Moshe Kasher

Mark Moshe Kasher[1] (born July 6, 1979)[2][3] is an American stand-up comedian, writer and actor based in the Los Angeles area.[2][4] He is the author of the 2012 memoir Kasher in the Rye: The True Tale of a White Boy from Oakland Who Became a Drug Addict, Criminal, Mental Patient, and Then Turned 16. In 2009, iTunes named Kasher "Best New Comic" and his comedy album Everyone You Know Is Going to Die, and Then You Are! was ranked one of the top 20 comedy albums on iTunes that same year.[4][5] He was also named "Comic to Watch in 2010" by Punchline Magazine.[4]

Moshe Kasher
Kasher at SF Sketchfest on January 25, 2020
Birth nameMark Moshe Kasher
Born (1979-07-06) July 6, 1979
Queens, New York, U.S.
MediumStand-up, television, webcast
Alma materUniversity of California, Santa Barbara (BA)
Years active2001–present
GenresObservational comedy, black comedy, surreal humor
Subject(s)Everyday life, Human sexuality, self-deprecation, religion, race, politics of the United States
Spouse
​
(m. 2015)​
Children1
Websitemoshekasher.com

Early life and education

Born in Queens, New York,[6] Kasher moved to Oakland, California with his mother and brother when he was one year old.[2][6] Kasher grew up in North Oakland's Temescal[2] and Piedmont Avenue neighborhoods,[7] and his family lived mostly on disability assistance and food stamps.[8] A son of deaf parents, Kasher worked as a sign-language interpreter from the age of 17.[2][6][9][10] His parents met at the World Games for the Deaf in 1967 and split up when Kasher was nine years old.[8]

When Kasher was four years old, his father Steven, a former painter who was born to secular, communist Jewish parents,[11] became a Hasidic Jew in the Satmar community in Brooklyn; Steven's grandfather, originally from Hungary, was a New Square Skverer Hasid.[12] Kasher regularly spent summers with his father in Sea Gate, Brooklyn until his death[12] — Kasher was 20 at the time.[2] His father lived with Gaucher's disease.[11] Kasher's brother is a rabbi.[13][14]

In his autobiography Kasher in the Rye: The True Tale of a White Boy from Oakland Who Became a Drug Addict, Criminal, Mental Patient, and Then Turned 16, Kasher wrote about having been moved in and out of mental institutions from the age of 4 and using drugs from the ages of 12 to 16. He was kicked out of four different high schools.[8] In an interview with SanDiego.com, Kasher described himself as "pretty straight edge," stating that he has been clean "since I was very young."[13] He earned his G.E.D. at age 16 and later became a sign-language interpreter.[8]

Kasher attended community college in the Bay Area, where he studied theater and wrote several long-form monologues.[8] He later transferred to the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he graduated with a degree in religious studies and minored in Jewish studies.[2][11][13] Prior to his career in comedy, Kasher had considered becoming a college professor in Jewish history.[13]

In 2001, Kasher attended an open mic comedy night in New York which included a performance by Chelsea Peretti, a comedian and writer with whom Kasher had attended junior high school in Oakland.[2][13] After seeing her perform, Kasher asked Peretti to take him along on future performances, offering to perform with her.[2][13] For his first performance, she took him to an open mic at the Luggage Store Gallery in San Francisco.[13]

Career

Stand up

In the early 2000s, Kasher performed mainly in the Bay Area, regularly performing at the Punch Line and Cobb's comedy clubs in San Francisco.[2][10][13] In the mid to late 2000s, he participated in many comedy shows with fellow comedians Brent Weinbach and Alex Koll.[15][16][17] In 2008 Kasher moved to Los Angeles.[2][6][10]

2009 marked a significant year in Kasher's comedy career. He was named "Best of Fest" at that year's Aspen Rooftop Comedy Festival;[4][5][10] his performance in Aspen garnered him an invitation to the Just For Laughs comedy festival in Montreal that same year.[10] This was followed by an appearance on the Comedy Central series Live at Gotham.[10][13] Kasher had also released his comedy album Everyone You Know Is Going to Die, and Then You Are! through Rooftop Comedy Productions in April 2009;[6][10] near the year's end the album was deemed one of the top 20 comedy albums of 2009 on iTunes. Kasher was also recognized by iTunes as Top New Comedy Artist of 2009.[4][5]

Kasher's stand-up act has been featured on such television programs as Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in 2010[2][13] and John Oliver's New York Stand Up Show in 2011.[18] He has appeared on Conan, Showtime's Larry Wilmore's Race, Religion & Sex.[19] He has also appeared as a frequent panelist on Chelsea Lately.[2][13]

Kasher has performed at festivals internationally. In addition to the aforementioned Rooftop Comedy Festival and Just For Laughs, in 2010, he appeared at Fun Fun Fun Fest[20] and South By South West[14][21] both held in Austin, Texas, as well as Cat Laughs in Kilkenny,[22] Ireland, and the Sasquatch! Music Festival in George, Washington.[23] In 2011 he appeared at the Melbourne Comedy Festival in Melbourne, Australia. Kasher has also attended SF Sketchfest in San Francisco, California on several occasions.[10][24][25]

In addition to the iTunes awards in 2009, Kasher was named "Comic to Watch in 2010" by Punchline Magazine[4] as well as "One of the Top 20 Jews In The Arts" by Shalom Life in 2011.[26] John Wenzel of The Denver Post also ranked Kasher #2 on his list of the top 10 comedy shows he attended in the Denver area during 2011.[27]

In January 2012, Kasher recorded his first solo comedy special for Netflix, Moshe Kasher: Live In Oakland at The New Parish nightclub in his hometown of Oakland.[2][28][29]

In September, 2016 Comedy Central ordered a talk show series to be written and hosted by Kasher, entitled Problematic,[30] which premiered on April 18, 2017.

Writing

Kasher is a published playwright, writer and author. While still in college, Kasher's long form monologue "Look Before You Leap" was included in the literary collection Monologues For Men By Men: Volume Two published in 2003.[31] In 2011 and 2012 he contributed several articles to Heeb magazine.[32] In 2012, he published his autobiography Kasher in the Rye: The True Tale of a White Boy from Oakland Who Became a Drug Addict, Criminal, Mental Patient, and Then Turned 16 published by Hachette Book Group's Grand Central Publishing.[2][9][33] He wrote an episode titled "Pardon Me" for the television show, The New Normal.[7]

Acting

Kasher played small roles in the independent films Sorry, Thanks (2009)[34] and Wish Makers of West Hollywood (2010).[35] He appeared on episodes of the Fox sitcom Traffic Light in 2011[36] and the NBC sitcom Whitney in 2012.[37] Kasher played the role of Ruben — a gay, deaf man confined to a wheelchair — in an episode of the U.S. television series Shameless which aired March 18, 2012.[38][39]

Podcasts

In 2011, Kasher, along with Neal Brennan (co-writer of Chappelle's Show) and DJ Douggpound (Doug Lussenhop of Tim and Eric Nite Live!), started a podcast called The Champs.[13] Kasher said the following of the podcast in a 2011 interview with SanDiego.com: "It’s Doug dropping sound effects and beats over me and Neal kind of hosting an hour of ridiculous chat. We have a rotating black guy guest, there’s a different black guest every week."[13] Guests of the show included actor/comedians Wayne Brady and David Alan Grier, as well as musician Questlove, adult film star Lexington Steele and professional basketball player Blake Griffin. The show has strayed from its guest format on occasion with guests such as comedian and actor Bobby Lee, former pornographic actress Sasha Grey, former Major League Baseball player Jose Canseco and actor Aziz Ansari. In 2014 The Champs was named "Best Podcast" as part of LA Weekly's "Best of L.A." issue.[40] The podcast ended in 2016.[41]

In October 2014, Kasher premiered a new podcast on the Nerdist Podcast Network. Hound Tall Discussion Series is a live monthly podcast that covers a single topic. It's "an hour long chat with an expert and a panel of comedians, they learn all there is to know about things".[42] The first episode was about harems and the expert was Jillian Lauren, author of Some Girls, while Pete Holmes and Beth Stelling made up the comedic panel.[43]

On 15 July 2019, The Endless Honeymoon Podcast co-hosted with his wife, Natasha Leggero, premiered on most platforms such as Apple,[44] Spotify,[45] Stitcher[46] and YouTube.[47]

In 2020, Moshe and his brother Rabbi David Kasher began their podcast Kasher vs. Kasher to explore life during the Coronavirus pandemic.[48]

Personal life

Kasher married fellow comedian Natasha Leggero, who converted to Judaism, in October 2015.[49] The couple had a baby girl in February 2018.[50]

He is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.[51]

Filmography
  • Sorry, Thanks (2009) (Andrew)
  • Wish Makers of West Hollywood (2010) (waiter)
  • Zoolander 2 (2016) (Chimney Sweep)

Television

Bibliography
  • "Look Before You Leap", a monologue included in the literary collection Monologues For Men By Men: Volume Two (2003)
  • Kasher in the Rye: The True Tale of a White Boy from Oakland Who Became a Drug Addict, Criminal, Mental Patient, and Then Turned 16 (2012)

Discography
  • Crowd Surfing Vol. 1 (Comedy Dynamics, 2020) Download/streaming
  • The Honeymoon Stand Up Special w/ Natasha Leggero (Netflix, 2018) LP/streaming
  • Moshe Kasher: Live In Oakland (Comedy Dynamics/Netflix, 2013) CD+DVD/download/streaming
  • Everyone You Know Is Going to Die, and Then You Are! (Rooftop Comedy Productions, 2009) CD/download/streaming

[54]

References
  1. Wall, Alix (March 22, 2012). "Life's no joke for Oakland-raised bad boy turned comic". j. San Francisco. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
  2. Letzing, John (February 9, 2012). "Local Comic Puts His Pain on Paper". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  3. Neal Brennan, Moshe Kasher and DJ Douggpound. "The Champs podcast with guest Jerrod Carmichael" (Podcast). Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  4. Gadino, Dylan P. (December 31, 2009). "Comic to Watch in 2010: Moshe Kasher". Punchline. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  5. Nguyen, Tuyet (April 28, 2010). "Moshe Kasher isn't gay—but he's close". A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
  6. Swan, Rachel (March 28, 2012). "Moshe Kasher Comes Home". East Bay Express. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  7. "Comic Moshe Kasher returns to Punch Line". SF Gate. December 17, 2014. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
  8. "COMEDIAN MOSHE KASHER'S MEMOIR KASHER IN THE RYE: 'I WAS VIOLENT. I WAS SEXIST. I WAS A PIG.'". LA Weekly. April 13, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
  9. Pansacola, Justin. "Moshe Kasher's Time in the Light". Flaunt. Archived from the original on April 2, 2012. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  10. McGee, Irene (January 19, 2010). "Sketchfest Q&A: Moshe Kasher". SF Weekly. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  11. "From Here To Absurdity". The Jewish Week. April 17, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
  12. History Hyenas (April 17, 2020). Moshe Kasher is WILD! (video). 07:37-12:38 minutes in.
  13. Downs, Gordon (July 20, 2011). "Living On The Edge with Moshe Kasher". SanDiego.com. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
  14. Walts, Rebecca (October 27, 2011). "In the Wry: Comedian Moshe Kasher". Portland Monthly. Retrieved October 7, 2012.
  15. Harmanci, Reyhan (September 28, 2006). "Comedy Day: Top comics converge on Golden Gate Park to provide free chortles and guffaws". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  16. Keeling, Brock (January 15, 2008). "SF Sketchfest Ticket Giveaway: Brent Weinbach in Boomtime". SFist. Gothamist LLC. Archived from the original on July 8, 2008. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  17. Swan, Rachel (December 22, 2010). "World of Punch Lines". East Bay Express. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  18. "John Oliver and Friends are Back! The Second Season of 'John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show' Premieres Thursday, March 24 at Midnight*" (Press release). COMEDY CENTRAL Corporate Communications. March 7, 2011. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
  19. TODAY, Carol Memmott, USA. "Larry Wilmore zooms in on 'Race, Religion & Sex'". USA Today. Retrieved 2021-06-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  20. "2010 Fun Fun Fun Fest Update". Austinist. September 2, 2010. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  21. Moshe Kasher pictured with other comedians at the 2010 SXSW fest on sxsw.com Archived 2012-02-25 at the Wayback Machine
  22. Richardson, Jay (June 3, 2010). "Punchline Magazine's dispatch from Kilkenny's Cat Laughs Comedy Festival, part 1". Laughspin. Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  23. Moshe Kasher's schedule on the Sasquatch! 2010 festival's website Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  24. Chun, Kimberly (January 19, 2012). "'Rockridge rat' Moshe Kasher at SF Sketchfest". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  25. Harmanci, Reyhan (January 10, 2008). "SF Sketchfest: The comedy event, opening today, is bigger than ever". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  26. Baylen, Ashley (April 26, 2011). "Top 20 Jews In The Arts - Moshe Kasher". Shalom Life. The Onion. Archived from the original on December 18, 2013. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  27. Wenzel, John (December 24, 2011). "Best of 2011: 10 funny acts that said what we needed to hear when nobody else would". Denver Post. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  28. "Moshe Kasher Comedy Special". The Black List NYC. 2012. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  29. Moshe Kasher Comedy Special (2012) at IMDb Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  30. O'Connell, Michael (September 21, 2016). "Comedy Central Orders Moshe Kasher's 'Problematic' to Series". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
  31. Garrison, Gary; Wright, Michael, eds. (2003). Monologues For Men By Men: Volume Two. Heinemann. p. 49. ISBN 0-325-00559-1. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  32. A list of articles contributed by Moshe Kasher to Heeb magazine Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  33. Gadino, Dylan P. (July 26, 2011). "Comedian Moshe Kasher's book is going to be amazing". Laughspin. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  34. Sorry, Thanks (2009) at IMDb Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  35. Wish Makers of West Hollywood (2010) at IMDb Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  36. Traffic Light: Season 1, Episode 11 - Where the Heart Is (3 May 2011) at IMDb Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  37. Whitney: Season 1, Episode 16 - 48 Hours (15 Feb. 2012) at IMDb Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  38. "Shameless" A Great Cause (2012) at IMDb Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  39. Neal Brennan, Moshe Kasher and DJ Douggpound (March 22, 2012). "The Champs podcast with guest Keegan-Michael Key" (Podcast). Event occurs at 4:06. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  40. "Best Podcast Los Angeles 2014 — The Champs". LA Weekly. 36 (46). October 2–8, 2014. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  41. Wright, Megh (March 3, 2016). "This Week in Comedy Podcasts: 'The Champs' Says Farewell". Vulture. Vox Media. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  42. "Hound Tall Discussion Series with Moshe Kasher". nerdist.com. Nerdist Industries. Archived from the original on 17 October 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
  43. "With Hound Tall, Moshe Kasher brings a new podcast to the airwaves". The A.V. Club. 6 October 2014.
  44. "The Endless Honeymoon Podcast". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 2021-04-04.
  45. "The Endless Honeymoon Podcast". Spotify. Retrieved 2021-04-04.
  46. "The Endless Honeymoon Podcast". Stitcher. Retrieved 2021-04-04.
  47. "The Endless Honeymoon Podcast". YouTube.com. Retrieved 2021-04-04.
  48. "Reboot Launches Quarantine Podcasts With a Jewish Slant". Jewish Journal. 2020-04-28. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  49. McCarthy, Sean L. (October 12, 2015). "Mazel Tov! Natasha Leggero and Moshe Kasher get married". thecomicscomic.com. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
  50. "11 Things We Love About Jewish Mom Comedian Natasha Leggero". Kveller. 2018-10-26. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  51. @moshekasher (12 May 2018). "I'm a member of the Hollywood chapter of the DSA where our platform is that having your own tv show is a human right" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  52. "Home". moshekasher.com.
  53. ""Garfunkel and Oates" Third Member (TV Episode 2014)". IMDb.
  54. "Moshe Kasher". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2021-04-04.
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