Jim Breur
July 14, 2022
Jim Breuer is an American comedian, radio host, writer, and actor who first found fame as a cast member of NBC’s Saturday Night Live in the 1990s. He subsequently accrued a sizable film and television résumé, a collection of comedy albums, and many years on the road as a standup that have included comedy tours with a full heavy metal band.
Born and raised in Valley Stream, Long Island, New York, Breuer decided to pursue a career in standup by the time he was in high school. He toured the U.S. for several years on the club circuit before deciding to focus on the New York City comedy scene. Within a matter of months after settling there, he landed a role on the nationally syndicated Uptown Comedy Club TV series, which ran from 1992-1994. His big break arrived in 1995, when he was invited to join the cast of Saturday Night Live, where he remained for four seasons. Film roles followed, including one in the Dave Chappelle– and Neal Brennan-scripted comedy Half Baked from 1998, and 1999’s Dick, which starred Kirsten Dunst and Michelle Williams.
In 2002, he appeared in his first one-hour standup special for Comedy Central. Titled Hardcore, it was released on DVD by Comedy Central Records that September. The same month, the label also released his comedy album Smoke ‘n’ Breu, which had Breuer impersonating AC/DC and Metallica alongside a full band. He continued to earn occasional film credits, such as 2003’s Crooked Lines, and in 2004 began a long stint hosting his own weekly satellite radio show, first called Breuer Unleashed and later reworked as Fridays with Breuer. He brought his 84-year-old father along on his 2008 Breuniversity Tour of U.S. colleges, and videos from the trip were used to make his documentary More Than Me, which premiered at the 2009 Montreal Film Festival. That year also saw his Comedy Central special Let’s Clear the Air.
