John Oliver
John William Oliver (m. 1995) is an English comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, media critic, and television host.
He was born on born 23 April 1977 in Erdington, West Midlands, and was educated in Bedford at the Mark Rutherford School. He then read English at Christ’s from 1995 to 1998. Oliver was a member of the Cambridge Footlights, with contemporaries including David Mitchell and Richard Ayoade. In 1997, he became the troupe's Vice President.
Oliver first appeared at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2001 as part of The Comedy Zone, a late-night showcase of newer acts. He performed his debut solo show in 2002 and returned in 2003. In 2004 and 2005, he collaborated with Andy Zaltzman on a double act and co-hosting Political Animal, with various acts performing political material.
Oliver became widely known in the United States for his work on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He started as Senior British Correspondent in July 2006 and went on to became the third person to host the show. After moving to New York City for The Daily Show, Oliver began performing stand-up in small clubs around the city and later headlined shows in larger venues. Oliver's first stand-up special, titled John Oliver: Terrifying Times, debuted on Comedy Central in 2008 and was later released on DVD. Since 2010, Oliver has hosted four seasons of John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show.
Oliver began hosting Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, a late-night talk show that takes a satirical look at news, politics and current events, on 27 April 2014. His initial two-year contract with HBO was extended through 2017 in February 2015. His work on the show led to Oliver being named on the list of Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People" in 2015.
He co-hosted the satirical comedy podcast The Bugle and hosted John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show on Comedy Central. Oliver has worked extensively with Andy Zaltzman; their body of work includes hundreds of hours of satirical podcasts and radio broadcasts, including series such as Political Animal and The Department.
Oliver has appeared in a number of television acting roles including the NBC comedy Community as psychology professor Ian Duncan and People Like Us, Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja, My Hero and Green Wing.
He is the recipient of five Primetime Emmy Awards and two Writers Guild Awards. Oliver received Emmys for outstanding writing in 2009, 2011 and 2012. Most recently he and his team won the 2016 Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Talk Series and Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series.