Robert Smigel
Robert Smigel (born February 7, 1960)[1] is an American actor, comedian, writer, director, producer, and puppeteer, known for his Saturday Night Live "TV Funhouse" cartoon shorts and as the puppeteer and voice behind Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. He also co-wrote the first two Hotel Transylvania films, You Don't Mess with the Zohan, and Leo, all starring Adam Sandler.
Robert Smigel
February 7, 1960
- Actor
- comedian
- writer
- director
- producer
- puppeteer
1985–present
Michelle Saks
3
Early life[edit]
Smigel was born in New York City, to Lucia and Irwin Smigel, an aesthetic dentist, innovator and philanthropist. He is Jewish and frequently went to Jewish summer camp.[2][3] He attended Cornell University, studying pre-dental,[4] and graduated from New York University's College of Arts and Science in 1983 with a degree in political science.[5][6]
Smigel began developing his comedic talent at The Players Workshop in Chicago, where he studied improvisation with Josephine Forsberg. Bob Odenkirk was a fellow student there. Smigel was also a member of the Chicago comedy troupe "All You Can Eat" in the early 1980s.
Personal life[edit]
Smigel has a wife, who was a lighting technician for the theater in Chicago presenting the comedy troupe All You Can Eat and the Temple of Dooom[19] that he joined, later a comedy writer[20] Michelle,[21] and three children.
Michelle and Robert serve on the board of NEXT for AUTISM, formerly New York Collaborates for Autism, a non-profit organization founded in 2003 to address the needs of autistic individuals and their families, as their eldest child has autism.[22] Smigel created the Night of Too Many Stars, a biannual celebrity fundraiser to benefit autism education.[23] He won a writing Emmy for the 2012 broadcast of Night of Too Many Stars.[24]