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H. Jon Benjamin

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H. Jon Benjamin
Benjamin in 2022
Born
Harry Jon Benjamin

(1966-05-23) May 23, 1966 (age 58)
Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S.
EducationConnecticut College (BA)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • comedian
  • writer
  • producer
  • musician
Years active1987–present
PartnerAmy Beth Silver
Children1

Harry Jon Benjamin[1] (born May 23, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician.[2] He is known for his voice roles in adult animated series, including Sterling Archer in Archer, Bob Belcher in Bob's Burgers, Ben in Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist, Kevin in O'Grady, Satan in Lucy, the Daughter of the Devil, and Coach McGuirk and Jason Penopolis in Home Movies, starring as the voice of Boy in the film Boy Kills World (2023) and the video game Super Dragon Punch Force 3 (2024). Benjamin was named 2014's male comedy performer of the year at Vulture's TV Awards for his work in Bob's Burgers and Archer. He also appeared in the 2001 satirical comedy film Wet Hot American Summer; its subsequent 2015 television series, Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp; and the final installment of the franchise, the 2017 miniseries Wet Hot American Summer: 10 Years Later.[3]

Early life

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Benjamin was born on May 23, 1966, to a Jewish family in Worcester, Massachusetts.[4][5] His father, Howard, was CEO of an electric company, and his mother, Shirley, was a former ballet dancer who taught dance at a studio.[6] He graduated from Worcester Academy in 1984 and Connecticut College in 1988.[7]

Career

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Benjamin's comedy career began in Boston, where he was in a comedy duo with Sam Seder, then a member of Cross Comedy, a comedy team led by David Cross. For the first seven years of his career, Benjamin almost exclusively worked in groups rather than independently. Afterward, his independent work remained more experimental, rejecting traditional styles of stand-up comedy.

Benjamin's live projects include the Midnight Pajama Jam, a show performed in New York City with Jon Glaser and Tinkle, a show combining stand-up comedy and live music, co-hosted by Todd Barry and David Cross. A Midnight Pajama Jam DVD is currently[when?] in production. Benjamin and Cross appear together on the album Invite Them Up.

He was the guest on Space Ghost Coast to Coast in its eighty-first episode, "King Dead" on December 17, 1999, where Zorak and Moltar kidnapped him. He has appeared in the television show Cheap Seats, on ESPN Classic, as "Gene Stapleton" and "Rabbi Marc Shalowitz". He co-starred in Todd Barry's short film Borrowing Saffron and portrayed a talking can of vegetables with a shameful habit of autofellatio in the film Wet Hot American Summer. He made short cameos in Not Another Teen Movie as the football trainer and on the FX Network comedy drama Rescue Me as the pimp "F-bomb" in season two. He can be seen in Turbocharge-the Unauthorized Story of the Cars, a comedy biopic about the '80s rock band The Cars, playing the role of Cars' manager Elliot Roberts in his usual deadpan comedic delivery.[8]

Benjamin has done extensive voice work in animated TV shows. His credits include starring roles in several Soup2Nuts cartoon shows, such as Science Court, Home Movies, O'Grady, Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist and Assy McGee. He co-created Freak Show with David Cross. Benjamin starred as the Devil and multiple other roles in Lucy, the Daughter of the Devil, which ran for one season on Adult Swim beginning September 9, 2007. Benjamin plays a recurring character on the PBS Kids series WordGirl and is the announcer for The Sam Seder Show and The Majority Report. He did the voice of "Shelly", Sam Seder's accountant, on Breakroom Live with Maron & Seder.

Benjamin has made guest appearances in several animated shows. He was in the Aqua Teen Hunger Force episodes "Bus of the Undead" and "The Last One" as Mothmonsterman, in "Broodwich" as Mr. Sticks, in "Bible Fruit" as Mortimer Mango and played the live-action role of Master Shake in "Last Last One Forever and Ever", credited as Capt. Turd Mahoy. He made a cameo appearance as a government agent in the film Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters alongside frequent collaborator Jon Glaser. He has appeared in Family Guy as Carl, a movie trivia obsessed convenience store clerk who portrayed Yoda in the Star Wars parody episode "Something, Something, Something, Dark Side".

Other appearances include The Venture Bros., in the episodes "Escape to the House of Mummies Part II", "I Know Why the Caged Bird Kills" and "The Better Man", in which he played Dr. Orpheus's master—who appears in the form of Cerberus, Catherine the Great's horse and, in "The Better Man", both Dr. Orpheus's ex-wife and a future Dean Venture, respectively. He appeared in the Stella short "Bar", which can be found as an easter egg on the Season 1 DVD. Benjamin appeared on the Comedy Central sketch/variety show Important Things with Demetri Martin.

In 2009, Benjamin and David Cross created and wrote for Paid Programming, a live-action pilot for Cartoon Network's late night programing block, Adult Swim. Paid Programming was not picked up for a full series and Benjamin referred to it as an "abject failure".[9]

Benjamin was featured in a Super Bowl XLIII Bud Light commercial with Conan O'Brien[10] and was responsible for the McCain Girls[11] videos on YouTube.[12] He voices Sterling Archer, a secret agent in the FX series Archer that first aired January 14, 2010.[13] He has appeared in several segments of the television show Human Giant and had a cameo in the American Dad! episode "License to Till" as a talking head of cabbage.

Benjamin starred in the Comedy Central series Jon Benjamin Has a Van, which he co-created with comedian Leo Allen.[14] The series debuted on May 14, 2011; a total of 10 episodes aired, the last on August 10, 2011.

Beginning in 2013, Benjamin's voice can be heard as the narrator of a series of TV commercials for Coke Zero, including some with tie-ins to ESPN's College Game Day program.[citation needed]

In 2014, Benjamin was named as the year's best male comedy performer for his work on Bob's Burgers and Archer by the Vulture TV Awards, a digital expansion of New York magazine.[15]

In 2015, despite not knowing how to play any instrument, Benjamin released his first jazz album, Well, I Should Have....[16] Benjamin "played" piano and was joined by Scott Kreitzer on sax, David Finck on bass, and Jonathan Preitz on drums.[17]

Benjamin wrote a comedic autobiography, Failure is an Option: An Attempted Memoir, which was published by Penguin Random House in May 2018.[1] He also narrated the audiobook.

Benjamin began appearing in commercials for Arby's restaurant chain in 2018 as their new spokesman.[18]

In March 2020, Benjamin was the voice of Saddam Hussein in Blowback, a podcast about the Iraq War created and hosted by Brendan James and Noah Kulwin.[19]

In 2024, Benjamin appears as the voice of a pigeon in the new Progressive Insurance commercials.

Personal life

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Benjamin was named "Harry" after his paternal grandfather, but his family has always called him by his middle name "Jon";[1] in his early years, he was unaware of his actual first name.[20] He has said that the inclusion of his first initial in the credits on Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist was done without his consent by co-star Laura Silverman "just to make fun of me."[20]

Benjamin's longtime partner is set decorator Amy Beth Silver. They have a son and live in Brooklyn.[6]

Benjamin is an amateur ornithologist.[21]

In January 2020, Benjamin endorsed Bernie Sanders for president and narrated a series of videos on Sanders's health care proposals.[22] In September 2020, Benjamin voiced an animated version of himself to promote the launch video for the Gravel Institute's YouTube channel.[23]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1997 Who's the Caboose? Ken Fold
1998 Next Stop Wonderland Eric
2000 Happy Accidents Reveler #1
2001 Wet Hot American Summer Can of Vegetables (voice)
Not Another Teen Movie Trainer
2002 Martin & Orloff Keith
Borrowing Saffron Ron Short film
2003 Temptation Kevin
2004 New York Minute Vendor
2007 Puberty: The Movie The Torah / Uncle Irving
Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters CIA Agent #1 (voice)
The Ten Lying Rhyno (voice)
2008 The Toe Tactic Police Officer
A Bad Situationist Isaiah
Turbocharge: The Unauthorized Story of the Cars Dance Instructor
2014 22 Jump Street MCS Coach Uncredited[24]
Jason Nash Is Married Dennis
2015 Creative Control Gary Gass
Limbo Jim Short film
Hell and Back The Tree (voice)
2022 The Bob's Burgers Movie Bob Belcher (voice)
2024 Boy Kills World Boy's Inner Voice (voice)
Familiar Touch Steve

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1994 Understanding Quark Episode: "Uncertainty"
1995–1999;
2002 		Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist Ben, Various voices 80 episodes
Also writer
1997 The Chris Rock Show Extra 1 episode
The Jenny McCarthy Show Various 6 episodes
1997–2000 Science Court Prof. Nick Parsons (voice) 29 episodes
1998 Sex and the City Jeff Episode: "Bay of Married Pigs"
Upright Citizens Brigade Various 10 episodes
1999 Dick and Paula Celebrity Special Various 2 episodes
Also writer
Space Ghost Coast to Coast Himself Episode: "King Dead"
1999–2004 Home Movies Coach John McGuirk, Jason Penopolis, Various voices 52 episodes
Also writer and producer
2001–2009 Aqua Teen Hunger Force Various voices 5 episodes
2002 Saddle Rash Gummy, Tommy Morgan (voices) Pilot
Also writer
2003 Hey Monie! Self-defense instructor 1 episode
2004 Pilot Season Ken Fold 2 episodes
Say Uncle Jonny Failed pilot
2004–2006 Cheap Seats: Without Ron Parker Rabbi Marc Shalowitz, Gene Stapleton 4 episodes
O'Grady Kevin Harnisch, Iris, Philip (voices) 19 episodes
2005 Rescue Me Gary Episode: "Rebirth"
2005–2006 Sunday Pants Bob the Log Travel Logs shorts
2005–2007 Lucy, the Daughter of the Devil Satan, Special Father #1 (voices) 11 episodes
Also writer
2006 Freak Show Tuck, Various voices 7 episodes
Also co-creator, writer and executive producer
2006–2008 Assy McGee The Mayor, Various voices 19 episodes
Also writer and consulting producer
2006–2012 The Venture Bros. The Master (voice) 4 episodes
2006–present Family Guy Carl Graves, Bob Belcher, Various voices 27 episodes
2007–2008 Human Giant Various 4 episodes
Also consultant writer
2007–2015 WordGirl Reginald the Jewelry Store Clerk, InvisiBill, Additional Voices 31 episodes
2009 Michael & Michael Have Issues Larry Episode: "Frog Box"
Paid Programming Various Pilot
Co-creator, writer and executive producer
Parks and Recreation Scott Braddock Episode: "Kaboom"
Titan Maximum Tap Banister (voice) Episode: "Dirty Lansbury"
2009–2010 Important Things with Demetri Martin Various 7 episodes
Also writer and co-producer
2009–2023 Archer Sterling Archer (voice) 145 episodes
2011 Jon Benjamin Has a Van Host 10 episodes
Also co-creator, writer and executive producer
Soul Quest Overdrive Mortimer (voice) 6 episodes
Also co-creator and co-writer
American Dad! Talking Cabbage (voice) Episode: "License to Till"
2011–present Bob's Burgers Bob Belcher, Jimmy Pesto Jr., Various voices Main role
2012 Suburgatory Tabitha Episode: "Ryan's Song"
Ugly Americans Dick Maggotbone (voice) Episode: "Mark Loves Dick"
2013 Nathan for You Himself Episode: "Yogurt Shop/Pizzeria"
2014–2021 Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Ben, Scientist, Defendant, Blank Void 4 episodes
2015 Conan Sterling Archer (voice) Episode: "677"
Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp Can of Vegetables, Mitch 4 episodes
The Jim Gaffigan Show Kevin Episode: "The Bible Story"
The Adventures of Puss in Boots Baltasar (voice) Episode: "Luck"
All Hail King Julien Fred (voice) 5 episodes
2015–2017 Master of None Benjamin 4 episodes
2016–2017 People of Earth Officer Glimmer 8 episodes
2017 Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later Can of Vegetables, Mitch 5 episodes
Difficult People Brian Episode: "Fuzz Buddies"
2018 The Who Was? Show Narrator (voice) 13 episodes
The Simpsons Bob Belcher (voice) Episode: "My Way or the Highway to Heaven"
2019 Wyatt Cenac's Problem Areas Batman Episode: "Inequality Problems"
Star Trek: Short Treks Edward Larkin Episode: "The Trouble with Edward"
2020–2022 Central Park Mayor Whitney Whitebottom (voice) 7 episodes
2021–2023 Teenage Euthanasia Various voices Episode: "Adventures in Beetle Sitting"

Video games

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Year Title Role
2017 Destiny 2 Radio voice, Scabretti
2022 Destiny 2: The Witch Queen Scabretti
2024 Super Dragon Punch Force 3 Boy's Inner Voice (voice)

References

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Notes

  1. ^ a b c Benjamin, H. Jon (2018). Failure Is an Option. Penguin Publishing Group. ISBN 9781524742171.
  2. ^ Comedian Jon Benjamin's Jazz Album is Full of 'Real Untapped Un-Talent', retrieved April 3, 2022
  3. ^ Chaney, Jen (August 4, 2017). "A Solute to Mitch, the Can of Vegetables from Wet Hot American Summer". Vulture. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  4. ^ Rock 'n Roll Ghost. "H. Jon Benjamin Talks FX's Archer Season Finale". Rocknrollghost.com. Archived from the original on September 9, 2013. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
  5. ^ "H. Jon Benjamin". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  6. ^ a b Semon, Craig. "Flipping barbs with Mass. native H. Jon Benjamin of 'Bob's Burgers'". The Patriot Ledger. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  7. ^ "Class Notes" Archived April 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine The Worcester Academy Hilltopper (Spring 2011) p.28
  8. ^ "Welcome to Turbocharge The Movie". Turbochargethemovie.com. Archived from the original on September 22, 2017. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
  9. ^ Heisler, Steve (February 4, 2011). "Random Roles H. Jon Benjamin". The A.V. Club. Retrieved February 5, 2011.
  10. ^ "Super Bowl 43 ad: Budweiser Bud Light - Conan O'Brien 'Vroom Vroom Party Starter'" (Video). YouTube.com. Retrieved February 15, 2009.
  11. ^ "McCaingirls's Channel". YouTube.com. March 14, 2008. Retrieved February 15, 2009.
  12. ^ "Just because". SamSederShow.com. Archived from the original on November 21, 2008. Retrieved February 15, 2009.
  13. ^ "Archer reviews at". Metacritic.com. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
  14. ^ "Interview with Jon Benjamin". SanDiego.com. Archived from the original on June 12, 2011. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
  15. ^ Seitz, Matt (June 17, 2014). "Vulture TV Awards: The Year's Best Male Comedy Performer Is H. Jon Benjamin". Vulture. New York. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  16. ^ Bradley, Laura (November 23, 2015). "Watch H. Jon Benjamin Record a Whole Jazz Album on the Piano Even Though He Can't Play the Piano". Slate. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  17. ^ "H. Jon Benjamin Discusses Why He Recorded Jazz Album in Recently Surfaced Interview". Classicalite. January 20, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  18. ^ "Arby's Wants You To Know It Does More Than Just Roast Beef". Forbes. September 10, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  19. ^ "Blowback". blowback.show. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  20. ^ a b The Verge (July 5, 2013), On The Verge: interview with voice actor H Jon Benjamin (Archer, Bob's Burgers), retrieved May 4, 2019
  21. ^ Bittel, Jason (April 14, 2021). "H. Jon Benjamin's 'Morning Bird Reports' Have Brought Joy to Many in Dark Times". Audubon. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  22. ^ Budryk, Zack (January 22, 2020). "Sanders campaign releases video series hosted by voice actor H. Jon Benjamin". The Hill. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  23. ^ Jackson, Gita (October 1, 2020). "The Gravel Institute Is Trying to Make PragerU, But Good". Vice News. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  24. ^ McCarthy, Erin (June 13, 2014). "10 Things to Know About '22 Jump Street'". MentalFloss.com. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
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