Rob Bartlett

Robert James Bartlett (born May 18, 1957) is a comedian, actor,^[1] impressionist, and writer who gained widespread fame as a comedian on the radio show Imus in the Morning.^[2]

Imus In The Morning

Bartlett has been appearing on the "Imus" show, beginning on New York's WFAN-AM (660) radio, since the late 1980s, and now on WABC-AM (770) radio. His earlier characters included Arnold Schwarzenegger, Manuel Antonio Noriega, and fictional Japanese comedian "Buddy" Miyagi.^[3] In the years on the show, some of his characters included: The Godfather, Andrew Dice Clay, Dr. Phil McGraw, Rush Limbaugh, Paula Deen, Larry King, Bill Clinton, Gary Busey, Hulk Hogan and Brian Wilson (of the Beach Boys). Not all of his characters consist of celebrity caricatures. One long-running recurring character is named Blind Mississippi White Boy Pig Feets Dupris, an old blues musician from Louisiana. "Feets" employs a harmonica to accompany his vocals on the "Imus" show. He often takes credit for writing songs or for having instituted, decades ago, innovations in American popular music that have been widely attributed in most music histories to African-American rhythm & blues, jazz and blues musicians.

Bartlett writes all the material he performs on the Imus show, as well as the lyrics to all of the song parodies the show has become famous for over the years.^[4] The lyrics often comment on current news items or societal phenomena. For example, the Bartlett character "Rush Limbaugh" sometimes expresses his commentary in song. An example from the years of the Clinton Administration was the "Limbaugh" criticism of the alleged ultra-feminist or unfeminine tendencies of First Lady Hillary Clinton in "The First Lady is a Tramp", a parody of Frank Sinatra's version of "The Lady is a Tramp". Somewhat later came another example of a "Limbaugh" song, a holiday parody of the Burl Ives version of "A Holly Jolly Christmas".

Career

Bartlett started in stand-up comedy at Richard M. Dixon's White House Inn, a talent showcase club on Long Island. While working there, he met Eddie Murphy, and together formed two-thirds of the improvisational trio The Identical Triplets. After the two separated, he worked at the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Tropicana Casino & Resort Atlantic City, Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort Casino. He also appeared as a stand up comedian on the MTV Half Hour Comedy Hour, Standup Spotlight on VH1 and on Late Night with David Letterman and Conan O'Brien. He wrote and starred in the Public Television special, Rob Bartlett's Not For Profit T.V. Special, produced by Connecticut Public Television (CPTV), and was nominated for five Emmy Awards and won for Best Writing and Best Entertainment Program.^[5]

For a brief stint in 1993, Bartlett was one of the three original hosts of the World Wrestling Federation's Monday Night Raw, along with Randy 'Macho Man' Savage, and Vince McMahon. His final appearance on the professional wrestling program was April 19, 1993.^[6] On April 5, edition of Raw, Bartlett claimed (via a telephone call made by McMahon, because of Bartlett wasn't showing up to the show) that McMahon did pay Bartlett in pounds, and that Bartlett didn't have more money. McMahon cut out the phone call shortly thereafter.

Bartlett is also an accomplished stage actor.^[7] He made his Broadway debut in More to Love, which he wrote and starred in, with Dana Reeve and Joyce Van Patten.^[8] In 1999 he starred in Tabletop, for which he received a Drama Desk Award. His other roles include Amos Hart in Chicago the Musical, Herman in Sweet Charity with Christina Applegate, originated the role of Mr. Mushnik in the Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors,^[7] and most recently played Speed in the Nathan Lane/Matthew Broderick revival of Neil Simon's The Odd Couple. On television, in addition to a number of national commercials, he had a recurring role as Defense Attorney Milton Schoenfeld in Law and Order: SVU, and most recently, has guest starred on Ugly Betty as Troy, the security guard. He was the voice of Marty the Dog in the hit animated children's show Kenny the Shark. His film roles include Table One, Spin the Bottle, The Sex O'Clock News and voiced Boss Baker Bunny in the animated films and commercials.

In 2011, Bartlett returned to Broadway in the revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, playing the roles of Twimble and Wally Womper.^[9]

Bartlett continues to make appearances in venues throughout the Northeastern United States.^{[citation needed]}

Health

Bartlett fell ill prior to the August 25, 2008 broadcast of Imus in the Morning when he lost consciousness and was taken to St. Vincent's Hospital. He was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism, with a blood clot that lodged between both lungs after having passed through his heart. After his recovery, he became a print spokesperson for the hospital, where his face can be seen on posters throughout New York City.^[10] In 1971, he was diagnosed with Crohn's disease.^[11]

Personal

Bartlett was born May 18, 1957, in Brooklyn, New York). He lives on Long Island with his wife Sharon and their three sons.^[12]

References

External links

• Rob Bartlett at the Internet Movie Database
• Rob Bartlett at AllRovi
• Rob Bartlett's official website
• Biography
• TV.com