Bess Kalb

Bess Kalb is an American Emmy Award-nominated writer for the Jimmy Kimmel Live! television show and journalist with The New Yorker magazine. She is the author of the best-selling book Nobody Will Tell You This But Me: A True (As Told to Me) Story, which recounts the life of her grandmother, Bobby Bell.

Bess Kalb
BornBess Bell Kalb
New York City
Occupation
  • Author
  • television writer
EducationBrown University
GenreComedy
Website
www.besskalb.com

Early life

Kalb was raised in Manhattan and Westchester.[1][2] She later moved to San Francisco, California[3] where she contributed articles to Wired, GQ.com, The New Republic, GOOD, Salon.com and other publications. In 2012, Kalb moved to Los Angeles to begin a comedy career.[4] She is Jewish.

Career

Kalb began writing comedy for Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2012;[5] the show airs on the ABC Network. In addition, she wrote for the 2012 Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony with Kimmel as the host.[6]

In 2013, she was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series for her work alongside the rest of the writing team of Jimmy Kimmel Live! including Tony Barbieri, Jonathan Bines, Joelle Boucai, Gary Greenberg, Sal Iacono, Eric Immerman, Josh Halloway, Jimmy Kimmel, Jeff Loveness, Molly McNearney, Bryan Paulk, Danny Ricker and Rick Rosner.[7]

Three years later, with Kimmel once again hosting the Primetime Emmy Awards, Kalb was part of the writing team.[8] Her work with Jimmy Kimmel Live! earned her a Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Comedy-Variety Talk Series that year as well.[9]

Working with Hillary Clinton, Kalb wrote for the Senator's Al Smith Dinner speech in February 2016.[10]

On May 28, 2017, Kalb's political-themed tweets gained the attention of President Donald Trump, who blocked her account from his Twitter feed.[11][12]

In 2018, Kalb did a stand-up comedy routine introducing Hillary Clinton at a fundraiser for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense and then-candidate Lucy McBath (now a congresswoman).[13]

On March 17, 2020, Kalb released her first book, Nobody Will Tell You This But Me: A True (As Told to Me) Story, from Knopf. The book tells the story of her grandmother, Bobby Bell, from her own mother's migration from Russia, her birth on a kitchen table in a Brooklyn tenement, to her life in upscale New York suburbs of Westchester[14] to her death at age 90. Kalb adds her own comedic observations of their relationship from their conversations and voicemails.[5]

Nobody Will Tell You This But Me was ranked No. 8 on the American Booksellers Association Indie Bestseller Hardcover Non-Fiction list.[15]

The audiobook is narrated by the author and produced by Random House Audio.

The film rights for the book were optioned by Sight Unseen Pictures, with Elizabeth Chomko (What They Had) set to direct. Kalb will write the screenplay.[16]

References
  1. Buckholtz, Alison (March 29, 2020). "Book review: Kalb spans generations with touching memoir". The Ledger. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  2. Leach, Samantha (December 29, 2020). "Bess Kalb Almost Looked Like The Long Island Lolita At Her Bat Mitzvah". The Spiel. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  3. Eber, Hailey (February 27, 2020). "TV Writer Bess Kalb Turned Her Grandmother's Hilarious Voicemails Into a Family History". LA Magazine. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  4. Moore, Jenni (April 21, 2020). "The Best Things to Do (While Staying Home and Staying Safe) in Portland: Tues April 21". Portland Mercury. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  5. Barton, Chris (March 20, 2020). "Bess Kalb channels her bubbeh". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  6. Kroll, Justin (April 9, 2020). "Elizabeth Chomko to Direct Bess Kalb's 'Nobody Will Tell You This But Me'". Variety. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  7. "65th Emmy Awards Nominees and Winners". www.emmys.com. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  8. "Bess Kalb Writer". IMDB. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  9. McNary, Dave (February 13, 2016). "WGA Honors 'Big Short,' 'Spotlight,' 'Mad Men' at 68th Awards". Variety. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  10. Stein, Joel (February 14, 2020). "The Day Cancel Culture Was Canceled". LA Magazine. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  11. France, Lisa (February 22, 2018). "Kimmel writer fires off scathing tweets at senators who accept NRA contributions". CNN.com. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  12. Feinberg, Ashley (June 14, 2017). "A Running List of People Donald Trump Has Blocked on Twitter". Wired. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  13. Bornstein, Zack (January 11, 2019). "The 28 Best Comedy Writers of the Year Who Will Die in Global Warming-Related Catastrophes". Paste Magazine. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  14. Popkey, Miranda (March 17, 2020). "The Ghost Writer: An Author Imagines a Letter From Her Late Grandmother". New York Times. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  15. "Best-seller List for April 8, 2020". www.bookweb.org. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  16. N'Duka, Amanda (April 9, 2020). "'What They Had' Helmer Elizabeth Chomko To Direct 'Nobody Will Tell You This But Me' Adaptation For 'Bad Hair' Producer". deadline.com. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
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