Jim Florentine
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| Jim Florentine | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 18, 1964 |
| Medium | Stand up comedy, film, television, Radio |
| Nationality | American |
| Years active | 1989-present |
| Genres | Stand-up comedy |
| Website | JimFlorentine.com |
| Emmy Awards | |
| Outstanding Studio Show - Weekly: HBO's "Inside the NFL" (Feature Producers) | |
Jim Florentine (August 18, 1964) is an American comedian best known for his characters "Special Ed" and "Bobby Fletcher" created for a series of prank phone calls featured on the Comedy Central television show Crank Yankers. He is also a frequent guest on The Howard Stern Show and a co-host of Miserable Men on Sirius Satellite Radio's Howard 101 with the Reverend Bob Levy and Shuli. He was also a frequent guest on the Kidd Chris Show on 94.1 WYSP Philadelphia. He also had a small role as the redneck radio host "Bobbie Ray" in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories.
Florentine has a series of prank call CDs known as Terrorizing Telemarketers Volumes 1-4.[1] The CDs feature a series of recorded telephone conversations, often with Florentine receiving calls from telemarketers, wherein he turns the tables on often aggressive salespeople by being deliberately difficult and creating awkward situations.
On more than one occasion, Florentine has had police show up at his home because the victims of his pranks, believing the fictitious and often heinous scenarios he presents (including allusions to murder and conducting home abortions), traced the calls and contacted authorities.
Florentine has recently come out with a series on comedycentral.com's "Motherload" called "Meet the Creeps." This show is very similar and hugely based on his two DVDs of the same name available exclusively through his website.
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[edit] Personal life
[edit] Past
During a January 2, 2007, segment of The Howard Stern Show, comedian and Stern cast member Artie Lange related the news that Florentine's 30-year-old on-again/off-again girlfriend Jade had died suddenly at the end of 2006; Florentine had discovered her body in the residence the couple shared. It was suggested the dead woman had struggled with psychological issues for many years and "now her pain is over," but no further details emerged during the broadcast. [2] Florentine had discussed his therapy and changes in his personal life including his relationship with her during his December 5, 2006 Stern show appearance. The two were no longer an intimate couple but Florentine was remaining close friends with her and trying to help her progress through her own personal problems.[3] Before this incident Florentine claimed on the show that she had been molested as a child.[4] Jim made an appearance on the August 15, 2007 broadcast of the Howard Stern Show and spoke about his girlfriend's death. Jade committed suicide by taking pills and alcohol the night she died. Jim said that the night of the suicide, he received a phone call from Jade. However, when the call came, Jim was performing on stage. He rushed home after listening to the voicemail Jade left, but it was too late. Jim found Jade and a note she had left. Because of this experience, Jim has become active in suicide-related charities and suicide support groups.
[edit] Current
On the August 15 "Stern Show" appearance, Jim asked Stern co-host Robin Quivers on a date, which she accepted. Robin stated she has not had sex since she left Mr. X. Jim said he would be able to handle Robin's "whole package" and would take her to Nobu, a popular New York City restaurant. Howard stated that he thought it would take Jim at least three dates before he would get to have intercourse with Robin. On August 16, Stern Show cast member and friend of Florentine Artie Lange, was asked by Howard if he thought Jim's date request was genuine or just part of an act. Artie stated that after talking to Jim privately, in his opinion, Jim was serious. Robin then confirmed she talked to Jim after the show and told him to call her. She has since been hesitant to discuss details on the air and particularly with the Howard 100 News staff.
As of September 26, 2007, a confirmed date with Robin had taken place as stated by Quivers on the Howard Stern Show. It was also revealed that the relationship status on Florentine's MySpace page had been changed from "Single" to "In A Relationship." Robin acknowledged that she has dated Jim, but has refused to say whether she's slept with, or even kissed him. The next day, Howard and Artie jokingly referred to the couple as "Quiver-tine" and later "Quarantine" (as a spoof of celebrity couple nicknames "Bennifer," "Brangelina," "TomKat," etc.).
On October 18, 2007, Robin Quivers confirmed on the Stern show that a second date with Jim Florentine had taken place. The couple attended a Joan Rivers performance in New York City. Apparently, no intercourse occurred at this point, however many Stern fans have speculated that intercourse happened almost immediately.
On November 26, 2007, under direct questioning, Quivers admitted that she saw Jim over the Thanksgiving break “maybe twice.” Howard said he would “bet the farm” that Robin has had sex with Jim by now. Artie Lange claimed he was with Jim in Vegas for half of the week, which meant Robin saw Jim twice over the course of three to four days. Howard thought that seeing one another twice in that amount of time meant that the couple's relationship was more intense than originally thought (and probably sexual), but Robin continued to deny it.
On January 31, 2008, Robin contemplated breaking up with Florentine after Steve Langford from the Howard 100 News Team broke a story on air claiming that Florentine's talent agency has been advertising Florentine as one-half of "Quivertine" on the Howard Stern Show. She viewed this as an attempt to trade on her name without her knowledge or consent. Quivers stated that if she found out Florentine had anything to do with the ad, she would break up with him. Howard commented that Robin appeared furious; she replied that "sad" was a better term.
On March 25, 2008, Florentine appeared on the Howard Stern Show, and along with Quivers, admitted that they have in fact had sex and are in an "exclusive relationship".
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- Terrorizing Telemarketers I (CD)
- Terrorizing Telemarketers II (CD)
- Terrorizing Telemarketers III (CD)
- Terrorizing Telemarketers IV (CD)
- Jim Florentine LIVE: GET THE KIDS OUT OF THE ROOM (CD)
- Anger is a Gift (CD)
[edit] DVDs
- meet the creeps volume 1 (DVD)
- meet the creeps volume 2 (DVD)
[edit] Facts
- He shared an apartment with fellow comic Jim Norton up until 2000.
- Occasionally performs with The Killers of Comedy Tour.
- Jim Florentine was the original voice of The Bear in the Big Blue House from The Disney Channel.
[edit] References
- ^ Reviews
- ^ Kaplan, Jason; Thomas Panasci. "The Rundown", The Howard Stern Show, 2007-01-02, pp. 1. Retrieved on 2007-02-11.
- ^ Kaplan, Jason; Thomas Panasci. "The Rundown", The Howard Stern Show, 2006-12-05, pp. 1. Retrieved on 2007-02-11.
- ^ Kaplan, Jason; Thomas Panasci. "The Rundown", The Howard Stern Show, 2006-12-05, pp. 1. Retrieved on 2007-02-11.
[edit] External links
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