Robert Kelly is an American stand-up comedian, actor, radio personality, and podcast host.
| Robert Kelly | |
|---|---|
 Kelly in July 2015 | |
| Born | Medford, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Medium | Stand-up, film, television |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Spouse | Dawn Kelly |
| Children | 1 |
| Website | robertkellylive |
Kelly frequently performs at the Comedy Cellar. He co-hosts The Bonfire on Sirius XM Satellite Radio, often appeared on The Opie and Anthony Show, and has also appeared on Last Call with Carson Daly, Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn and Premium Blend.[1] He rose to fame in part as Louis C.K.'s brother in Louie.
Early life
editKelly was born in Medford, Massachusetts, three miles away from Boston.[2] He was raised in a three-bedroom house with thirteen family members.[3] He is of Irish ancestry, and was raised Catholic.[2][4] Kelly is a self-confessed addict.[5] He began drinking at age ten before he quit alcohol and drugs at fifteen. He has remained sober since.[6][7] Kelly was arrested as a teenager, and spent time in a youth detention center.[8]
Career
editKelly discovered stand-up comedy in 1987 while attending the International Conference of Young People in Alcoholics Anonymous, after which he began to listen to comedy albums.[9] He performed his first stand-up routine on stage in 1991 at a school talent competition as part of a sketch comedy troupe, Al and the Monkeys. His plan was to enroll at Bunker Hill Community College in Boston to study fine arts, but gained interest in pursuing comedy and quit shortly before he was to earn an associate degree.[5] After Doug Bell quit, they were replaced by Dane Cook.[5] His first solo performance took place at Catch a Rising Star in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which his family attended.[8]
Before taking on stand-up comedy full-time, Kelly worked several jobs including a waiter, delivering flowers, and working with juvenile delinquents.[10] After his comedy troupe split in the early 1990s, Kelly did not perform stand-up for two years.[5] Kelly lived in Los Angeles for a short period of time until he was encouraged to return to the East coast by Patrice O'Neal.[11]
In 1998, Kelly was spotted by an agent through his acting work and went to New York City to further his career. [10]
In 2004, Kelly made his first of many appearances on the Opie and Anthony radio show. In 2005, Kelly toured with comedians Dane Cook, Gary Gulman, and Jay Davis on the cross-country tour entitled Tourgasm. After tearing (ACL) and straining (MCL) ligaments in his knee, he managed to finish the tour which began airing on HBO as a comedy documentary series in June 2006.[12] Kelly later toured with Cook and Al Del Bene as part of Cook's Global Thermo Comedy Tour: Isolated Incident.
In 2005 and 2006, Kelly accompanied fellow comedian Colin Quinn to Iraq, where they each performed stand-up for American troops stationed in Baghdad.[13]
Kelly was a part of the New Jersey Bamboozle Festival in 2007 as part of the Pass the Mic Comedy Tour on May 6.[14] Kelly also appeared in the 2008 comedy Ghost Town as the ghost of a fat construction worker. That same year, Kelly also had a small voice part in the 2008 video game Grand Theft Auto IV as Luca Silvestri, a member of the Pegorino crime family and associate of Ray Boccino, who accompanied the main character in a mission.[citation needed]
From 2010 to 2015, Kelly starred as Louis CK's brother Robbie during the first, fourth, and fifth seasons of the FX sitcom Louie. Kelly rated his performance on the show as among the best of his acting career.[11]
Kelly started his podcast You Know What Dude! in April 2010 on RiotCast, a podcast network that he co-owns.[3] It is recorded weekly in a studio at the Comedy Cellar. Kelly described the podcast as "a true comic hang".[8] It regularly features Kelly curating a discussion with three to five comedians, with an emphasis on honesty and "ball-busting". His regular guests include Dan Soder, Joe List, and Luis J. Gomez. The show was produced until September 2014 by Kelly Fastuca, and has since been produced by Chris Scopo.
In 2012, a comedy book by Kelly, Burr, and Joe DeRosa entitled Cheat: A Man's Guide to Infidelity was released.[15] The book followed a short film that the three wrote named Cheat.[16]
On August 8, 2014, Kelly released the hour-long special Live at the Village Underground, directed by Bobcat Goldthwait.[17] It premiered on Comedy Central in January 2015.[18]
Kelly co-starred in Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll for two seasons, beginning in 2015.[19][20] It was his first acting role as a regular cast member, and he received formal drum lessons for the part.[21][22]
Personal life
editKelly and his wife Dawn have one son, Max.[4][10] In 2015, the family moved from New York City to Westchester, New York.[21]
Filmography
editTelevision
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | The Jim Breuer Show | Himself | |
| 2002 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Armando Padilla | Episode: "Vulnerable" |
| 2002–2008 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Jose Lopez / Detective Ray Valdez | 2 episodes |
| 2002 | The Job | Luis Somarriba | Episode: "Vacation" |
| 2003 | Hack | Jim Cooper | Episode: "Death of Innocence" |
| 2004 | Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn | Himself | |
| 2006 | Tourgasm | Himself | 7 episodes |
| 2008 | Comedy Central Presents | Himself | |
| 2009 | Law & Order | Bobby | Episode: "Promote This!" |
| 2010–2015 | Louie | Bobby / Robbie | 8 episodes |
| 2011 | Curb Your Enthusiasm | Heckler #1 | Episode: "Mister Softee" |
| 2012 | NYC 22 | George Moore | 12 episodes |
| 2013 | Inside Amy Schumer | Grunth | Episode: "Unpleasant Truths" |
| 2014 | Sirens | Soda Bottle Guy | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2014 | Robert Kelly: Live at the Village Underground | Himself | Stand-up special; also writer and director |
| 2015 | Nurse Jackie | Cop | Episode: "Clean" |
| 2015 | Maron | Repairman #3 | Episode: "The Node" |
| 2015–2016 | Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll | Bam Bam | 20 episodes |
| 2015 | Benders | EMT Thurber | Episode: "California Here We Come" |
Film
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Last Night at Eddie's | Dillon | |
| 1998 | Enough Already | Basketball Player | |
| 1998 | Dating Games | Kyle | |
| 2003 | 8 Guys | Robert | Short film |
| 2007 | Good Luck Chuck | Airport Security Guard | |
| 2008 | Ghost Town | Construction Worker Ghost | |
| 2008 | What Doesn't Kill You | Gas Man | |
| 2009 | Children of Invention | Torres | |
| 2011 | Cheat | Bobby | Short film |
| 2013 | Staten Island Truffle Hunter | Uncle Paulie | Short film |
| 2015 | Trainwreck | One-Night Stand Guy | |
| 2018 | Unsane | Steve's Partner | |
| 2022 | Fourth of July | Bobby |
Video games
edit| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Grand Theft Auto IV | Luca Silvestri, The Crowd of Liberty City |
| 2013 | Grand Theft Auto V | The Local Population |
Discography
edit- Robert Kelly: Live at the Village Underground (2015)
- For The Love Of Comedy (2013)
- Just the Tip (2008)
- Robert Kelly Live (2003)
References
edit- ^ "cringehumor.net". Archived from the original on August 2, 2012. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
- ^ a b Greenough, Jason (September 6, 2018). "Hey 'You Know What Dude?' Robert Kelly never stopped repping Boston". Vanyaland. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
- ^ a b Ciemcioch, Mark (September 11, 2017). "Robert Kelly talks frankly on comedy and life". Buffalo News. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
- ^ a b Castleberry, Tony (December 27, 2016). "Robert Kelly Part II — Making it personal". Raleigh & Company. Archived from the original on October 11, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
- ^ a b c d Zaino III, Nick A. (August 18, 2006). "Robert Kelly brings comedy close to home". The Boston Globe. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
- ^ Castleberry, Tony (December 26, 2016). "Robert Kelly part 1: Being funny is not just an act". Raleigh & Company. Archived from the original on October 11, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
- ^ Castleberry, Tony (May 17, 2018). "'Sober at 15': Boston comedian talks addiction ahead of Raleigh show". WRAL.com. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
- ^ a b c "Run the Light With Robert Kelly". StandUpTalk. January 8, 2015. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
- ^ Sullivan, James (May 12, 2015). "Kelly's having too much fun". The Boston Globe. p. G5. Retrieved October 12, 2018 – via Highbeam Research.
- ^ a b c Pilot, Jessica (January 9, 2015). "Robert Kelly on Power, Vulnerability and Comedy". Paste. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
- ^ a b Amorosi, A.D. (September 20, 2018). "Interview: Robert Kelly Discusses TV, Comedy and Life". Glamorosi Magazine. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
- ^ "Tourgasm.com". Retrieved July 23, 2016.
- ^ "Military Personnel in the Persian Gulf Treated to Visit by Funnyman Colin Quinn". World News Network. February 28, 2005. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
- ^ "The Bamboozle Festival". Archived from the original on May 11, 2008. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
- ^ Trimboli, Grant (August 28, 2012). "Stand-Up Tuesdays: Robert Kelly". Under the Gun Review. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
- ^ Simcik, Cameron (October 10, 2012). "Comedian Robert Kelly teaches us how to cheat wisely [INTERVIEW]". GuySpeed. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
- ^ Kelly, Robert (August 8, 2014), Robert Kelly: Live at the Village Underground, retrieved July 21, 2016
- ^ Frissore, Angie (January 7, 2015). "Stand-Up Wednesdays: Robert Kelly (Interview)". Under the Gun Review. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
- ^ Pedersen, Erik (April 8, 2015). "FX Sets 'Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll' Premiere, Louis C.K. Special, Other Summer Bows". Deadline. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
- ^ Wagmeister, Elizabeth (September 10, 2016). "FX Cancels Denis Leary's 'Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll'". Variety. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
- ^ a b McCarthy, Sean L. (January 9, 2015). "From Bang-Bang to the Burbs and back again to Bam Bam: Robert Kelly talks Live at the Village Underground, his new Comedy Central hour". The Comic's Comic. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
- ^ Lerman, Ali (June 16, 2014). "You Know What Dude? It's Robert Kelly Live From the Village Underground". The Village Voice. Retrieved October 10, 2018.