Nimesh Patel

Nimesh Patel (born 1986) is an American comedian and television writer. In 2017, he became the first Indian American writer on Saturday Night Live for just one season.[1]

Nimesh Patel
Born
Nimesh Patel

1986 (age 36–37)
Parsippany, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation(s)Stand-up comedian, television writer
Years active2009–present

Early and personal life

Nimesh Patel was born in Parsippany-Troy Hills Township in the Morris County of New Jersey in 1986 into an immigrant Indian Gujarati Hindu family. His parents immigrated to the United States from India in the 1970s. His father first came to Newark, New Jersey as a 17 year old and worked as a cashier at a Macy's. He eventually opened a liquor store in a troubled neighborhood with heavy African-American organized crime and gang culture in Irvington, Essex County, often being robbed and also shot at.[2][3]

Patel moved to New York City to attend New York University, initially as a pre-med student. He has lived in the city ever since. He graduated with a degree in Finance in 2008.[4]

Patel is a Hindu and still identifies as one, although he isn't practicing.

Patel criticized the Partition of India on one of his shows, as part of his "Come see me on tour!" and dunked on a British Indian woman in the audience defending British Colonialism and tyranny in India, eventually calling out the stolen Indian Kohinoor diamond by the British Royalty and calling the woman a self-loather.[5]

He used to live in Hell's Kitchen, Midtown Manhattan, but now resides in Brooklyn. He's a regular comic at the Comedy Cellar, a comedy club in Greenwich Village, Lower Manhattan.

His favorite sport is cricket.

Career

After graduating, Patel began working during the day and performing standup at The Stress Factory by night.[3] In 2016, he was a finalist in Kevin Hart's Laugh Out Loud Network Pitch Panel at Just for Laughs ComedyPRO.[6]

In 2015, he was doing standup in Greenpoint, Brooklyn when he was discovered by Chris Rock. Patel then joined Rock's writing team for the 88th Academy Awards ceremony. He also wrote material for Hasan Minhaj's 2017 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner appearance.[7] In 2017, Patel began working as a full-time writer for Saturday Night Live, mainly writing jokes for Weekend Update, for just one season. In 2018, Patel was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for his work on SNL.[1]

Patel has appeared on @midnight, Comedy Knockout and Late Night with Seth Meyers. He has also featured as a comedy and politics panelist at the Foreign Affairs Symposium at Johns Hopkins University.[8]

On November 30, 2018, roughly twenty-four minutes into a comedy set, Patel was interrupted and asked to leave by the organizers of cultureSHOCK: Reclaim, an event for Asian representation hosted by Columbia University's Asian American Alliance.[9][10][11] On October 7, 2020, Patel posted a video of his full Columbia set in response to an article he believed to be untruthful.[12] Currently he is a writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host on Comedy Central.

Influences

Patel's main comedic influences are Chris Rock, Larry David and Patrice O’Neal.[13]

Awards and honors

References
  1. Rathore, Reena (July 16, 2018). "Indian American Comedian/Writer Nimesh Patel Lands His First Emmy Nomination for 'SNL'". India West.
  2. How Not to Insult Indians | Nimesh Patel | Stand Up Comedy. Nimesh Patel. November 13, 2019. Archived from the original on November 6, 2020. Retrieved October 3, 2021 – via YouTube.
  3. Provencio, Phil (April 30, 2017). "Up Next, Nimesh Patel. A Look Through the Lens in New York Comedy". The Interrobang.
  4. Catlin, Roger (February 22, 2018). "Nimesh Patel's comedy chops are impressing 'Saturday Night Live' — and his parents". The Washington Post.
  5. Heckled by British Indian - Come see me on tour! | Nimesh Patel | Stand Up Comedy. Nimesh Patel. August 30, 2021. Archived from the original on October 3, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2021 – via YouTube.
  6. "Kevin Hart Options All 10 Pitch Ideas for the Laugh Out Loud Network". Just for Laughs ComedyPro. July 28, 2016.
  7. Robinson, Joanna (November 26, 2017). "Why Saturday Night Live's Most Intriguing New Hire Is Behind the Camera". Vanity Fair.
  8. "Chelsea Manning, Samantha Power among speakers for 2018 Foreign Affairs Symposium". The Hub. February 12, 2018.
  9. "Former 'SNL' writer booted off stage at Columbia University". The New York Post. Dec 5, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  10. Nimesh Patel getting kicked off the stage at Columbia. Veritech. December 6, 2018. Archived from the original on July 25, 2020. Retrieved October 3, 2021 – via YouTube.
  11. "I'm an Asian American Student at Columbia University — and Nimesh Patel's Mic Needed to be Cut". Reappropriate. 2018-12-14. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  12. KICKED OFF STAGE - FULL COLUMBIA SET | Nimesh Patel | Stand Up Comedy | DESCRIPTION FOR DETAILS. Nimesh Patel. October 7, 2020. Archived from the original on October 17, 2020. Retrieved October 3, 2021 – via YouTube.
  13. Garcia, Courtney (October 29, 2012). "Nimesh Patel". BTR Today.
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