Robert Smigel

Robert Smigel was born in New York City, to Lucia and Irwin Smigel, an aesthetic dentist, innovator and philanthropist. He is Jewish and frequently went to Jewish summer camp.{{Cite web |url=https://www.avclub.com/robert-smigel-1798214098 |title=Robert Smigel |last=Rabin |first=Nathan |date=June 2, 2008 |publisher=The A.V. Club |access-date=September 2, 2012}}{{Cite web|last=Bloom|first=Nate|title=Jewish Stars |publisher=Cleveland Jewish News|date=July 18, 2008 |url=https://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/archives/jewish-stars/article_86beaefa-cc2e-5c8d-81ce-f5d56fd4176a.html}} He attended Cornell University, studying pre-dental,{{Cite web |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/robert-smigel-556-v17n10/ |title=Robert Smigel |last=Castoro |first=Rocco |date=October 1, 2010 |website=Vice |access-date=November 6, 2018}} and graduated from New York University's College of Arts and Science in 1983 with a degree in political science.{{cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5940109/robert_smigels_dog_days |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100216125747/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5940109/robert_smigels_dog_days |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 16, 2010 |title=Rolling Stone Magazine: Robert Smigel's Dog Days |publisher=Rollingstone.com |access-date=September 2, 2012}}{{Cite web |url=http://www.nyu.edu/alumni.magazine/issue10/10_culture_snl.html |title=Live From New York, It's… |last=Hollander |first=Jason |website=NYU Alumni Magazine}}

Smigel began developing his comedic talent at The Players Workshop in Chicago, where he studied improvisation with Josephine Forsberg. Bob Odenkirk was a fellow student there. Smigel was also a member of the Chicago comedy troupe "All You Can Eat" in the early 1980s.

Smigel first established himself as a writer on Saturday Night Live by joining the writing staff when Lorne Michaels returned as executive producer for the 1985–1986 season. Smigel was hired after then-SNL producers Al Franken and Tom Davis saw Smigel in a Chicago sketch show.{{Cite web |url=http://www.avclub.com/content/node/23075 |title=Robert Smigel |last=Rabin |first=Nathan |date=August 4, 2004 |publisher=The A.V. Club |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081209120016/http://www.avclub.com/content/node/23075 |archive-date=December 9, 2008 |access-date=September 2, 2012 |url-status=live }} Smigel was among the few writers who survived a purge of writers and cast at the conclusion of the "disappointing" 1985–1986 season. This is when Smigel began to write more memorable sketches, including one where host William Shatner urged worshipful attendees at a Star Trek convention to "get a life." Smigel rarely appeared on screen, though he was credited as a featured player in the early 1990s and played a recurring character in the Bill Swerski's Superfans sketches.

While on a writers' strike from Saturday Night Live following the 1987–88 season, Smigel wrote for an improvisational comedy revue in Chicago with fellow SNL writers Bob Odenkirk and Conan O'Brien called Happy Happy Good Show.{{cite web|title=Happy? Good? Conan's big Chicago show|url=http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2006/05/happy_good_cona.html|access-date=January 22, 2016|archive-date=March 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303225123/http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2006/05/happy_good_cona.html|url-status=dead}}

Smigel co-wrote Lookwell with Conan O'Brien for NBC. The pilot never went to series, but it has become a cult hit and has screened live at "The Other Network", a festival of un-aired TV pilots produced by Un-Cabaret, featuring live and taped intros by Smigel. Smigel later became the first head writer at Late Night with Conan O'Brien, where he created numerous successful comedy bits, including one where Smigel performed only the lips of public figures which were superimposed on photos of the actual people. (This technique was pioneered on the Clutch Cargo cartoon series as a cost-saving measure, and was known as Syncro-Vox.)

In 1996, Smigel wrote and performed on the short-lived Dana Carvey Show, a primetime sketch comedy program on ABC. Despite its premature end, the show provided Smigel the opportunity to debut his first cartoon The Ambiguously Gay Duo.{{cite web | title=Animation: TV & Broadcast – The Dana Carvey Show | url=http://www.jjsedelmaier.com/animation/carvey.html | publisher=J.J. Sedelmaier Productions | year=2008 | access-date=January 22, 2016 | archive-date=December 7, 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207064156/http://www.jjsedelmaier.com/animation/carvey.html | url-status=dead }} Upon the show's cancellation, Smigel continued developing more cartoon ideas the following summer and would begin airing them on Saturday Night Live under the TV Funhouse banner. Smigel would later claim "My whole career came out of the impulse to do cartoons on The Dana Carvey Show."Heisler, Steve [https://www.avclub.com/dana-carvey-and-robert-smigel-1798216785 Interview – Dana Carvey and Robert Smigel] The A.V. Club (June 15, 2009). Retrieved on 5-09-10.

File:Triumph the Insult Comic Dog.jpg, at 2008 Republican National Convention with Associated Press production assistant (left)]]

Smigel's most famous creation, however, would be the foul-mouthed puppet Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, who mercilessly mocks celebrities and others in the style of a Borscht Belt comedian. This character debuted on Late Night with Conan O'Brien in February 1997 and would continue to make appearances on the show, as well as others, for many years to come.

Smigel continued to establish himself on Saturday Night Live by producing short animated segments under the title TV Funhouse, which usually satirizes public figures and popular culture. It spawned a TV show on Comedy Central featuring a mix of puppets, animation, and short sketches, although only eight episodes were aired (during the winter of 2000–2001). Smigel occasionally appears in films (usually alongside SNL veterans such as Adam Sandler). According to interviews, Smigel helped punch up the scripts for Little Nicky and The Wedding Singer. Smigel acted alongside fellow SNL writer Bob Odenkirk in Wayne's World 2 as a nerd backstage at an Aerosmith concert. His contributions were uncredited.

In 2000, he voiced a sage bulldog named Mr. Beefy in Little Nicky. Smigel, along with Adam Sandler and Judd Apatow, wrote the script for the film You Don't Mess with the Zohan in which Smigel played Yosi, an Israeli electronics salesman. Smigel is also one of the executive producers of the film, which is a first for him despite his frequent collaborations with Sandler.

It was reported in 2006 that Smigel and Adam Sandler were working on an animated sitcom for Fox called Animals. Fox has not made any official statement regarding the show.{{cite web|last=West|first=Kelly|title=Smigel And Sandler Team Up For A New Fox Animated Series|url=http://www.cinemablend.com/television/Smigel-And-Sandler-Team-Up-For-A-New-Fox-Animated-Series-1176.html|work=Cinemablend|access-date=January 22, 2016|date=October 2, 2006}} Additionally, Smigel played a gay mailman in the Adam Sandler film I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry and Yari the Mechanic in the "Mister Softee" episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

He voiced Ray and the Star Wars character, Emperor Palpatine, in the first episode of Robot Chicken: Star Wars, as well as the monster One Hundred in the episode of the same name of Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

File:2024-03-09 SXSW Creating-Comedy-from-the-Director's-Chair 10.jpg]]

Currently living in New York, he co-wrote and co-executive produced the films Hotel Transylvania (2012) and Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015), in which he voiced Marty, a fake version of Dracula, and Harry Three-Eye, respectively. In the fifth season of the FX show, Louie, Smigel received a story credit on the episode "Cop Story", as a similar incident as to what appears in the show actually happened to him, down to the cop crying in his apartment while Smigel went out, found the missing gun and carried it home, terrified that anyone would notice. Michael Rapaport's character Lenny wasn't based on the man Smigel knew, however, since all Smigel ever told Louis C.K. about was the gun itself.{{Cite web |url=http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/how-louie-got-a-shorter-season-because-louis-ck-got-high |title=How 'Louie' got a shorter season because Louis C.K. got high |last=Sepinwall |first=Alan |website=HitFix |date=May 28, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529172458/http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/how-louie-got-a-shorter-season-because-louis-ck-got-high |archive-date=May 29, 2015}}

Smigel created, wrote, executive produced, and starred as Triumph the Insult Comic Dog in The Jack and Triumph Show, alongside Jack McBrayer in 2015. It was announced in January 2016 that Smigel would be starring as Triumph in Triumph's Election Special 2016 on Hulu the following February.{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/news/triumph-the-insult-comic-dog-to-host-hulu-election-special-20160121 |title=Triumph the Insult Comic Dog to Host Hulu Election Special |last=Blistein |first=Jon |date=January 21, 2016 |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=January 22, 2016}}

In September 2020, after being brought on to develop the project in 2019, Fox announced that Smigel would executive produce Let's Be Real — a one-off adaptation of the French satirical series Les Guignols.{{Cite web|last=Andreeva|first=Nellie|date=2020-09-15|title=Fox Sets Election-Themed Puppet Special 'Let's Be Real' From Robert Smigel Based On French Format|url=https://deadline.com/2020/09/fox-election-themed-puppet-special-lets-be-real-robert-smigel-based-on-french-format-les-guignol-adaptation-promo-video-1234577311/|access-date=2020-09-15|website=Deadline|language=en-US}}

On June 16, 2022, Smigel was arrested for unlawful entry of the Longworth House Office Building in Washington, D.C., along with eight other individuals associated with The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.{{Cite web|last=Haring|first=Bruce|date=June 17, 2022|title='Late Show' Staffers Detained By U.S. Capitol Police, Including Robert Smigel, Voice Of Triumph, The Insult Comic Dog|url=https://deadline.com/2022/06/late-night-with-stephen-colbert-staffers-detained-by-capitol-police-1235048143/|access-date=June 17, 2022|website=Deadline Hollywood}} CBS released a statement saying that “Their interviews at the Capitol were authorized and pre-arranged through Congressional aides of the members interviewed", and that "After leaving the members’ offices on their last interview of the day, the production team stayed to film stand-ups and other final comedy elements in the halls when they were detained by Capitol Police.” Fox News pundit Tucker Carlson accused Smigel of "insurrection" and that it was "exactly like what happened" in apparent reference to the 2021 United States Capitol attack.{{Cite web|last=Zitser|first=Joshua|date=Jun 18, 2022|title=Tucker Carlson accuses Stephen Colbert crew of 'insurrection' after they were arrested while filming a comedy segment at the Capitol|website=INSIDER|access-date=June 21, 2022|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/fox-news-tucker-carlson-accuses-colbert-crew-of-capitol-insurrection-2022-6}} Stephen Colbert addressed the incident in his monologue, stating that Smigel had committed "First-Degree Puppetry" and that "Drawing any equivalence between rioters storming our Capitol to prevent the counting of electoral ballots and a cigar-chomping toy dog is a shameful and grotesque insult to the memory of everyone who died.” The United States Capitol Police released a statement saying that “This is an active criminal investigation, and may result in additional criminal charges after consultation with the U.S. Attorney.”{{Cite web|last=Weprin|first=Alex|date=June 20, 2022|title=Stephen Colbert Addresses Arrest of Triumph and Crew at U.S. Capitol: "This Was First-Degree Puppetry"|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/stephen-colbert-addresses-arrest-of-triumph-and-crew-at-us-capitol-1235168709/|access-date=June 21, 2022|website=The Hollywood Reporter}} On July 19, it was announced no charges would be filed.{{Cite web|last=Balsamo|first=Michael|date=July 19, 2022|title=No charges for 'Late Show' crew arrested on Capitol Hill|url=https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-arrests-stephen-colbert-government-and-politics-84ebcc654735f619655d264944da0227|website=Associated Press}}

Smigel met his wife, Michelle Saks, when she worked as a lighting technician for the theater in Chicago where he performed as part of the comedy troupe "All You Can Eat and the Temple of {{Not a typo|Dooom}}".{{cite magazine | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-lists/my-favorite-mr-show-sketches-maynard-keenan-sarah-silverman-sound-off-154626/sarah-silverman-5-143505/ | title=Maynard Keenan, Sarah Silverman on Favorite 'Mr. Show' Bits | magazine=Rolling Stone | date=November 3, 2015 }}{{cite web | url=https://www.cracked.com/article_40843_triumph-the-insult-comic-dog-cant-stop-photo-bombing-live-tv.html | title=Triumph the Insult Comic Dog Can't Stop Photo-Bombing Live TV | date=January 19, 2024 }}

• https://www.cracked.com/article_40450_robert-smigels-wife-bought-him-the-triumph-puppet-after-he-made-it-sniff-her-ass-in-a-furniture-store.html
• https://www.nyu.edu/alumni/news-publications/news-stories/nyu-alumni-emmy-nominations-2018.html

They have three children together.{{fact|date=May 2024}}

Smigel and Saks serve on the board of NEXT for AUTISM, formerly New York Collaborates for Autism, a non-profit organization founded in 2003 to address the needs of autistic individuals and their families, as their eldest child has autism.{{Cite web |url=http://www.nyc4a.org/boardofdirectors |title=Board of Directors |website=NYCA |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111224257/http://www.nyc4a.org/boardofdirectors |archive-date=November 11, 2013}} Smigel created the Night of Too Many Stars, a biannual celebrity fundraiser to benefit autism education.{{Cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2015/03/08/night-too-many-stars-comedy-central-jon-stewart-chris-rock/24250153/|title=At autism fund-raiser, too many funny 'Stars'|work=USA TODAY|access-date=March 13, 2017}} He won an Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Interactive Program for the 2012 broadcast of Night of Too Many Stars at the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards.{{Cite news|url=http://www.lamag.com/culturefiles/big-wins-and-brief-moments-at-the-creative-arts-emmy-awards/|title=Big Wins and Brief Moments at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards - Los Angeles Magazine|date=September 16, 2013|work=Los Angeles Magazine|access-date=March 13, 2017}}

• Carl Wollarski, from "Bill Swerski's Superfans"
• Hank Fielding, with "The Moron's Perspective" on Weekend Update
• One of the Hub's Gyros employees (aka the "You like-ah the Juice?" guys)
• Avi, the Sabra Price is Right announcer
• Bighead, in The Ambiguously Gay Duo cartoons

{{div col}}

• Alan Dershowitz (on SNL)
• Woody Allen (on SNL)
• Al Sharpton (on SNL TV Funhouse cartoon)
• Al Franken (on SNL TV Funhouse cartoon)
• William Ginsberg (on SNL TV Funhouse cartoon)
• Don McLean (on SNL TV Funhouse cartoon)
• Lorne Michaels (on SNL TV Funhouse cartoon)
• Pat Robertson (on SNL TV Funhouse cartoon)
• Michael Gross (on SNL TV Funhouse cartoon)
• Thomas Mesereau (on SNL TV Funhouse cartoon)
• Sinbad (on SNL TV Funhouse cartoon)
• Bob Dole (on The Dana Carvey Show)
• Gene Shalit (on The Dana Carvey Show)
• Joel Siegel (on The Dana Carvey Show)
• Bob Ross (on The Dana Carvey Show)
• Rip Torn (on The Dana Carvey Show)
• Bill Walton (on The Dana Carvey Show)
• Richard Nixon (on The Dana Carvey Show)
• Sam Donaldson (on The Dana Carvey Show)
• Hussein of Jordan (on The Dana Carvey Show)
• Quentin Tarantino (on The Dana Carvey Show)
• Ringo Starr (on The Dana Carvey Show)

{{div col end}}

• Triumph the Insult Comic Dog
• "Clutch Cargo" celebrity interviews (Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Don King, Bob Dole, etc.)
• One of the "Nicknames for Conan" guys (aka the "Conan the Barbarian" guys)
• One of the "Ameri-clan" guys (with Doug Dale, Louis C.K. and Dino Stamatopoulos)
• Voice of "The Late Night Emergency Guest" mannequin
• Gibberish Speaking Ronald Reagan on the Phone
• Ira, O'Brien's publicist

• DiGiacomo, Frank. "Triumph Sniffs a Hit". The New York Observer (October 20, 2003).

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category}}

• {{IMDb name|806912}}
• [http://www.avclub.com/content/node/23075 Interview with The A.V. Club]

{{EmmyAward ComedyVarietyMusicWriting 1980s}}

{{EmmyAward ComedyVarietyMusicWriting 2000s}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smigel, Robert}}

Category:1960 births

Category:Living people

Category:20th-century American comedians

Category:20th-century American Jews

Category:20th-century American male actors

Category:20th-century American male writers

Category:20th-century American screenwriters

Category:21st-century American comedians

Category:21st-century American Jews

Category:21st-century American male actors

Category:21st-century American male writers

Category:21st-century American screenwriters

Category:American comedy writers

Category:American male comedians

Category:American male film actors

Category:American male screenwriters

Category:American male television actors

Category:American male television writers

Category:American male voice actors

Category:American puppeteers

Category:American satirists

Category:American sketch comedians

Category:American television writers

Category:Autism activists

Category:Comedians from Chicago

Category:Comedians from New York City

Category:Cornell University alumni

Category:Jewish American comedy writers

Category:Jewish American male actors

Category:Jewish American comedians

Category:Jewish American screenwriters

Category:American television producers

Category:Jewish male comedians

Category:Male actors from Chicago

Category:Male actors from New York City

Category:New York University alumni

Category:Primetime Emmy Award winners

Category:Screenwriters from Illinois

Category:Screenwriters from New York (state)

Category:Television producers from Illinois

Category:Television producers from New York City

Category:Television producers from New York (state)

Category:Writers Guild of America Award winners

Category:Jews from Illinois

Category:Jews from New York (state)