John Pinette Biography

John Pinette ( ; born March 23, 1964) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. He has toured the comedy club circuit since the 1980s and has appeared in cinema and television. Besides stand-up, Pinette does impressions of The Chipmunks, Elvis Presley, Gollum from The Lord of the Rings, Hervé Villechaize (Tattoo from Fantasy Island), an Ewok, actor Marlon Brando (notably Brando's role in The Godfather), as well as various ethnic accents. He occasionally sings, for example "Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz, in stand-up routines.

Biographical information

John was born in Boston, Massachusetts and graduated from Malden Catholic High School in 1982. He started a career in accounting, but on the advice of friends left to pursue a career in comedy.

He got a break when asked to tour with Frank Sinatra. Pinette is a regular guest on The Tonight Show and The View.

Pinette was in Duets, Dear God, and Junior. He was a regular on the series Parker Lewis Can't Lose, and starred as the carjack victim in the final episode of Seinfeld. In 2004, Pinette was Bumpo in Artisan Entertainment's The Punisher, starring Thomas Jane and John Travolta.

Pinette was named Stand-Up Comedian of the Year by the American Comedy Awards in 1999 and received a Gemini Award nomination for his televised performance at Montreal's Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in 2000.

In 2004, Pinette joined the touring cast of the musical Hairspray in the role of Edna Turnblad. He later went on to the Broadway production in 2005, and continued in the role until May 28, 2006. In his 2006 concert I'm Starvin', he said it was the first musical theater production he had been in since high school.

In 2004, Pinette's stand up material was featured in Comedy Central's animated series Shorties Watchin' Shorties. In 2007, Pinette performed at the 42nd annual MDA Jerry Lewis Telethon. He performed at the Edinburgh Comedy Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland in 2008, and toured in cities in 2010 beginning in April. During this tour, Pinette recorded a Comedy Central special entitled "John Pinette: Still Hungry". The taping took place at the Vic Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. The world premiere of "John Pinette: Still Hungry" was on July 29, 2011, on Comedy Central.

In 2012, Pinette was one of the comedy acts in Ron White's Comedy Salute To The Troops on CMT.

Discography

• Show Me the Buffet (CD, 1998)
• I Say Nay Nay (DVD, 2005)
• I'm Starvin'! (DVD, 2006)
• Making Lite of Myself (CD, 2007)
• Still Hungry (DVD, 2011)

Filmography

• ALF (1990) - as Howie Anderson
• Vinnie & Bobby (1992) - as William 'Bill' Melvin Belli
• Revenge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation (1992) - as Trevor Gulf
• "Parker Lewis Can't Lose" (1993) - as Coach Hank Kohler
• Reckless Kelly (1993) - as Sam Delance
• Junior (1994) - as Clerk
• Revenge of the Nerds IV: Nerds in Love (1994) - as Trevor Gulf
• Hart to Hart: Secrets of the Hart (1995)
• Dear God (1996) - as Junior
• Seinfeld (1998) - as Howie
• Simon Sez (1999) - as Micro
• Duets (2000) - as Finale Singer
• My 5 Wives (2000) - as Stewart
• Do It for Uncle Manny (2002) - as Sammy Levine
• Piece a' Cake (2003) - as Sammy
• The Punisher (2004) - as Bumpo
• The Last Godfather (2010 film) - as Macho
• All You Can Eat (2013 television series) - Host

Radio and television

Pinette was a host of the E4 laughs at Edinburgh podcasts, showcasing comedy talent from the Edinburgh Festival in 2008.

He is also the host of All You Can Eat, a TV series taking a humorous look at American cuisine. The show debuted on the H2 network in the U.S. in late June 2013.

See also

• List of stand-up comedians