Sarah Kate Silverman
(born December 1, 1970) is an American comedienne, writer, actress, singer, and musician. Although usually credited as Sarah Silverman,
she is sometimes credited by her nickname, Big S.
[1] Her satirical comedy addresses social taboos and controversial topics such as racism, sexism, and religion.
She often performs her act as a caricature of a Jewish-American princess, mocking bigotry and stereotypes of ethnic groups and religious denominations, by endorsing them in an ironic fashion. [2] [3] [4]
Silverman was first noticed as a writer and occasional performer on Saturday Night Live
. She now stars in and produces The Sarah Silverman Program
, which debuted February 1, 2007, on Comedy Central. [5]
|
SARAH SILVERMAN TICKETS
EVENT | DATE | AVAILABILITY |
---|
Sarah Silverman Tickets 11/30 | Nov 30, 2024 Sat, 8:00 PM | | Sarah Silverman Tickets 12/5 | Dec 05, 2024 Thu, 7:00 PM | | Sarah Silverman Tickets 12/6 | Dec 06, 2024 Fri, 8:00 PM | | Sarah Silverman Tickets 12/7 | Dec 07, 2024 Sat, 8:00 PM | | Sarah Silverman Tickets 12/26 | Dec 26, 2024 Thu, 7:30 PM | |
|
Biography
Early life
Sarah Silverman, the youngest of four daughters, was born in
Bedford, New Hampshire. Her mother, Beth Ann Halpin, was
George McGovern's personal campaign photographer and founded the theater company New Thalian Players.
[6] Her father, Donald Silverman, was a
social worker by training who ran the discount clothing store Crazy Sophie's Outlet. Her family is
Jewish, the descendants of immigrants from
Russia and
Poland.
She appeared in
community theater at age twelve, also starring on a local television show in the Boston area called
Community Auditions
at age 15. She attended the
The Derryfield School in
Manchester, New Hampshire. At seventeen, she performed
stand-up comedy in a restaurant, singing a song she called "Mammaries." She then attended
New York University and continued her stand-up in
Greenwich Village.
[7] [8] [9] [10]
Career
Silverman first received national attention in the
1993–94 season of
Saturday Night Live
as a writer and featured player. She was fired after one season because only one of the sketches she wrote survived to
dress rehearsal, and none aired.
Bob Odenkirk, a former
SNL
writer explained:
Silverman claims that she was greatly upset when
SNL
fired her via
fax. She parodied the situation when she appeared on
The Larry Sanders Show
episode "The New Writer" (1996), playing Sanders' new staff writer, whose jokes are not used because of the
chauvinism and
bias of the male chief comedy writer, who favors the jokes of his male co-writers. She had a recurring role on
Larry Sanders
for its last two seasons.
Silverman was a featured performer on the
HBO sketch comedy show
Mr. Show
(1995-97). She made TV program
guest appearances on
Seinfeld
, in the episode "
The Money"; (1997) on
Star Trek: Voyager
, in the two-part time travel episode "
Future's End"; (1996) on
Greg the Bunny
as a series regular (2002); and on the puppet television comedy
Crank Yankers
, as the voice of Hadassah Guberman (2003, 2007). She had small parts in the films
There's Something About Mary
,
Say It Isn't So
,
School of Rock
,
The Way of the Gun
,
Overnight Delivery
,
Screwed
,
Heartbreakers
,
Evolution
,
School for Scoundrels,
and
Rent,
playing a mixture of comic and serious roles. Her stand-up comedy act, a
one-woman show, was released in 2005 as a
feature film,
Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic
. As part of the film's publicity campaign, she appeared online in
Slate
, as the cover subject of
Heeb
magazine, and in
roasts on Comedy Central of
Pamela Anderson and
Hugh Hefner. In 2005, Silverman played a therapist in a skit for a bonus DVD of the album
Lullabies to Paralyze
by the band
Queens of the Stone Age. Silverman also features at the end of American Glam Metal Band
Steel Panther video for 'Death To All But Metal'.
Silverman was a guest star in a second season episode of the
USA cable program
Monk
as Marci Maven. She returned in the sixth season premiere and for the 100th episode of Monk. According to the audio commentary on the
Clerks II
DVD, director
Kevin Smith offered her the role that eventually went to
Rosario Dawson, but she turned it down out of fear of being typecast in "girlfriend roles". However, she told Smith the script was "really funny" and mentioned that if the role of
Randal Graves was being offered to her she "would do it in a heartbeat".
On
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
, Silverman parodied sketches from
Chappelle's Show
, replaying
Dave Chappelle's characterizations of
Rick James and "Tyrone", as well as a
Donnell Rawlings character based on the miniseries
Roots
. The parody addressed a popular rumor that Silverman was the planned replacement for Chappelle after he left his popular television show.
In 2006, Silverman placed #50 on
Maxim
Hot 100 List.
[11]
In 2007, she placed #29 and appeared on the cover.
[12]
She made the cover of the
The Observer
in
Britain, with an article naming her "the world's hottest, most controversial comedian".
[13]
On June 3, 2007, Silverman hosted the MTV Movie Awards. During her opening act, she commented on the upcoming jail sentence of Paris Hilton, who was in the audience:
“
| Insert the text of the quote here, without quotation marks.
| ”
|
Then, on September 9, 2007, Silverman appeared at the
MTV Video Music Awards. Following the
comeback performance of
Britney Spears, Silverman mocked her on stage, saying: "Wow, she is amazing. I mean, she is 25 years old, and she has already accomplished everything she's going to accomplish in her life. It's mind-blowing." Silverman called Spears' children "the most adorable mistakes you will ever see" and imitated Spears'
vagina with her mouth.
[15]
On January 31, 2008, Silverman appeared as a guest on
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
in order to show
Jimmy Kimmel, her boyfriend, a special video. The video turned out to be a song called "
I'm Fucking Matt Damon", in which she and Damon sang a duet about having an affair behind Kimmel's back. The video created an "instant YouTube sensation".
[16]
Kimmel exacted his video "revenge" on February 24, 2008 by airing a video directed at Silverman which enlisted a panoply of stars to record Kimmel's song "
I'm Fucking Ben Affleck".
[17] On September 13, 2008, Silverman won a Creative Arts
Emmy for writing the song "I'm Fucking Matt Damon".
[18]
In October 2008, Silverman visited the
United Kingdom to promote the release of
The Sarah Silverman Program
on Paramount Comedy, but her media and stage performances failed to impress audiences. Her debut stand-up performance at the
Hammersmith Apollo was widely panned by the critics and audiences alike. The performance bombed when Silverman's warm-up act failed to show and Silverman rushed through a short 35-40 minute set. The heckling audience, who had been charged
£40-50 a seat, refused to leave the theatre and Silverman, sporting a pair of after-show slippers, was forced to return to the stage for an impromptu question and answer session. Steve Bennett from comedy website
Chortle
declared that "minute for minute, there are sex phonelines that are cheaper than Sarah Silverman".
[19] [20]
Silverman recently sold her idea of a book of humorous essays to HarperCollins for $2.5 million. The Observer reports that David Hirshey will be her editor.
[21] [22]
Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic
Silverman's
concert film,
Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic
, based on her one-woman show of the same name, was released in 2005.
Liam Lynch directed the movie, distributed by
Roadside Attractions.
Rotten Tomatoes gave
Jesus Is Magic
a "fresh" rating of 64 percent with 54 positive reviews and 30 negative ones, with the "cream of the crop" giving it a rating of 67 percent.
[23]
It made
US$124,475 on its opening weekend, showing on seven screens. The
box office performance led to an expanded release in as many as 57 theaters, resulting in a box office take of more than US$1.3 million.
[24]
The movie was released on
DVD on June 6, 2006. The soundtrack featured songs and standup from the movie, and previously unreleased songs.
[25]
The Sarah Silverman Program
Silverman's television sitcom,
The Sarah Silverman Program
, debuted on Comedy Central on February 1, 2007. The show proved to be a ratings success, scoring the highest premiere ratings that a Comedy Central show had in three years, with 1.81 million viewers and the highest 18–49 rating of the night on cable.
[26]
It portrays the day-to-day adventures of fictionalized versions of Silverman, her sister
Laura and their friends. A number of comedic actors from
Mr. Show
have reappeared on
The Sarah Silverman Program
.
Silverman has been nominated for a 2009 Primetime Emmy Award for her acting on the show.
Controversy
Silverman caused a brief controversy after using the
ethnic slur "
chink" in an interview on the July 11, 2001, episode of
Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
In the interview, Silverman explained that a friend had advised her on how to avoid
jury duty by writing a racial slur on the selection form, "something inappropriate, like 'I hate chinks.'" However, Silverman said that she ultimately decided that she did not want to be thought of as a
racist, so she said, "I wrote 'I love chinks' – and who doesn't?" Silverman said that the joke satirizes the racist thought process.
Guy Aoki, of the Media Action Network for Asian Americans (MANAA),
[27]
objected to her use of the slur, saying that
NBC's airing of it was inexcusable.
[28] [29]
NBC and O'Brien issued an apology, but Silverman did not, later appearing on
Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher
on July 26, and August 22, 2001. Silverman questioned Aoki's sincerity, accusing him of exploiting the opportunity for publicity. On an episode of the show, Aoki appeared with Silverman, and stated that he did not accept Silverman's explanation, saying that it was not successful satire, that she should have substituted "chink" with "Chinese person," and that comedians should consult with groups such as his before performing such material. Silverman stated in an interview on
NPR's Fresh Air
that she was asked to repeat the joke on
Politically Incorrect,
among other places, but she eventually dropped the joke from her act because she felt it was becoming stale.
Silverman has since turned the complaint into grist for her stand-up act, saying that the experience helped teach her the important lesson that racism is bad: "And I mean
bad,
like in that black way."
A minor controversy also arose over Silverman's performance in the documentary film
The Aristocrats
released in August 2005. The film, in which numerous comedians tell a famously ribald improvisational joke, featured Silverman giving an apparently autobiographical account of her life as a
child sex performer. During the course of the act she mentions how
Joe Franklin, a New York radio and TV personality whose nostalgic programs have aired since the early 1950s, would ask her to perform privately for him in his apartment. The act finished with Silverman looking at the camera and, in a deadpan voice, accusing Franklin of having
raped her. The film was edited in such a way that it appears as if Franklin knows what Silverman said about him. Immediately after the clip in which Silverman accuses Franklin of rape, there is a clip in which Franklin says "Sarah Silverman is a young lady to watch". However, after the film came out, Franklin took offense to Silverman's performance, concerned that it would hurt his reputation, and considered suing Silverman. When pressed by the
New York Times
in September 2005 over whether he would sue, he remained undecided, but said, "the best thing I could do is get Sarah better writers so she'd have funnier material."
Personal life
Silverman has said that she does not consume
alcohol, because it nauseates her. She has made reference to smoking
marijuana in her act, and can be seen
vaporizing marijuana in the movie
Super High Me
with
Doug Benson. She is open about her lifelong battle with
clinical depression, crediting her current emotional health to taking prescription drug
Zoloft.
[30] [31]
She struggled with
bedwetting when she was a teenager, and has said the last time she wet her bed was when she was fired from
Saturday Night Live.
[32]
Silverman talked about having dated
Dave Attell on one of her appearances on
The Howard Stern Show.
Silverman and
Colin Quinn joked about having been romantically linked during her
Saturday Night Live
career. In her first appearance on the Stern show in June 2001, she said she was dating someone named Tom who wrote for
SNL.
A February 2007 magazine article said Silverman was in a relationship that began in 2002 with
Jimmy Kimmel, host of
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
[33]
She referred to the relationship in some of her comedy:
“
| I'm Jewish, but I wear this Saint Christopher medal sometimes; my boyfriend is Roman Catholic Church
| ”
|
In July 2008,
Vanity Fair
first reported that Silverman and Kimmel had split, ending their relationship of five years. However, in October 2008, it was revealed by
FOX News and
People
magazine that they were on "the road back to being together."
[34]
The couple attended the wedding of
Howard Stern together,
[35]
but split again in March 2009.
[36]
Silverman says she does not want to get married until
same-sex couples are able to.
[37]
She also says she doesn't want to have biological children to avoid the chance that they might inherit her depression.
[38]
Silverman's real-life sister
Laura plays her sister on
The Sarah Silverman Program.
Another sister, Susan, is a
rabbi who lives on a
kibbutz in
Israel with her husband and five children.
[39]
Silverman is a fan of
Jenny Lewis and appeared in Lewis' music video for the song "Rise Up With Fists
|" She is also a fan of comedian
Steve Martin, who was one of her major inspirations as a younger comedian.
Silverman enjoys playing
Scrabble on the
Internet. One of her regular opponents is
Alyssa Milano, who lives in the same building as she does.
[40]
She credited comedian
Tig Notaro as one of her best friends in an interview in
The Advocate.
Politics and religion
Silverman supported
Democrat Barack Obama in the
2008 U.S. presidential election. In October 2008, she released an internet commercial called
The Great Schlep
that humorously urged younger Jews to travel to
Florida from their home states and persuade their grandparents to vote for Obama.
[41]
Sarah is ethnically Jewish, which she has frequently mined for material, but does not follow the religion, claiming, "
I have no religion. But culturally I can’t escape it; I’m very Jewish
".
[42] [43]
Filmography
Features
:
- Who's the Caboose?
(1997)
- Overnight Delivery
(1998)
- Bulworth
(1998)
- There's Something About Mary
(1998)
- The Bachelor
(1999)
- What Planet Are You From?
(2000)
- Screwed
(2000)
- The Way of the Gun
(2000)
- Black Days
(2001)
- Say It Isn't So
(2001)
- Heartbreakers
(2001)
- Evolution
(2001)
- Run Ronnie Run
(2002)
- School of Rock
(2003)
- Hair High
(2004) (voice)
|
- The Aristocrats
(2005) (documentary)
- Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic
(2005)
- Rent
(2005)
- I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With
(2006)
- School for Scoundrels
(2006)
- Fired!
(2007) (documentary)
- Certifiably Jonathan
(2007) (documentary)
- ''Futurama: Bender's Big Score (2007) (voice)
- Super High Me
(2008) (documentary, cameo)
- "Funny People" (2009) (cameo)
Short subjects
:
- Strippers Pole
(2002)
- Nobody's Perfect
(2004)
- Supermarket
(2004)
- Give The Jew Girl Toys
(satirical music video)
- Confetti
|
Television work
- Community Auditions
(1985)
- Saturday Night Live
(writer and cast member, 1993–1994)
- Mr. Show
(featured performer, 1995)
- The Larry Sanders Show
(1994-1996)
- Star Trek Voyager
("Future's End", two episode arc, 1996)
- Seinfeld
("The Money", 1997)
- Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist
(voice as herself, "Alderman", 1998)
- Smog
(unsold pilot, 1999)
- Late Last Night
(1999)
- Futurama
("The Cryonic Woman", 2000; "Futurama: Bender's Big Score", 2007)
- Super Nerds
(unsold pilot, 2000)
- Rocky Times
(unsold pilot, 2000)
- Greg the Bunny
(2002–2004)
- Crank Yankers
(voice, 2002-2007)
- Frasier
(Jane, "Maris Returns", 2003)
- Pilot Season
(miniseries, 2004)
- Entourage
(herself, 2004)
- Aqua Teen Hunger Force
("Robositter", 2004, credited as Big S
)
- Drawn Together
("The Other Cousin", episode 1.5, 2004, Cousin Bleh)
- Monk
(Mr. Monk and The T.V Star, 2004)
- American Dad!
("Stan Knows Best", 2005, voice)
- Tom Goes to the Mayor
("Pipe Camp", episode 11, 2005)
- Celebrity Poker Showdown
(twice, 2003-2004)
- ''Comic Relief (stand-up segment 2006)
- Monk
(Mr. Monk's Biggest Fan, 2007)
- The Andy Milonakis Show
(herself, 2007)
- The Sarah Silverman Program
(2007-present)
- Monk
("Mr. Monk's 100TH Case", 2008)
- 8 out of 10 cats
("Herself", 2008)
- Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
("Herself", 2008)
- JAG
(Blind Side "Lt. Schiparelli", 1997)
- The Comedy Central Roast of Bob Saget
(2008) (pre-recorded video message)
References
- {{imdb name|0798971}}
- Sarah Silverman Is My Kind of Cunt (hell yeah)
- Irony Maiden
- Sarah Silverman
- Comedy Central's Silverman Spells Ratings Gold
- Website Disabled
- Quiet Depravity: The demure outrages of a standup comic
- My Sister Sarah
- Dirty Rotten Princess
- Funny Girl
- Maxim 2006 Hot 100
- Maxim 2007 Hot 100
- If women aren't funny, how come the world's hottest, most controversial comedian is female?
- 2007 MTV Movie Awards
- 2007 VMA
- Behind Matt Damon's Raunchy Payback to Jimmy Kimmel
- So Long, Sarah! Jimmy Kimmel Is, Well, 'Dating' Ben Affleck
- Sarah Silverman Thanks Jimmy Kimmel at Creative Arts Emmys
- Silverman heckled at London gig
- Sarah Silverman at the Hammersmith Apollo: death strikes suddenly
- gawker.com/5108420/sarah-silverman-wins-beauty-contest
- Now We Feel We Really Know Her
- Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic (2005)
- Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic
- Sarah Silverman: 'Jesus Is Magic'
- Article&spacedesc=news
- Manaa: Media Action Network for Asian Americans
- PC Police Bust Conan O'Brien Show
- Asian-Americans Protest "Inappropriate" Term On Late Night
- Sarah Silverman
- Sarah Silverman's Depression Confession
- The Gossip Game With Guest Sarah Silverman
- What I've Learned: Sarah Silverman & Jimmy Kimmel
- FOXNews.com - Jimmy Kimmel and Sarah Silverman Reportedly Back Together - Celebrity Gossip
- First Peek: Howard Stern's Wedding Photo
- Sarah Silverman and Jimmy Kimmel Call It Quits – Again
- Sarah Silverman
- Almost nothing is off-limits for Sarah Silverman
- http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=18520
- Comedian Sarah Silverman Visits
- The Great Schlep
- Message to Your Grandma: Vote Obama
- Sarah Silverman