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Biography - Born 01/27/1969
For those who only know comedian Patton Oswalt from the hit CBS sitcom The King of Queens (1998- ), seeing his raucous stand-up routine can be enough to cause mild disappointment at best, righteous anger at worst. The Oswalt that has been on stage for over sixteen years is different from the one seen within the warm, family-friendly confines of television. So drastic is the difference that Oswalt has been booed offstage, as happened one night in Pittsburgh after a scathing bit on President George W. Bush (Oswalt was led off stage and out the back by the club owner while drinks and fried shrimp were thrown at him). Never one to play it safe, Oswalt has over the years developed an ironic, socially-biting brand of humor that has endeared some, repulsed others, and made him a unique voice among a cacophony of many.
Named after General George S. Patton, Oswalt was born in Portsmouth, Virginia and spent his youth desperately trying to rebel against his conservative parentsoften looking ridiculous or behind the times to friends in the process. Rebellious as he was, Oswalt turned out to be remarkably harmless. Always funny and outspoken, Oswalt decided to become a stand-up comedian while attending William & Marya time when he was throwing darts at the wall of life and hoping for a bulls eye. Though he bombed his first night out, Oswalt stuck with it out of a love for performing.
Oswalt performed more frequently, but struggled between becoming a normal, clean-cut comedian vying for his one shot on Johnny Carson, and being himself. But friends Blaine Capatch and Mark Voyceatypical comedians who did what they wanted onstagetaught Oswalt to ignore trends. Meanwhile, a new style of comedy began appearing in and around San Franciscowhere Oswalt then residedand later Los Angeles, and once Carson retired from The Tonight Show, comedians like Oswalt found themselves at the center of a new comedic movement, while those trying to impress Johnny were out of work.
His years of performing eventually gave Oswalt the opportunity to expand his comedy into other mediums, mainly television and film. He spent two years as a writer for Mad TV (Fox, 1995- ), the late-night alternative to "Saturday Night Live" inspired by <I>Mad Magazine</I>. In 1996, Oswalt began headlining comedy clubs across the nation, which led to his own HBO special, HBO Comedy Half-Hour: Patton Oswalt (1998), and regular appearances on Late Night with Conan OBrien (NBC, 1993- ). He made his first foray into movies in the painful Down Periscope (1996), a so-called comedy set on a submarine starring Kelsey Grammer. Fortunately for Oswalt, his role was small enough for him to pass by audiences unnoticed.
Meanwhile, Oswalt continued to work steadily, lending his writing talent to The MTV Movie Awards several years running. Oswalt also appeared in episodes of Seinfeld (NBC, 1989-1998) and "NewsRadio" (NBC, 1994-1999) while maintaining a consistent stand-up schedule. Then in 1998, Oswalt landed a regular role on The King of Queens as one of the buddies of Doug Heffernan, played by Kevin James. A few more short stints in movies dotted Oswalts resume: Man on the Moon (1999), the biopic about Andy Kaufman starring Jim Carrey, Magnolia (1999), Paul Thomas Andersons lament on life in Los Angeles, and Zigzag (2002), a crime-thriller starring Wesley Snipes that was shown at a few festivals, but not elsewhere.
In 2002, Oswalts fame grew when he was named <I>Entertainment Weeklys</I> It comedian of the year, which described him as one of stand-ups most scathingly literate minds. Oswalt continued to perform onstage, but such events became less frequent due to a heavier filming schedule. He began appearing irregularly on Comedy Centrals Reno 911! (2003- ), an improvised comedy series revolving around the Reno police that spun-out of Viva Variety (1996-99). Meanwhile, a comedy album, <I>Feelin Kinda Patton</I>, was released in 2004 to rave reviews. On the album, Oswalt skewered everything from George Bush and hippies to megalomaniac film producer Robert Evans and 80s metal. Meanwhile, Comedy Central gave Oswalt a full sixty minutes for his stand-up routine in Patton Oswalt: No Reason to Complain (2004). Oswalt then appeared in larger Hollywood features, including the ill-fated Taxi (2004), starring Jimmy Fallon and Queen Latifah, Starsky & Hutch (2004), with Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson, and Blade: Trinity (2004), starring Wesley Snipes, Jessica Biel, and Kris Kristofferson.
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