Biography of Jimmy Tingle

Jimmy Tingle was born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The social, political and economic diversity of that city laid the groundwork for his development as a performer and eventual satirist. He started performing in 1980 during the early stand up comedy scene in Boston and quickly rose through the ranks from open mike performer to paid engagements, headlining at comedy clubs and colleges nationwide. Tingle is now regarded as one of the top social commentators and humorists in the country.

Jimmy Tingle just completed two seasons with 60 Minutes II on CBS and the humorist/commentator in the Andy Rooney spot. He worked as a contributor and satirist for MSNBC and has appeared on The Tonight Show, Larry King Weekend, The Late Show with Conan O'Brien, The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder, The American Comedy Awards, as well as his own HBO comedy Special.

Jimmy Tingle has been featured on National Public Radio with Terry Gross and "Fresh Air"and "Talk of the Nation" with Ray Suarez. He is currently a regular contributor to WBUR's Morning Edition in Boston.

Tingle recently appeared as the neighborhood bartender in Next Stop Wonderland, and as the neighborhood priest in Boondock Saints, two independent films shot in Boston. Other film work includes starring in the Emmy Award-winning documentary on art censorship, "Damned in the USA" produced by Channel Four in England in partnership with Channel 13 in New York.

Tingle co-starred in the PBS "Travels" series special "America with the Top Down" and appeared in "But Seriously" and "But Seriously 94," Showtime documentaries featuring prominent social satirists from Lenny Bruce to the present.

Theatrical credits include writing and starring in his one man show, "Jimmy Tingle's Uncommon Sense, The Education of an American Comic." Directed by Larry Arrick, the play received stellar reviews during a nine-week engagement at the American Place Theater in New York City and continued to succeed brilliantly at the Hasty Pudding Theater in Cambridge, MA, becoming the longest running one person show in that theater's history.

"Jimmy Tingle's Uncommon Sense" made its Los Angeles debut at the Coast Playhouse in 1998 and was nominated by The L.A. Weekly for "Best Male Solo Performance" for their 20th Annual Theater Awards. His most recent one-man show, "Jimmy Tingle for President", debuted at the Wellfleet Harbor Actors theater in Wellfleet, MA in August of 2000.