Andy Kindler
Standup's ultimate insider, pausing his sets to critique his own punchlines.
3 specials · 2006–2017
Start with State of the Industry Address: Just for Laughs 1996, the breakout (2017 · Comedy Dynamics)
Get an email when there's a new special. You'll need a Google account.
He paces the stage with nervous energy, adjusting the microphone cord and scanning the room for signs of fatigue. An Andy Kindler set is a live negotiation of how the show is going. He will deliver a punchline, pause to gauge the room, and spend three minutes explaining why the joke was structurally unsound and why the crowd was right not to laugh. The written material serves as a jumping-off point for him to complain about his delivery.
Specials
-
Coming To The Stage - Season 5
Andy Kindler hosts an emerging comic showcase with dry reluctance.
Comedy Dynamics · 2 h 5 min
-
State of the Industry Address: Just for Laughs 1996
Andy Kindler's inaugural 1996 roast of the comedy business.
Comedy Dynamics · Album
On stage
For decades, he has been the comedy industry’s internal complaint department. His skepticism of showmanship makes him the comic other comedians watch to stay honest. His annual State of the Industry address at the Montreal Just For Laughs festival was a mandatory gathering, an hour where he tore into the biggest names in the business while mocking his own lack of mainstream success.
He commits entirely to the meta-joke, sometimes stringing together cliches just to act offended by his own laziness. The risk is that the audience has to care about the mechanics of standup to enjoy the deconstruction. When a crowd wants standard setups, his refusal to provide them can cause a standoff. But when a room follows his train of thought, the unraveling is the point. He makes the act of complaining about a joke far more entertaining than simply telling one.
He made dozens of appearances on David Letterman’s late-night programs, where his self-awareness fit perfectly with Letterman’s irony. He also channels his dry exasperation into animation as Mort the mortician on Bob’s Burgers.
Turning points
-
1996–present
Annual Just for Laughs Address
Kindler established a comedy institution by delivering his biting annual State of the Industry address at Montreal's Just for Laughs festival, breaking unwritten rules by roasting fellow comedians.
-
Whoopi Goldberg Funny Bounty Offer
Kindler famously offered a satirical $1 million cash reward to anyone capable of providing video proof of Whoopi Goldberg being funny.
-
First Live Hologram Stand-Up Performance
Kindler became the first comedian in history to perform a live stand-up set via hologram.
At a glance
- Born
- , New York City, New York
- On stage
- since 1984
- Style
- alternative comedy, satire, meta comedy, observational
- Breakout
- State of the Industry Address: Just for Laughs 1996
- Topics
- Elsewhere
- Website, Wikipedia
Fans also like
-
Marc Maron
Both emerged through the alternative comedy movement, sharing a raw, anxiety-driven comedic focus and collaborating directly on Maron's eponymous IFC show.
-
Patton OswaltA prominent fellow alternative comedy peer who publicly champions Kindler's deconstructive, self-lacerating standup technique.
Podcasts
-
Thought Spiral · co-host
Andy Kindler and J. Elvis Weinstein convene weekly to discuss comedy and examine their personal anxieties while attempting to solve the problems of the world.
Also on screen
- 1996–2005
- Everybody Loves Raymond
- 2001–2002
- Raising Dad
- 2009–2012
- Wizards of Waverly Place
- 2011–present
- Bob's Burgers
- 2013–2016
- Maron
A clip to start with
Andy Kindler Stand Up - 2013