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Wayne Federman (born June 22, 1959) is an American comedian, actor, author, writer, comedy historian, producer, and musician. He performs in numerous stand-up comedy appearances in clubs, theaters, and on television; wrote a book, The History of Stand-Up; and has had supporting comedic acting roles in The X-Files, The Larry Sanders Show, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Silicon Valley, Legally Blonde, 50 First Dates, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and Step Brothers. He was the head monologue writer for NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in its first season. He won a 2022 Primetime Emmy Award for producing the HBO documentary George Carlin's American Dream.
In 1976, Federman worked as an extra in John Frankenheimer's Black Sunday, filmed at the Miami Orange Bowl. Federman is Jewish.
After attending NYU, Federman brought his one-man show to the 13th Street Theater. He performed in rotation there with Brother Theodore. Federman also starred in the theater's long-running production of Snow White, in which he played six roles. Soon he was performing stand-up comedy at various New York Comedy Clubs, most notably The Comic Strip (now known as Comic Strip Live) and Catch a Rising Star. During those years he incorporated music into his act. He closed his sets by playing hard rock tunes from Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Iron Butterfly, and The Rolling Stones on an electric ukulele.
Federman made his national television debut on the syndicated stand-up program Comedy Tonight in 1986. He appeared in two home videos: New Wave Comedy and the Dodge Comedy Showcase.
Federman began booking television commercials and appeared in dozens of national spots for clients including Eureka Vacuums, Holiday Inn, U.S. Navy, Wendy's, Taboo, Eagle cars (with Greg Kinnear), McDonald's, Glad Bags, Sprite, Total Raisin Bran, Ford, U.S. Olympic Team, Suzuki Samurai, Sizzler, Del Monte, U.S. Cellular, Coors, and 7–11. He gained some prominence as the first "not exactly" guy in the long-running Hertz Rent A Car campaign. Federman landed small television parts on Baywatch, Amen, Dear John, A Different World, Doogie Howser, M.D., and NewsRadio. He had recurring roles on L.A. Law (3 episodes) and Living Single (3 episodes).
In 1994, Federman made his debut on The Tonight Show and has appeared many times on the program. He also appeared on Late Fridays, Comedy Showcase, and Premium Blend. In 2004, he taped his own 1/2-hour stand-up special for the series, Comedy Central Presents. In 1998, he portrayed Larry Sander's brother Stan on The Larry Sanders Show and was later reunited with Garry Shandling on The X-Files episode "Hollywood A.D.". Written and directed by David Duchovny, the episode followed "Wayne Federman", a Hollywood producer/writer and college friend of assistant FBI director Walter Skinner.
Federman's film roles were in Jack Frost, Dill Scallion, Legally Blonde, 50 First Dates, , The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Unaccompanied Minors, Knocked Up, Step Brothers, Funny People, and The House. He became known for appearing in just one scene in a film and then disappearing; he calls that the "Federman-and-out".
In 2006, Federman landed the recurring role of "Johnson" on the short-lived CBS sitcom Courting Alex. He co-wrote and starred in Max and Josh, a short film which premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Volkswagen Relentless Drive Award. "Max and Josh Film Short" Retrieved February 11, 2017 From 2007 to 2013, Federman wrote, produced, and hosted an annual holiday variety show entitled A Very Federman Christmas at the Los Angeles nightclub Largo. Guests included Paul F. Tompkins, Kevin Nealon, Jon Hamm, Dana Gould, Sarah Silverman, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Samm Levine, Margaret Cho, Greg Behrendt, Willie Garson, Paul Williams, Matt Besser, John C. Reilly, and Andrew Daly.
He also provided voices for the animated series The Wild Thornberrys, King of the Hill, and American Dad!, as well as the voice of Cartoon Cartoon Friday on the Cartoon Network.
In 2007, Federman voiced a series of Labatt, a Canada beer, commercials, portraying a fish, a deer, a boulder, and a slab of ice. The ad was eventually pulled and re-edited when viewers complained of the implied vulgarity. In 2015, he voiced a camel (Phil) in a GEICO insurance commercial. In 2022, Federman voiced a character for George Carlin's American Dream, a HBO documentary.
In 2000, Federman was interviewed for and served as the senior consultant on, the Emmy award-winning CBS Sports documentary, '. He was featured on both SportsCentury: Pete Maravich on ESPN and in ESPN
Federman co-wrote several songs for the film Dill Scallion and was the music director and keyboardist for Maria Bamford's critically acclaimed The Special Special Special. Beginning in 2014, he became the piano player and music coordinator for Never Not Funny's annual internet telethon, Pardcast-A-Thon.
A Federman stand-up jokes about Woody Allen ("I’ve come to really admire Woody Allen. It’s been 14 years, and he’s still married to the same daughter.") was voted the No. 4 joke of the year in 2010 in a survey in the New York Post.
In 2014, Federman appeared with singer Kenny Rogers in a national GEICO commercial. In the spot, Rogers sings a portion of his song "The Gambler" during a poker game. In 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015, Federman co-wrote for the Independent Spirit Awards, hosted by Seth Rogen, Andy Samberg, Oswalt, and the team of Fred Armisen and Kristen Bell respectively. Federman received three Writers Guild of America Award nominations and one Emmy Award nomination for his work.
Federman wrote for the Creative Arts Emmys (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019), Critics Choice Awards (2016, 2017, 2020), and the Golden Globes (2017), the DGA Awards (2018, 2019, 2020, 2022), and the SAG Awards (2019).
From March 2015 until December 2017, Federman co-hosted the podcast Human Conversation with comedian Erin McGathy. McCarthy and Federman discussed various, oft-delightful, and meandering topics without the aid of technology. Human Conversation was suspended when McGathy moved to Ireland.
Federman launched a new podcast in September 2018 entitled, The History of Standup. Along with co-host Andrew Steven, the two chronicle the history of stand-up comedy from vaudeville to Netflix. In 2019 they completed a second season which focused on "venues, scenes, and events." Some guests who have appeared on The History of Standup include Margaret Cho, Mike Birbiglia, Tig Notaro, Lily Tomlin, Demetri Martin, Shecky Greene, Judd Apatow, Pete Holmes, Jimmy Pardo, journalist Julie Seabaugh, and comedy historian Kliph Nesteroff.
In 2016 Federman penned two articles for Vulture. One is about the enduring impact of comedian Richard Pryor's 1979 concert film, and the other references many comedy rooms which Federman played over 30-plus years performing stand-up comedy. In 2021 he wrote an article for Vulture entitled "The Wild Career of Jackie Mason."
| 2025 | Elsbeth | Jim | CBS Season 3, Episode 1 "Yes, And..." |
| 2023 | What We Do in the Shadows | Vampire Doctor | FX Season 5, Episode 6 "Urgent Care" |
| 2023 | Sweetwater | Referee Pete | Film - directed by Martin Guigui |
| 2021 | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon | Self - Guest | 5th Tonight Show appearance |
| 2020 | Silicon Valley | Stu | HBO Season 6, Episode 4 "Maximizing Alphaness" |
| 2020 | Bless This Mess | Lars | ABC Season 2, Episode 13 "Calm Down" |
| 2020 | Dummy | Stu - Sex Doll Repairman | Quibi Season 1, Episode 3 "Doll Parts" |
| 2019 | Eli | CBS Season 10, Episode 18 "Born to Run" | |
| 2019 | Crashing | Wayne Federman | HBO Season 3, Episode 4 "The Viewing Party", Season 2, Episode 7 "Artie" |
| 2018 | Alone Together | Mr. Sears | FreeForm, Season 2, Episode 3 "Nurse Esther" |
| 2018 | Love | Todd | Netflix Season 3, Episode 3 "Arya and Greg" |
| 2017 | Transparent | Uncle Jerry | Amazon Season 4, Episode 1 "Standing Order" Directed by Joey Soloway |
| 2017 | Difficult People | Executive Producer | Hulu Season 3, Episode 1 "Passover Bump" |
| 2017 | The House | Chip Dave | Film - directed by Andrew J. Cohen |
| 2017 | Sandy Wexler | Eric Lamonsoff | Film (Netflix) - directed by Steve Brill |
| 2016 | Life in Pieces | Dr. Saul Antro (recurring) | CBS Season 2, Episode 3 "Eyebrow Anonymous Trapped Gem", Season 2, Episode 6 "Boxing Opinion Spider Beard" |
| 2016 | Punching Henry | Carl Rohmer | Film - directed by Gregory Viens |
| 2016 | Documentary Now! | Mark Weisel | IFC Season 2, Episode 1 "The Bunker" |
| 2016 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | Professor Blanyard | IFC Season 5, Episode 16 "Ben Folds Wears a Black Button Down and Jeans" |
| 2016 | Childrens Hospital | Dr. Reed | Adult Swim Season 7, Episode 6 "DOY" |
| 2016 | It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia | Mr. Sanderson | FX Season 12, Episode 9 "A Cricket's Tale" |
| 2015 | Being Canadian | Himself | Documentary - directed by Rob Cohen |
| 2015 | Community | Father | Yahoo Screen Season 6, Episode 13 "Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television" Final Episode |
| 2015 | General Hospital | Justice of The Peace Fox | ABC Episode 13307 (live), Episode 13308 |
| 2015 | New Girl | Ned | Fox Season 4, Episode 8 "Teachers" |
| 2015 | Shameless | Norman | Showtime Season 5, Episode 7 "Tell Me You F**king Need Me" |
| 2014 | Hello Ladies | Father | The Movie - directed by Stephen Merchant |
| 2014 | Married | Lane | FX Season 1, Episode 6 "Invisible Man" |
| 2009 | Funny People | Comedy and Magic Manager | Director - Judd Apatow |
| 2009 | Curb Your Enthusiasm | Dean Weinstock | Season 1, Episode 6 "The Wire" Episode 62, "Vehicular Fellatio" |
| 2008 | Step Brothers | Don (Blind Neighbor) | Director - Adam McKay |
| 2008 | Knocked Up | Baseball Fantasy Guy | Director - Judd Apatow |
| 2007 | Wizards of Waverly Place | Mr. Kaminsky | Disney Channel Season 1, Episode 2 "First Kiss" |
| 2005 | The 40-Year-Old Virgin | SmartTech Customer | Director - Judd Apatow |
| 2005 | Bam Bam and Celeste | Redneck | Director - Margaret Cho |
| 2003 | Bathroom Guy | Director - McG | |
| 2001 | Legally Blonde | Harvard Admissions Board Member | Director - Robert Luketic |
| 2000 | The X-Files | Wayne Federman | FOX Season 7, Episode 19 "Hollywood A.D." written and directed by David Duchovny |
| 1999 | NewsRadio | Randy Stark | NBC Season 5, Episode 20 "Freaky Friday" |
| 1998 | The Wild Thornberrys | Various Roles | Animated Series |
| 1998 | The Larry Sanders Show | Stan Sanders | HBO Season 6, Episode 6 "Adolf Hankler" |
| 1995 | Living Single | Fred Meyer | FOX Season 2, Episodes 10,19 "Double Indignity" "Legal Briefs" Season 3, Episode 11 "Mommy Not Dearest" |
| 1992 | A Different World | A&M Wolf | NBC Season 5, Episode 14 "The Cat's in the Cradle" |
| 1991 | L.A. Law | TV Floor Manager | NBC Season 6, Episodes 2,7,15 "TV or Not TV" "Lose the Boss" "Great Balls Afire" |
| 1990 | WIOU | Singing Telegram Bear | CBS Season 1, Episode 1 "Pilot" |
| 1990 | Dear John | Paul | NBC Season 2, Episode 16 "Some Night to Remember" |
| 1989 | The Messenger | 4th and final installment of the original Parent Trap series | |
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