Bobcat Goldthwait - Film & Theater Personalities, Birthday and Childhood

Bobcat Goldthwait was born Robert Francis Goldthwait on May 26, 1962, in Syracuse, New York, US, to Kathleen Ann and Thomas Lincoln Goldthwait. His mother worked in a departmental store and his father was a sheet metal worker.

He studied at St. Matthew’s grammar school and later graduated from Bishop Grimes Junior/Senior High School in East Syracuse, New York. He was interested in comedy from a young age and met Tom Kenny in 1980 and formed a comedy troupe, ‘The Generic Comics.’ Their association grew stronger as their careers progressed.

During his teens, he attended an open-mic night that featuring comedian Barry Crimmins, with the moniker ‘Bear Cat.’ He and Tom Kenny performed at the event under the monikers ‘Bobcat’ and ‘Tomcat’ respectively. His stage-name stuck with him thereafter.

He also co-wrote a number of scripts with comedy writer, producer, and composer Martin Olson when he was still in high school. He began performing stand-up comedy professionally by the age of 15.

He gained recognition as a stand-up comedian in the 1980s with his record, ‘Meat Bob,’ and television shows, ‘An Evening with Bobcat Goldthwait: Share the Warmth,’ and ‘Bob Goldthwait: Is He Like That All the Time.’

He developed his unique combination of political satire and black comedy, which became his trademark in the years to come. In 1993, he performed for the rock band, Nirvana, during their final tour of North America and made a joke out of the murder of Michael Jordan’s father in his inimitable style.

He has made some bizarre appearances, inluding rappelling down nude from a catwalk at the Oakland Coliseum, tossing furniture and running into the audience on the ‘Late Night with Conan O’Brien’ show, and burning the chair of a guest on the ‘Tonight Show with Jay Leno’. These actions raise eyebrows but also created his unique image.

He appeared in a number of films and television shows in the 1990s, including the black comedy film, ‘Shakes the Clown,’ which was written and directed by him. He also wrote the script for the television series, ‘The Moxy Show,’ and ‘Unhappily Ever After,’ during the same period. His work received positive reviews.

Goldthwait has appeared as a celebrity guest on many television shows, including the Tom Bergeron version of ‘Hollywood Squares,’ in 1998, and ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live,’ in 2009. He has also hosted the comedy quiz, ‘Bobcat’s Big Ass Show,’ which became popular. He started directing ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ in 2004 and that sent the ratings of the show soaring.

He left the show in 2006 to concentrate on films and appeared in the romantic black comedy ‘Sleeping Dogs Lie,’ which was screened at the ‘Sundance Film Festival’ and was nominated for a ‘Grand Jury Prize’ in the dramatic features category. This was followed by appearance in the satirical black comedy drama film, ‘World’s Greatest Dad,’ in 2009.

He wrote the scripts and directed the films, ‘God Bless America,’ and ‘Willow Creek,’ in 2011 and 2013 respectively. He also appeared in the films, ‘Skylanders: Giants’ and ‘Henchmen.’

Besides movies, he kept appearing on television on various comedy shows. His latest anthology horror comedy series titled ‘Bobcat Goldthwait’s Misfits & Monsters’ is written, directed and produced by him.

Bobcat’s films include ‘Massive Retaliation’ (1984), ‘Police Academy 3: Back in Training’ (1986), ‘Shakes the Clown’ (1991), ‘Sweethearts’ (1997), ‘Jackie Chan Adventures’ (2002), ‘Sleeping Dogs Lie’ (2006), ‘World’s Greatest Dad’ (2009), ‘Willow Creek’ (2013) and ‘Henchmen’ (2017).

He has appeared in several television shows, including ‘The Vidiots’ (1986), ‘The Moxy Show’ (1994 – 1995), ‘Unhappy Ever After’ (1995 – 1999), ‘Penn & Teller’s Sin City Spectacular’ (1998 – 1999), ‘Windy City Heat’ (2003), ‘Fish Hooks’ (2011 – 2012), ‘Maron’ (2013), ‘Skylanders Academy’ (2016 to present) and ‘Bobcat Goldthwait’s Misfits & Monsters’ (2018).

His film, ‘Windy City Heat,’ was awarded the ‘Best Comedy Film’ at the ‘Montreal Just for Laughs Film Festival,’ in 2009.

He was named ‘Filmmaker on the Edge’ at the 17th ‘Annual Provincetown International Film Festival,’ in 2015.

Goldthwait married Ann Luly in 1986 and the couple had a daughter, Tasha, before they separated in 1998. Thereafter, he got engaged to actress and comedian Nikki Cox, who was 16 years younger than him, but their relationship ended in 2005. He got married for a second time to Sarah de Sa Rego in 2009, but this marriage too did not work for long and the couple divorced in 2014.

Bobcat has a characteristic high pitched voice which has been featured in a number of series, including ‘The Tick’ (1995), ‘Hercules, Hercules: The Animated Series’ (1998 – 1999) and ‘Lilo & Stitch: The Series’ (2003 – 2006).