Fred Armisen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Fred Armisen | |
| Born | December 4, 1966 Valley Stream, New York |
| Spouse(s) | Sally Timms (divorced) |
| Notable roles | Various Characters on Saturday Night Live Chip Douglas in Crank Yankers |
Fred Armisen (born December 4, 1966 in Valley Stream, New York) is an American musician, comedian, and actor, best known for his work as a castmember on Saturday Night Live. He is of German, Japanese, and Venezuelan descent.
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[edit] Biography
Armisen began his career in 1988 when he moved from New York to Chicago to play drums for the punk rock band, Trenchmouth. In the 1990s, he played background drums with Blue Man Group in Chicago, and in 1997 toured with David Shouse of The Grifters' sideband, Those Bastard Souls, which also featured The Flaming Lips' Steven Drozd.
Armisen's transition from music to comedy occurred with the 1998 short film Fred Armisen’s Guide to Music and South by Southwest. The film featured Armisen's trip to the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas, where he captured reactions while posing as a music journalist. After this, Armisen began doing stand-up comedy. In 2002, he joined the cast of Saturday Night Live as a featured player. In the 2004 season, he was promoted to a repertory cast member. On SNL, he is noted for hardly ever breaking character. Also in 2004, he appeared in minor but notable roles in the films Eurotrip and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and a European neighbor named Gustave in Deck the Halls
As of 2007, Armisen continues to star on Saturday Night Live. This year, he can be seen in a supporting role in the comedy The Ex and in a starring role in the comedy Quebec.
Throughout his comedic rise Armisen has maintained substantial ties with music. For example, Armisen has directed music videos for bands like The Helio Sequence. Armisen also had a memorable role in the Wilco documentary I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, which featured footage from his stint opening for frontman Jeff Tweedy's 2001 solo tour. He also appeared in video segments on Blue Man Group's How to Be a Megastar Tour 2.0.[1] Armisen occasionally writes for Pitchfork Media, and recently interviewed Cat Power for them.[2]
[edit] Saturday Night Live
[edit] Notable Characters
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[edit] Notable Impressions
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[edit] Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
| 2007 | Quebec | ||
| 2007 | The Ex | Manny | |
| 2006 | Deck the Halls | Gustave | |
| 2006 | Tenacious D in: The Pick of Destiny | Security Guard #2 | |
| 2006 | Griffin & Phoenix | ||
| 2006 | Kiss Me Again | Dr. Szabo | |
| 2005 | Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo | Frenchman | Uncredited |
| 2005 | Looking for a Thrill: An Anthology of Inspiration | Himself | Video |
| 2004 | Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie | Tino | Video |
| 2004 | Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy | Tino | |
| 2004 | EuroTrip | Creepy Italian Guy | |
| 2003 | Frank International Film Festival | Frank | Short film, video |
| 2003 | Melvin Goes to Dinner | Vesa | |
| 2002 | Like Mike | New Age Dad | |
| 2002 | I Am Trying to Break Your Heart | Himself | |
| 1998 | Guide to Music and South by Southwest | Various Characters | Short film, also writer and director |
[edit] Television Work
| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
| 2006 | Freak Show | Dane Cheff | Guest star, voice only, episode: "Elections" |
| 2006 | Tom Goes to the Mayor | Phillip Priest/Serpent Expert | Guest star, voice only, episode: "Jeffy the Sea Serpent" |
| 2006 | Squidbillies | Jesus | Guest star, voice only, episode: "Giant Foam Dickhat Trouble" |
| 2005 | Squidbillies | Miguel | Guest star, voice only, episode: "Office Politics Trouble" |
| 2005 | Squidbillies | Miguel | Guest star, voice only, episode: "Take This Job and Love It" |
| 2004 | 12:21 | Jeremy | Television special |
| 2004 | Aqua Teen Hunger Force | Poncho | Guest star, voice only, episode: "Hypno-Germ" |
| 2003-present | Crank Yankers | Chip Douglas | Guest star, multiple episodes |
| 2002-Present | Saturday Night Live | Various Characters | Series regular |
| 2002 | Late World with Zach | Various Characters | Guest star, multiple episodes |
| 2002 | Next! | Various Characters | Series regular, failed television pilot |
| 2001 | Late Friday | Fericito | Guest star, episode: "Episode #1.12" |
| 2001 | Late Friday | Father Fred | Guest star, episode: "Episode 1.8" |
[edit] Discography with the band Trenchmouth
| Year | Title |
| 1996 | The Broadcasting System |
| 1994 | Trenchmouth Vs. the Light of the Sun |
| 1993 | Inside the Future |
| 1991 | Construction of New Action: Volume 1: First There Was Movement |
[edit] Trivia
- Armisen is the second Latin-American Saturday Night Live castmember, after Horatio Sanz.
- Armisen is also the second Asian-American castmember of SNL after Rob Schneider who is part Filipino.
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Fred Armisen at the Internet Movie Database
- Fred Armisen at NNDB
- Fred Armisen at MySpace
- Episode 1 of DOS & DON'Ts & Friends on VBS
- Episode 2 of DOS & DON'Ts & Friends on VBS
- Episode 3 of DOS & DON'Ts & Friends on VBS
- Episode 4 of DOS & DON'Ts & Friends on VBS
