Tim Heidecker
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{short description|American actor, director, producer and screenwriter (born 1976)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Tim Heidecker
| image = Tim Heidecker.jpg
| caption = Heidecker in November 2017
| birth_name = Timothy Richard Heidecker
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1976|2|3}}
| birth_place = Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
| occupation = {{flatlist|
- Comedian
- writer
- director
- actor
- musician}}
| years_active = 1996–present
| spouse = {{Marriage|Marilyn Porayko|2007}}
| children = 2
| website = https://www.heinetwork.tv/
}}
Timothy Richard Heidecker ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|aɪ|d|ɛ|k|ər}}; born February 3, 1976) is an American comedian, writer, director, actor, and musician. Along with Eric Wareheim, he is a member of the comedy duo Tim & Eric.
As an actor, Heidecker's filmography includes roles in Bridesmaids (2011), Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie (2012), The Comedy (2012), Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), and Us (2019). He currently hosts the parodic film review web series On Cinema, with guest star Gregg Turkington, and hosts a weekly call-in show, Office Hours Live with Tim Heidecker, with DJ Douggpound and Vic Berger.{{Cite web|title=Office Hours Live with Tim Heidecker|url=https://officialofficehours.com/|access-date=January 14, 2022|website=Office Hours Live with Tim Heidecker|language=en-US}} Heidecker is also a singer-songwriter, having released a blend of comedy rock and more earnest folk rock across an eight-album solo discography. His latest album, Slipping Away, was released in October of 2024.{{cite web |last1=Shanfield |first1=Ethan |title=Tim Heidecker Is Not Trying to Make You Laugh With Folk Album 'Slipping Away': 'My Artistic Life Has Been About Obscuring Identity and Irony' |url=https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/tim-heidecker-new-folk-album-slipping-away-obscuring-identity-1236180289/ |website=Variety |date=October 18, 2024 |publisher=Penske Media Corporation}}
Early life and education
Timothy Richard Heidecker was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on February 3, 1976.{{Cite tweet|number=415187385010647040|user=timheidecker|title=Great to be back home in Allentown, PA!!|author=Tim Heidecker|date=December 23, 2013}} He attended and graduated from Allentown Central Catholic High School in Allentown, then attended Temple University in Philadelphia, where he met his comedy partner Eric Wareheim.{{Cite news|url=https://www.mcall.com/entertainment/tv/mc-tim-heidecker-eric-wareheim-bedtime-stories-20141002-story.html|title=Creepy Crawly Comedy: Allentown's Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim serve up haunting humorous drama in 'Bedtime Stories'|last=Longsdork|first=Amy|date=October 2, 2014|work=The Morning Call|access-date=May 28, 2019}}
Career
=Television=
Heidecker and Wareheim created, wrote, and starred in Tom Goes to the Mayor, a limited animation series that aired from November 2004 to September 2006 on Adult Swim. Heidecker plays Tom, the protagonist of the show who continually brings his ideas to the Mayor (played by Wareheim) only to have them thwarted in most cases, leaving Tom worse off than when he started. According to their website, Wareheim and Heidecker had mailed copies of an early version of the show to comedian Bob Odenkirk, who agreed to take on the project as the executive producer of the series and sold it to Adult Swim.{{cite news | url =https://variety.com/2006/scene/markets-festivals/tim-heidecker-and-eric-wareheim-1200339725/ | title = 10 Comics to Watch: Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim | first = Janelle | last = Brown | work = Variety | date = July 17, 2006 | access-date = February 16, 2007 }}
The duo's second show, Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, premiered in 2007, on Adult Swim. They also created and starred in Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie, and appeared together as debt collectors on the Adult Swim special Young Person's Guide to History and have made guest appearances in the movie Let's Go to Prison, as well as the Scottish video game series VideoGaiden and a Version 2 episode of Mega64.{{cite web | url = http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0793166/ | title = "Mega64": Stranger| work = IMDb | access-date = February 23, 2009}} Heidecker also had a small role in the 2011 film Bridesmaids, and a leading role in the 2012 independent drama The Comedy, directed by Rick Alverson and also starring Wareheim. In July 2012, Heidecker starred in an episode of Workaholics. In 2012, he guest starred in Dinosaur Jr.'s music video "Watch the Corners".{{cite web|url=https://vimeo.com/48946615|title=Dinosaur Jr. - "Watch the Corners" Official Video|website=Vimeo.com|access-date=June 24, 2013}} In the same year, Heidecker made a cameo appearance on the independent movie reviewing site, Red Letter Media. Heidecker appeared in an episode of the RedLetterMedia series, "Half in The Bag." The episode is titled "Season Finale: Step Up Revolution." Within the short sketch comedy, Heidecker plays a VCR repairman named "Tim". Shortly after his introduction into the scene, he flies through the ceiling and makes his exit from the skit.{{cite web |url=http://redlettermedia.com/half-in-the-bag-step-up-revolution |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130920191834/http://redlettermedia.com/half-in-the-bag-step-up-revolution |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 20, 2013 |title=Red Letter Media Half in the Bag: Step Up Revolution |website=Redlettermedia.com |date=August 7, 2012 |access-date=March 10, 2015 }}
Heidecker starred in a series of films for Absolut Vodka's website with Wareheim and Zach Galifianakis. In 2010, Heidecker and Wareheim directed a series of Old Spice commercials starring actor Terry Crews. Using characters and skits from Awesome Show, Heidecker and Wareheim (via their Abso Lutely Productions company) created an online-only show called "Tim and Eric Nite Live!," originally broadcast on the website SuperDeluxe.
Since 2012, Heidecker has hosted a parodic web series and podcast called On Cinema, where he and special guest (Gregg Turkington) discuss films from past and present. In 2013 an On Cinema Film Guide app was released, featuring the voices of Heidecker and Turkington reviewing over 17,000 films. Heidecker, Wareheim, Sarah Silverman, Michael Cera, and Reggie Watts announced on the podcast Comedy Bang! Bang! that they were starting a comedy YouTube channel called Jash.
Since 2016, Heidecker has hosted the podcast and web series Office Hours Live along with Vic Berger and Doug Lussenhop. It features phone and video calls with fans, comedians, musicians, and political commentators.{{YouTube|u=theidecker}}
The duo's anthology horror series, Tim and Eric's Bedtime Stories, aired on Adult Swim from 2014 to 2017. A sitcom starring the duo, Beef House, premiered in March 2020.
On October 23, 2020, Heidecker released his first stand-up comedy special, An Evening with Tim Heidecker, on YouTube. Filmed in the style of a typical standup special, Heidecker's special is a parody of the format in which he deliberately plays a hack stand-up comic.{{Cite web|title='An Evening With Tim Heidecker' Is a Parody of a Standup Special|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/an-evening-with-tim-heidecker-comedy-special-interview/|website=Vice.com|date=October 23, 2020 }}
=Music=
File:TimHeidecker(by Scott Dudelson).jpg in October 2009]]
Heidecker played in various indie rock bands while in Philadelphia. He made an appearance in the 2008 Ben Folds and Regina Spektor music video titled "You Don't Know Me".
Although Davin Wood composed the music for Awesome Show, Heidecker would sometimes sing and write lyrics. Williams Street Records released both Awesome Record, Great Songs! and Uncle Muscles Presents Casey and His Brother in 2008, featuring music from the first two seasons. Wood previously composed the music for Tom Goes to the Mayor, and he and Heidecker form the duo Heidecker & Wood. Inspired by 1970s soft rock, they released their first album, Starting from Nowhere, on March 15, 2011.Hudson, Alex. (December 13, 2010) [http://exclaim.ca/News/tim_erics_tim_heidecker_to_release_album_as_heidecker_wood Tim and Eric's Tim Heidecker to Release Album as Heidecker & Wood • News •]. Exclaim.ca. Retrieved on 2012-09-04. The duo released a second album in the same style on November 12, 2013, Some Things Never Stay the Same. They cite the influence of Randy Newman, Warren Zevon, Harry Nilsson, and Boz Scaggs.{{cite web|url=http://heideckerandwood.com/info.html|title=Heidecker & Wood|website=Heideckerandwood.com|access-date=August 6, 2019}}
In 2012, Heidecker contributed a parody campaign jingle for Herman Cain's presidential bid titled "Cain Train".[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JF9dr-FItR8 cain train: Herman Cain Campaign Video]. YouTube. Retrieved on September 4, 2012. This was the first of nine songs which would eventually become a full album, titled Cainthology: Songs in the Key of Cain. All of the proceeds from the album's sales go to benefit the Violence Intervention Program.[http://boingboing.net/2011/11/10/cainthology-songs-in-the-key.html Cainthology: Songs In The Key Of Cain, by Tim Heidecker]. Boing Boing. Retrieved on September 4, 2012. The number nine was chosen as the number of songs, and $9.99 the original price, in reference to Herman Cain's 9-9-9 financial plan.
Before the release of Bob Dylan's album Tempest in September 2012, Heidecker released a Dylan pastiche called "Titanic", spoofing the news that the album would feature a 14-minute track about the RMS Titanic.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/listen-tim-heidecker-spoofs-bob-dylan-with-14-minute-song-about-the-titanic-57709/|title=Listen: Tim Heidecker Spoofs Bob Dylan With 14-Minute Song About the Titanic|date=July 24, 2012|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US|access-date=April 5, 2019}} In 2013, he released two more Dylan parodies—"Running Out the Clock", inspired by Dylan's 1983 album Infidels, and "Long Black Dress", a song in the actual style of Dylan's album Tempest—and collaborated with the indie band The Earth is a Man on a cover of Dylan's "All the Tired Horses."
In 2013, Heidecker released the album Urinal St. Station under the Drag City label with his band, The Yellow River Boys.[http://www.dragcity.com/products/urinal-st-station Urinal St. Station, by the Yellow River Boys]. Drag City. Retrieved on January 3, 2014. The lead single, "Hot Piss", was released in June 2013.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tYvGfF1Gkg The Yellow River Boys - "Hot Piss"]. YouTube. Retrieved on January 3, 2013. Vice Magazine named Urinal St. Station as the best album of 2013.[https://www.vice.com/en/article/vices-top-50-albums-of-2013/ VICE's Top 50 Albums of 2013]. Vice Magazine. Retrieved on January 3, 2014.
Heidecker and Davin Wood composed and performed the song "Weatherman" which was used in the 2014 film The Age of Reason.
In June 2014, Heidecker and Wareheim released a 12" single, "Jambalaya", as Pusswhip Banggang.[http://www.dragcity.com/products/jambalaya Pusswhip Banggang "Jambalaya"]. Drag City. Retrieved on July 1, 2014.
Heidecker's solo album In Glendale was released in May 20, 2016, on Rado Records.
Tim Heidecker released “I Am a Cuck”, a parody of Paul Simon's song I Am a Rock, on August 26, 2016.{{Cite web |title=When did Tim Heidecker release “I Am a Cuck”? |url=https://genius.com/Tim-heidecker-i-am-a-cuck-lyrics/q/release-date |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=Genius}}
He released Too Dumb for Suicide: Tim Heidecker's Trump Songs via Jagjaguwar on November 8, 2017, a year to the date after Trump's presidential victory.{{Cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/tim-heidecker-announces-new-album-of-trump-songs-too-dumb-for-suicide/|title=Tim Heidecker Announces New Album of Trump Songs: Too Dumb for Suicide {{!}} Pitchfork|website=pitchfork.com|date=November 2017|language=en|access-date=November 14, 2017}}
In August 2020, Heidecker announced Fear of Death, a concept album featuring members of Foxygen, The Lemon Twigs, and Weyes Blood, slated for release on September{{nbsp}}25 from Spacebomb Records.{{Cite web |url=https://www.avclub.com/tim-heidecker-made-a-record-about-death-with-weyes-bloo-1844619041 |title=Tim Heidecker Made a Record About Death with Weyes Blood and The Lemon Twigs |last=Colburn |first=Randall |date=August 5, 2020 |access-date=August 5, 2020 |language=en-US |publisher=The A.V. Club}}
Heidecker's sixth album, High School, was released June 24, 2022, on Spacebomb Records{{Cite web |date=April 12, 2022 |title=Tim Heidecker Announces New Album and Tour, Shares Video for New Song: Watch |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/tim-heidecker-new-album-and-tour-shares-video-for-new-song-watch/ |access-date=August 9, 2022 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}} followed by a supporting North American tour.{{Cite web |last=Alter |first=Rebecca |date=April 12, 2022 |title=Tim Heidecker Is Going on Two Tours at Once |url=https://www.vulture.com/2022/04/tim-heidecker-comedy-and-music-tour-2022.html |access-date=August 9, 2022 |website=Vulture |language=en-us}}
Personal life
Heidecker is married to actress Marilyn Porayko.Tim Heidecker's Myspace page, retrieved February 9, 2009Marilyn's Myspace id 3nine78, retrieved February 9, 2009Tim Heidecker's Myspace blog, entries "Talking to Your Parents" and "Full Story (Reposted), retrieved February 9, 2009[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2FX5e7zx-M "Tim and Eric Junior Teaching Bible Lesson"]. Youtube.com. Retrieved on September 4, 2012. They have a daughter born in 2013{{cite web|last=Sundermann |first=Eric |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/tim-heidecker-interview/ |title=Tim Heidecker: The Coolest Dad Ever |publisher=Noisey.vice.com |date=November 7, 2013 |access-date=March 10, 2015}} and a son born in 2016.{{cite web|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BLT5b8zjXE-/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/BLT5b8zjXE- |archive-date=December 23, 2021 |url-access=subscription|title=Instagram |publisher=Instagram |date=October 8, 2016 |access-date=October 12, 2016}}{{cbignore}}
Heidecker joined the Democratic Socialists of America in June 2018.{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/timheidecker/status/1009257078643351552?lang=en|title=I just joined the @DemSocialists / That stunt in DC today convinced me. I encourage all to take a look and considering joining as well|last=Heidecker|first=Tim|date=June 19, 2018|website=@timheidecker|language=en|access-date=March 30, 2019}} He has described himself as both an atheist and an agnostic.{{Cite web|url=https://mythinformed.org/mythicistmilwaukeeblog/2017/2/27/awesome-show-great-job-w-time-heidecker|title=Awesome Show, Great Job! w/ Tim Heidecker|website=Mythinformed.org|access-date=August 6, 2019}}
Filmography
=Film=
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class = "unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 2004
| Basketball (voice) | Episode: "Hypno-Germ" |
| 2004–2006
| Tom Peters (voice) |
| 2007–2010
| Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! | Tim Heidecker / Various roles | Writer |
| 2007
| Mood Swing Cosby (voice) | Episode: "Kosbees" |
| 2008
| Young Person's Guide to History | Debt Collector |TV special |
| 2008–2010
| {{sortname|The|Sarah Silverman Program}} | Frances | Episodes: "I Thought My Dad Was Dead, But It Turns Out He's Not" |
| 2009
|Jim Heckler |Episode: "Jim Heckler and Derrick Whipple" |
| 2010–2016
| Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule | Jan Skylar | Writer |
| 2010–2011
| Various | Writer |
| rowspan= "2" | 2011
| Mosham the Alien Lawyer | Episode: "Stardoor" |
| {{sortname|The|Simpsons}}
| Amus Bruse (voice) | Episode: "The Food Wife" |
| 2011–2022
| Burt Dellalucci / various (voice) | 4 episodes |
| 2012
| Reverend Troy | Episode: "The Lord's Force" |
| 2012–2016
| Phil Gorsley | 2 episodes |
| rowspan= "2" | 2013
| Jason | Episode: "Secret Room" |
| Eastbound & Down{{cite web | url=https://www.cinemablend.com/television/Ken-Marino-Tim-Heidecker-Join-Season-4-Eastbound-Down-57058.html | title=Ken Marino And Tim Heidecker Join Season 4 Of Eastbound & Down | date=June 27, 2013 | access-date=September 30, 2013}}
| Gene | 8 episodes |
| 2013–2017
| Tim & Eric's Bedtime Stories | Various | Writer |
| 2013, 2014
| Max Schmeling / Cop | 2 episodes |
| rowspan="2" | 2014
| Male Four #1 | Episode: "App Development and Condiments" |
| The Birthday Boys
| Mill Owner | Episode: "Plight of the Working Class" |
| rowspan= "3" | 2015
| Bartender | Episode: "Pitbull" |
| Another Period
| Hal Carnegie | Episode: "Funeral" |
| W/ Bob & David
| {{N/A}} | Executive producer |
| 2016
| Mr. Jenkins | Episode: "Phil's Phaves" |
| 2016–2017
| Decker | Jack Decker | Writer |
| rowspan="4" | 2017
| Bruce Starr (voice) | Episode: "Jeff & Some Confidence" |
| Portlandia
| Ant Guy | Episode: "Ants" |
| Clarence
| Tim / Teddy / Damien Dawson (voice) | Episode: "Rock Show" |
| Animals
| Stan (voice) | Episode: "Rats" |
| 2018
| Zip / additional voices | Episode: "Black Light Bowling/90's Adventure Bear And The Coconut Helmet" |
| rowspan="2" | 2019–2023
| I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson | Various | rowspan="2" | 3 episodes |
| Crank Yankers
| Brad |
| rowspan="2" | 2019
| A.P. Bio | Greg Miller/Bouvier | Episode: "Personal Everest" |
| Black Monday
| Not Milken #1 | Episode: "243" |
| rowspan="3" | 2020
| Tim | Writer |
| Wild Life
|Doug (voice) |Episode: "Doug the Bear" |
| Moonbase 8
| Professor Scott "Rook" Sloan | Writer |
| rowspan="2" | 2021
| Mayor Kevin De Maximum (voice) | 5 episodes |
| Just Beyond
| Dale | Episode: "Parents Are From Mars, Kids Are From Venus" |
| 2022
| Doug | Episode: "Wherever You Go, There You Are" |
| 2022–2023
| Rodney Lamonca | 10 episodes |
| rowspan="5" | 2023
| Darren Young (voice) | Main role |
| Miracle Workers
|Stephen |Episode: "Olympus" |
| Solar Opposites
|Garth (voice) |Episode: "The Mobile AISHA Emitter" |
| Teenage Euthanasia
|Edu-Mart Announcer (voice) |Episode: "Sexually Educated" |
| Carol & the End of the World
|Guest Performer (voice) |5 episodes |
| 2024
| Jordan | Recurring |
| rowspan="2" |2025
|Brad |5 episodes |
| Kiff
|Rodney, Humphrey, Baby New Year |
=Web series=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class = "unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 2005
|Mood Swing Cosby (voice) |Episode: "Episode 2" |
| 2006
|Mega64 Ragtime Jug Brother |Episode: "Stranger" |
| 2007
|Self-Defense Instructor | |
| 2007-2008
| rowspan="2" |Tim Heidecker |Also co-creator and co-writer |
| 2012–present
| Writer |
| 2012
| rowspan="4" |Himself | |
| rowspan="3" | 2013
| Tim & Eric's Go Pro Show | Writer |
| Tim's Kitchen Tips
| |
| Dr. Wareheim
| Writer |
| 2014–2015
| Decker | Agent Jack Decker | Writer |
=Podcasts=
= Applications =
| class="wikitable sortable"
!Year !Title !Role !Notes |
| 2015
|On Cinema Film Guide |Tim Heidecker |writer |
Discography
=Solo=
Studio albums
- 2011: Cainthology: Songs in the Key of Cain
- 2012: Titanic and Other Songs
- 2016: In Glendale
- 2017: Too Dumb for Suicide
- 2019: What the Brokenhearted Do...
- 2020: Fear of Death
- 2022: High School
- 2024: Slipping Away
Compilation albums
- 2018: Another Year in Hell: Collected Songs from 2018
Live albums
- 2023: Live in Boulder
=The Tim Heidecker Masterpiece=
- 2000: Working Vacation (EP)
- 2002: Theatre of Magic (rock opera)
=Tim & Eric=
- 2008: Awesome Record, Great Songs! Volume One
- 2008: Uncle Muscles Presents Casey And His Brother (as Casey and His Brother)
- 2014: Jambalaya (12" single, as Pusswhip Banggang)
=Heidecker & Wood=
- 2011: Starting from Nowhere
- 2013: Some Things Never Stay the Same
=The Yellow River Boys=
- 2013: Urinal St. Station
- 2021: Greatest Hits
Bibliography
- (2010) Bicycle Built for Two (with Gregg Turkington)
- (2015) Tim and Eric's Zone Theory (with Eric Wareheim)
- (2019) Brendan Kearney's Official On Cinema at the Cinema Reader Volume 1 : 2010–2018 (with Gregg Turkington and Brendan Kearney)
Stand-up special
Awards and honors
- Webby Award for best actor as part of the comedy team of Tim and Eric[http://www.internetvideomag.com/Articles_2008/050608_WebbyAwardWinners.htm Webby Award winners listed at Internet Video Mag, Tim and Eric listed in paragraph 5] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080804001008/http://www.internetvideomag.com/Articles_2008/050608_WebbyAwardWinners.htm |date=August 4, 2008 }}. Internetvideomag.com (May 6, 2008). Retrieved on 2012-09-04.
- Directors Guild of America Awards nomination for "Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials" for CeraVe's "Michael CeraVe" (shared with Eric Wareheim){{Cite web |last=Pedersen |first=Erik |date=2025-01-08 |title=DGA Awards Film Nominees: Audiard, Baker, Berger, Corbet & Mangold Vie For Top Prize – Update |url=https://deadline.com/2025/01/dga-awards-2025-nominations-1236250194/ |access-date=2025-02-16 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}
References
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- {{Official website}}
- {{AllMusic}}
- {{Discogs artist}}
- {{IMDb name}}
- {{MusicBrainz artist}}
{{Tim and Eric}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heidecker, Tim}}
Category:21st-century American comedians
Category:21st-century American male actors
Category:21st-century American male musicians
Category:21st-century American male writers
Category:21st-century American screenwriters
Category:Allentown Central Catholic High School alumni
Category:American comedy musicians
Category:American comedy writers
Category:Film producers from Pennsylvania
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 web series actors
Category:American music video directors
Category:American sketch comedians
Category:American television directors
Category:American television writers
Category:California socialists
Category:Comedians from Pennsylvania
Category:Male actors from Allentown, Pennsylvania
Category:Members of the Democratic Socialists of America from Pennsylvania
Category:Pennsylvania socialists
Category:Screenwriters from Pennsylvania
Category:Spacebomb Records artists
Category:Television producers from Pennsylvania