Bobby Lee
Robert Lee Jr. (born September 17, 1971) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and podcaster. From 2001 to 2009, Lee was a cast member on MADtv, and he co-starred in the ABC single-camera sitcom series Splitting Up Together alongside Jenna Fischer and Oliver Hudson between 2018 and 2019. Lee has also appeared in the films Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004), Pineapple Express (2008), and The Dictator (2012). He had a guest appearance as the cynical, burned-out Dr. Kang on FX on Hulu's TV comedy series Reservation Dogs.
| Bobby Lee | |
|---|---|
 Lee in 2023 | |
| Birth name | Robert Lee Jr. |
| Born | September 17, 1971 San Diego, California, U.S. |
| Medium | |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Genres | Observational comedy, black comedy, blue comedy |
| Subject(s) | Human behavior, human sexuality, American politics, gender differences |
| Parent(s) | Robert and Jeanie Lee |
Lee co-hosts the podcast TigerBelly with his ex-partner, Khalyla Kuhn; he is also the co-host of the podcast Bad Friends with Andrew Santino.
Early life and education
Lee was born on September 17, 1971, to Korean immigrant parents Jeanie and Robert Lee.[1][2] He and his younger brother Steve grew up in Poway, California.[3] His parents owned clothing stores in both Escondido and Encinitas, California.[2][4]
Lee has said he was sexually assaulted at nine years old by a man with Down syndrome.[5][6]
He attended Painted Rock Elementary School, Twin Peaks Middle School, and Poway High School.[2] In high school, he was part of a breakdancing team.[7] At 18, Lee moved out of his parents' home and took jobs in restaurants and coffee shops in the San Diego area[8] while attending Palomar College, which he later dropped out of.[2]
Career
Lee worked various jobs at cafes and restaurants before pursuing a career in comedy. In 1994, the coffee shop where he was working abruptly closed.[8][9] "I just went next door to get a job," he said, "which was The Comedy Store in San Diego" (also known as the La Jolla Comedy Store).[8] After a few months of working odd jobs at the club, he decided to try stand-up during one of their amateur nights.[8] Within a year of doing regular comedy sets, he received offers to open for both Pauly Shore and Carlos Mencia.[2][8] Lee went on to work regularly at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles, a comedy club owned by Pauly Shore's mother Mitzi.[2]
Lee has said that his parents had hoped he would continue on with the family business and were less than supportive of his comedic pursuits at first.[2][8][4] During a podcast interview conducted by fellow actor and comedian Joe Rogan on February 1, 2011, Lee stated that during the first few years he did stand-up, his parents barely spoke to him. However, after his appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno his father called him, asked how much he had to pay to be on the show, and then apologized for not supporting his comedy career.[10]
Lee has included his family in some of his work; his younger brother has appeared in several non-speaking roles on MADtv, and his entire family has appeared in a sketch on the show. Lee also pitched a sitcom to Comedy Central in 2007 about a Korean family which was to star his own family.[4]
Lee hosted the 9th MusiCares MAP Fund Benefit Concert in 2013.[11]
In 2020, Lee began co-hosting the Bad Friends podcast with Andrew Santino.[12]
MADtv
In 2001, Lee joined the cast of MADtv,[4] making him the show's first and only Asian cast member. He has publicly expressed that he dreaded playing the characters Bae Sung and Connie Chung, as well as the "Average Asian" skits.[8] Lee remained with the cast until the series' cancellation in 2009[8] and returned briefly when MADtv was revived in 2016 on The CW. Some of Lee's recurring characters included:
| Character name | Description |
|---|---|
| Kim Jong-il | Host of the imaginary Kim Jong-il Show |
| Connie Chung | Journalist |
| Bae Sung | The hapless interpreter |
| Tank | Asian-American "Street Tuner" character in the style of the film The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift |
| Xing Lao "Johnny" Gan | Host of Many Shows! With Johnny Gan and Pongo |
| "The Blind Kung-fu Master" | Title character |
| Dr. Poon Ji-Sum | Character on the Korean soap opera parody Taedo-Attitudes and Feelings, Both Desirable and Sometimes Secretive |
| Hideki "The Average Asian" | Asian man whose friends think he adheres to the stereotypes associated with East Asian people |
| John McCain | United States Senator from Arizona |
| Stewie Griffin | Infant super-villain in a live-action re-creation of a scene from the Family Guy episode "Fast Times at Buddy Cianci High" |
| Yamanashi | Student in gym class of Coach Hines (Keegan-Michael Key), who always gets yelled at and harassed by Coach Hines (whether or not he deserved it). |
TigerBelly podcast
| TigerBelly | |
|---|---|
| Presentation | |
| Hosted by | Bobby Lee Khalyla Kuhn |
| Genre | Talk |
| Format | Audio & Video |
| Language | English |
| Length | 60–90 minutes |
| Production | |
| Production | Bobby Lee Khalyla Kuhn Gilbert Galon George Kimmel Bryce Hallock |
| No. of episodes | 343 (as of April 18, 2022) |
| Publication | |
| Original release | September 1, 2015 |
| Related | |
| Website | TheTigerBelly.com |
TigerBelly is a video podcast hosted by Bobby Lee and his ex-partner, Khalyla Kuhn, that they started in 2015, with appearances by technical engineer Gilbert Galon and producer George Kimmel. Kuhn became interested in doing podcasts of her own after she was a guest on the DVDASA podcast.[13] The show's intro song "Shadow Gook" was written and produced by Lee and performed by Lee and Kuhn.[14] The hosts discuss events from their lives and news topics from popular culture, often revolving around Asian American issues related to the entertainment industry, adolescence, sexuality, ethnicity, racism, and politics.
Lee and Erik Griffin initially pitched a podcast to All Things Comedy, and they were immediately signed but they could never make the time to meet.[15] Around this time Lee and Kuhn were visiting her family in the Philippines, when Kuhn came down with serious heart trouble.[16] She spent weeks in hospitals and couldn't return to her nursing job.[16] She needed something to do to keep busy and so started her own podcast. Lee came on her show and the chemistry was so good that Lee decided to instead focus on podcasts with Kuhn.[16]
As TigerBelly grew, Lee and Kuhn needed an engineer to watch over the computer and consult on technical issues, so they asked Gilbert to handle the technical side of the podcast; Lee had met Gilbert at a viewing of a Manny Pacquiao fight.[17] Lee met future TigerBelly producer George Kimmel when he was working on The Station comedy channel for Maker Studios,[18] where Kimmel was working as a producer.[19]
Since 2018 Lee has made several appearances as recurring character Jin Jeong in the new Magnum P.I. TV-series.
Personal life
Lee began taking methamphetamine and marijuana around age 12, as well as heroin by age 15, and went through three drug-rehabilitation attempts before becoming sober when he was 17.[3][20][21] Lee relapsed on Vicodin and ended 12 years of sobriety after receiving negative feedback from a producer.[22][3] He got sober after MADtv producer Lauren Dombrowski fought for him after he was fired from the show a second time, a story which Lee discusses in his appearance on the pilot episode of Comedy Central's TV series This Is Not Happening.[23] On TigerBelly episode 224, Lee admitted to guest Theo Von that he had relapsed after his father's death in August 2019 from Parkinson's disease.[24] He subsequently went to rehab and became sober again.[25] Lee has stated that he is a recovering alcoholic.[16]
Lee is long-time Arsenal Football Club supporter.
Lee is also an avid fan of computer games, playing FIFA, Stardew Valley, The Elder Scrolls, Red Dead Redemption 2, and The Witcher series.
Lee's younger brother, Steve Lee, is a musician[26] and also a comedian. He hosts The Steebee Weebee podcast and co-hosts the Scissor Bros podcast with comedian Jeremiah Watkins. Steve has also made guest appearances alongside Bobby on MADtv, especially in sketches featuring Kim Jong-il and Tank.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | The Underground Comedy Movie | Chinese Man | [27] |
| 2003 | Pauly Shore Is Dead | Delivery Boy | |
| American Misfits | Korean General | Video | |
| 2004 | Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle | Kenneth Park | |
| 2005 | Accidentally on Purpose | Bobby | Short |
| 2006 | Undoing | Kenny | |
| Thugaboo: Sneaker Madness | Mr. Lee Young/William Hung (voice) | TV movie | |
| 2007 | Kickin' It Old Skool | Aki | |
| 2008 | Killer Pad | Winnie | |
| Pineapple Express | Bobby | ||
| Larry of Arabia | Bobby | Short | |
| 2009 | Soldiers of Capernaum | - | Video |
| 2010 | Fudgy Wudgy Fudge Face | Kangaroo Hands | |
| Hard Breakers | Travis | ||
| 2011 | Paul | Valet | |
| A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas | Kenneth Park | ||
| 2012 | The Dictator | Mr. Lao | |
| 2013 | Final Recipe | Park | |
| Wedding Palace | Kevin | ||
| Jesus is My Co-Pilot | Himself | Short | |
| 2014 | Meet Me at the Reck | Himself | Video |
| Bro, What Happened? | Brah Man | ||
| Out of Love | Stanley | Short | |
| 2015 | The Comments | Hugh | Short |
| 2016 | Laid in America | Goose | |
| Keeping Up with the Joneses | Ricky Lu | ||
| 2018 | Curious Georgina | Bobby | Short |
| Public Disturbance | Chuck | ||
| 2019 | Extracurricular Activities | Mr. Mulnick | |
| 2020 | The Wrong Missy | Check-In Desk Employee | |
| Guest House | Benny | ||
| 2021 | Wish Dragon | Tall Goon (voice) | |
| How It Ends | Derek | ||
| Hero Mode | VP Goodson | ||
| 2023 | Death and Ramen | Timmy Lee | Short |
| 2023 | The Throwback | Charles |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Arli$ | - | Episode: "D-Day" |
| 2001 | Late Friday | Himself | Episode: "Episode #1.19" |
| The Brothers Garcia | Pet Store Clerk | Episode: "But Football Is a Religion" | |
| 2001–16 | Mad TV | Himself/Cast Member | Featured Cast: Season 7 & 15, Main Cast: Season 8–14 |
| 2004 | I Love the '90s | Himself | Episode: "1995" & "1999" |
| Faking It | Himself | Episode: "Fireman to Funnyman" | |
| 2005 | Minding the Store | Himself | Episode: "Makeover" & "La Jolla" |
| The Drop | Himself | Episode: "Episode #3.14" | |
| Party @ the Palms | Chu | Episode: "Episode #1.6" | |
| Curb Your Enthusiasm | Sung | Episode: "The Korean Bookie" | |
| 2005–06 | Mind of Mencia | Asian CSI Agent/Gay Pirate | Episode: "Episode #1.6" & "Stereotype Olympics" |
| 2006 | Icons | Himself | Episode: "Jamie Kennedy" |
| Comedy Zen | Himself | Episode: "Episode #1.4" | |
| 2007 | American Dad! | Danny (voice) | Episode: "Bush Comes to Dinner" |
| 2007–14 | Chelsea Lately | Himself/Round Table Guest | Recurring Round Table Guest |
| 2008 | Asian Excellence Awards | Himself/Host | Main Host |
| 2009 | Live at Gotham | Himself/Host | Episode: "Episode #4.2" |
| Whorified! The Search for America's Next Top Whore | Himself | Episode: "Reality TV Made Me Do It" | |
| Family Guy | Sharply Dressed Asian Man (voice) | Episode: "Business Guy" | |
| The League | Chu | Episode: "The Usual Bet" | |
| 2009–19 | Laugh Factory | Himself | Recurring Guest |
| 2010 | Supreme Court of Comedy | Himself | Episode: "Tom Arnold vs. Bobby Lee" |
| Ktown Cowboys | Himself | Episode: "Episode #1.9" | |
| Cubed | Bob Yamamoto | Recurring Cast: Season 1, Guest: Season 2 | |
| 2011 | After Lately | Himself | Episode: "The 'M' Word" |
| Big Time Rush | T.J. | Episode: "Big Time Reality" | |
| Family Guy | Chinese Man (voice) | Episode: "Amish Guy" | |
| 2012 | Equals Three | Himself | Episode: "Spelling Bee" |
| Samurai! Daycare | Park | Recurring Cast | |
| RVC: The Lone Shopping Network | Hiri | Episode: "Father of My Squids" | |
| 2012–13 | Animal Practice | Dr. Yamamoto | Main Cast |
| 2013 | Who Gets the Last Laugh? | Himself | Episode: "Bam Margera/Bobby Lee/Matt Besser" |
| Gotham Comedy Live | Himself/Host | Episode: "Bobby Lee" | |
| Knife Fight | Himself | Episode: "Travi vs. Kuramoto" | |
| Internet Shock Quiz | Himself | Episode: "Bobby Lee's Racist Confession" | |
| JustKiddingFilms | Himself | Episode: "Don't Bang My Wife" & "Sharing Is Caring" | |
| Arrested Development | Mrs. Oh | Episode: "Queen B." | |
| Tubbin' with Tash | Tiger Belly | Episode: "Chelsea Handler" & "Chelsea Peretti & Reggie Watts" | |
| Sean Saves the World | Mr. Kim | Episode: "Sean Comes Clean" | |
| 2013–14 | Kill Tony | Himself/Guest Host | Episode: "Kill Tony #9" & "Kill Tony #32" |
| Deal with It | Himself | Recurring Cast: Season 1, Guest: Season 3 | |
| 2013–15 | The Awesomes | Tim/Sumo (voice) | Main Cast |
| 2014 | TripTank | Mongolian/Mongolian Leader/Li Ching (voice) | Episode: "The Green" & "Candy Van Finger Bang" |
| The League | Lee Wei Lee | Episode: "Epi Sexy" | |
| 2014–16 | This Is Not Happening | Himself | Recurring Guest |
| 2015 | The Comedians | Fortune Teller's nephew | Episode: "Billy's Birthday" |
| Bad Weather Films | Himself | Episode: "Hottest Instagram Models" | |
| NCIS: Los Angeles | Rio Syamsundin | Episode: "Blame It on Rio" | |
| 2015–19 | Nature Cat | MC Ferret (voice) | Recurring Cast: Season 1–3 |
| 2016 | Jeff Ross Presents Roast Battle | Himself/Judge | Episode: "Road to Roast Battle" |
| Bad Weather Films | Himself | Episode: "Movie Directors" | |
| @midnight | Himself | Episode: "Episode #4.6" | |
| Another Period | Sea Captain | Episode: "Lillian's Wedding" & "The Duel" | |
| Son of Zorn | Jakton | Episode: "The War of the Workplace" | |
| 2016–18 | Love | Truman | Recurring Cast |
| 2017 | The Comedy Jam | Himself | Episode: "Tiffany Haddish/Chris Hardwick/Bobby Lee" |
| Funny You Should Ask | Himself | Recurring Guest | |
| Comrade Detective | New York Degenerate (voice) | Episode: "Two Films for One Ticket" | |
| What Would Diplo Do? | Brian | Main Cast | |
| Real Rob | Kim Lin | Episode: "Best Play Date Ever" | |
| 2018 | Something’s Burning | Himself | Episode: "Bobby Lee & Chris D'Elia Make Homemade Pasta w/ Bert Kreischer" |
| Alone Together | Stan | Episode: "Pop-Up" | |
| NCIS: Los Angeles | Jeff Carol | Episode: "Goodbye, Vietnam" | |
| 2018–19 | Splitting Up Together | Arthur | Main Cast |
| 2019 | Family Style | Himself | Episode: "Sweets" |
| Beyond the Arc | Himself | Episode: "Montreal" | |
| 2019–23 | Magnum P.I. | Jin | Recurring Cast: Season 2-4, Guest: Season 5 |
| 2020 | Game On! | Himself/Captain | Main Captain |
| The Stand-Up Show with Jon Dore | Himself | Episode: "Episode #1.5" | |
| The Cabin with Bert Kreischer | Himself | Episode: "Release" | |
| The Comedy Store | Himself | Main Guest | |
| Dream Corp LLC | Tricky Ricky | Recurring Cast: Season 3 | |
| 2021 | Fast Foodies | Himself | Episode: "Bobby Lee" |
| Nailed It! | Himself/Guest Judge | Episode: "Travel Dos and Donuts" | |
| Well Done with Sebastian Maniscalco | Himself | Episode: "The Macaroniscalco" | |
| Immoral Compass | Dylan | Episode: "Part 2: Secrets" | |
| 2021–22 | Reservation Dogs | Dr. Kang | Guest: Season 1, Recurring Cast: Season 2 |
| Inside Job | Dr. Andre (voice) | Main Cast | |
| 2021–23 | And Just Like That... | Jackie Nee | Recurring Cast |
| 2022 | About Last Night | Himself | Episode: "Anna Camp/Loni Love/Bobby Lee" |
| Dark Side of Comedy | Himself | Episode: "Andrew Dice Clay" | |
| 2023 | History of the World, Part II | Harold | Episode: "VI" |
Music Videos
| Year | Title | Artist | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | "We Made You" | Eminem | Sulu | [10] |
| 2010 | "2 Different Tears" | Wonder Girls | [28] | |
| 2011 | "Hangover" | Taio Cruz | Captain | |
| 2017 | "Dure Dure" | Jencarlos | [29] |
Documentary
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Heckler | Himself | |
| 2016 | Dying Laughing | Himself | |
| 2017 | Funny: The Documentary | Himself | |
| 2020 | Happy Happy Joy Joy: The Ren and Stimpy Story | Himself |
References
- "MILESTONES: September 17 birthdays for Patrick Mahomes, John Franco, Bobby Lee". Brooklyn Eagle. September 17, 2020. Archived from the original on June 2, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
- Grant, Lee (September 17, 2004). "'Mad' man". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on March 1, 2016. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
- Archer, Greg (September 18, 2013). "Bobby Lee On Comedy, Survival And Being 'A Big, Sweaty Ball Of Flesh'". HuffPost. Archived from the original on December 17, 2019. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
- Yang, Jeff (April 10, 2007). "ASIAN POP / Mad Man". SFGate. Archived from the original on March 5, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
- Miller, Marissa (August 23, 2016). "Meet the Women Behind Your Favorite Anti Slut–Shaming Podcast". Vogue. Archived from the original on December 30, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
- Callen, Bryan; Schaub, Brendan (January 25, 2017). "Episode 228: Bobby Lee". The Fighter and the Kid (Podcast). 36 minutes in. Archived from the original on December 30, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
- Woo, Michelle (April 2, 2007). "Kickin' It With Bobby Lee". Character Media. Archived from the original on January 29, 2020. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
- Nguyen, Joe (May 5, 2009). "Face2Face with Bobby Lee". www.asiaxpress.com. Archived from the original on March 1, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
- "Bobby Lee at Levity Live". Visit Oxnard. Archived from the original on January 26, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
- Rogan, Lee & Redban 2013
- The Grammys (December 2, 2014). "Set List Bonus: Ninth Annual MusiCares MAP Fund Benefit At Club Nokia". GRAMMY.com. Archived from the original on August 8, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- Laddin, Stephen (March 3, 2020). "Andrew Santino Is A People Person". High Times. Archived from the original on June 3, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
- Lee 2017, p. 10:45
- Lee, Bobby; Kuhn, Khalyla; Galon, Gilbert (November 26, 2015). "The Korean Kite 한국 연". Tigerbelly (Podcast). Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- Lee & Griffin 2016, p. 1:17:00
- Baldwin, Greg; Kalloniatis, Ant (November 19, 2017). "Bobby Lee is a Provoked Panda". Second Chances Podcast (Podcast). Archived from the original on January 29, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
- Lee 2017, p. 12:00
- Baldwin, Drew (January 30, 2012). "Maker Studios Reboots The Station With Bobby Lee". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on January 26, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
- Lee 2017, p. 2:03
- Schonberger, Chris (October 27, 2016). "Watch Bobby Lee Take on the Hot Ones Challenge". First We Feast. Archived from the original on March 2, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
- Kozlowski, Carl (May 26, 2016). "Why Bobby Lee Is Done with 'MADtv'". Hollywood in Toto. Archived from the original on March 5, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
- Lee, Diaz & Syatt 2014, p. 9:30
- Variety Staff (October 28, 2008). "'Madtv's' Lauren Dombrowski dies". Variety. Archived from the original on March 29, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
- "Comedian Bobby Lee's father has passed away". August 19, 2019.
- Lee, Bobby (December 12, 2019). "Theo Von & The Guillotine | TigerBelly 224". YouTube. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
- "David Choe x Money Mark x Steve Lee starts a band". Upper Playground. August 19, 2014. Archived from the original on October 18, 2014. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
- "Bobby Lee". IMDb. Archived from the original on February 13, 2023. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
- Adriane (May 24, 2010). "The Wonder Girls: New Music Video, Exclusive Pics, Videos Here at MTV Iggy!"MTV K. Archived from the original on June 04 2011. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
- "Jencarlos Releases New Single "Dure Dure" with Don Omar". www.peermusic.com. July 28, 2017. Archived from the original on March 14, 2023. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
Sources
- Lee, Bobby (July 20, 2017). "A Family Affair - TigerBelly 100". TigerBelly (Podcast). TigerBelly. Archived from the original on July 6, 2020. Retrieved March 1, 2018 – via YouTube.
- Lee, Bobby; Griffin, Erik (April 15, 2016). "Erik Griffin and the Oily Poll - TigerBelly 37". TigerBelly (Podcast). TigerBelly. Archived from the original on July 6, 2020. Retrieved March 1, 2018 – via YouTube.
- Lee, Bobby; Diaz, Joey; Syatt, Lee (December 19, 2014). "#240 - Bobby Lee, Joey Diaz and Lee Syatt" (Podcast). The Church of what's happening. Archived from the original on June 21, 2016. Retrieved March 1, 2018 – via YouTube.
- Rogan, Joe; Lee, Bobby; Redban, Brian (January 20, 2013). "Joe Rogan Experience #76 - Bobby Lee, Brian Redban" (Podcast). Joe Rogan Experience. Archived from the original on November 16, 2015. Retrieved March 5, 2018 – via YouTube.
External links
