Demetri Martin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Demetri Martin | |
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 Demetri Martin in 2007 |
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| Born | May 25, 1973 New York City, New York, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Genres | Observational comedy, surreal comedy |
| Influences | Steven Wright, Eddie Izzard, Mitch Hedberg, Emo Philips |
| Notable works and roles | Demetri Martin. Person.; Correspondent on The Daily Show |
| Website | demetrimartin.com |
Demetrios Evan Martin (born May 25, 1973 in New York City, New York) is an Emmy Award-nominated and Perrier comedy award winning American comedian, actor, musician, and writer. Martin is best known for his work as a stand-up comedian and as a contributor on The Daily Show.
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[edit] Personal life
Martin's father, Dean, was a Greek Orthodox priest and his mother Lillian is a Greek American nutritionist. He was raised in Toms River, New Jersey where his family ran a diner. Martin attended Yale University and then New York University School of Law on a full scholarship. Despite objections from his family, he dropped out a year before graduation to pursue a career in comedy. Regarding the decision, Martin has said:
| “ | It’s weird to make a decision where everyone in your life disapproves, pretty vocally and directly. They said, "You've got one year left. Just do it." I had a full scholarship so I didn’t have to pay for it. They asked, "Why don’t you just get the degree so you can have it?" And I said, "You don’t understand. I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do and now I know. I have the answer and it’s dumb to waste any more time.[1] | ” |
He is also known for showing his ambidextrous talents in performances.[2] His hobbies include constructing palindromes[3].
[edit] Career
In 2001, Martin caught his first big break in stand-up comedy when he appeared on Comedy Central's stand-up showcase Premium Blend. In 2003 he won the Perrier Comedy Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with his show If I....[4] The show was turned into a British television special in 2004.
From 2003 to 2004, Martin was a writer for Late Night with Conan O'Brien.[5] In 2004, Martin had his own Comedy Central Presents stand-up special. His special was divided into three parts. In the first, he performed in traditional stand-up comedy fashion. In the second segment, he used humorous drawings as visual aids, which would serve either as the punchline or a background. During the third segment, he played a guitar and put on a pseudo-play where he would strum his guitar while talking; some of his comedian friends dressed as fairies and dragons and acted according to the story he was telling, detailing the magical land where the jokes he told came from. Martin's mother and grandmother also appeared.
Since late 2005, he has been credited as a contributor on The Daily Show, on which he hosts a segment called "Trendspotting." He has used this segment to talk about so-called hip trends among youth such as hookahs, wine, guerilla marketing and Xbox 360. A piece about social networking featured his profile on MySpace.[6] On March 22, 2007, Demetri made another appearance on The Daily Show talking about the Viacom lawsuit against Google and YouTube.
Martin has brought his mother and grandmother into many of his sketches and background commentary. Other family members used to help create schemes are his Uncle Johnny and his sister Christene.[citation needed]
Martin appeared at the 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe in a show called These Are Jokes. Also in 2005, he was featured at the intimate comedy showcase Invite Them Up and the subsequent best of CD and DVD collection.[citation needed] Martin hosted the Across the Narrows music festival in Coney Island on October 1 and October 2, 2005.
He has recorded a comedy CD/DVD entitled These Are Jokes, which was released on September 26, 2006. This album also features Saturday Night Live member and personal friend Will Forte on the track "Personal Information Waltz." He also appeared at the 2006 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, where he won the Barry Award (named for Barry "Dame Edna Everage" Humphries), the festival's top prize.[citation needed]
He has cited comedian Steven Wright as an important influence. Both use deadpan one-liners in their acts.[7]
Recently, Martin signed a deal with Microsoft to write advertisements for Windows Vista in a campaign called "Clearification," which features a series of six online mini-episodes based on Martin's fictional adventures as an advanced person in the Institute for Advanced Personhood, as well as various thoughts spoken by an animated Martin.
On January 14, 2007, Martin's one hour Comedy Central Special Demetri Martin. Person. premiered. The show, sponsored entirely by Microsoft, also included many of the Clearification mini-episodes featuring Martin for the new Microsoft Windows Vista.
Demetri returned to The Daily Show on March 22, 2007, as the new Youth Correspondent, calling his segment "Professional Important News with Demetri Martin". He recently starred in a Fountains of Wayne music video for "Someone to Love" as Seth Shapiro, a character in the song.[8] He also starred in the video for the new Travis single "Selfish Jean" where he wears multiple t-shirts with lyrics written on them[9].
On September 2, 2007, Martin appeared on the season finale of the HBO series Flight of the Conchords. He appeared as a keytar player named Demetri.[10]
[edit] Future plans
Martin sold his movie concept Will to DreamWorks; he is expected to play a key supporting role.[11] He will play the lead in the film Moon People, a pitch which he sold to Columbia Pictures. He will also be appearing in the upcoming film Kids in America, in which he will play a Goldman Sachs employee.
According to his website, Martin is in the process of publishing a book of drawings.
Jon Stewart's Busboy Productions is also slated to air a new TV series featuring Martin titled Important Things with Demetri Martin, premiering in the "second half of 2008".[12]
According to Variety [13], Ang Lee has cast him as Elliot Tiber in his upcoming movie Taking Woodstock, which will be released in 2009.
[edit] Discography
- Invite Them Up (2005)
- These Are Jokes (2006)
- Demetri Martin. Person. (2007)
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
| 2009 | Taking Woodstock | Elliot Tiber | lead role |
| 2009 | Moon People | lead role, also writer | |
| 2008 | Will | Writer | |
| 2008 | Kids in America | Goldman Sachs Employee | supporting role |
| 2007 | Flight of the Conchords (TV series) | Demetri | Season 1, Episode 12 |
| 2004 | 12:21 | Himself | short film, also writer |
| 2003 | If I | Himself | British television special, also writer |
| 2002 | Analyze That | Personal Assistant | mistakenly credited as "Demitri Martin" |
[edit] Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | For | Category | Result | Other notes |
| 2006 | Barry Award | Dr. Earnest Parrot Presents Demetri Martin | Won | Award for best show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival | |
| 2005 | Writers Guild of America Award | Late Night with Conan O'Brien | Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) - Series | Won | Shared with Mike Sweeney (head writer), Chris Albers, Jose Arroyo, Andy Blitz, Kevin Dorff, Daniel J. Goor, Michael Gordon, Brian Kiley, Michael Koman, Brian McCann, Guy Nicolucci, Conan O'Brien, Allison Silverman, Robert Smigel, Brian Stack, Andrew Weinberg |
| 2004 | Emmy Awards | Late Night with Conan O'Brien | Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Program | Nominated | Shared with Mike Sweeney (head writer), Chris Albers, Jose Arroyo, Andy Blitz, Kevin Dorff, Daniel J. Goor, Michael Gordon, Brian Kiley, Michael Koman, Brian McCann, Guy Nicolucci, Conan O'Brien, Allison Silverman, Robert Smigel, Brian Stack, Andrew Weinberg |
| 2003 | Perrier Comedy Award | If I... | Won | At the Edinburgh Fringe Festival |
[edit] References
- ^ Dremousis, Litsa. "Interview with Demetri Martin", The Believer. Retrieved on 2007-02-24.
- ^ Silverman, Craig. "Arts and Crafts", Hour.ca, 2006-06-13. Retrieved on 2007-02-24.
- ^ O'Neal, Sean. "Demetri Martin", The Onion AV Club, 2006-11-29. Retrieved on 2007-02-24.
- ^ Martin, Demetri. "Diary: A Weeklong Electronic Journal", Slate, 2004-05-25. Retrieved on 2007-02-24.
- ^ Demetri Martin Bio. Comedy Central. Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
- ^ News Team: Demetri Martin. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Comedy Central. Retrieved on 2007-02-24.
- ^ Huang, Keith. "Word Games", Gelf Magazine, 2005-05-11. Retrieved on 2007-02-24.
- ^ youtube
- ^ youtube
- ^ "The Flight of the Conchords" The Third Conchord (2007) - Full cast and crew
- ^ Gardner, Chris. "'Will' fills D'Works bill"", Variety, 2006-03-27. Retrieved on 2007-02-24.
- ^ ""Jon Stewart Spins Off Demetri Martin"", Zap2It, 2007-10-03. Retrieved on 2007-10-04.
- ^ ""Demetri Martin heads to 'Woodstock'"", Variety, 2008-05-01.
[edit] External links
[edit] Official sites
[edit] Interviews
- Interview from November, 2006, in Onion AV Club
- Interview from October 2006, in The DePaulia
- Article, in The Scotsman
- Article, in Gelf Magazine
- Interview by Brian M. Palmer
- MP3 Audio Interview on The Sound of Young America public radio show and podcast
- Interview From October 2005
- Interview Believer Mag
- New Jersey Monthly Magazine
- Fresh Air, NPR.org
[edit] Other sites
- Demetri Martin at the Internet Movie Database
- Demetri Martin Fan Site
- Demetri Martin Windows Vista Collaboration
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