Wayne Federman

Wayne Federman is a Los Angeles-based comedian, actor, writer, and musician. He is best known for his stand-up comedy appearances, his recurring role on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm, and his many film and television roles. Wayne grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland and Plantation, Florida. His first musical instrument was drums and, at age 14, began performing in a band at local weddings. He also taught himself ventriloquism and performed at various school (South Plantation High School) functions as well as local churches and service organizations. While in Florida Federman made his film debut as an extra in John Frankenheimer's Black Sunday, shot at the Miami Orange Bowl. In the fall of 1977, Wayne was accepted to NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. There he studied with legendary acting coaches from the Group Theater: Stella Adler and Harold Clurman. Wayne also began developing his stand-up at various New York comedy clubs. It was during these years that he first incorporated music into his act. He closed his sets by playing Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix on an electric ukulele. Federman made his national television debut on the syndicated stand-up program Comedy Tonight in 1986. He also appeared in two home videos: New Wave Comedy and the Dodge Comedy Showcase. In LA, 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, Jeep-Eagle, 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. Federman also began landing small television parts which led him to roles in high profile films such as Legally Blonde, Jack Frost, 50 First Dates, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Step Brothers, Funny People, and The House. Wayne co-wrote and starred in Max and Josh, a short film that premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Volkswagen Relentless Drive Award. Wayne co-authored (with Marshall Terrill) an authorized biography of NBA basketball legend Pete Maravich. It became an Amazon Sports Bestseller. Federman was a founding member of the musical group Truck Stop Harrys, along with Tudor Sherrard and Matthew Porretta. 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. For two years Wayne Federman relocated to New York to help launch NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. He was the show's head monologue writer over its first season, and left in January 2010 and returned to Los Angeles.. He hosts the annual Wayne Federman International Film Festival, which features comedians screening the movies they love. His debut stand-up comedy album, The Chronicles of Federman, was a 30-year retrospect of his career. Laugh Button called it, "A must buy for anyone who considers themselves a comedy nerd." Federman also co-produced the Don Rickles' series web series Dinner with Don, Judd Apatow's Netflix stand-up special entitled The Return, and the two-part HBO documentary, The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling. Federman also wrote on the Independent Spirit Awards where he received three WGA Award nominations and one Emmy Award nomination for his work.