David Cross
David Cross (born April 4, 1964)[1] is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and director. Cross is best known for his stand-up performances, the HBO sketch comedy series Mr. Show with Bob and David (1995–1998), and his role as Tobias Fünke in the Fox/Netflix sitcom Arrested Development (2003–2006, 2013–2019).
For other people named David Cross, see David Cross (disambiguation).David Cross
Cross created, wrote, executive produced, and starred in The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret (2010–2016); developed and had a prominent role in Freak Show (2006); appeared on Modern Family (2011–2012); and portrayed Ian Hawke in the three live-action/computer animated films Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007), Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (2009), and Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (2011). Cross has also done voice work for the sitcom Oliver Beene (2003–2004), and has had lead voice-over roles in Curious George (2006), Battle for Terra (2007), the Kung Fu Panda film franchise (2008–2016), Megamind (2010), and Next Gen (2018).
In 1993, he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series for his work on The Ben Stiller Show. For Mr. Show with Bob and David, he gained three Primetime Emmy Award nominations, and for Arrested Development, Cross was nominated for a Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Television Series, and, along with his cast, for three Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. For his stand-up specials, he was nominated for several Grammy Awards.
Early life[edit]
Cross was born in Roswell, Georgia, to a Jewish family.[2][3][1] His parents are Barry, who emigrated from Leeds, England, and Susi Cross.[4]
Six months after his birth, Cross's family moved to Florida. After additional moves to New York and Connecticut, the family re-settled in Roswell, where Cross remained for nearly a decade. He is the oldest of three children and has two younger sisters, Juli and Wendy.[5]
The family had little money. Cross recalled they were evicted from their home and that he spent some time living in motels and at friends' homes in his youth.[6] Barry left the family when Cross was 10 years old; the two have not spoken since he was 19, though they both primarily resided in New York City until Cross sold his home there in 2011.[7]
Career[edit]
Stand-up[edit]
At age 17, Cross began performing stand-up comedy. The day after he graduated from Northside High School in Atlanta, Cross relocated to New York City. Lacking a plan, he drifted, working briefly for a lawn care company on Long Island. Later, he enrolled at Emerson College in Boston. He would drop out after a semester, but during his time there, Cross joined This is Pathetic, a college sketch group, where he met John Ennis. Aspiring towards an acting career, the two took a road trip to Los Angeles in the summer of 1985, although this did not significantly further their acting careers. In Boston, Cross began to perform stand-up more regularly. From the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, Boston had a booming comedy scene, although Cross did not fit the types of acts being booked most of the time. He recalls that it was "a loud, dumb, pandering, racist, homophobic-type scene".[8]
In 1990, a new comedy scene began to emerge at the comedy club chain Catch a Rising Star. Alongside Janeane Garofalo, Louis C.K., and other comics, Cross appeared regularly several nights a week. Cross formed the sketch comedy group "Cross Comedy" with 12 other performers, and they put on a new show every week. They were known for playing tricks on the audience, such as introducing fake comics or planting fake hecklers. Cross became increasingly focused on his comedy work.[8]
Cross later performed at the alternative comedy club Un-Cabaret in Los Angeles, where radio artist Joe Frank heard him, and hired him to appear in Frank's 1994 radio programs, "A Hearing" and "The Last Run" (in 1997 combined to become "The OJ Chronicles"),[9] where Cross appears as OJ's valet. Cross also starred in the Joe Frank program "Jam", produced in 1999,[10] and worked with Frank on radio shows for KCRW's Unfictional: "A Conversation" (2013)[11] and "Downfall" (2015).[12]
Cross's stand-up comedy blends political commentary and satire.[13] In 1999, he performed a one-hour comedy special, The Pride Is Back, on HBO. In 2003, he released his first tour film, Let America Laugh, and was named #85 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest stand-ups of all time. He has released five comedy albums: 2002's Shut Up You Fucking Baby!, 2004's It's Not Funny, 2010's Bigger and Blackerer, 2016's Making America Great Again/...America... Great..., and 2019's Oh, Come On. He was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album twice, in 2003 for Shut Up You Fucking Baby! and in 2016 for ...America... Great....[14]
Cross's first three records were released on CD by indie-rock label Sub Pop, and on vinyl by comedy label Stand Up! Records for Shut Up and It's Not Funny. He self-released 2016's ...America... Great... on CD, with Stand Up! again releasing a vinyl version. Oh, Come On was released by Comedy Dynamics.[15][16][17][18] Cross tends to release his albums in overlapping audio and video formats which each contain material not found on the other. This is the case on Bigger and Blackerer, Oh, Come On, and perhaps most obviously the 2016 companion set Making America Great Again (a Netflix film) and ...America... Great... (CD/vinyl audio), which have different titles.[19][20] Oh, Come On's video and audio versions were recorded at two different shows on the same tour.[21]
Cross's stand-up material was featured in Comedy Central's 2004 animated series Shorties Watchin' Shorties. He appears on several Un-Cabaret compilation albums, including Freak Weather Feels Different and The Good, the Bad and the Drugly.
Influences[edit]
Cross has said his comedic influences include Bill Hicks,[46] Andy Kaufman,[47] Monty Python's Flying Circus,[47] Lou Costello,[47] Steven Wright,[47] Richard Pryor,[47] and Lenny Bruce.[47]
Personal life[edit]
In August 2011, after four years of dating, Cross became engaged to Amber Tamblyn. They married in 2012.[67] On February 21, 2017, Tamblyn announced that she and Cross have a daughter.[68][69][70]
Cross, who was raised with Judaism, has described himself as an atheist.[2][3] He describes his political philosophy as "definitely more socialist Democrat than centrist politician".[71] In an interview in 2016, Cross praised Senator Bernie Sanders and said he admired Sanders "way before he ran for President".[72] In 2021, Cross featured on a video produced by the Gravel Institute, a progressive think tank.[73]
On September 26, 2013, Kickstarter co-founder Yancey Strickler revealed that Cross was the first investor in the crowdfunding platform. Strickler included Cross among the "friends and family" who first financed Kickstarter in 2006.[74]
Cross is a fan of and friends with the musical group Beastie Boys. He is sampled on the beginning of the group's single "Ch-Check It Out" from their album To the 5 Boroughs. One of the group's members, Mike D, did not believe that this was Cross's voice in the sample, and Cross says he had to perform the voice in front of Diamond to prove it was actually him. Cross revealed this while hosting the Beastie Boys SiriusXM channel.[75] Cross also appeared in the group's music video for "Make Some Noise" which was nominated for Video of The Year at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards.[76] In Spike Jonze documentary Beastie Boys Story in 2020, Cross has a post-credit scene in which he interrupts the group's theater performance to poke fun at the commercial failure of their second album, Paul's Boutique.[77]
