Jeff Ross facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jeff Ross
Ross in May 2016
Pseudonym	Roastmaster General
Birth name	Jeffrey Ross Lifschultz
Born	(1965-09-13) September 13, 1965 (age 59)
Medium	Stand-up, television, film
Alma mater	Boston University (B.S.)
Years active	1989–present
Genres	Observational comedy, insult comedy, black comedy, cringe comedy, satire
Subject(s)	American politics, Jewish culture, popular culture, self-deprecation, current events, religion
Notable works and roles	Comedy Central Roasts Patriot Act: A Jeffrey Ross Home Movie The Burn with Jeff Ross

Jeffrey Ross Lifschultz (born September 13, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is famous as the "Roastmaster General" because of his unique style of insult comedy. This means he makes jokes that playfully tease or "roast" celebrities and friends. He has appeared in many celebrity roasts, including those by the New York Friars Club and the Comedy Central Roast TV series. He also stars in the Netflix show Historical Roasts. In 2009, a newspaper called him "the new millennium Don Rickles", who was another famous comedian known for his quick, teasing humor. Ross also directed a documentary called Patriot Act: A Jeffrey Ross Home Movie in 2006, which won an award at a film festival.

Early Life and Education

Jeff Ross grew up in Newark, New Jersey, and later moved to Union and Springfield, New Jersey. He went to Jonathan Dayton High School. His family is Jewish, and he has a younger sister. Ross faced challenges early in life, as his mother passed away when he was 14, and his father died when he was 19, while he was in college. His father owned a catering business that had been started by Ross's great-grandmother.

Ross studied broadcasting and film at Boston University, also taking political science classes. He graduated in 1987. While at college, he worked at the university's radio stations, WTBU and WBUR, where he was an audio engineer. Ross believes his childhood in New Jersey helped him develop his talent for insult comedy. He says he learned to "give it back" when people teased him, which helped him become a great roaster.

Comedy Career and Roasting Style

Starting in Stand-up Comedy

Jeff Ross began performing stand-up comedy in 1989 after taking a comedy class. By 1995, he was performing in famous New York clubs like the Comedy Cellar. That same year, the New York Friars Club invited him to join a roast for actor Steven Seagal.

Becoming the "Roastmaster General"

Ross quickly became a regular at the Friars Club roasts and earned the nickname "Roastmaster General." The first Friars Club roast shown on TV was for Drew Carey in 1998 on Comedy Central. Ross's roasting career really took off after a joke he made at the 1999 roast of Jerry Stiller. That same year, Jimmy Kimmel hired him to write for The Man Show, and Ross also wrote jokes for Billy Crystal's speech at the Oscars in 2000.

Comedy Central Roasts

In 2003, Comedy Central started its own celebrity roasts. Jeff Ross has been a featured roaster at every Comedy Central roast since 2005, starting with the roast of Pamela Anderson. He became known for wearing funny and sometimes unusual costumes during these shows. For example, he dressed as Muammar Gaddafi to roast Charlie Sheen. He also dressed as Prince to roast Rob Lowe and wore cornrows and a neck tattoo to roast James Franco.

Here are some of the celebrities Jeff Ross has roasted on Comedy Central Roasts:

Ross has also helped write, perform in, or produce roasts for other famous people:

Comedy for the Troops and Other Projects

Ross at Joint Base Andrews in May 2016

Jeff Ross has traveled with the USO to perform stand-up comedy for U.S. military members. He has visited bases in places like Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay, and Iraq. In 2005, he released a film he directed and produced called Patriot Act: A Jeffrey Ross Home Movie. This film showed his experiences performing for troops in Iraq. It won an award at the Just for Laughs comedy festival.

In 2009, Ross published his first book, I Only Roast the Ones I Love: Busting Balls Without Burning Bridges. The book shares his journey to becoming the Roastmaster General and gives tips on how to write roast jokes.

He also created and hosted a comedy show called The Burn with Jeff Ross on Comedy Central, which aired from 2012 to 2013. In 2015, Ross performed a special called Jeff Ross Roasts Criminals: Live from Brazos County Jail, where he did stand-up for people in a jail. The next year, he performed for members of the Boston Police Department in Jeff Ross Roasts Cops.

Ross and comedian Brian Moses started Jeff Ross Presents Roast Battle on Comedy Central in 2016. In this show, comedians compete in one-on-one roast battles, and Ross and guest judges pick the winners. Ross even battled NBA player Blake Griffin in one episode.

In 2018, Ross teamed up with comedian Dave Attell for their Bumping Mics comedy tour. A three-part special, Bumping Mics with Jeff Ross & Dave Attell, was filmed during their performances and released on Netflix. Their shows included jokes about everyday life and politics, and they also roasted each other and audience members.

Since 2019, Netflix has aired Historical Roasts, where Ross hosts funny, fictional roasts for historical figures like Abraham Lincoln and Anne Frank.

Acting and Voice Work

Jeff Ross has appeared in several movies and TV shows. His early film roles include a small part in Celtic Pride (1996). He also played a security guard in Stuck on You (2003) and a wedding band leader in Along Came Polly (2004). On television, he has had roles in shows like HBO's Six Feet Under and Crashing, and Showtime's Weeds. He also played a serious role on CBS's CSI.

Ross also helped create an animated show called Where My Dogs At? for MTV2 in 2006. He voiced Buddy, a beagle, while Tracy Morgan voiced Woof, a bulldog. He has also lent his voice to characters in animated series like Future-Worm! and Happy!. In 2012, he even voiced himself in an episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold, where he attended a literal roast of Batman.

Other Appearances

Jeff Ross was featured in the 2005 documentary The Aristocrats, which was about a famous joke.

In 2004, Ross competed in a Celebrity Poker tournament but lost his first match. He also appeared on the seventh season of Dancing with the Stars in 2008. During practice, his dance partner accidentally poked him in the eye, causing a scratched eye. Even though it hurt, Ross kept dancing, but he and his partner were the first to be eliminated from the competition.

In 2011, Ross visited the Occupy movement protesters in Los Angeles to show his support. He spoke to the crowd, making jokes about Wall Street and big banks. In 2019, he appeared as himself on an episode of Crank Yankers.

Filmography

Film

Television

Discography

• No Offense (2008, Shout! Factory) – CD/DVD/Download

See also

In Spanish: Jeff Ross para niños