Pete Holmes
Peter Benedict Holmes (born March 30, 1979) is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and podcaster. Musings on spirituality and religion are frequent themes in his works.
For other people named Pete Holmes, see Pete Holmes (disambiguation).Pete Holmes
Peter Benedict Holmes
March 30, 1979
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Stand-up, television, film, podcast
2001–present
1
Holmes gained recognition in the early 2010s as a stand-up comic, during which he launched his podcast You Made It Weird (2011–present), released his first comedy special, and worked as an actor and television writer. Subsequently, he began his own late-night talk show The Pete Holmes Show (2013–2014), which ran on TBS for two seasons in the time-slot after Conan, a frequent champion of his work. During the decade, he released five comedy specials: Impregnated with Wonder (2011), Nice Try, The Devil (2013), Faces and Sounds (2016), Dirty Clean (2018), and I Am Not For Everyone (2023).
Holmes is most widely known for creating and starring in the semi-autobiographical scripted comedy series Crashing, which aired on HBO for three seasons (2017–2019). He has also worked as a voice actor and most recently starred in the 2022 CBS sitcom How We Roll.
Early life[edit]
Peter Benedict Holmes was born in Boston on March 30, 1979.[1] His mother is a Lithuanian refugee, while his father is American with Irish ancestry.[1] He has a brother who composes music under the name Dr. Holmes. He grew up in Lexington, Massachusetts, where he graduated from Lexington High School before attending Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts, where he graduated with a degree in English and Communications in 2001.[2] During this time, he played in a punk rock band and participated in an improvisational comedy troupe called The Sweaty-Toothed Madmen.
Partly at the behest of his mother, Holmes had plans to become a youth pastor. This gave way to public speaking, and his love for comedy won over his need to preach.[3] Finding little success as a comedian in his home state, he lived in Sleepy Hollow, New York, then moved to Chicago and then Los Angeles.
Career[edit]
2001–2009: Early career[edit]
Holmes career began in the New York City comedy scene. In the mid-2000s, he was making club appearances and took part in Comedy Central's Premium Blend, as a regular panelist on VH1's Best Week Ever, and on VH1's All Access.[2][4][5] He began working as a touring comic,[4] including on the Christian comedy circuit.[6] Since 2006, his cartoons have appeared in The New Yorker.[7]
Holmes also created and appeared in a Super Bowl XLIII ad for Doritos in 2009 featuring a fictional new flavor of the product, beer, in which each chip contains as much alcohol as a 16 o.z. can of beer.[8]
Influences[edit]
Holmes has listed "Weird Al" Yankovic, Brian Regan, Sinbad, Steve Martin, Conan O'Brien, Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Farley,[32] Dane Cook,[33] and Ray Romano[34] as his biggest comedic influences.[35]
Personal life[edit]
Holmes married his college girlfriend, whose identity he has never disclosed, at the age of 22; they divorced six years later after he discovered that she was cheating on him,[1] which later inspired his semi-autobiographical sitcom Crashing (2017–2019).[1][21][36][37] He married Valerie Chaney in late 2017.[38] Their daughter was born in September 2018.[39][40]
Holmes is a vegan.[1][41] He is a Christian who originally planned to become a youth pastor, and now jokingly refers to himself as "Christ-leaning" and a "hooraytheist".[3] He has often made fun of his 6 ft 6 in (198 cm) height,[42] and discussed the positives and negatives of being so tall with fellow 6 ft 6 in (198 cm) comedian Bo Burnham.[43]