Jo Firestone

Joanna Firestone (born December 8, 1987) is an actress, comedian, and television writer.[1]

Jo Firestone
Jo Firestone at Montréal Improv in Montréal, Québec, Canada
Born (1987-12-08) December 8, 1987
St. Louis, Missouri, United States
OccupationActress, comedian, writer
Known forAppearances on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

Biography

Joanna Firestone was born in 1987 to Jewish parents Fred and Marilyn Firestone.[2] She has a brother, Ben Firestone, who works in commercial real estate. She grew up in Clayton, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. She graduated from Clayton High School and later Wesleyan University in Connecticut, with a degree in theatre.[3]

Television work

As an actress, Firestone has appeared in the TV programs Search Party, The Jim Gaffigan Show, Broad City, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, CollegeHumor Originals, Boy Band, The Outs, Night Train with Wyatt Cenac, Animal Agent, High Maintenance, Jon Glaser Loves Gear, Thanksgiving, The Special Without Brett Davis, Shrill, and others.[4] She was consulting producer on 21 episodes of The Chris Gethard Show and performed in three episodes of the series.[5]

She is currently a writer for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and for The Special Without Brett Davis. She has also performed on the Tonight Show, portraying U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos,[6] demonstrating products from the New York Toy Fair,[7] and appearing in other sketches opposite host Jimmy Fallon.[8] She is also currently playing the character Sarah Conner, a band teacher, on Joe Pera Talks with You, which airs during Adult Swim on Cartoon Network.[9][4] The character's name is an homage to the Terminator movies; her character is a doomsday prepper on the show and Joe Pera's girlfriend.[10]

Other media

Firestone is the host of the program Dr. Gameshow, which originated on WFMU radio and is now a podcast on the Maximum Fun network.[11][12] She and her father Fred Firestone created the game Punderdome: A Card Game for Pun Lovers (published by Random House subsidiary Clarkson Potter, 2016).[13]

Firestone has performed stand-up comedy on Comedy Central,[14] at the UCB Theater in Manhattan, and around New York City.[15][16] About stand-up gigs in "cellar clubs," Firestone explained, "Doing comedy in New York, I’ve been conditioned to thrive in basements. I’m not ready to do a comedy show until I go down a flight of stairs."[17]

With Dylan Marron, Firestone wrote, performed in, and directed Ridgefield Middle School Talent Nite,[18] which received a Capital Fringe Festival Director's Award in 2010.[19]

Firestone voice acts in The National Lampoon Radio Hour podcast.[20] She serves as the producer and senior writer along with Cole Escola.[21]

She is currently based in Brooklyn.

In February 2020, Firestone released the first episode of her podcast Everyday Decisions.[22] Everyday Decisions is a comedy and personal stories podcast where Firestone interviews friends, family, and fellow comedians about the past 24 hours of their day to figure out what helps them get through it.

In March 2020 Firestone went on comedian Mike Recine's podcast The Sitdown.[23]

References
  1. Rapa, Patrick, "Interview: Comedian Jo Firestone," PhillyMag.com, July 10, 2017
  2. Sophomore, Louisa Goldman. "Clayton comic having too much pun in NYC". St. Louis Jewish Light. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  3. Gillerman, Margaret S. (19 Mar 2013). "Father-daughter duo from Clayton taking NY by puns". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Ray Farris. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  4. Jo Firestone credits at IMDB.com
  5. Full Cast & Crew of The Chris Gethard Show at IMDB.com
  6. Jimmy Fallon interviews U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos (portrayed by Firestone) The Tonight Show, February 10, 2017
  7. "Toy Fair Demo with Tonight Show Writer Jo Firestone," The Tonight Show, Feb. 25, 2017
  8. "What to Buy with Jo Firestone: Barbarian Octopus Beanie", The Tonight Show, Oct. 12, 2017.
  9. Adams, Erik (June 23, 2018). "Joe Pera Talks with You is the Adult Swim comedy that'll restore your soul". The A.V. Club. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  10. Olson, Matthew (June 29, 2018). "Joe Pera Will Cure What Ails You". Digg. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  11. Dr. Gameshow archives at WFMU.org
  12. Dr. Gameshow on Maximum Fun
  13. Punderdome: A Card Game for Pun Lovers at PenguinRandomHouse.com
  14. Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents Jo Firestone, Season 1 Ep 6, 9/30/2017
  15. Love, Matthew, "10 Comedians You Need to Know", Rolling Stone, June 6, 2017
  16. Kozell, Isaac, "Talking Standup, Alone Time, and Why Comedy Is Bullshit with Jo Firestone," SplitSider.com, September 29, 2017
  17. Gordon, Arielle, "Jo Firestone talks new comedy LP, the return of her podcast, Will Butler & more in BV interview," Brooklyn Vegan, September 5, 2017
  18. "Funny Times At Ridgefield Middle School". C.A.P.S.Love. 2010-07-15. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
  19. Ramanathan, Stephanie Merry and Lavanya (2011-07-06). "The Capital Fringe Festival Preview: What to See". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
  20. "The National Lampoon Radio Hour to Feature All Your Favorite Comedy Babies", September. 19, 2019
  21. "Lampoon Radio Hour Home Page"
  23. "The Sitdown"
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