David Steinberg's Main TV Roles Show Character(s) The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson David Stein…

Main Movie Roles 2005 - The Aristocrats 1997 - The Wrong Guy 1978 - The End

BIOGRAPHY:

Comedian David Steinberg, born in 1942, grew up in Winnipeg, Canada, the son of a highly strict Rumanian rabbi. The family moved to Chicago when he was a teen. Initially interested in religion as a vocation, he by chance caught a performance of observational comedian and satirist Lenny Bruce, which not only changed his outlook on life but his career ambitions. In the early 60s, Steinberg honed his comedic skills as a member of Chicago's Second City Comedy Troupe. He didn't fit in well with the improv mode and eventually went solo where his standard routines revolved around his own childhood and youthful rebellion to religion. A brief occupation with acting led to Broadway roles in "Little Murders" and "Carry Me Back to Morningside Heights" in the late 60s, the latter directed by Sidney Poitier. On TV, Steinberg appeared extensively on the variety show/talk show circuits. He wrote and performed for "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" (1967) where his irreverent "sermons" begged for censorship and supposedly contributed to the show's cancellation. Steinberg's sometimes racy, usually anti-establishment stance of the late 60s/early 70s made him a favorite among the young and disillusioned. Steinberg released four solo comedy albums and CBS gave him his own summer comedy variety series with "The David Steinberg Show" (1972). Fading from view after a time, he made his directorial debut with the feature Paternity (1981) and, the following year, his TV directorial debut with an episode of "Newhart" (1982). In the 90s, he became the executive producer of the popular CBS-TV "Designing Women" (1986) and, in 1994, returned to performing stand-up live. Extensive TV credits as executive producer and director include episodes of "Seinfeld" (1990) and "Mad About You" (1992). Steinberg has won two Emmy Awards for his writing on Oscar telecasts in the early 90s. Acting roles in such movies as The Lost Man (1969) with Sidney Poitier, The End (1978/I) with Burt Reynolds (I), and Something Short of Paradise (1979) have been for the most part negligible.


TRIVIA:

• Has a sister named Tammy and a brother in law named Harry Lazer. Had a brother named Fishy and had a brother named Hymie.
• The Smothers Brothers' first CBS variety show was put on notice not to have Steinberg do any more of his notoriously irreverent impromptu biblical sketches after a piece on Moses was aired. 'Tom Smothers' (qv) ignored this, and asked Steinberg to do another piece (on Jonah) which was taped, but CBS refused to air the show, and canceled the series.
• Has two children: Sasha and Rebecca.