ESPY Awards on ESPN. In April 2011, he was the keynote speaker at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. During his introductory remarks, he made a joke about Osama bin Laden's actions while in hiding; namely, that bin Laden was hosting his own afternoon television show on C-SPAN. Meyers was unaware at the time that US intelligence had indeed actually located bin Laden and the Navy SEALs planned an attack on his location for the very next day. In the same speech, he mocked Donald Trump (who was in attendance) for his attempts in finding then US President Barack Obama's birth certificate. He also mocked Trump's intention of running for president, which many later jokingly said was the reason for Trump's later candidacy in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. In 2014, Meyers hosted the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2018, he hosted the 75th Golden Globe Awards.

Influences

Meyers says that his comedy influences are David Letterman, Monty Python, Steve Martin, Dennis Miller, Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, Richard Pryor, P. G. Wodehouse, Conan O'Brien, and Jon Stewart.

Personal life

Meyers and his girlfriend of five years, attorney Alexi Ashe, were engaged in July 2013. They married in a Jewish wedding on September 1, 2013, on Martha's Vineyard. Their first son, Ashe Olson Meyers (named after his wife and his mother's maiden names, respectively), was born at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan, New York on March 27, 2016. On April 8, 2018, the couple's second son, Axel Strahl Meyers, was delivered in the lobby of their apartment building. On November 24, 2021, he announced the birth of his daughter, Adelaide Ruth Meyers, during ''Late Night''s ''Corrections'' segment. The family has a dog named Frisbee.

While interviewing Jake Tapper on the December 4, 2018, episode of ''Late Night'', Meyers said that while he is not Jewish, his wife is Jewish and that their children are growing up Jewish. Axel's middle name is for the surname of Alexi's Holocaust survivor grandparents.
Beginning in July 2013, Alexi worked as an assistant district attorney in Brooklyn, assigned to the Sex Crimes Bureau. Since then she joined Sanctuary for Families as an advocate for victims of gender violence.

During an interview on ''The Late Show With Stephen Colbert'', Meyers said that he doesn't believe in an afterlife.

Seth Meyers' children, dressed as " murder hornets", made a quick appearance during one COVID-19 episode of ''A Closer Look'', filmed in the family's attic. He is a fan of the Boston Red Sox, the Boston Celtics, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Pittsburgh Penguins (his father being a Pittsburgh native), the Northwestern Wildcats (his alma mater); and two soccer teams, namely the Netherlands national football team and the Premier League club West Ham United.

A fan of comics, he cited Joe Hill's supernatural comic book series '' Locke & Key'' as being one of his favorite comic book series. IDW Publishing gave him some of the replica keys which they had licensed.

Filmography

Film

Television

Specials

Writing credits

Bibliography

*
*

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
*
* in 2008

Seth Meyers ''Late Night'' bio
* —conversation with Fred Armisen, Andy Samberg, Jason Sudeikis, Kenan Thompson, and Kristen Wiig at The New Yorker Festival, October 2010

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meyers, Seth
1973 births
Living people
21st-century American comedians
21st-century American male actors
21st-century American male writers
21st-century American non-fiction writers
21st-century American screenwriters
American people of English descent
American people of German descent
American comedy writers
American expatriates in the Netherlands
American male comedians
American male film actors
American male non-fiction writers
American male screenwriters
American male television actors
American male television writers
American male voice actors
American media critics
American people of Austrian descent
American people of Croatian descent
American people of Czech descent
American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent
American people of Swedish descent
American satirists
American sketch comedians
American stand-up comedians
American television talk show hosts
American television writers
Comedians from Evanston, Illinois
Comedians from Michigan
Comedians from New Hampshire
Late night television talk show hosts
Late Night with Seth Meyers
Male actors from Evanston, Illinois
Male actors from Illinois
Male actors from Michigan
Male actors from Manchester, New Hampshire
Northwestern University School of Communication alumni
People from Okemos, Michigan
Primetime Emmy Award winners
Screenwriters from Illinois
Screenwriters from Michigan
Screenwriters from New Hampshire
Television personalities from Illinois
Television personalities from Michigan
Television personalities from New Hampshire
Television producers from Illinois
Television producers from Michigan
Television producers from New Hampshire
The New Yorker people
Writers from Evanston, Illinois
Writers from Manchester, New Hampshire
Writers from Michigan
Writers Guild of America Award winners