Brooks Wheelan
| Brooks Wheelan | |
|---|---|
 Wheelan in 2012 | |
| Born |
Brooks Patrick Wheelan August 21, 1986 Cedar Rapids, Iowa, U.S.[1] |
Brooks Patrick Wheelan (born August 21, 1986) is an American stand-up comedian who was most recently a cast member on Saturday Night Live for the 2013–2014 season. Wheelan was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and his hometown is Manchester, Iowa. He graduated from the University of Iowa in 2009 with a biomedical engineering degree.[2]
Life and career
Wheelan was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and raised in Manchester, Iowa, to parents Chris and Jim Wheelan.[3] Growing up, Wheelan's interest mostly focused on science and mathematics. Wheelan performed regularly in Iowa City, Iowa during his college years. He had a regular stint at the Summit, a local bar popular with underage drinkers.[4][5] Wheelan's notable performances include opening up for Iowa City post-rock band Skull Fuck. After graduating from college, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue stand-up comedy while also working as a biomedical engineer. In 2013, Wheelan was hired to write for Saturday Night Live for the 2013–2014 season and then made a cast member the week before the season started.[6][7] Prior to joining SNL, Wheelan performed stand-up comedy in Los Angeles while he held a job as a biomedical test engineer, testing on eyes and heart valves.[7] He started out performing stand-up comedy in his late teens in Iowa, then went to Kansas City and Chicago, before eventually moving to Los Angeles where he began to pursue stand-up comedy full-time. After being fired from Saturday Night Live Wheelan embarked on a standup tour entitled 'Brooks Wheelan Falls Back On Standup Comedy (sorta) Tour', in reference to his firing. As part of his promotion for the tour he would perform on Conan.
Wheelan's debut stand-up comedy album, This is Cool, Right? was released on January 27, 2015[8] to positive reviews. [9] As part of the promotion for the record, Wheelan appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers.
Weekend Update
Wheelan was a recurring guest on SNL 's Weekend Update, where he used his stand-up stories as public service announcements against irresponsible behavior. On the Bruce Willis/Katy Perry episode, the commentary centered on getting tattoos that have no meaning, with Wheelan showing off three tattoos he got in his youth: a tribal stamp on his left arm meant to look like the one Anthony Kiedis from Red Hot Chili Peppers has, a nautical star on his right arm, and a weird oceanscape he got on his side (which came from a doodle he drew in his freshman year of high school, and, to him, doesn't make sense because he grew up in Iowa, which isn't a coastal state). On the Anna Kendrick/Pharrell Williams episode, the commentary centered on the dangers of drinking alcohol, and the story of how his friends put butter down his pants while he was blacked out drunk and Wheelan worrying that he was dying of an undiscovered sexually-transmitted disease.
On July 14, 2014, Wheelan announced that he was no longer a cast member of Saturday Night Live via Twitter, stating: "FIRED FROM NEW YORK IT'S SATURDAY NIGHT!"[10]
Impressions On SNL
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | A Guy Walks Into a Bar | Drunk | One Episode |
| 2013-2014 | Saturday Night Live | Himself/Various Roles | Also a writer |
| 2015 | Girls | Bryce | Season 4, Episode 2 "Triggering" |
References
- ↑ Klingseis, Katherine (13 October 2013). "Comedian pokes fun at his tattoos, Iowa upbringing on ‘Saturday Night Live’". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
- ↑ Ta, Linh (27 September 2013). "Manchester native named to new 'SNL' cast". Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
- ↑ Morain, Michael (18 September 2013). "Native Iowan among new cast this season on 'SNL'". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
- ↑ Singh, Arashdeep (12 September 2014). "Interview: Brooks Wheelan on the LA comedy scene, SNL and his return to Iowa City". Little Village. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
- ↑ Schmidt, Stephen (7 May 2013). "Three Iowa City Bars Fail Alcohol Compliance Checks". Patch. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
- ↑ Evans, Bradford (26 August 2013). "Standup Brooks Wheelan Hired to Write for 'SNL'". Splitsider. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Carter, Bill (15 September 2013). "New Course for ‘Weekend Update,’ and All of ‘SNL’". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
- ↑ "Cover art for my first comedy album, "This is cool, right?" Pick it up JANUARY 27, 2015". Twitter.
- ↑ Fowle, Kyle (12 February 2015). "Brooks Wheelan goes absurd, honest on debut album This Is Cool, Right?". A.V. Club. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
- ↑ Barsanti, Sam (14 July 2014). "Saturday Night Live has fired Brooks Wheelan". A.V. Club. Retrieved 23 December 2014.