Ari Shaffir American comedian, actor, podcaster, writer and producer Date of Birth: 12.02.1974 Country: USA

1. Early Life
2. Stand-Up Career
3. "This Is Not Happening" and Podcasts
4. Stand-Up Specials and Commercials
5. Controversy

Early Life

Ari David Shaffir was born to a Romanian Jewish family in New York City. His father was a Holocaust survivor. The family observed Conservative Jewish customs until Ari was nine when they relocated to Maryland. There, his parents adopted Orthodox Jewish beliefs. As a teenager, Shaffir worked at Arlington National Cemetery. He attended high school in Rockville, Maryland. After spending two years in a yeshiva in Jerusalem, Shaffir transferred to the University of Maryland, graduating in 1999 with a degree in English. Shaffir played on the NCAA University Golf Team in 1995 and claims to have had the lowest-ever NCAA golf ranking.

Stand-Up Career

Shaffir's first and only on-stage comedy performance prior to moving to Los Angeles occurred in his early twenties at a "sporty comedy room in Northern Virginia." After graduating college, Shaffir moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in stand-up comedy. He began answering phones at The Comedy Store, which led to booth and "door" positions until owner Mitzi Shore made him a paid regular four and a half years later. Comedy influences on his early career include watching stand-up specials on television and comedians on "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson. Shaffir credits Bill Burr as his favorite living comedian. In 2012, Shaffir became a bi-coastal resident, living in both Los Angeles and New York City, and by 2015, became a full-time New York resident.

"This Is Not Happening" and Podcasts

Shaffir first gained mainstream recognition with the viral web series "The Amazing Racist." He became a regular Joe Rogan opener in the late 2000s and toured with Rogan and fellow comedians Joey Diaz, Duncan Trussell, Tom Segura, Bryan Redban, and Eddie Bravo. In 2009, he performed at the Montreal Comedy Festival as part of The Nasty Show. The following year, he created, produced, and hosted the monthly live show "This Is Not Happening" with Eric Abrams, a stand-up comedy show where comedians each tell real stories on a given theme. The show became a staple at comedy festivals, debuted as a web series in 2013, and premiered on Comedy Central in January 2015. Shaffir exited the show as producer and host in 2017 after selling his third special, "Double Negative," to Netflix instead of Comedy Central. He was replaced by Roy Wood Jr. as host.

In 2010, Shaffir appeared on the 3rd episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience," his first of 59 appearances on the podcast. In 2011, Shaffir launched his own podcast, "Skeptic Tank." In most episodes, Shaffir chooses a topic which his guests (primarily comedians) are invited to discuss as "experts." While the topics are often comedic, serious issues such as mental health, suicide, rape, and prison have also been discussed. Every 50th episode features the comedy team Danish & O'Neill as guests. In 2013, Shaffir co-hosted the sports podcast "Punch Drunk Sports" with fellow comedians Sam Tripoli and Jason Thibodeaux. His podcast appearances have become less frequent since his permanent relocation to the East Coast.

Stand-Up Specials and Commercials

Shaffir released his debut stand-up album, "Revenge for the Holocaust," in 2012, which reached number one on the iTunes and Amazon comedy charts in its first week. In 2013, he produced his first television special, "Passive Aggressive," for Chill.com. In 2015, his second special, "Paid Regular," premiered on Comedy Central the same week as "This Is Not Happening" premiered on the same network. In 2017, Netflix released two 45-minute specials under the "Double Negative" concept; the first was titled "Children" and the second was "Adulthood." As of 2019, he tours with the "Ari Shaffir: Jew" show, which is available on YouTube. He has performed both "Double Negative" and "Ari Shaffir: Jew" at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Shaffir has supplemented his income for several years as a commercial actor, appearing in ads for Coke Zero, Subway, Dominos, and Bud Light. He made his feature film debut in the comedy "Keeping Up with the Joneses" (2016). As of 2017, Shaffir claims to have no interest in a career that would distract him from stand-up comedy.

Controversy

In the wake of Kobe Bryant's death, Shaffir posted a video on his Twitter feed that generated controversy. "Kobe Bryant died 23 years too late today," Shaffir says in the video. "He got away with rape because all the Hollywood liberals who attack comedy enjoy rooting for the Lakers more than they despise rape. Big ups to the hero who forgot to gas up his chopper. I hate the Lakers. What a great day." The New York comedy club where Shaffir was scheduled to perform canceled his appearance after receiving threatening phone calls.