Richard Jeni
| Richard Jeni | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Birth name | Richard John Colangelo |
| Born |
April 14, 1957 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Died | March 10, 2007 (aged 49) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Medium | Improv/Stand up |
| Nationality | United States of America |
| Years active | 1982–2007 |
| Genres | Comedy |
| Notable works and roles | Charlie Schumaker in The Mask Himself in Platypus Man |
Richard John Colangelo (April 14, 1957 – March 10, 2007), better known by the stage name of Richard Jeni, was an American stand-up comedian and actor.
Richard Jeni was raised in an Italian-American Roman Catholic family in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. He graduated with honors from Hunter College, earning a bachelor's degree in comparative politics. After graduating, Jeni went on to do public relations work, but was let go from five different firms in two years before doing an open-mic night in Brooklyn and deciding to pursue standup comedy as a career in 1982.
Jeni first received recognition through a series of Showtime stand-up specials and frequent appearances on The Tonight Show. After making his Tonight Show debut in 1988 with Johnny Carson, Jeni would return often and later made appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, all told with more appearances than any other stand-up comedian. In 1989, he won Comedy USA`s Best Nightclub Comedian, as voted by comedy club owners and comedians, and his first Showtime special Richard Jeni: The Boy From New York City won a CableACE Award.
Top executives at HBO picked up his first appearance on The HBO Comedy Hour in 1992, titled Richard Jeni: Platypus Man. The show was well received, and Jeni returned for two more shows, going on to receive another CableACE Award for one of his HBO specials. Jeni also starred on the short-lived 1995 UPN sitcom Platypus Man and appeared in the Jim Carrey film The Mask. Jeni composed the theme song ("I'm A Platypus Man") for his TV series. He appeared in , Dad's Week Off, An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn, and Chasing Robert. He starred in commercial campaigns for Certs and Arby's, and won a Clio Award for his work as a writer/performer in an advertising campaign for the American Dairy Association.
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