Lee Camp | |
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![]() Camp on a panel at Politicon 2016 | |
Born | Richmond, Virginia, United States | July 21, 1980
Medium | Television, Podcast |
Nationality | American |
Education | University of Virginia, B.A. |
Years active | 1994–present |
Notable works and roles |
|
Website | www |
Lee Camp (born July 21, 1980) is an American writer and television host who appeared on the Russian state-funded network RT America until it was shut down after Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.[1]
Early life
Camp was born in Richmond, Virginia[2] to Jewish parents,[3] and lived in Bethesda, Maryland until 1989. His father is a psychoanalyst who served 20 years in the United States military as a doctor, and his mother is a social worker. In 1989, the family moved to Richmond, Virginia, where Camp stayed until he went to college at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia.
At the University of Virginia, he won a competition to become the humor columnist for the school newspaper The Cavalier Daily. He began performing stand-up comedy on his 19th birthday at an open-mic night at Matt's Pub in Richmond.[4]
Career
Camp's first book was Neither Sophisticated Nor Intelligent, a collection of his best humor columns from The Cavalier Daily, the University of Virginia newspaper. With Nick Alexander and Alan Lord, Camp co-authored the 2005 BIGfib Book of Bollocks, a collection of stories from the satirical website BIGfib.com. Camp has been a contributor to The Onion since February 2009 and was a staff comedy writer for The Huffington Post for ten months.[5] He wrote and hosted OnDemand's "The Movie Loft" for three months in 2009.
In 2017, Camp and his girlfriend Eleanor Goldfield created the Common Censored podcast, which focuses on grassroots activism issues.[6]
RT America
Camp was the host and head writer of the weekly comedy news show Redacted Tonight with Lee Camp, which aired on RT America. Jason Zinoman wrote in The New York Times that his appearance on the channel: "raises questions about the comedian’s independence."[7][8] He told Rachel Manteuffel of The Washington Post Magazine that the Russian government funds his show.[9] When asked about advertising, he said, "one of the reasons I'm at RT America is because there’s no advertising. If there were advertising, no channel really wants someone who goes after corporations as much as I do."[10]
After RT America shut down in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Camp blamed the "U.S. government war machine" for the end of the network.[1]
Discography
DVD
- Sometimes Funny Hurts (2007)
- Lee Camp Live At Comix (2009)
- We Are Nothing (2014)
CD
- Chaos for the Weary (Stand Up! Records, 2011)
- Pepper Spray the Tears Away (Stand Up! Records, 2012)
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2005 | Dealbreaker | Waiter | |
2005 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Bart | Episode: "Intoxicated" |
2006 | Exposing the Order of the Serpentine | Ashamed man |
Bibliography
- Bullet Points and Punch Lines: The Most Important Commentary Ever Written on the Epic American Tragicomedy, PM Press, 2020. ISBN 978-1-62963-785-3[11]
References
- ^ a b Kang, Cecilia (2022-03-12). "What It Was Like to Work for Russian State Television". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-03-13.
- ^ "Eldridge & Co.: Lee Camp". YouTube. CUNY TV. March 19, 2011.
- ^ Soroken, Lauren. "Chosen Comedy: Lee Camp – Page 2 – Heeb". Retrieved 2019-09-17.
Q. Are your Jewish parents disappointed with your non-medical or legal career? A. Oh sure. I think. I mean, they’re not disappointed, I’m sure they would have preferred a medical career, but they’re pretty cool. They would have preferred a smarter path. Well, my older brother is a lawyer and my younger brother is a film editor, and they seem to worry more about him.
- ^ "interview on Cara's Basement". Retrieved 16 November 2017.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "11 Ways You Know the Gulf Of Mexico Is NOT Oil Free". HuffPost. December 1, 2010.
- ^ "Common Censored on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved Aug 4, 2020.
- ^ Simon, Scott (December 16, 2017). "A Look At RT's 'Redacted Tonight'". NPR. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
Look at a show called Redacted Tonight on RT America, a Russian network broadcast in the U.S.
- ^ Zinoman, Jason (June 7, 2017). "An American Comic on a Russian Channel: What He Avoids Speaks Volumes". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
Redacted Tonight airs weekly on RT America, the English-language channel financed by Russia ... which describes itself as the 'Russian view on global news'
- ^ Manteuffel, Rachel (14 July 2016). "Lee Camp of 'Redacted Tonight' on the problems in Washington". The Washington Post. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
- ^ Manteuffel, Rachel (July 14, 2016). "Lee Camp of 'Redacted Tonight' on the problems in Washington". The Washington Post Magazine. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
- ^ Camp, Lee (2020). Bullet points and punch lines (Ebook ed.). Oakland, CA: PM Press. ISBN 9781629638027. Retrieved 31 May 2021.