John Fugelsang

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John Fugelsang
John Fugelsang performs comedy at a Women Who Write event in 2011.
Born
John Joseph Fugelsang[1]

(1969-09-03) September 3, 1969 (age 54)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • comedian
  • writer
  • television host
  • political commentator
  • television personality
Years active1996–present
Spouse
Charmien LaFramenta
(m. 2004)
Children1

John Joseph Fugelsang (born September 3, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, writer, television host, political commentator and television personality.[2]

Early life and education[edit]

Fugelsang was born on Long Island, New York. Of Danish, German, and Irish descent,[3] he is the son of a former Carmelite nun and a former Franciscan friar.[4]

At New York University, Fugelsang attended the Tisch School of the Arts and graduated with a degree in Film and Television.[5][6] Fugelsang also studied theatre at the Boston University Theatre Institute & the Circle in the Square Theatre.[6]

Career[edit]

Stage and screen[edit]

Fugelsang has appeared in diverse projects as an actor, ranging from CSI and Providence to Coyote Ugly. As a comedian, he has performed at the US Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen and the Just for Laughs Festival in Montréal and made over 20 appearances on Politically Incorrect.

In 2007, he premiered the acclaimed solo show All The Wrong Reasons Off Broadway at New York Theatre Workshop.[4] The show received a Drama League nomination for "Distinguished Performance".[7] New York Magazine said "Fugelsang has the soul of an iconoclast" and The New York Daily News said the piece "packed an unexpectedly lovely and life affirming wallop."[8]

Subsequent runs included Los Angeles, Seattle, New York City's Barrow Street Theatre, Albuquerque, and closing the South Beach Comedy Festival in Miami.

Additional film, television, and stage credits include Becker, Somewhere in the City, The Michael Richards Show, Beyond Belief, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Hamlet, Blue Window, and Savage in Limbo.

Fugelsang also appeared in the 2015 documentary film Dream On.[9]

Host and presenter[edit]

Fugelsang has hosted George Harrison: The Last Performance and Paul McCartney's Live Town Hall on VH1. He was also on America's Funniest Home Videos[4] (co-hosting with Daisy Fuentes) for two seasons (1998–99), co-hosted John McEnroe's short-lived CNBC talk show in 2004, and was a regular on CNBC's Bullseye and Fox News's Red Eye. He was the co-host of the World Series of Blackjack on GSN alongside Bringing Down the House author Ben Mezrich. He also co-hosted, along with Debra Wilson and Teresa Strasser, TV Watercooler on TV Guide Channel (2005–09). In 2012, John Fugelsang hosted a series of videos on the YouTube channel "POLIPOP". From January 2013 until August 2013, Fugelsang was the host of the Current TV political talk show Viewpoint.[10] The show ended with the end of all live programming on Current.[citation needed]

Political commentator[edit]

In addition to his appearances on the late-night political talk show Politically Incorrect (1993–2002), Fugelsang has been a contributor to HuffPost weblog.

He is a regular commentator and guest on nationally syndicated progressive radio program The Stephanie Miller Show, and has served as guest host on occasion. His usual guest spot on the show is called "Fridays with Fugelsang." He also tours alongside Miller and comedian/musician Hal Sparks as part of the Sexy Liberal Comedy Show. For 2017, the tour is now called "Sexy Liberal Resistance Tour"[11] along with Frangela (Frances Callier and Angela Shelton). The first show for the new tour was at the Barrymore, April 22, 2017, Madison, WI.

He's been featured on CNN, Fox News, Dennis Miller, The Young Turks,[12] Air America, CNBC, and MSNBC. He served as the host on the Current TV political talk show, So That Happened. Additionally, he has contributed to Current TV's coverage of the 2012 presidential campaign. In an appearance on CNN in 2012, a question of his prompted the Romney campaign's Etch-a-sketch gaffe. On January 6, 2013, he replaced Eliot Spitzer as host of Viewpoint on Current TV;[13] however, Current TV was bought by Al Jazeera America later in 2013. Since January 12, 2015, Fugelsang has been hosting Tell Me Everything, a talk show on Sirius XM Insight.

Personal life[edit]

He lives with his wife, designer Charmien La Framenta, and their son, Henry Jack, in Hollywood and New York City's Greenwich Village.[14][15] Fugelsang debated atheist Jamie Kilstein, noting his views as being founded upon what Jesus preached.[16][17] He is politically liberal.

Filmography[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1996 Conception Jack Short film
VH1 Archives Himself/host Television series documentary
1997 George Harrison & Ravi Shankar: Yin & Yang Himself/host Television special
1998 Somewhere in the City Henry
Twice Upon a Time Brett Television film
Decampitated Phone Voice Specialist
The Daily Show Himself 1 episode
1998–1999 America's Funniest Home Videos Himself/host 21 episodes
1999 Final Rinse Ozzie
Politically Incorrect Himself 1 episode
1999 Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction Artie Season 3 Episode 12
1999–2002 Providence Mr. Chris Calloway 3 episodes
2000 Coyote Ugly Richie the Booker
The Michael Richards Show Mauskopf Episode: "Simplification"
Becker Greg Jackson Episode: "Beckerethics"
Flix Himself/host
2001 18 Wheels of Justice N/A Episode: "Come Back, Little Diva"
2002 Late Friday Himself 1 episode
The Conspiracy Zone Himself Episode: "FEMA"
2003 House of Clues N/A Episode: "Pilot"
2004 McEnroe Himself/co-host 22 episodes
2005 The Basement The Man
2009 The Whole Truth Prosecutor Smith
2010 Curb: The Discussion Himself 4 episodes
2011 The Moms View Feature Guest Unknown episodes
2012 Price Check Jake
John Fugelsang: So That Happened Host
Caffeinated with John Fugelsang Himself 20 episodes
2014 The Girl on the Train Lottery Guy
2017 Maggie Black Paul
Tutor Pimp Jacob Television film
2019 Jonathan Pie's American Pie Self Television film
2021 Radio Gods Choade 1 episode

References[edit]

  1. ^ "John Fugelsang Biography". TV Guide. Retrieved September 17, 2013.
  2. ^ "John Fugelsang Filmography". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2012. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012.
  3. ^ Fugelsang, John (April 2, 2011). "Bio | John Fugelsang". johnfugelsang.com. Archived from the original on September 26, 2013. Retrieved September 17, 2013.
  4. ^ a b c Charles Isherwood. "Goodness gracious, that's why he's a mess" (review of "All the Wrong Reasons"), The New York Times, April 16, 2007. Retrieved 2011-08-02.
  5. ^ "Notable Undergraduate Alumni of Film & TV". NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Retrieved June 26, 2013.
  6. ^ a b "John Fugelsang". Nancy Vogl Speakers Bureau. Archived from the original on June 17, 2013. Retrieved June 26, 2013.
  7. ^ "Playbill.com". Playbill.com. April 25, 2007. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved July 14, 2012.
  8. ^ Dziemianowicz, Joe (April 17, 2007). "A stellar storyteller & standup comic". New York Daily News.
  9. ^ Shattuck, Kathryn (October 7, 2016). "What's on TV Friday". The New York Times.
  10. ^ "Actor and Comedian Fugelsang to Speak on Humor and Politics – Inside UW-Green Bay News". news.uwgb.edu. November 17, 2010. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  11. ^ Sexyliberal.com
  12. ^ The Young Turks. Is The Album Dead?. The Point with Ana Kasparian. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021 – via YouTube.
  13. ^ Stelter, Brian (June 1, 2013). "Eliot Spitzer Ends His Show on Current TV". New York Times. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
  14. ^ Fugelsang, John [@JohnFugelsang] (November 14, 2014). "Backstage with Charmien LaFramenta and Carol Burnett, NYC. http://t.co/G6VxhZ431H" (Tweet). Retrieved September 1, 2021 – via Twitter.
  15. ^ Fugelsang, John [@JohnFugelsang] (May 15, 2013). "That last tweet came courtesy of Henry Jack, 14 months old this week" (Tweet). Retrieved September 1, 2021 – via Twitter.
  16. ^ Friel, Todd. "Burning Bush Communications". Burningbushcommunications.com/future.html. Burning Bush Media. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  17. ^ Totally Biased: The God Debate. Johnfugelsang.com. September 11, 2013. Retrieved September 17, 2013 – via YouTube.

External links[edit]

Media offices
Preceded by Co-Host of America's Funniest Home Videos with Daisy Fuentes
1998–1999
Succeeded by