Everything about Janeane Garafalo totally explained
Janeane Garofalo (born
September 28 1964) is an
American stand-up
comedian,
actress,
political activist, writer, and former co-host on
Air America Radio's
The Majority Report.
On
August 20,
2007, it was announced that she'll join the
FOX Network television series 24 in its
seventh season. Garofalo will play an
FBI agent who is part of the team investigating the crisis of the new season.
Despite her increasing celebrity status, Garofalo continues to circulate regularly within
New York City's local
comedy and
performance art scene.
Personal life
Garofalo was born in
Newton, New Jersey, the daughter of Joan, a secretary in the
petrochemical industry who died of
cancer when Janeane was 24, and Carmine Garofalo, a former executive at
Exxon. Garofalo is of
Italian and
Irish descent. She grew up in various places, including
Ontario, California;
Madison, New Jersey; and
Katy, Texas where she graduated from
James E. Taylor High School.
Entertainment career
Comedy
The winner of numerous comedy awards and recognitions, she officially began her career in
stand-up comedy in the late 1980s during the pre-
grunge era. Her appearance was often in line with late 1980s style: disheveled with thick black glasses and unkempt hair. Her comedy is often self-deprecating; she's made fun of
popular culture and the pressures on women to conform to
body image ideals promoted by the
media.
Garofalo's comedy shows involve her and her notebook, which is filled with years' worth of article clippings and random observations she references for direct quotes during her act. Garofalo has said that she doesn't tell jokes as much as make observations designed to get laughs. She was part of the
alternative comedy scene in Los Angeles in the early 1990s, appearing at
Un-Cabaret and other venues.
Garofalo and comedian
Marc Maron worked together during the creation and early days of
liberal radio network
Air America Radio.
In April 2004, she was selected as #99 on
Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest standups of all time. On
July 15,
2006 she appeared as the "Not My Job" guest on
NPR's news quiz program
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!. In
June 2007 Garofalo and
Patton Oswalt toured together as part of their publicity tour for the movie
Ratatouille.
Television
Her television series debut was on the short-lived
The Ben Stiller Show on
Fox in 1992, on which she was a cast member alongside longtime friends
Ben Stiller,
Bob Odenkirk,
Andy Dick and
David Cross (who was a writer on the show). A chance meeting on the set of that show led her to be offered the role of
Paula on
The Larry Sanders Show on
HBO, earning her two
Emmy Award nominations in 1996 and 1997.
Following
The Ben Stiller Show's cancellation, Garofalo joined the cast of
Saturday Night Live (SNL) in its ill-fated
1994-95 season, as detailed in
Tom Shales' book
Live From New York: The Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live and mentioned in
Jay Mohr's . Upon arrival at
SNL, she gave an interview in which she called fellow cast member
Adam Sandler's comedy "childish". Writers on the show expressed dismay at Garofalo's attitude, dismissing her as insecure. In one instance cited in
Live From New York, Garofalo complained of suffering from
irritable bowel syndrome and drinking a lot during her tenure. In the same book, the other writers cited that she rarely assisted in writing sketches, never doing an "all-nighter" for a skit, unlike several cast members. In an HBO comedy special, Garofalo described her tenure on
SNL as "being the
Indian given the blanket infected with
smallpox by the cavalry."
She left
SNL in January 1995 (mid-season) after only six months, claiming that the material was weak and that a
sexist attitude pervaded the show. The material on
SNL at the time was widely deemed mediocre, and other writers, such as
Bruce Vilanch, have stated in interviews that many male members of the show frown upon women and
homosexuals. Garofalo said "everyone" was unhappy during her tenure, not just women. In Shales' aforementioned book, she's quoted as saying that
SNL executive producer "
Lorne Michaels prefers the house divided."
Post-SNL
Garofalo has done many special guest star roles, including a former girlfriend of
Dave Foley's character in
Newsradio. She also has been offered many television series roles but has accepted few; she turned down the role of
Monica Gellar, for which she was the first choice, on the
NBC sitcom
Friends. Two television pilots starring Garofalo, the 2003
ABC show
Slice O'Life about a reporter consigned to sappy human interest stories appearing at the end of news broadcasts, and the 2005
NBC program
All In, based on the life of poker star
Annie Duke, were not picked up by their respective networks. Her persona, thanks to her
Larry Sanders character, provided the basis for the lead role on
Steven Levitan's
Just Shoot Me!, though the part was taken by
Laura San Giacomo.
Throughout the 2005-2006 television season, Garofalo appeared on
The West Wing as
Louise Thornton, a controversial campaign adviser to the fictional
Democratic presidential nominee. Garofalo participated in the series' first live episode, most of which was a debate televised live on the
East Coast and then reshot live for the
West. Garofalo's character can be seen walking backstage with her advisee before the start of each debate.
In 2006, she provided the voice for the animated character "Bearded Clam" on Comedy Central's
Freak Show alongside her friend
David Cross.
In 2007, she also wrote a dedication for the mini-book included in the six-
DVD box-set of the 1994
cult series
My So-Called Life.
Films
Garofalo's first critically-acclaimed starring role in film was in 1996 in
The Truth About Cats & Dogs, a variation on
Cyrano de Bergerac which featured
Uma Thurman in the lead role as a beautiful but vapid model, while Garofalo played a highly intelligent radio host. Initially an
independent film, it became a studio movie when Thurman was signed on. The film was a modest hit, but Garofalo detests it to this day, calling it
anti-feminist (and admitting discomfort in the "ugly duckling" role).
Based on the success of this film, director
Cameron Crowe then offered her the leading lady role in
Jerry Maguire with
Tom Cruise if she could lose weight; After trimming down, however, she learned that
Renée Zellweger had won the part instead.
Before
The Truth About Cats & Dogs, she was visible from television work and supporting roles in films such as
Reality Bites,
Bye Bye Love and
Now and Then and a leading role in
I Shot a Man in Vegas. Garofalo has had a variety of leading, supporting and
cameo roles in
Cop Land,
Wet Hot American Summer,
Romy and Michele's High School Reunion,
Dogma,
The Cable Guy,
Half-Baked,
Mystery Men,
The Wild and
Clay Pigeons.
Garofalo played the leading role in the
The Matchmaker, a 1997 film about the misadventures of a cynical American woman who reluctantly visits West
Ireland.
In 2002, she played Catherine Connolly in
The Laramie Project.
Garofalo was scheduled to play former
porn star Vanessa del Rio in the film
The Latin from Manhattan, although that role may now go to actress
Rosario Dawson instead. A puppet version of Garofalo appeared (and was graphically killed off) in the movie ; the film's credits state that she didn't authorize or endorse this screen appearance at the time.
According to the
Independent Film Channel, Garofalo will have a segment in at least four episodes of the 2007 season of
The Henry Rollins Show. Apparently these will take place in her apartment, much in the same way
Rollins' take place at his house. In 2007, she provided the voice of Colette, a chef in the
Pixar/
Disney feature film
Ratatouille. Garofalo affected a pronounced
French accent in the role, highlighted by her character's
soliloquy about being the only female chef in the all-male kitchen.
Politics and religion
Garofalo has been open and outspoken regarding her
left-wing political views, appearing in the past with figures such as
Ralph Nader (whom she supported in
the 2000 election, but opposed in
2004) and
Jello Biafra at various events.
She is an
atheist and has participated in a radio interview by Freethought Radio, a show by the
Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Following the
9/11 terrorist attacks, she was quoted as saying (in the
November 2001 issue of
Commentary), "Who would have thought that I'd be angry on behalf of my country? I'm used to being angry
at my country."
She became more prominent as an activist when she voiced opposition to what became the
2003 Iraq War, appearing on
CNN and
Fox News to discuss it. She said that she was approached by groups such as
MoveOn.org and Win Without War to go on TV, because these organizations say that the networks were not allowing
antiwar voices to be heard. Garofalo and the other celebrities who appeared at the time said they thought their fame could lend attention to that side of the debate. Her appearances on cable news prior to the war garnered her praise from the left and spots on the cover of
Ms. and
Venus magazines. Garofalo has had frequent on-air political disputes with
Bill O'Reilly,
Brian Kilmeade and
Jonah Goldberg.
Prior to the 2003 Iraq War, she took a position on the threat posed by Saddam Hussein. For example, in an interview with
Tony Snow on a
February 23,
2003 episode of
Fox News Sunday Garofalo said of
Saddam Hussein, "Yes, I think lots of people are eager to obtain
weapons of mass destruction. But there's no evidence that he (Hussein) has weapons of mass destruction. There's been no evidence of him testing
nuclear weapons. We have people that are in our face with nuclear weapons. We've got
Iran and
North Korea. We've got a problem with
Pakistan. You know, I don't know what to say about that. There's a whole lot of people that are going nuclear. And I think that Saddam Hussein is actually, with the evidence, the least able to use nuclear weapons and the least obvious offender in that area at this moment."
In
March 2003, she took part in the
Code Pink antiwar march in Washington, D.C. That fall, she served as emcee at several stops on the
Tell Us the Truth tour, a political-themed concert series featuring
Steve Earle,
Billy Bragg,
Tom Morello and others. Throughout the year, Garofalo also actively campaigned for
Howard Dean.
Air America Radio
In late March 2004 she became a co-host for
Air America Radio's new show
The Majority Report alongside
Sam Seder. Garofalo once said getting on the radio was an early career goal. A program advertisement: "The battle to reclaim America from the forces of darkness continues with hosts Janeane Garofalo and Sam Seder." The early days of Air America Radio are chronicled in the
documentary Left of the Dial, which includes a debate between Garofalo and her
conservative father Carmine, who was initially a regular guest on
The Majority Report.
Garofalo was criticised by some of her listeners for comments she made on her
April 28,
2006 show supporting
Scientology-linked New York Rescue Worker's Detoxification Program, a controversial treatment for workers now suffering ailments from 9/11 clean-up efforts in New York City.
On
July 14,
2006, Garofalo announced that she'd be leaving her co-host position on
The Majority Report. Although several reasons for her departure were cited, including her outside acting responsibilities, the relationship between Garofalo and co-host Seder had become increasingly strained, largely due to her support for the Scientology-linked program. Garofalo responded to Seder's opposition to the program, suggesting that he wouldn't have a problem with it if it were linked to
Jews rather than Scientologists. Seder, who is Jewish, and his producer walked off the set in angry protest.
During a
July 19 broadcast, while Seder and Garofalo were interviewing actor
Jason Bateman, Garofalo cited her reason for leaving the show as precipitated by several "unrecoverable" on-air arguments with Seder; she also said that she regards Seder as the better radio broadcaster and therefore a better choice to continue
The Majority Report.
Her last broadcast as co-host of
The Majority Report aired on
July 21,
2006. Since then, she's made a few appearances on
The Sam Seder Show. She called on
October 4,
2006 to discuss the
Mark Foley scandal and on
October 31,
2006 she was in studio where she portrayed
Katherine Harris in a
Halloween skit. Garofalo has continued to portray Harris on the show in numerous appearances following the 2006 elections.
Garofalo made a series of appearances in New York and Los Angeles with
Henry Rollins and former AAR personality
Marc Maron in
April 2007.
Filmography
Movies
Short films
Suspicious (1994)
The Cherry Picker (2000)
Housekeeping (2001)
Junebug and Hurricane (2004)
Documentaries
(1999)
(2003)
(2003)
Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns) (2003)
Left of the Dial (2005), HBO
Television
The Henry Rollins Show
(2003)
TV Nation, NBC, Fox
The Chris Rock Show, HBO
The Larry Sanders Show, HBO (Paula)
The Ben Stiller Show, Fox
Tales of the City, BBC/PBS (Coppola Woman)
"Small Doses", Comedy Central
Saturday Night Live, NBC
Seinfeld, NBC
The Simpsons (Herself)
Newsradio, NBC
Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Cartoon Network
Law & Order, NBC
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Now with Bill Moyers, PBS
The Daily Show
Janeane Garofalo, HBO (1997) (hour-long standup special)
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
The King of Queens, CBS (Trish)
Shorties Watching Shorties, Comedy Central
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, NBC
Primetime Glick, Comedy Central
Mad About You (series finale) (Mabel)
Home Improvement
The Belzer Connection, SciFi Channel
The Minnesota Half-Hour Smile Hour
Pilot Season
Tanner On Tanner, Sundance Channel (Herself)
Stella, Comedy Central
Felicity
Hannity & Colmes, Fox News
Real Time with Bill Maher, HBO
Comic Remix
Jimmy Kimmel Live, ABC
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
Dennis Miller Live
The Sopranos, HBO (Herself)
King of the Hill, Fox
Ellen, ABC
Dinner for Five, IFC
, HBO (1996)
The West Wing, NBC (2005) (Louise Thornton)
In the Life, PBS (2005)
Strangers with Candy (Cassie Pines)
The Adventures of Pete and Pete, Nickelodeon
Two and a Half Men, CBS
24 (2008)
Further Information
Get more info on 'Janeane Garafalo'.
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