Product Code Database
Jeffrey Ross Lifschultz (born September 13, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, director and producer. Nicknamed the " Roastmaster General" for his insult comedy, his multiple appearances at celebrity roasts held by the New York Friars Club, the Comedy Central Roast television series, and the Netflix historical comedy series Historical Roasts. In 2009 the Chicago Tribune called Ross "the new millennium Don Rickles." His directorial debut, the 2006 documentary , won the prize for Best Film at the Comedia film festival held at the Just for Laughs comedy festival in Montreal.
Ross attended Boston University as a broadcasting and film major with a minor in political science. He graduated from the Boston University College of Communication in 1987. Ross also worked as the music director at the university's student-run radio station WTBU in addition to working for the university's public radio station WBUR where he was an audio engineer.
Ross became a regular at the Friars Club roasts and was given the title of "Roastmaster General". The Friars Club's first televised event was the roast of Drew Carey that was broadcast on Comedy Central in 1998. Ross credits a particular joke that he made at the expense of attendees Bea Arthur and Sandra Bernhard at the 1999 roast of Jerry Stiller for taking his roasting career to the next level. That same year Jimmy Kimmel hired Ross as a writer on The Man Show and Ross also wrote some of the punchlines for Billy Crystal's monologue at the Academy Awards in 2000.
In 2003 Comedy Central began producing their own celebrity roasts. Ross has been a roaster at all Comedy Central roasts since the 2005 roast of Pamela Anderson. During his Comedy Central Roast appearances Ross became known for dressing up in edgy and sometimes controversial costumes: He roasted Charlie Sheen dressed as Muammar Gaddafi; he roasted Rob Lowe dressed as Purple Rain-era Prince on an episode that aired five months after the musician's death; he roasted Roseanne Barr dressed as the late football coach Joe Paterno during the height of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal; he also roasted James Franco wearing cornrows and a neck tattoo in reference to Franco's character in the 2012 film Spring Breakers.
Ross has participated as a roaster on the following Comedy Central Roasts:
Ross has also written for, performed in or produced the roasts of the following celebrities:
Ross published his first book, I Only Roast the Ones I Love: Busting Balls Without Burning Bridges, in 2009. The book recounts his journey to becoming Roastmaster General and includes tips on writing roast jokes and how to put on a roast.
Ross was the creator and host of the comedy panel show The Burn with Jeff Ross, which aired on Comedy Central for two seasons from 2012 to 2013.
In 2015, Ross starred in the Comedy Central special Jeff Ross Roasts Criminals: Live from Brazos County Jail, where he performed stand-up comedy for male and female convicts in Brazos County, Texas. The following year he released Jeff Ross Roasts Cops where he performed for members of the Boston Police Department.
Ross and comedian Brian Moses launched Jeff Ross Presents Roast Battle on Comedy Central in 2016. The show consists of comedians competing in one-on-one roast battles where the winners are decided by Ross and a panel of guest judges. Ross also appeared as a battler in final episode of the show's third season in a battle with NBA player Blake Griffin.
In 2018 Ross and fellow comedian Dave Attell embarked on their Bumping Mics comedy tour. Footage of their tour was also released in a three-part special, Bumping Mics with Jeff Ross & Dave Attell, on Netflix, the series was filmed during three of their performances at the Comedy Cellar in New York City. Their shows consisted of observational and political humor interspersed with Ross and Attell roasting one another as well as members of the audience. The comedians also invited audience members onto the stage, some of whom included Bob Saget, Gilbert Gottfried, Michael Che, Amy Schumer, Nikki Glaser and Paul Rudd.
Starting in 2019, Netflix began airing the series Historical Roasts, where Ross hosts fictionalized versions of comedy roasts for figures like Abraham Lincoln and Anne Frank.
Ross was co-creator of the satire animated program Where My Dogs At? that was broadcast on MTV2 in 2006. The series centers around characters Buddy, a beagle voiced by Ross, and Woof, a bulldog voiced by Tracy Morgan. Ross has also voiced characters on two episodes of the animated series Future-Worm! as well as on an episode of the live-action/animated series Happy! He also voiced himself in the 2012 episode of , "Crisis: 22,300 Miles Above Earth!", attending a literal roast of Batman.
He was the guest on the debut episode of the WTF with Marc Maron podcast in 2009 and also appeared on the podcast's 800th episode in 2017.
Ross appeared in the third tournament of Celebrity Poker Showdown in 2004, but lost in his first match. He was also a competitor on the seventh season of Dancing with the Stars that aired in 2008. During rehearsal for their first dance, his dancing partner Edyta Śliwińska accidentally poked Ross in the eye, causing a scratched cornea. Against medical advice, Ross continued the competition, but the couple were the first to be eliminated.
In 2011 Ross visited the protesters of the Occupy movement in Los Angeles to support their cause. He took to the microphone at a stage set-up at Los Angeles City Hall. His talk included roasting Wall Street and the big banks.
In 2019, he appeared on an episode of Crank Yankers as himself.
In June 2020, an allegation that Ross had engaged in a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old when he was 34 was published in the media; his accuser, Jessica Radtke, had also posted these allegations on her Facebook page in 2019. Ross disputed the accusation, claiming that his relationship with Radtke did not begin until 2002, when Radtke was an adult. In November 2020, Ross filed a defamation suit in the New York State Supreme Court, in which multiple named witnesses asserted that Radtke's claims were inaccurate and dishonest; Ross' legal team accused Radtke of extorting Ross for "significant sums of money". He dropped the case in March 2023.
Career
Stand-up, writing and roast comedy
Ross began performing stand-up in 1989 after attending a comedy class. He appeared on A&E's An Evening at the Improv in 1994. By 1995 he was performing at iconic New York clubs like the Comedy Cellar and Stand Up NY. That same year he was invited by the New York Friars Club to participate in a roast of actor Steven Seagal.
Ross has taken part in several USO tours and has performed stand-up comedy at US military bases in Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay and Iraq. Ross first traveled to Iraq in 2003 as part of a comedy tour hosted by Drew Carey. In 2005 Ross released the film , which he both produced and directed and which documented his experiences on the Iraq tour. That same year the film won the prize for Best Film at the Comedia film festival, a comedy film festival held annually in Montreal as part of the Just for Laughs comedy festival. In 2006 the film was shown on Showtime and also screened at that year's South by Southwest Film Festival. In 2017 the USO made Ross the Ambassador of Veterans Outreach for the Artists & Athletes Alliance.
Acting and voice work
One of Ross's first acting roles was a small part in the 1996 comedy film Celtic Pride. Some of his other film roles include a security guard in the film Stuck on You (2003) and a wedding band leader in the film Along Came Polly (2004). Ross's television acting work includes roles on HBO's Six Feet Under and Crashing, and Showtime's Weeds. He also played a dramatic role on CBS's .
Other appearances as himself
Ross appeared in the 2005 documentary The Aristocrats about the famous The Aristocrats.
Personal life
Ross credits his tough upbringing in New Jersey for helping him develop his talent for insult comedy, which he says he developed as a defense mechanism. Ross stated in an interview with The Atlanta Constitution: "Everyone in my family was good at roasting. I had to quickly learn not just to take a joke but to give it back. My uncle Murray was the first to bust my chops. We called him Mean Murray."
Filmography
Film
1996 Celtic Pride Car Theft Victim 1998 Taxman Tax Collector 2000 Isn't She Great Shecky 2000 The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle District Attorney 2003 National Security Security Guard 2003 Stuck on You Beaze Security Guard 2004 Along Came Polly Wedding Band Leader 2006 American Dreamz Oscar 2007 Farce of the Penguins Funny-Looking Bastard Voice 2008 One, Two, Many Ernie Direct-to-video 2011 A Novel Romance Douglas Silver 2015 The Wedding Ringer Wedding Singer 2016 Flock of Dudes Masturbator 2016 The Comedian Writer 2017 Gilbert Himself Documentary 2017 The Emoji Movie Internet Troll Voice A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. 2024 Ricky Stanicky Rabbi Greenberg 2024 Self Comedy Special
Television
1994 A&E's An Evening at the Improv Himself Episode: "Dom Irrera, Bob Dubac, Jeff Ross, and more!" 1996 Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist Jeffrey Voice, episode: "Blind Date" 1999 Cosby Carl 2 episodes 2000 Shasta McNasty Bank Manager Episode: "True Size" 2002 Greg the Bunny Security Guard Episode: "Welcome to Sweetknuckle Junction" 2002 Six Feet Under Shiva Comic Episode: "Back to the Garden" 2003 Dougie Max Episode: "Last Laugh" 2005 Weeds Billy Episode: "Dead in the Nethers" 2006 Where My Dogs At? Buddy Voice, 8 episodes 2007 The Sarah Silverman Program Himself Episode: "Ah, Men" 2010 Childrens Hospital Himself Episode: "Joke Overload" 2011 Big Time Rush Insult Comic Episode: "Big Time Guru" 2011 Himself Voice, episode: "Crisis: 22,300 Miles Above Earth!" 2012 Family Guy Himself Voice, 2 episodes 2012–2013 The Burn with Jeff Ross Himself 12 episodes 2014 Drunk History Francis Scott Key Episode: "Baltimore" 2014 The Simpsons Himself Voice, episode: "Clown in the Dumps" 2014 Comedy Bang! Bang! Himself Episode: "Amber Tamblyn Wears a Leather Jacket & Black Booties" 2016 Grandfathered Marv Episode: "Some Guy I'm Seeing" 2016 Dr. Ken Doug Episode: "Ken Tries Standup" 2016–2018 Jeff Ross Presents Roast Battle Himself 19 episodes 2016 The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show Aristophanes Voice, episode: "Aristophanes" 2016 Future-Worm! Mr. Bleaker Voice, 2 episodes 2017–2018 Crashing Himself 2 episodes 2017–2019 Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure Hook Foot Voice, 24 episodes 2017 American Dad! Chief Danny Voice, episode: "Camp Campawanda" 2017 Sonny Voice, 2 episodes 2017 Teachers Fire Marshal Brownstein Episode: "Toxic Workplace" 2018 Bumping Mics with Jeff Ross & Dave Attell Himself 3 episodes 2019 Sneaky Pete D.C. Doug 4 episodes 2019 Happy! Twigs Voice, 2 episodes 2019 Historical Roasts Himself 6 episodes 2019–2020 Crank Yankers Himself Voice, 2 episodes 2021 Ghost Adventures Himself 1 episode 2021 The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse Lonesome Ghosts Voice, episode: "Houseghosts" 2023 Celebrity Wheel of Fortune Himself - Contestant Episode: "Lauren Lapkus, Ego Nwodim and Jeff Ross" 2024 Stupid Pet Tricks Himself Episode: "Animal Speed Roast" 2024 Lopez vs Lopez Jeff Episode: "Lopez vs the Roast of George Lopez"
Discography
External links
Categories: Official Website, 1965 Births, Living People, 20th-century American Comedians, 20th-century American Jews, 20th-century American Male Actors, 20th-century American Male Writers, 20th-century American Screenwriters, 21st-century American Comedians, 21st-century American Jews, 21st-century American Male Actors, 21st-century American Male Writers, 21st-century American Screenwriters, American Comedy Writers, American Male Comedians, American Male Film Actors, American Male Screenwriters, American Male Television Actors, American Male Television Writers, American Male Voice Actors, American Stand-up Comedians, American Television Writers, Boston University College Of Communication Alumni, Comedians From Newark, New Jersey, Jewish American Comedy Writers, Jewish American Male Actors, Jewish American Comedians, Jewish American Screenwriters, Jewish Male Comedians, Jonathan Dayton High School Alumni, Male Actors From Newark, New Jersey, New Jersey Democrats, Participants In American Reality Television Series, People From Springfield Township, Union County, New Jersey, Screenwriters From New Jersey, Jews From New Jersey, Writers From Union County, New Jersey, Writers From Newark, New Jersey
|
|
