Early life

Paul Francis Tompkins was born September 12, 1968 in Mount Airy, Pennsylvania. He has 2 brothers (one older, one younger) and 3 sisters (all older).

Career

Early work

In 1986 Tompkins first performed comedy at 17 years of age at The Comedy Works in Philadelphia (a club now located in Bristol, Pennsylvania) where he performed as half of a sketch comedy duo with the late Rick Roman. Tompkins attended Temple University; however, he dropped out and left for Los Angeles, California in 1994.

Tompkins met actor Jay Johnston in L.A. through their mutual friend, actor and director Adam McKay. McKay and Tompkins had become friends in Philadelphia, where they had both started to perform stand-up at around the same time. McKay later moved to Chicago and met Johnston; Johnston moved to L.A. at around the same time as Tompkins and McKay introduced the two. Tompkins and Johnston went on to create a live sketch comedy show called "The Skates" that was seen by Bob Odenkirk and David Cross and helped get them hired to work on Mr. Show with Bob and David in 1996.

Live comedic performance

Tompkins' comedy career has included stand-up, sketch comedy and a variety of other live performances.

Tompkins stand-up comedy performances are of a storytelling and observationalist style. His shows often consist of extended riffs and long anecdotes. Tompkins deals topics of the bizarre and the absurd — such as a rant about peanut brittle, a discussion about cake versus pie, and smashed coins — in addition to recounting stories about his own life experiences and family. His comedic style has been described as alternative comedy; Tompkins has stated that he is not bothered by the label and that he likes the term.

Tompkins is known for his style of dress during his live comedic performances, always performing in suit and tie, sometimes in pinstripes and with a bowtie; his look has been described by some in the press as "dapper". Tompkins has described his look as "foppish" and "just this side of Cedric the Entertainer."

Tompkins is based in Los Angeles and performs regularly in the city. Since 2002 he has performed a monthly show called The Paul F. Tompkins Show at Largo, an L.A. nightclub and cabaret. His show has featured such guests such as Fiona Apple, Jack Black, Dave Foley, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, Aimee Mann and Weird Al Yankovic. Since its inception in 2005, Tompkins has taken part in the Thrilling Adventure Hour, a staged production in the style of old-time radio that is also held monthly at Largo. The show began podcasting in January 2011; in October of that same year the show's podcasts moved to the Nerdist Industries podcast network created by Chris Hardwick. Tompkins is a member of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre (UCB) Los Angeles. His comedy album "Impersonal" was recorded live at the UCB Theatre. He also performs monthly at the "Dead Authors" show at UCB Theatre in support of the nonprofit organization 826LA; Tompkins plays the role of H.G. Wells who serves as the host of the show.

Tompkins has toured in the US and Canada and prefers to perform in independent venues, rather than conventional comedy clubs. Starting in 2009 he embarked on his "Tompkins 300" tour; Tompkins had been preparing for his one-hour Comedy Central special You Should Have Told Me at the Laughing Skull Lounge theatre in Atlanta, Georgia — a small theatre that seats about 74 people. In order to fill the seats for the recording of his special, Tompkins required about 280 people in the audience over the course of 4 nights for the recording of his show. Tompkins decided to announce on Twitter that he needed 300 people to fill the seats each night; Bob Kerr, a Canadian comedian, saw the Twitter post and asked if Tompkins would like to perform in Toronto. Tompkins advised Kerr that if he was able to get 300 people to state that they would definitely see his show he would come to Toronto. Kerr then started a Facebook group called "I Wanna See Paul F. Tompkins in Toronto" and managed to get 300 people to join. In October of that same year Tompkins performed at The Rivoli theatre in Toronto, the same theatre in which the sketch comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall got their start. Facebook groups were subsequently started in other North American cities and in 2010 he stated that he had stopped promoting his shows on the radio. In 2011 he said that the Facebook 300 groups had become his main method of booking comedy shows.

Tompkins wrote and performed in his one-man show, Driven to Drink which aired on HBO in 1998. He appeared on 6 episodes of Late Night with Conan O'Brien between 1998 and 2008 as well as two episodes of Conan in 2011 and 2012. He has recorded three comedy albums: Impersonal in 2007, Freak Wharf in 2009, and Laboring Under Delusions in 2012. His stand-up appearances on the Comedy Central network include being featured in episodes of Comedy Central Presents in 2003 and 2007, hosting an episode of Live at Gotham in 2009, performing on John Oliver's New York Stand Up Show in 2010, and recording two original one-hour comedy specials — You Should Have Told Me which aired in 2010 and Paul F. Tompkins: Laboring Under Delusions in 2012. He also appeared in the RiffTrax live broadcast of House on Haunted Hill.

Acting and writing

Tompkins wrote for and performed on Mr. Show with Bob and David from 1995 to 1998; the show's writers, including Tompkins, were nominated for an Emmy Award in 1998 for "Outstanding Writing for a Variety or Music Program".

Tompkins' work with Mr. Show's creators Bob Odenkirk and David Cross also led to his recurring role on the Tenacious D TV series. Tompkins played the character of a nightclub manager who is duped into reading Tenacious D’s ridiculous introductions during their open mic performances. He revived the role in the comedic band's film Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny released in 2006.

Longtime friend Adam McKay consulted Tompkins regarding the screenplay for Talladega Nights. Tompkins also played the MC of a cat show in McKay's Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.

Tompkins has appeared on television programs including NewsRadio, Frasier, Weeds, The Sarah Silverman Program, Pushing Daisies, Community and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Tompkins played the role of Prescott in Paul Thomas Anderson's film There Will Be Blood (2007); Anderson had previously cast Tompkins in a small role in the 1999 film Magnolia after watching Tompkins perform at Largo. Tompkins also played FBI Agent Anthony D’Angelo in Steven Soderbergh's The Informant! (2009). He has a recurring role in the Canadian TV series The L.A. Complex as a fictionalized version of himself. He also appeared in the music video for Nick Lowe's song "Stoplight Roses" and in the Ted Leo and the Pharmacists song "Bottled In Cork". Tompkins wrote for Real Time with Bill Maher in 2003 and 2009, in addition to being a show correspondent in the show's first season. In 2011 Tompkins was asked to write humorous recaps of American Idol episodes for New York magazine’s online blog Vulture.

Tompkins has expressed in interviews that he dislikes writing (particularly writing for others), preferring instead to perform in front of a camera.

Voice acting

Tompkins has done voice work for many animated television series including Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist, King of the Hill and Bob's Burgers, where he voices the recurring character Randy. He lent his voice to a character in an unaired 2007 episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force titled "Boston" that was supposed to be the premiere episode of the show's fifth season, but it was pulled by Turner Broadcasting System to avoid further controversy surrounding the 2007 Boston bomb scare. Tompkins later appeared in an episode during the show's 7th season. He was also the voice of one of the thugs in Walt Disney Animation Studios' 2010 computer animated film Tangled. Tompkins was the voice of Benton Criswell, a character in MTV series Super Adventure Team which featured marionettes in the style of the 1960s British series Thunderbirds; the role was credited under the stage name Francis Mt. Pleasant. He was the voice of a puppet in ads for the Ford Focus. Tompkins plays Mr. Peanutbutter in the 2014 Netflix original animated series BoJack Horseman.

Political and social commentary

Tompkins has appeared on several television programs devoted to discussing politics, popular culture and current events; however, he says he does not consider himself to be a political comic.

Tompkins was a contributor to the "Us People's Weekly Entertainment" segment of The Daily Show in 1998. In 2003 he was a writer and correspondent for Real Time with Bill Maher in the show's first season and wrote again for the show in 2009. He appeared on Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn in 2004. In 2004 he also became a pop culture analyst on VH1's Best Week Ever; in 2008 the show was retooled and relaunched as Best Week Ever with Paul F. Tompkins with Tompkins as host. From 2006 to 2008 he was a regular guest on Countdown with Keith Olbermann. In 2008 he appeared on Lewis Black's Root of All Evil and took part in a panel on Larry King Live in an episode titled "Politics & Humor".

Tompkins has appeared in documentaries such as Jamie Kennedy's Heckler (2007) and Doug Benson's Super High Me (2007). He also appeared in The Bitter Buddha (2013), a documentary about the career of actor and comedian Eddie Pepitone.

Tompkins later became the host of a discussion show called No, You Shut Up! by The Jim Henson Company under its Henson Alternative banner.

Podcasts, webcasts and radio

In 2010 Tompkins launched his podcast called The Pod F. Tompkast. The podcast is a mixture of Tompkins discussing various topics, clips from his live show at Largo, and segments where Tompkins voices a variety of celebrities speaking with one another. Comedian Jen Kirkman is a regular contributor on the show.

The Thrilling Adventure Hour comedy show at Largo began podcasting in January 2011; in October of that same year the show's podcasts moved to the Nerdist Industries podcast network created by Chris Hardwick.

Dead Authors, a live show that Tompkins hosts at the UCB Theatre in Los Angeles, also began podcasting in September 2011.

In May 2012 Tompkins started a weekly web series called Speakeasy. Hosted by the Break Media site MadeMan.com, the series features Tompkins interviewing various guests in the entertainment industry, such as Ty Burrell, Nathan Fillion, Zach Galifianakis, Chris Hardwick, Oscar Nunez, Weird Al Yankovic and Alison Brie. The interviews are conducted as casual conversations between Tompkins and his guest over cocktails at various bars in the L.A. area.

Tompkins has appeared several times as a guest, and twice as a guest host, on Comedy Bang! Bang! (formerly Comedy Death-Ray Radio), a weekly audio podcast hosted by Scott Aukerman, a comedian who also wrote for Mr. Show with Bob and David. The show's format mixes conversation between the host and guests, and usually includes improv games. Some guests play characters or impersonate certain celebrities, sometimes for the entirety of the episode; Paul F. Tompkins has impersonated celebrities such as rapper Ice-T, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Buddy Valastro from the reality television series Cake Boss (Cake Boss!).

In addition to Aukerman's Comedy Bang! Bang!, Tompkins regularly appears on the podcasts of other fellow comedians such as WTF with Marc Maron, Jimmy Pardo's Never Not Funny, Jessica Chaffin and Jamie Denbo's Ronna and Beverly podcast, and the Superego podcast with Jeremy Carter, Matt Gourley, and Mark McConville. Tompkins has also been a regular guest on the radio show and podcast The Best Show on WFMU with Tom Scharpling.

In 2015, Tompkins created his own podcast on the Earwolf podcast network called SPONTANEANATION with Paul F. Tompkins. This podcast is similar to the Pod F. Tompkast, however SPONTANEANATION is fully improvised and in-the-moment, as opposed to the Tompkast, which was highly produced. SPONTANEANATION begins with an improvised monologue, accompanied on piano by Eban Schletter, much like the Pod F. Tompkast. The next segment is an interview with one of Tompkins's famous friends. The final segment is one long improvised story performed by Paul and guest improvisers, based on ideas discussed in the interview segment.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	Sham	Sal	Short film
1996	Desert	The Man	Short film
1997	Skins	Little John	Short film
1998	Win a Date	Dylan	Short film
1998	Jack Frost	Audience Member
1999	Magnolia	Chad, Seduce & Destroy	Voice
2002	Run Ronnie Run!	Safari Guy in TV
2004	Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy	Cat Show Competition Host
2004	Nerd Hunter 3004	The Chief	Short film
2006	Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny	Open Mic Host
2006	Tenacious D: Time Fixers	Club Owner	Promotional film
2007	Super High Me	Himself	Documentary
2007	There Will Be Blood	Prescott
2009	The Informant!	FBI Agent Anthony D’Angelo
2010	Tangled	Short Thug	Voice
2010	Drones	Jafe	Voice
2011	T is for Tantrum	Jerry	Short film
2014	Jason Nash Is Married	Dr. Glen
2015	The Dramatics: A Comedy	Anton Campbell
2015	Hell & Back	Annoyed Lost Soul	Voice

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996-1998	Mr. Show with Bob and David	Various	Featured Cast Seasons 1-4, Also Writer
1997	Tenacious D	Paul	5 episodes
1998	The Daily Show	Himself	Contributor
1998	Super Adventure Team	Dr. Benton Criswell	Voice role
1999	NewsRadio	Justice of the Peace	Episode: "Wedding"
1999	Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist	Paul	Voice role; Episode: "Vow of Silence"
2000-2001	DAG	Sullivan Pope	Main cast
2003	Comedy Central Presents: Paul F. Tompkins	Himself
2003	Frasier	Steve	Episode: "The Harassed"
2003	Real Time with Bill Maher	Himself
2004	Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn	Himself
2005	King of the Hill	Professor Twilley	Voice role; Episode: "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Clown"
2005	Kelsey Grammer Presents: The Sketch Show	Various
2005	Too Late with Adam Carolla	Himself
2006-2008	Countdown with Keith Olbermann	Himself	Regular contributor
2007	Comedy Central Presents: Paul F. Tompkins 2	Himself
2007	The Sarah Silverman Program	Paul / Police Officer No. 1	4 episodes
2007	Weeds	Bob	2 episodes
2008	Best Week Ever	Himself (host)
2008	Larry King Live	Himself
2008	Lewis Black's Root of All Evil	Himself	6 episodes
2008	Pushing Daisies	Gunther Pinker	Episode: "Oh Oh Oh... It's Magic"
2010	Aqua Teen Hunger Force	Police officer / Angel	Voice roles; 2 episodes (1 episode was pulled)
2010	Community	Robert	Episode: "Mixology Certification"
2010	Nick Swardson's Pretend Time	Various	Episode: "I Just Got Voodoo'd"
2010	True Jackson, VP	Royce Bingham	Episode: "True Fear"
2010-2012	Regular Show	Various	5 episodes
2010-2012	The Life & Times of Tim	Donnie / Kyle Zander	Voice roles; 2 episodes
2011	Curb Your Enthusiasm	Andrew Berg	Episode: "The Divorce"
2011	Raising Hope	Jeff	Episode: "The Cultish Personality"
2011, 2014	Talking Dead	Himself	2 episodes
2011	Last Man Standing	Chester McAllister	Episode: "Last Baby Proof Standing"
2011	Up All Night	Dave	Episode: "Week Off"
2011-2014	Bob's Burgers	Randy / Pierre / Herman / Bronconius	Voice roles; 6 episodes
2012	Key & Peele	Congressman	Episode: "Dueling Magical Negroes"
2012	Paul F. Tompkins: Laboring Under Delusions	Himself	Stand-up special
2012-2015	Comedy Bang! Bang!	Various	10 episodes
2012	The L.A. Complex	Paul F. Tompkins	6 episodes
2012-2013	Adventure Time	Various	Voice roles; 2 episodes
2013	Ghost Ghirls	Antonio	Episode: "Something Borrowed, Something Boo"
2013-2016	No, You Shut Up!	Himself (host)	58 episodes
2013-2016	@midnight	Himself	Recurring contestant; 11 episodes; Tournament of Champions winner
2014-present	BoJack Horseman	Mr. Peanutbutter / Andrew Garfield / Heckler	Main cast; voice role
2015	WordGirl	The Royal Dandy / Dr. Clocktormocktor	Voice role; episode: "Royally Framed" / "WordGirl vs. Tobey vs. the Dentist"
2015	The Thundermans	King Crab	Episode: "A Hero Is Born"
2015	Kroll Show	Andy Downpour	Episode: "The Commonwealth Games"
2015	Rick and Morty	Lawyer	Voice role; episode: "A Rickle in Time"
2015	Paul F. Tompkins: Crying and Driving	Himself	Stand-up special
2015	W/ Bob & David	Various	3 episodes; also writer
2015	Drunk History	Himself	Episode: "Las Vegas"
2015	Moonbeam City	Kitch Legstrong	Voice role; episode: "Stuntstravaganza"
2016	Brooklyn Nine-Nine	Captain Orleans	Episode: "The Cruise"
2016	The Venture Bros.	Blue Morpho / Dr. Heine	Voice role; episodes: "Faking Miracles", "Tanks for Nuthin", "A Party for Tarzan"
2016	Bajillion Dollar Propertie$	Dean Rosedragon	9 episodes
2016	The Late Show with Stephen Colbert	Himself	Episode: March 11, 2016

Discography

• 2007 Impersonal (Released on AST Records)
• 2007 Comedy Death-Ray (Compilation released on Comedy Central Records)
• 2009 Freak Wharf (Released on AST Records)
• 2010 Sir, You Have Fooled Me Twice (EP) (Released on AST Records)
• 2010 You Should Have Told Me (DVD) (Released on AST Records)
• 2012 Laboring Under Delusions (DVD) (Released on Comedy Central Records)
• 2012 Laboring Under Delusions: Live in Brooklyn (CD) (Released on AST Records)

Podcast and radio appearances

Tompkins is well known for his many podcast appearances, as well as hosting a few of his own. He is often referred to as the mayor of podcasts.

Year	Title	Episode(s)	Notes
2006-2015	Never Not Funny
2006-2007	The Sound of Young America
2006, 2011-2012	Guys With Feelings	Various
2007-2011	The Best Show on WFMU with Tom Scharpling
2008-2009, 2011	Comedy and Everything Else	#14, #37, #68, #85, #86, #127, #128
2009-present	Comedy Bang! Bang!	#7, #9, #13, 0B1, #23, #24, #28, #31, #33, #34, BO2009, B2, #38, #40, #44, #46, #51, #56, #59, #62, #67, #70, #76, #76.5, #80, #85, #91, #103, #106, #106.5, #112, #122, #126, #135, #136, #137, #137.5, #138, #147, #150, #156, #157, #169, #173, #175, #180, #186, #189, #191, BO2012.1, BO2012.2, #199, #203, #208, #215, #218, #221, #222, #228, #229, #235, #236, #245, #257, #262, BO2013.1, BO2013.2, BO2013.3, BO2013.4, #265, #272, #280, #283, #284, #286, #289, #303, #308, #314, #317, #323, #326, BO2014.1, BO2014.2, BO2014.3, BO2014.4, #335, #337, #338, #342, #344, #348, #349, #356, #365, #370, #377, #384, #386, #391, BO2015.1, BO2015.2, BO2015.3, BO2015.4, #401, #404, #407, #408, #412, #419	Guest, guest host
2009, 2011	WTF with Marc Maron	#150
2009	Kevin Pollak's Chat Show	#41
2009	Jordan, Jesse Go!
2009	The TVA Podcast	#163
2009	KUCI: Naked Comedy
2009-2012	Am I Right?
2009-2013	A Bit of a Chat
2009-2014	Stop Podcasting Yourself
2010	Host and Guest	#44
2010	Dave Hill's Podcasting Incident	#13
2010	Hold Your Applause
2010-2013	The Pod F. Tompkast	All	Host
2010, 2012	Comedy Film Nerds	#16, #120
2010-2012, 2014	The David Feldman Show
2010-2014	Doug Loves Movies
2010-present	Superego		Guest (2010-2013) / Official cast member (2014-present)
2010, 2012	The Nerdist Podcast		Guest (2010) / Guest co-host (2012)
2010-2014	Sklarbro Country	#17, #195.5
2011-2015	The Thrilling Adventure Hour		WorkJuice Player
2011	The Anytime Show with Dominic Dierkes
2011	Citizen Radio	#232
2011-2015	The Dead Authors Podcast	All	Host (as H.G. Wells); guest (as Mark Twain)
2011-2012, 2014-2015	Ronna and Beverly	#2, #42, #95, #116	Guest
2011-2016	Who Charted?	#22, #38, #63, #78, #100, #151, #181, #226, #276	Guest
2011-2015	The Wolf Den	#14, #94
2011	The Moth
2011	The Apple Sisters	#1	Guest
2011, 2014	Totally Laime	#76, #252	Guest
2011	Professor Blastoff	#28	Guest
2011	Earwolf Challenge	#3.2, #3.3	Judge
2011	The Mental Illness Happy Hour	#34
2011	Gather Around Me	#65
2011	Saturn Scene	#2, #3
2012	Quit It
2012	The Adam Carolla Show
2012	The Fogelnest Files	#2, #53 (best-of)	Guest
2012	Yo, Is This Racist?	#16	Guest
2012	Team Coco	#60
2012	The Long Shot Podcast	#418
2012, 2015	International Waters	#8, #52
2012	Shortwave with Grant-Lee Phillips	#8	Guest host
2012	You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes
2012	Paul and Storm Talk About Some Stuff For Five To Ten Minutes (On Average)
2012, 2015	Alison Rosen Is Your New Best Friend
2012-2013	Pop My Culture
2012-2014	The Todd Glass Show
2012-2014	Wits
2013-2014	Analyze Phish	#5, #6, #9	Sometime co-host (with Howard Kremer)
2013	Nerdist Writers Panel
2013	The Reality Show Show	#18	Guest
2013, 2015	Hollywood Handbook	#5, #66, #107	Guest
2013, 2015	How Did This Get Made?	#64, #106, #107	Guest
2013, 2014	James Bonding
2013, 2015	Judge John Hodgman	#103 #228
2012-2013	Dining with Doug and Karen
2013	The K Ohle
2013	Pappy's Flatshare Slamdown	S04E03	Recorded at the Soho Theatre
2013-2014	Go Bayside!
2014	The Andy Daly Podcast Pilot Project	#001, #004, #008	Guest
2014	U Talkin' U2 To Me?	#9, #16	Guest
2014	The JV Club
2014-2016	improv4humans	#147, #181, #229	Guest
2014	This Week in Marvel
2014	Slumber Party with Alie & Georgia
2014-2016	I Was There Too	#1, #33
2014	Feliz Navipod
2014-2015	With Special Guest Lauren Lapkus	#1, #33, #58	Guest host as himself, and as Santa Claus
2014	Baby Geniuses
2015	A Beautiful Podcast	#24
2015-present	SPONTANEANATION with Paul F. Tompkins	All	Host
2015	Pistol Shrimps Radio	6/9/15	Guest Commentator
2015	WOMP It Up!	#7	As "Mike the Janitor"
2015	The Indoor Kids
2015	Superego: Forgotten Classics	All	Cast member
2015	Worst Idea of All Time	#30	Guest
2015	Gilmore Guys	5.07 - "You Jump, I Jump, Jack"	Guest
2015	The Dinner Party Download	#323: Olivia Wilde, Elvis Costello, Paul F. Tompkins	Guest
2016	Think Again	#34: A Tiny, Cosmic Threat	Guest
2016	Earwolf Presents	#41	Guest host (as Andrew Lloyd Webber)
2016	Hard Nation	#3	Guest

[ Source: Wikipedia ]