James E. Breuer is an American stand-up comedian, actor, musician, and radio host. He was a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 1998 and starred in the film Half Baked.
Breuer's career began on the little-known Uptown Comedy Club weekly television show, based in Harlem, New York. He then joined the cast of Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 1998. On SNL, Breuer's characters included "Goat Boy" and Glen Henderson, the elder brother to Chris Kattan's Todd Henderson/Azrael Abyss character in the "Goth Talk" skits. He has previously guest starred in Home Improvement. That appearance gave way to the short-lived sitcom Buddies. He was originally scheduled to have been the co-star alongside friend and co-worker Dave Chappelle, but was pulled from the role after filming the pilot. Among his impersonations was that of actor Joe Pesci, who hosted his own talk show, often accompanied by Colin Quinn playing fellow actor Robert De Niro. In a 1997 episode of SNL, both Pesci and De Niro made surprise appearances to "confront" Breuer. In 1998, Breuer hosted The Jim Breuer Show on MTV, which aired week days at 5:30 PM and again at 1:00 AM during the summer. It featured Breuer performing skits as different characters as well as stand-up comedy by guests including Judah Friedlander, Jeff Ross and Tracy Morgan. Breuer has also hosted several episodes of Premium Blend on Comedy Central as well as several appearances on other comedy shows. Breuer hosted the third season of the VH1 show Web Junk 20. The season began on November 17, 2006. He replaced Patrice O'Neal, who hosted the first two seasons of the show. In 2002, Breuer's first one-hour Comedy Central special, Hardcore, premiered. The same year, he released a comedy album titled Smoke 'n' Breu. Breuer featured in the 2005 VH1 documentary When Metallica Ruled the World, in which he spoke about songs by Metallica through the years. On July 25, 2009, Breuer's second one-hour Comedy Central special, Let's Clear the Air, premiered and became one of the highest-rated comedy specials in Comedy Central's history. Breuer appeared in Pizza Hut commercials, advertising the cheese crust-filled pizzas using the catchphrase "Jackpot!" Beginning in 2016, Breuer has appeared in the recurring role of Father Philip on the CBS sitcom Kevin Can Wait, which is set and filmed in Breuer's native Nassau County, New York.
Radio career
Breuer was a sit-in comedian on the Opie and Anthony Show for many years during their WNEW-FM tenure. "Breuer Bits" were often played whenever the show was on hiatus. With the XM/Sirius merger complete, Breuer returned to the Opie and Anthony Showfor the first time in six years on August 8, 2008. He remained a frequent guest. Breuer is the host of Fridays with Jim Breuer, which can be heard each Friday afternoon from 4-6PM on the Sirius Satellite Radio channel "Raw Dog Comedy." He credits Joe Pesci with jump starting his career as he mentions in his comedy concert "Hardcore". During one show, while Breuer was singing the Judas Priest song "Devil's Child," Rob Halford, lead singer of Judas Priest, entered the studio and joined Breuer in song.
Other work
In 2008, Breuer went on his first tour in six years known as the "Breuniversity Tour" where he toured over 20 colleges and comedy clubs across the country. The footage was used in his documentary More Than Me, as well as his 4-hour DVD The Jim Breuer Road Journals, both of which were released in 2010. On October 5, 2010 he published a book called I'm Not High In January 2011, he launched a podcast called "The Podcast Masters" with fellow comedian Pete Correale. In December 2011, Breuer presented at Metallica's 30th Anniversary shows. He was the opening act for the band's 2018 tour.
