Colonel William A. Phillips

Joseph Pera (born c. 1988/1989[1]) is an American comedian, writer and actor. He is best known as the creator and star of Adult Swim's Joe Pera Talks with You, which entered development following the success of the 2016 specials Joe Pera Talks You to Sleep, and ran for three seasons.[2]

Early life

Joe Pera was born in Buffalo, New York and raised in the suburb of Amherst.[3][4]

He studied film at Ithaca College, where he competed in and won the college's stand-up competition three times.[5] Pera graduated from Ithaca College in 2010.[6][7] He moved to New York City to pursue comedy and participated in open mic nights as often as possible.[8]

Career

Known for his slow, "grandfatherly" delivery and his penchant for wearing sweaters, Pera created the Adult Swim Infomercial Joe Pera Talks You to Sleep.[9] This was followed by an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers, and another stand-alone Adult Swim special titled Joe Pera Helps You Find the Perfect Christmas Tree.[10] Thanks to the success of those programs (all produced by Chestnut Walnut, founded by him and Conner O'Malley),[11] Pera developed a television series for Adult Swim, which premiered on May 20, 2018, titled Joe Pera Talks with You.[8] He appeared on the talk show Conan on March 28, 2017, and on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on December 4, 2019.[12][13] In 2021, Joe Pera released a book named A Bathroom Book for People Not Pooping or Peeing but Using the Bathroom as an Escape which was illustrated by Joe Bennett.[14]

On January 31, 2023, Joe and Chestnut Walnut announced a podcast to help people fall asleep called, Drifting Off With Joe Pera. It is similar to his "Talks You To Sleep" series. Episodes are released on the first Sunday of every month, features a guest interview, a guest musician, and a philosophical monologue on a given topic. On March 3, 2023, Joe made a brief appearance on EHFM's Radio show "No Dancing",[15] where he discussed his thoughts on moving slowly and reflectively and shared a piece of music he was working on. He appears at 31:40. On October 6, 2023, Pera released a 56-minute standup special titled Joe Pera: Slow and Steady on YouTube.[16][17]

Personal life

In a video to his YouTube channel, Pera endorsed Democratic candidate India Walton for mayor of Buffalo, New York in the 2021 election.[18]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2016 5 Doctors Davis
2017 Snowy Bing Bongs Across the North Star Combat Zone Jim
2023 Elemental Fern Grouchwood (voice)

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2013–14 The Chris Gethard Show Zero Fucks Boyd 4 episodes
2014 New Timers Myron 2 episodes
2016 Joe Pera Talks You to Sleep Himself Short; part of Infomercials
Joe Pera Helps You Find the Perfect Christmas Tree
2017 Conan March 28
2018–21 Joe Pera Talks with You 32 episodes; also creator, executive producer and writer
2019 The Late Show with Stephen Colbert December 4
Late Night with Seth Meyers December 18
2020 Relaxing Old Footage with Joe Pera Special
F Is for Family Alaquippa Ed (voice) 6 episodes
2022 Search Party Dr. Inane Episode: "Song of Songs"
Bob's Burgers Christopher (voice) Episode: "Ferry on My Wayward Bob and Linda"

YouTube series

Year Title Role Notes
2014 The Perfect Week[19] Himself 7 episode mini-series hosted by JASH with trailer
Pancake Breakfast Critic[20] 3 episode mini-series hosted by MTV
2015 How To Make It in USA[21] 9 episode mini-series co-starring Conner O'Malley
2021 Townsends[22] Appears in 7 episodes
2023 Stavvy's World[23] Episode 21: "Dan Licata and Joe Pera"
2023 Drifting Off with Joe Pera[24] mini-series with co-stars

Podcast

Year Show Episode Title Guests
2023 Drifting Off With Joe Pera[25] JAN Introduction to Drifting off with Joe Pera[26] Himself
FEB Soup[27] Jo Firestone; Music by Ryan Dann
MAR A History of Clock Chimes[28] Carmen Christopher; Music by Michael Cormier-O'Leary
APR Video Games[29] Roger Clark; Music by Dan Deacon
MAY An Audio Tour of Ireland[30] Dr. Art Hughes and Daniel Simonsen; Music By Julianna Barwick
JUN My Answering Machine[31] Todd Barry; Music by Yo La Tengo
JUL D(r)iving[32] Peter Sohn; Music by Ryan Dann
AUG From Books 'Round My Desk[33] Himself; Music by Ryan Dann
SEP Music Shop[34] Himself; Music by Karima Walker
OCT Ghosts of New York City[35] Ana Fabrega and Tom Delgado; Music by Ryan Dann
NOV WaterfallTV[36] Himself; Music by Michael Nau
DEC Christmas Tree Lit[37] Himself and Whitmer Thomas; Music by Mary Lattimore
Mal Posso Esperar #13 Electric Toothbrushes & Overhead Shots with Joe Pera Himself
Stavy's World #21 Dan Licata and Joe Pera Himself and Dan Licata

References

  1. ^ Burke, Jason (February 18, 2014). "Comedians Under 30 To Check Out This Year". Complex. Archived from the original on May 12, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2018. Joe Pera ... Age: 25
  2. ^ Maas, Tyler (July 7, 2022). "'Joe Pera Talks With You' has been canceled "for now"". Milwaukee Record. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  3. ^ "Interview with Joe Pera: the comedian on the influences behind his adult swim show". 6Park. November 9, 2021. Archived from the original on June 16, 2022. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  4. ^ "Amherst resident involved in creation of sitcom". AmherstBee. December 6, 2006. Archived from the original on January 9, 2024. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  5. ^ "Joe Pera". MASS MoCA. June 1, 2016. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  6. ^ Pirani, Steven (November 21, 2013). "Alumnus named finalist in Comedy Central contest". The Ithacan. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved May 2, 2020. With three victories in the Ithaca College Annual Stand-Up Competition during his undergraduate years, Joe Pera '10 ...
  7. ^ Anderson, Joey (March 29, 2016). "Joe Pera, IC Alum, Gets Noticed With 4 A.M. Show". Odyssey. Archived from the original on May 2, 2020. Retrieved May 2, 2020. Joe Pera, a 2010 IC alum ...
  8. ^ a b "Interview with Joe Pera". Texas Travesty. April 25, 2018. Archived from the original on May 12, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  9. ^ Quah, Nicholas. "Joe Pera, The Sleep King". Vulture. New York Magazine. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
  10. ^ Ciemcioch, Mark (December 9, 2016). "Let Joe Pera help you find a Christmas tree". Buffalo News. Archived from the original on May 12, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  11. ^ "Peaceful Reflections Of The Apocalypse by Tom Hunt – Animation Film @ Brooklyn Film Festival". Brooklynfilmfestival.org. April 27, 2018. Archived from the original on May 18, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  12. ^ "Team Coco". teamcoco.com. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  13. ^ Wright, Megh (December 5, 2019). "Joe Pera and Stephen Colbert Discuss the Soothing Joys of Grocery Shopping". Vulture. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  14. ^ "A Bathroom Book for People Not Pooping or Peeing but Using the Bathroom as an Escape". us.macmillan.com/. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  15. ^ "Mixcloud". www.mixcloud.com. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  16. ^ Minsker, Evan (October 7, 2023). "Watch Joe Pera's New Stand-Up Special Slow & Steady". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  17. ^ Pera, Joe. "Joe Pera: Slow & Steady". Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  18. ^ Important phone call to Buffalo (with India Walton), retrieved September 10, 2023
  19. ^ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOg1r3RmAaWlbiVpX_-r0rIX6mJukRuI6
  20. ^ https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdCJ4aV6PLnUC-XmtDQGcojNgj5UX179C
  21. ^ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOg1r3RmAaWn-tuV8fHmrKw0S-tNFXnqZ
  22. ^ "Joe Pera Makes a Stool for Our Cabin - Townsends Wilderness Homestead". Retrieved November 13, 2021 – via www.youtube.com.
  23. ^ Stavvy's World #21 - Dan Licata and Joe Pera | Full Episode, retrieved May 5, 2023
  24. ^ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOg1r3RmAaWkKAJVrVpQYCS2BBmzfX2B5
  25. ^ "Drifting Off with Joe Pera on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. October 9, 2023. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  26. ^ Drifting Off with Joe Pera - Sleep Podcast Trailer, retrieved October 23, 2023
  27. ^ Drifting Off with Joe Pera (sleep podcast) - Ep 1: SOUP ft. Jo Firestone, retrieved October 23, 2023
  28. ^ Drifting Off with Joe Pera - Ep. 2: A HISTORY OF CLOCK CHIMES ft. Michael Cormier-O'Leary, retrieved October 23, 2023
  29. ^ Drifting Off with Joe Pera - Ep. 3: VIDEO GAMES ft. Dan Deacon & Roger Clark, retrieved March 6, 2024
  30. ^ Drifting Off with Joe Pera - Ep. 4: AN AUDIO TOUR OF IRELAND ft. Julianna Barwick & Dr. Art Hughes, retrieved October 23, 2023
  31. ^ Drifting Off with Joe Pera - Ep. 5: MY ANSWERING MACHINE ft. Yo La Tengo & Todd Barry, retrieved October 23, 2023
  32. ^ Drifting Off with Joe Pera - Ep. 6: D(R)IVING ft. Director Peter Sohn, retrieved October 23, 2023
  33. ^ Drifting Off with Joe Pera - Ep. 7: From Books 'Round My Desk, retrieved October 23, 2023
  34. ^ Drifting Off with Joe Pera - Ep. 8: Music Shop ft. Karima Walker, retrieved October 23, 2023
  35. ^ Drifting Off with Joe Pera - Ep. 9: Ghosts of New York City ft. Ana Fabrega & Tom Delgado, retrieved October 23, 2023
  36. ^ Drifting Off with Joe Pera - Ep. 10: WaterfallTV ft. Michael Nau, retrieved February 19, 2024
  37. ^ Drifting Off with Joe Pera - Ep. 11: Christmas Tree Lit ft. Mary Lattimore & Whitmer Thomas, retrieved February 19, 2024

External links