Reggie Watts facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Reggie Watts
Watts in July 2017
Background information
Birth name	Reginald Lucien Frank Roger Watts
Born	(1972-03-23) March 23, 1972 (age 53) Stuttgart, West Germany
Origin	Great Falls, Montana, U.S.
Genres	Comedy electronic trip hop Funk Soul alternative comedy Dada Experimental music
Occupation(s)	Comedian musician beatboxer actor
Instruments	Vocals beatboxing keyboards loop machine
Years active	1996–present
Associated acts	Maktub

Reginald Lucien Frank Roger Watts (born March 23, 1972) is an American comedian, musician, beatboxer, and actor. He is famous for his improvised musical performances. He creates his music using only his voice, a keyboard, and a special machine called a looper.

Watts calls himself a "disinformationist." This means he likes to mix up his comedy and music to surprise and entertain his audience. He was the house musician on the TV talk show Comedy Bang! Bang! and led the band for The Late Late Show with James Corden from 2015 to 2023.

Early Life and Musical Beginnings

Reggie Watts was born in Stuttgart, which was in West Germany, on March 23, 1972. His mother, Christiane, was French, and his father, Charles, was an African-American Master Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force. Because of his father's job, his family lived in France, Italy, and Spain.

Later, the family moved to Great Falls, Montana, where Watts grew up. He started taking piano and violin lessons when he was only five years old. He fell in love with music after seeing the famous musician Ray Charles play the piano on TV. After high school, he moved to Seattle to study music at Cornish College of the Arts.

Career

Starting Out in Music and Comedy

Watts performing in March 2013

In 1996, Watts became the lead singer for a band called Maktub. While touring, he started using a small electronic device called a delay modeler. This device let him record and repeat sounds, which is called looping.

He began to experiment with this looper in his solo shows. He would improvise entire songs on the spot, using just his voice and the machine. During this time, he also started doing sketch comedy with a friend.

In 2004, Watts moved to New York City. He began to mix his beatboxing and music with comedy. He made funny short videos for websites like Vimeo and CollegeHumor. One of his videos, "What About ...?", became a viral hit online.

From 2009 to 2011, Watts appeared on the PBS Kids' show The Electric Company as the "Music Man." He also toured with the famous band Devo.

Television Fame

Watts at PopTech 2011

In 2010, Watts starred in his own one-hour special called Why ... So Crazy?. It aired on Comedy Central and showed his live performances in New York. This special helped him become more famous.

Comedy Bang! Bang!

From 2012 to 2015, Watts starred in the IFC series Comedy Bang! Bang! with Scott Aukerman. He was the show's bandleader and co-host. During this time, he also helped create a comedy YouTube channel called Jash with other comedians like Michael Cera and Sarah Silverman.

The Late Late Show

In 2015, Watts became the bandleader for The Late Late Show with James Corden on CBS. He stayed with the show until it ended in 2023. His band was first unofficially called "Karen," but they later changed it to "Melissa." On the show, Watts was known for asking guests funny and strange questions in a segment called "Reggie's Question."

In 2016, his comedy special Spatial was released on Netflix.

Recent Work

In 2023, Watts released his autobiography, a book about his life. It is called Great Falls, MT; Fast Times, Post-Punk Weirdos, and a Tale of Coming Home Again. He also reads the audio version of the book, which includes his music and sounds.

Performance Style

Watts is known for his unique style of performance. Almost all of his shows are improvised, meaning he makes them up as he goes along. He uses his voice to sing, rap, and beatbox. He records these sounds with his loop machine to create complex songs live on stage.

His comedy is also very spontaneous. He quickly jumps between different topics, speaks in funny accents, and makes random noises. His goal is to be playful and keep the audience guessing what he will do next. He has a very wide vocal range of four-and-a-half octaves.

Filmography

Film

• Steel of Fire Warriors 2010 A.D. (2008) as Mutantzoid Underling in Bar
• The Yes Men Fix the World (2009) as himself
• Reggie Watts Does London (2009)
• Why ... So Crazy? (2010) as himself
• Conan O'Brien Can't Stop (2011) as himself (cameo)
• Tell Your Friends! The Concert Film (2012) as himself
• Shut Up and Play the Hits (2012) as himself
• A Live at Central Park (2012) as himself
• Transition (2013) as himself
• Pitch Perfect 2 (2015) as Tone Hanger Singer and Beatboxer
• Creative Control (2015) as himself
• My Entire High School Sinking into the Sea (2016) as Assaf (voice)
• Spatial (2016) as himself
• Keep in Touch (2016) as Dr. Harry Clark
• Duck Duck Goose (2018) as Carl (voice)
• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) as Additional voices
• The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run (2020) as Chancellor (voice)
• Extinct (2021) as Hoss (voice)

Television

• Scott Batemen Presents Scott Batemen Presents (2007) as himself
• Saving Steve Agee (2007) as himself
• Superjail! (2008) as Time-Police Member #1 (voice)
• Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (2009) as himself
• Made Here (2009) as himself
• The Ha!ifax Comedy Fest (2009) as himself
• The Venture Bros. (2009) as The Delivery Guy (voice)
• The Electric Company (2009–2011) as Music Man
• The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (2010) as himself
• Good News Week (2010) as himself
• Team Coco Presents the Conan Writers Live (2010) as himself
• Conan O'Brien Can't Stop (2011)
• Cracker Night (2011) as himself
• Mash Up (2011) as himself
• Talk Stoop (2011) as himself
• Funny as Hell (2011) as himself
• Doctor Who: The Best-of Specials (2011) as Host
• The Green Room with Paul Provenza (2011) as himself
• Delocated (2012) as himself
• Russell Howard's Good News (2012) as himself
• The Top 100 Video Games of All Time (2012) as himself
• 7 Minutes in Heaven (2012) as himself
• Stand Down: True Tales from Stand-Up Comedy (2012) as himself
• Mash Up (2012) as himself
• The Secret Policeman's Ball (2012) as himself
• Comedy Bang! Bang! (2012–2016) as himself
• Reggie Makes Music (2012–2013) as himself
• Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell (2013) as himself
• Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2013) as himself
• 2013 YouTube Music Awards (2013) as Host
• America's Next Top Model (2013) as himself
• Inside Amy Schumer (2014) as Neighbor
• The Late Late Show with James Corden (2015–2023) as himself
• Adventure Time (2016–2017) as various voices
• The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show (2017) as Rejgie (voice)
• Baroness von Sketch Show (2017) as himself
• Taskmaster (2018) as Taskmaster
• Tuca & Bertie (2019–2022) as Pastry Pete (voice)
• Ask the StoryBots (2019) as Bernard the Nurse (voice)
• HarmonQuest (2019) as Graildokt
• One Day at a Time (2020) as Mr. Mann
• Wild Life (2020) as Darby (voice)
• The Great North (2021–2023) as Quay (voice)
• History of the World, Part II (2023) as Hans
• The Horne Section TV Show (2025) as himself

Discography

Solo albums

• Simplified (2003)
• Why ... So Crazy? (2010)
• Live at Third Man – 12" Vinyl (2011)
• A Live at Central Park (2012)
• Spatial (2016)

With Maktub

• Subtle Ways (1999)
• Khronos (2002/2003)
• Say What You Mean (2005)
• Start It Over (2007)
• Five (2009)

With Wajatta

• Casual High Technology (Comedy Dynamics, 2018)
• Don't Let Get You Down (Brainfeeder, 2020)

Awards and honors

Watts has won several awards for his comedy and music. These include the 2006 Andy Kaufman Comedy Award and the 2006 Seattle Mayor's Arts Award. He also won the 2009 ECNY Award for Best Musical Comedy Act.

See also

In Spanish: Reggie Watts para niños