Jim Florentine facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Jim Florentine |
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Florentine performing in 2016
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| Birth name | James Bernard Florentine |
| Born | August 18, 1964 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Medium | Comedy, film, television |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Genres | Comedy |
| Spouse |
Samantha Warner
(m. 2012; div. 2015) |
| Children | 1 |
James Bernard Florentine (born August 18, 1964) is an American comedian, actor, and television personality. He is well-known for being a co-host on That Metal Show on VH1 Classic. He also provided voices for several characters on Crank Yankers, including Special Ed and Bobby Fletcher.
Jim Florentine hosts The Jim Florentine Show on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. He also has a podcast called Everybody Is Awful (Except You). He has released many comedy albums and specials. His 2018 book Everybody is Awful (Except You!) was a bestseller.
Contents
Early Life and Background
Jim Florentine was born on August 18, 1964, in Brooklyn, New York. He grew up in a large family with six brothers and sisters. He started his comedy career in the famous New York City comedy clubs.
Growing Up in New Jersey
Florentine spent many years living in central New Jersey. His family moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida for a while. There, his father tried to start a hot dog vending business. However, the business was not successful, and the family moved back to New Jersey.
Discovering Comedy
Jim Florentine was very interested in music, especially heavy metal. He often joked that he wasn't talented enough to play an instrument himself. He became a DJ at his college radio station, WCNJ (now WCNM), in Hazlet, New Jersey, during the 1980s.
He was inspired to try stand-up comedy after seeing comedian Andrew Dice Clay perform. Later, Jim Florentine and fellow comedian Jim Norton met Andrew Dice Clay. Florentine and Norton then became opening acts for Clay's shows.
Family Life
In 2010, Jim Florentine had a child with Samantha Warner. They got married in 2012 but later divorced in 2015.
Jim Florentine's Career in Comedy
Jim Florentine has had a long and successful career in comedy and television. He is known for his unique style and memorable characters.
Prank Calls and Crank Yankers
In July 2001, Florentine released his first album of prank calls, Terrorizing Telemarketers Volume 1. This album became very popular after being played on Howard Stern Radio Show. It quickly rose to the top of the charts.
After the success of his second album, Terrorizing Telemarketers Volume 2, Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Carolla noticed Florentine's prank call skills. They hired him for a new show on Comedy Central called Crank Yankers, which started in June 2002. On this show, Florentine voiced two popular characters: Special Ed, a teenager, and Bobby Fletcher, an older cousin.
The rapper Eminem enjoyed Florentine's characters. He even invited Florentine to his studio to record prank calls together for Crank Yankers. In 2004, Eminem and Florentine performed a skit at the MTV Music Awards. Crank Yankers aired for three seasons on Comedy Central and one season on MTV2. Jim Florentine's Special Ed character is still played at sporting events across the USA.
That Metal Show and Other TV Appearances
In 2008, That Metal Show began on VH1 Classic. Jim Florentine co-hosted the show with comedian Don Jamieson and rock radio host Eddie Trunk. The show discussed hard rock and metal music, interviewed musicians, and offered giveaways. The show stopped production in 2015.
Florentine has appeared on many other television shows. These include The Apprentice, HBO's Inside the NFL, The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn, and Jimmy Kimmel Live!. He also voiced a radio host named Bobbie Ray in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories.
Comedy Albums and Specials
Jim Florentine has released a series of prank call CDs called Terrorizing Telemarketers. These CDs feature recorded phone calls where he turns the tables on telemarketers. He makes the calls difficult and creates funny situations.
In 2004, he worked on HBO's Inside the NFL, performing comedy sketches. The show won an Emmy Award that season.
He also released a series of hidden camera DVDs called Meet The Creeps. In these DVDs, he and Don Jamieson played pranks on people. Comedy Central later created a pilot for a Meet The Creeps TV show, but it was not picked up.
In 2011, Florentine launched his weekly podcast, Comedy, Metal, Midgets. It quickly became one of the most popular comedy podcasts.
On October 25, 2011, he released his stand-up comedy CD Cringe N Purge. It reached No. 3 on the iTunes charts and No. 5 on the Comedy Billboard Charts. In August 2012, Jim Florentine opened for the band Metallica at the Orionfest festival, which had over 50,000 fans.
On September 4, 2012, Florentine released another CD called Awful Jokes From My First Comedy Notebook. This CD also did very well on the charts. Jim is one of the few comedians to have two CDs in the top 10 in the same year. The idea for this CD came from him finding his old comedy notebooks from the 1990s. He read his early jokes, which he thought were "awful," directly from the notebook for the recording.
In 2015, Jim appeared on the season finale of Louie. In 2016, he released two comedy specials. I'm Your Savior was a one-man show about his life. His second special, A Simple Man, debuted at number one on the comedy charts.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | White Chicks, Incorporated | Bill | |
| 2002 | Rock Bottom | Miller Davis | |
| 2003 | Secret War | Getty | |
| 2004 | Grace and the Storm | Gio | |
| 2006 | Beer League | Crispino | |
| 2010 | A Little Help | Brian | |
| 2015 | Trainwreck | ... Guy |
Television Work
| Year | Show | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Apt. 2F | Comic | Episode: "Full of Whit" |
| 2002–2007, 2019–2022 | Crank Yankers | Special Ed / Bobby Fletcher (voices) | 70 episodes |
| 2008–2015 | That Metal Show | Himself | Co-host |
| 2013–2014 | Inside Amy Schumer | Various | 4 episodes |
| 2013 | Aqua Teen Hunger Force | Unnamed unseen manager (voice) | Episode: "Working Stiffs" |
| Behind the Music: Remastered | Himself | Episode: "Motörhead" | |
| 2014 | Californication | Jim / The ... | 2 episodes |
| Girls | Man on the Street | Episode: "Role-Play" | |
| 2015 | Louie | Kenny | Episode: "The Road: Part 2" |
| Red Oaks | Cop | Episode "..." |
Video Games
- Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories .... Bobbie Ray (2006)
Discography
- Terrorizing Telemarketers I (CD)
- Terrorizing Telemarketers II (CD)
- Terrorizing Telemarketers III (CD)
- Terrorizing Telemarketers IV (CD)
- Terrorizing Telemarketers V (CD)
- Terrorizing Telemarketers VI (CD)
- Get The Kids Out Of The ... (2005) (CD)
- Anger's A Gift (2008) (CD)
- Cringe & Purge (2011) (CD)
- Awful Jokes From My First Comedy Notebook (2012) (CD)
- I'm Your Savior {2016} DVD/CD)
- A Simple Man {2016} (DVD)
- I Got The House {2019} {DVD/CD}
- Bite The Bullet {2022} {CD}
- Terrorizing Telemarketers VII {2022} (CD)
DVDs
- Meet The Creeps Volume 1 (DVD)
- Meet The Creeps Volume 2 (DVD)
- Meet The Creeps Volume 3 (DVD)
See also
In Spanish: Jim Florentine para niños
