Bo Burnham facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bo Burnham
Burnham in 2018
Born	Robert Pickering Burnham (1990-08-21) August 21, 1990 (age 34) Hamilton, Massachusetts, U.S.
Occupation	Stand-up comedian musician actor filmmaker YouTuber
Years active	2006–present
Comedy career
Medium	Stand-up television film music
Genres	Black comedy musical comedy satire
Musical career
Genres	Musical comedy pop rock comedy hip hop
Instruments	Vocals piano keyboards guitar oboe
Labels	Comedy Central
YouTube information
Years active	2006–present
Genre	Music comedy
Subscribers	3.66 million
Total views	873.5 million
Subscriber and view counts updated as of April 1, 2024.

Robert Pickering Burnham (born August 21, 1990) is an American comedian, musician, actor, and filmmaker. He is also a popular YouTuber. Bo Burnham is known for mixing filmmaking with music, sketches, and stand-up comedy. His work often has a dramatic, funny, or thought-provoking side.

In 2006, Bo Burnham started a YouTube channel. He uploaded videos of himself singing funny songs he wrote. These videos quickly became very popular, making him one of the first big YouTube stars. He then released albums with his songs, like Bo fo Sho (2008) and Bo Burnham (2009).

Later, Burnham focused more on performing stand-up comedy. His shows combined his funny songs with traditional stand-up. He released three comedy specials: Words Words Words (2010), what. (2013), and Make Happy (2016). He also created and starred in the 2013 MTV series Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous. He even published a poetry book called Egghead: Or, You Can't Survive on Ideas Alone (2013).

In 2016, Burnham decided to stop performing live for a while. He later shared that this was because he was dealing with anxiety. He then started directing films. He wrote and directed the movie Eighth Grade (2018). He also directed comedy specials for other comedians. In 2020, he acted in the movie Promising Young Woman.

Burnham returned to performing with his special Inside (2021). He made this special by himself at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was released on Netflix and got a lot of praise. Inside won a Peabody Award and three Emmy Awards. It was also nominated for two Grammy Awards, winning one for Best Song Written for Visual Media. Three songs from Inside became very popular and were certified platinum in the United States.

Early Life and School

Robert Pickering Burnham was born in 1990 in Hamilton, Massachusetts. His mom, Patricia, was a hospice nurse, and his dad, Scott, owned a construction company. He has an older sister named Samm and an older brother named Pete. Both of his siblings work for the family business.

Burnham grew up Catholic. He went to St. John's Preparatory School in Danvers, Massachusetts. He got to go to this school for free because his mom worked there as a nurse. He graduated in 2008. While in school, he was an honors student and was involved in theater. He was accepted into New York University to study experimental theater. However, he decided to put off college to start his comedy career. He never ended up attending the university.

Bo Burnham's Career Journey

Starting on YouTube (2006–2008)

Bo Burnham began his career on YouTube in 2006. His videos have been watched over 600 million times.

In December 2006, Burnham wanted to show two songs he had written to his older brother. His brother had moved away for college. A friend suggested he film himself singing the songs and put them on YouTube. YouTube was a new website back then. His song "My Whole Family..." quickly became famous. It was shared on many websites and became a viral video.

Burnham kept making funny songs and videos online. He played guitar or digital piano in his videos. His audience grew bigger and bigger. He wrote songs that were both funny and thought-provoking. He signed a four-record deal with Comedy Central Records. Comedy Central Records released his first collection of songs, Bo fo Sho, online in 2008. His first full album, Bo Burnham, came out in 2009.

Stand-up Comedy and Specials (2009–2016)

Burnham in March 2009

Bo Burnham performed his music and comedy in the United States and other countries. In August 2010, he was nominated for "Best Comedy Show" at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards. He won the "Panel Prize" for his show Bo Burnham: Words, Words, Words.

While at a festival in Montreal in 2008, Burnham met director Judd Apatow. In 2008, he started working with Universal Pictures. He was going to write music for a comedy film produced by Apatow. He hoped to star in the movie too.

Burnham in April 2012

On May 21, 2010, Burnham filmed his first one-hour stand-up special. It was called Words Words Words. It aired on Comedy Central in October 2010. In 2011, he won first place in the Comedy Central Stand-up Showdown.

In 2013, Burnham wrote and starred in the TV series Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous. He also released his poetry book, Egghead: Or, You Can't Survive on Ideas Alone.

His second comedy special, what., was released in December 2013 on Netflix and YouTube. His third special, Make Happy, was made by Netflix and came out in June 2016.

Becoming a Filmmaker (2017–2020)

Burnham wrote and directed his first movie, Eighth Grade. The movie was shown for the first time at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2018. The film was highly praised by critics. It won awards for Best Original Screenplay and Outstanding Directing for a First-Time Feature Film.

Burnham also directed comedy specials for other comedians. These included Jerrod Carmichael's 8 (2017) for HBO and Chris Rock's Tamborine (2018) for Netflix. He explained that when he directs, he tries to help the comedian show their best performance.

In 2020, Burnham acted in the movie Promising Young Woman. He played the character Ryan Cooper. This film was also praised by critics and was nominated for an Academy Award. Burnham said he liked acting in this movie because it was a story he couldn't tell himself. He enjoyed helping bring someone else's vision to life.

"Inside" and Recent Work (2021–2022)

In April 2021, Bo Burnham announced his fourth special, Inside. It was released on May 30. Burnham created the entire special by himself in his home. He had no crew or audience because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Inside was very well-received.

It was nominated for six Emmy Awards and won three. These awards were for Outstanding Music Direction, Outstanding Writing, and Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special. Burnham also received two Grammy nominations for Inside. He won the Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media for "All Eyes on Me." Three songs from the special became popular on music charts. The album Inside (The Songs) was also certified gold.

Burnham directed and edited Jerrod Carmichael's comedy special Rothaniel (2022). This special also received awards for its writing.

On May 30, 2022, Burnham released 63 minutes of never-before-seen footage from Inside. He called it The Inside Outtakes. He also released an album with the same name. This album included all the songs from the video and two new ones. He then released Inside (Deluxe), which had all the songs from Inside and the outtakes.

Influences

Bo Burnham has mentioned many artists who influenced his work. Some of these include George Carlin, Mitch Hedberg, Steve Martin, and Tim Minchin. His musical style has also been compared to Tom Lehrer. Burnham even wrote his 2009 song "New Math" as a tribute to Lehrer's song of the same name.

Personal Life

Bo Burnham lives in Los Angeles. He is known for being a private person. He usually doesn't give many interviews or post on social media. He only does so when he has a new project to share. He has talked about struggling with anxiety. In Inside, he confirmed that this was why he stopped performing live shows.

Work

Filmography

Film

Television

Discography

• Bo Burnham (2009)
• Words, Words, Words (2010)
• what. (2013)
• Inside (The Songs) (2021)

Tours

Awards and Nominations

Bo Burnham has won many awards for his work. At the 2010 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, he won the "Panel Prize" and the "Act Most Likely to Make a Million Quid" Award.

For his 2018 film Eighth Grade and 2021 comedy special Inside, he received several awards and nominations for his writing and directing. Here are some of them:

See also

In Spanish: Bo Burnham para niños