Amir Blumenfeld facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Amir Blumenfeld
אמיר בלומנפלד
Blumenfeld in 2010
Born	Amir Shmuel Blumenfeld (1983-01-18) January 18, 1983 (age 42) Afula, Israel
Nationality	Israeli American
Education	University of California, Berkeley
Occupation	Comedian, actor, writer, presenter
Years active	2004–present

Amir Shmuel Blumenfeld (born January 18, 1983) is an Israeli-American comedian, actor, writer, and television host. He is best known as one half of the comedy duo Jake and Amir.

Amir was born in Israel and moved to Los Angeles with his family when he was two years old. In 2005, he was hired by the comedy website CollegeHumor. He wrote articles and books for the site and also starred in many of its funny videos. Some of the series he appeared in were Hardly Working and Very Mary-Kate. He was also a cast member on the short-lived MTV show, The CollegeHumor Show.

Amir became famous for the web series Jake and Amir, which he created with his friend Jake Hurwitz. In the show, Amir plays a funny and over-the-top version of himself. The series was very popular and won Amir a Webby Award for Best Individual Performance in 2010.

He also took part in the Prank War series with his CollegeHumor co-worker Streeter Seidell. The series showed them playing increasingly big practical jokes on each other. It became so popular that they appeared on the TV show Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2009. Later, they admitted the pranks were staged for fun.

Personal life

Amir Blumenfeld was born in Afula, Israel. He moved to Los Angeles at age two with his parents and two older brothers. He discovered he was funny at a young age. He said, "I realized I could make people laugh at a later age, and then by college time, I was trying to make jokes in terms of writing."

He went to a private Jewish high school. For college, he attended the University of California, Berkeley. He earned a degree from the Haas School of Business. He hoped to get a creative job in advertising or marketing while writing comedy.

In 2017, Blumenfeld began dating Avital Ash, who is also a writer, actress, and comedian. They got married on October 15, 2023.

Amir is Jewish but has said he is "not too religious." He celebrates Jewish holidays with his family and can speak Hebrew. He is a big basketball fan and supports the Los Angeles Lakers.

Career

CollegeHumor

Amir Blumenfeld in 2005

In 2003, while he was a student at Berkeley, Amir started writing for the comedy website CollegeHumor. The site's co-founder, Ricky Van Veen, liked his ideas and posted them. After graduating in 2005, CollegeHumor hired him full-time. He moved to New York City and helped write The CollegeHumor Guide to College, a funny book about university life.

Later, he started making original videos for the website. He often acted in sketches, including the series Hardly Working. He was known for his impression of director Woody Allen.

The Prank War

Starting in 2007, Amir and his co-worker Streeter Seidell created the Prank War videos. In this series, they played a series of bigger and bigger practical jokes on each other. The pranks were very creative. For example, Seidell once tricked Amir into thinking he had won $500,000 by making a blindfolded half-court basketball shot.

The pranks were very popular and led to interviews and an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. In 2017, Amir and Streeter announced that the pranks were all staged and not real.

The CollegeHumor Show

In 2009, Amir starred in The CollegeHumor Show on MTV with other CollegeHumor staff. The show was a sitcom set in their office and included sketches. However, the show did not get good reviews and only one season was made.

Jake and Amir

Blumenfeld's comedy partner Jake Hurwitz in 2014

Amir met Jake Hurwitz in 2006 when Jake was an intern at CollegeHumor. They sat near each other and started making short, funny videos together. They posted these videos online.

This led to their famous web series Jake and Amir. In the show, Jake is the "normal guy," and Amir plays his annoying and silly co-worker who just wants Jake's attention. The characters became more and more exaggerated over time. Amir said that his character is very different from him in real life, but maybe they share the same insecurities deep down.

The show was a huge success. In 2010, Jake and Amir won a People's Voice award at the 14th Webby Awards. Amir also won for Best Individual Performance.

Podcasts and Other Projects

If I Were You

In 2013, Amir and Jake started a comedy podcast called If I Were You. In each episode, they give funny advice to listeners who send in questions. The podcast was praised for being hilarious and feeling like a conversation between two best friends.

HeadGum

Amir and Jake used their podcasting experience to start their own podcast network called HeadGum. The network hosts many different podcasts.

Buckets with Amir Blumenfeld

In 2018, Amir started another podcast called Buckets with Amir Blumenfeld. On this show, he talks about his love for the NBA with different guests.

Acting and Writing

Amir has appeared in movies and TV shows outside of his work with CollegeHumor.

• In 2009, he starred in the short film The Old Man and the Seymour.
• In 2011, he appeared in an episode of the TV series Louie.
• In 2011, he also had a role in the movie A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas as a character named Adrian.

As a writer, Amir has written for ESPN The Magazine and has a section in Mental Floss magazine called "The Curious Comedian".

Influences

Amir has said that his sense of humor was shaped by his Jewish upbringing, where he was surrounded by funny people. He was also influenced by TV shows he watched as a kid, like The Simpsons, Seinfeld, and Saturday Night Live. These shows taught him to be creative and original with his jokes. He is also a fan of comedians like Larry David.

Filmography

Film

Television

Online video

See also

In Spanish: Amir Blumenfeld para niños