Seth Meyers
| Seth Meyers | |
|---|---|
 Meyers at the Time 100 Gala, May 4, 2010. |
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| Birth name | Seth Adam Meyers |
| Born | December 28, 1973 Evanston, Illinois, U.S. |
| Medium | Television, film |
| Nationality | American |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Genres | Satire/political satire/news satire, improvisational comedy, sketch comedy |
| Subject(s) | American politics, American culture, current events, pop culture, mass media/news media |
| Notable works and roles | Weekend Update anchor on Saturday Night Live |
Seth Adam Meyers (born December 28, 1973) is an American actor and comedian. He currently serves as head writer for Saturday Night Live and hosts its news parody segment Weekend Update.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Meyers was born in Evanston, Illinois,[1] the son of Hilary Claire (née Olson), a middle school French teacher, and Laurence Meyers, Jr.[2][3] He attended Manchester High School West in Manchester, New Hampshire. He went on to graduate from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where he was a member of the fraternity Phi Gamma Delta. Meyers is the older brother of Josh Meyers, who was best known as a cast member of MADtv.
[edit] Career
Before SNL, Meyers got his improv comedy start as a member of the Northwestern University improv sketch group Mee-Ow, created by Paul Warshauer and Josh Lazar. He continued his career at ImprovOlympic with the group Preponderate as well as overseas as a cast member of Boom Chicago, an English language improv troupe based in Amsterdam,[4] where his brother was also a cast member.[5]
Meyers appeared with Brendan Fraser and Anita Briem in the 2008 3D film Journey to the Center of the Earth. He also makes a cameo in the 2008 film Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist as a drunk man who mistakes the main character's Yugo for a taxi. Meyers is currently writing and will star in a movie called Key Party. He also starred in the 2004 comedy See This Movie with John Cho.[6][7] In July 2008, Meyers directed the web series The Line on Crackle.[8] Meyers has hosted the Webby Awards twice, in 2008 and 2009. In 2009, Meyers hosted the Microsoft Company Meeting at Safeco Field in Seattle, WA.[9] Meyers hosted the 2010 and 2011 ESPY Awards on ESPN.[10] In 2011, Seth Meyers was the keynote speaker at the White House Correspondents Association Dinner on April 30; during his introductory remarks, he made a joke about Osama bin Laden's actions while in hiding,[11] unaware that US intelligence had found bin Laden and he would be dead within hours.
[edit] Saturday Night Live
Meyers joined the SNL cast in 2001.[5] In 2005, he was promoted to writing supervisor,[citation needed] and in January 2006 he became co-head writer, sharing the role with Tina Fey and Andrew Steele.[12] In 2004, he auditioned to co-anchor "Weekend Update" with Fey, but lost out to Amy Poehler.[13] With Fey's departure, Meyers became head writer for the 2006–2007 season and also took on the role of Weekend Update co-anchor with Amy Poehler.[14][15] Since Poehler left the show during the 2008–2009 season, Meyers has anchored solo. In fall 2009, Meyers co-anchored two episodes of Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday with Poehler.[citation needed]
During the 2008 United States presidential election,[16] while appearing on The Late Show with David Letterman, former SNL cast member Fey credited Meyers with writing the sketches involving Fey's impression of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
On SNL, Meyers has impersonated such figures as John Kerry,[5] Michael Caine, Anderson Cooper, Carrot Top, Prince Charles, Ryan Seacrest, Sean Penn,[5] Stone Phillips,[5] Tobey Maguire, Peyton Manning, Ben Curtis (also known as the Dell Dude), Ty Pennington, Bill Cowher, Brian Williams, Nicollette Sheridan, Wade Robson, Donald Trump, Jr., Tom Cruise, and Kevin Federline. His recurring characters include Zach Ricky, host of the kids' hidden camera show "Pranksters"; Nerod, the receptionist in the recurring sketch "Appalachian Emergency Room"; David Zinger, a scientist who often insults his fellow workers; DJ Johnathan Feinstein, the DJ on the webcam show "Jarett's Room"; Dan Needler, half of a married couple "that should be divorced," (opposite Amy Poehler); William Fitzpatrick, from the Irish talk show "Top o' the Morning," and Boston Powers (one of the comedians in the "Original Kings of Catchphrase Comedy" series). In the season 29 episode hosted by Lindsay Lohan, he did an impression of Ron Weasly in a parody of Harry Potter
Meyers supported and picketed during the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. When interviewed he said, "We all know how lucky we are to have the jobs we have. We're not asking for much. You have to change the rules because people are watching TV in a different way."[17] Even so, he mentioned in interviews that he regretted missing much of the presidential election primary season.[18][19]
Meyers is currently the longest tenured Saturday Night Live cast member, having been a member since Season 27.
[edit] Other pursuits
Meyers won the third season of Bravo's Celebrity Poker Showdown and donated the $100,000 prize to the Boston-based Jimmy Fund.[20][21] In 2008, Meyers donated over $4,000 to Barack Obama's presidential campaign.[22] Meyers and SNL castmate Bill Hader penned a Spider-Man one-shot entitled "The Short Halloween". It was illustrated by Kevin Maguire and came out May 29, 2009, to positive reviews. Meyers, along with Mike Shoemaker of SNL, created an animated half-hour series "The Awesomes" that was picked up by MTV and will be produced by Lorne Michaels's production company, Broadway Video.[23] He was also a guest speaker at the 2011 White House Press Correspondents Dinner.
[edit] Personal life
Meyers is an avid fan of the Boston Red Sox, Boston Celtics and the Pittsburgh Steelers, his father being a Pittsburgh native.[24][25] He is the older brother of actor Josh Meyers, who, like Seth, has done work on a sketch comedy show. Josh Meyers was a cast member on Saturday Night Live's former rival show MADtv.
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Other Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | See This Movie | Jake Barrymore | |
| Maestro | Tim Healy | ||
| 2005 | Perception | Steven | |
| The Adventures of Big Handsome Guy and his Little Friend | Disgruntled Dork | ||
| 2006 | American Dreamz | Chet Krogl | |
| 2007 | Spring Breakdown | William Rushfield | |
| 2008 | Journey to the Center of the Earth | Professor Alan Kitzens | |
| Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist | Drunk Guy in Yugo | ||
| 2011 | I Don't Know How She Does It | Chris Bunce | |
| New Year's Eve | Griffin |
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.dailynorthwestern.com/current/q-a-with-seth-meyers-northwestern-homecoming-parade-grand-marshal-1.2655985#.TqbMrZxZgX6
- ^ Proulxmonitor, Kristin (February 28, 2003). Concord Monitor. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CMOB&p_theme=cmob&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0FF0DD1F65304F47&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM.
- ^ "Miss Hilary Olson marries Mr. Meyers". Boston Globe. July 5, 1970. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/1946965372.html?FMT=CITE&FMTS=CITE:AI&type=historic&date=Jul+05%2C+1970&author=&pub=Boston+Globe+(1960-1979)&desc=Miss+Hilary+Olson+marries+Mr.+Meyers&pqatl=google.
- ^ Rapkin, Mickey (September 10, 2004), "Going Dutch". Entertainment Weekly. (782/783):18
- ^ a b c d e Biography from the NBC website
- ^ www.imdb.com/name/nm1024878/
- ^ Seth Meyers at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ "For anybody that's ever waited in line to see a movie / Star Trek". Star Trek Phase II. July 26, 2008. http://www.startreknewvoyages.com/forum/index.php?topic=5588.0. Retrieved February 27, 2009.
- ^ "Seth Meyers to emcee Microsoft Company Meeting at Safeco". Seattle PI – The Microsoft Blog. September 3, 2009. http://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/archives/178261.asp?source=rss. Retrieved September 10, 2009.
- ^ "Seth Meyers to Host ESPYs Again". TVGuide.com. http://www.tvguide.com/News/Seth-Meyers-ESPYs-1023405.aspx. Retrieved September 22, 2010.
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0i7V4NSCFxM
- ^ SNL undergoing another generational shift, an AP article from The Arizona Republic website
- ^ Gary Levin (September 29, 2006), "'SNL' will update its Weekend Update". USA Today
- ^ "Fey, Dratch Give Up Saturday Night". E! Online), eonline.com. July 24, 2006. http://www.eonline.com/news/article/index.jsp?uuid=b1b31fb1-7238-4341-9348-425c793c0853. Retrieved November 3, 2007.
- ^ "Seth Meyers will coanchor Weekend Update". tv.com). September 22, 2006. http://www.tv.com/story/6449.html. Retrieved November 3, 2007.
- ^ Scholibo, Corey (January 13, 2008), "Tina Fey". Advocate. (1022):65
- ^ Levin, Gary (November 6, 2007), "Late night without Letterman, Leno ...". USA TODAY.
- ^ Levin, Gary (February 20, 2008). "Weekend update: 'SNL' is back in the race". USA Today.
- ^ Meyers, Seth (February 29, 2008), "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE". Entertainment Weekly (980):40
- ^ NH Magazine's It List
- ^ Anft, Michael (May 12, 2005), "Win, Lose, or Draw?". Chronicle of Philanthropy. 17 (15):25–27
- ^ Celebrity Political Donations/Seth Meyers, newsmeat.com/
- ^ [1]
- ^ A. D. (July 16, 2007), "Andy Samberg". Sports Illustrated. 107 (2):24
- ^ Sheridan, Patricia (January 4, 2010). "Patricia Sheridan's Breakfast With ... Seth Meyers". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10004/1025097-129.stm.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Seth Meyers |
- Seth Meyers at the Internet Movie Database
- Seth Meyers on Twitter
- Seth Meyers on National Public Radio in 2008
- Official SNL cast biography
- Live from New York: It’s Sunday Afternoon! conversation with Fred Armisen, Andy Samberg, Jason Sudeikis, Kenan Thompson, and Kristen Wiig at The New Yorker Festival, October 2010
| Media offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler |
Weekend Update Anchor with Amy Poehler 2006–2008 2006–current |
Succeeded by Current |
| Preceded by Tina Fey 1999–2005 |
SNL Head Writers with Tina Fey 2005–2006 2006–current |
Succeeded by Current |
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