Andy Richter

Andy Richter
File:Andy Richter 1997 cropped.jpg Richter in 1997 at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Florida
Born	Paul Andrew Richter
Occupation(s)	Actor, writer, comedian, announcer
Years active	1993–present
Spouse	Sarah Thyre (1994-present)

Paul Andrew "Andy" Richter (born October 28, 1966) is an American actor, writer, comedian, and announcer. He is best known for his sidekick role on Late Night with Conan O'Brien between 1993 and 2000. He is also known for his work with the Madagascar films and for the sitcoms Quintuplets, Andy Richter Controls the Universe, and Andy Barker, P.I. Richter had rejoined O'Brien as announcer/sidekick on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, which aired from June 1, 2009 to January 22, 2010. Richter is currently touring with O'Brien across the country on the The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour.

In the TV series, The Penguins of Madagascar, Richter reprises his role as Mort. However, he is sometimes replaced by actor Matt Nolan.

Early life and career

Richter, the second of four children, was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His mother, Glenda Swanson, was a kitchen cabinet designer, and his father, Laurence R. Richter, taught Russian at Indiana University for more than 32 years. Richter was raised in Yorkville, Illinois. In high school, he was elected Prom King.

In the late 1980s, Richter attended Columbia College Chicago as a film major. While at Columbia he learned the basics of comedic acting and writing by starring in numerous student films and videos. After leaving Columbia in 1988 Richter worked as a production assistant on commercial shoots in Chicago. In 1989, he began taking classes at Chicago's Improv Olympic. His quick wit and acting skills catapulted him from student to "House Performer" within a year. Richter branched out working with "The Comedy Underground" and the Annoyance Theater.

Richter's reputation earned him a writing job on the short-lived Jonathan Brandmeier television show.

In the early 1990s the Annoyance Theater hit gold when producer Jill Soloway staged The Real Live Brady Bunch with live, word-for-word performances of the '70s sitcom. The show was so popular that it attracted national attention and moved to New York City. Richter was not an original member of the cast but the actor who played "Mike Brady" in the Chicago cast opted not to go to New York. Richter asked Soloway if he could play "Mike" in New York and since Soloway hadn't cast a replacement, she agreed.

At the same time The Brady Bunch was playing in New York, two fellow Annoyance members were cast on Saturday Night Live. With friends on SNL, Andy was able to get into the after-show parties where he met SNL head writer Rob Smigel. Two years later, Smigel hired Richter for a new show he was producing, Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Originally hired as a writer, Richter was cast as Conan O'Brien's sidekick just weeks before the show aired in 1993.

Richter departed from Late Night in 2000. He later said of the decision, "After seven years of being on the show, I got itchy. I have a philosophy that if you enjoy good fortune, rather than sit there and say, 'Oh, that's fine, this amount is good enough for me,' you should try and push it. You should see how much you can stretch your good fortune. And I was curious."

Television work

Series leads

Richter left his post at Late Night in 2000 to pursue a career acting in films and television. His first major venture, Fox's Andy Richter Controls the Universe, was canceled after two mid-season runs. His next Fox sitcom, Quintuplets, lasted one season. His most recent television series was Andy Barker P.I., which was co-written and executively produced by Conan O'Brien. In the series Richter played an accountant who could not attract clients. After a woman comes to his office thinking he is the former tenant, a private investigator, she asks him to find her husband who she thinks faked his death. Barker decides to pursue this job and becomes a private detective in earnest, and continues to do his accounting job, which seems to pick up as the series goes on. The series played on NBC, with all six episodes in the first season on NBC.com. The series was canceled after very poor ratings.

He also provides the voice for the character Ben on the TV show The Mighty B! and the voice of the character Mort on the TV show The Penguins of Madagascar, both of which air on Nickelodeon.

Notable guest appearances

In July 2009, Richter played for the American League as a first baseman in the 2009 Taco Bell All-Star Legends and Celebrity Softball Game. Representing the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Richter hit a home run in the game.

The Tonight Show

On February 24, 2009 it was announced that Richter would be joining Conan O'Brien once again as the announcer for The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien in Los Angeles. Richter frequently appeared in comedy sketches on the show and often commented and interacted with Conan during the opening monologue; he was also part of the show's writing staff. In mid-December 2009, Richter also began joining Conan on the couch during the celebrity interviews, much like he did in his former sidekick role on Late Night. Richter said he enjoyed having a steady paycheck again and not having to deal with production companies while developing television shows. Richter said, "Now I'm so happy to be back and making TV every night, not asking permission from somebody and waiting six months to get their sparklingly clear and cogent notes. And then wait another month for them to get back from Hawaii and say, 'Yes, now we can go make television.' I felt like a plumber who kept going into the building and saying, 'Can we put some pipes together?' and watching my wrenches gather dust."

Film work

In addition to his television work, Richter has appeared in motion pictures such as Big Trouble, Elf, Seeing Other People, New York Minute, Madagascar, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Madagascar 3, My Boss's Daughter, Scary Movie 2, Cabin Boy, Frank McKlusky, C.I, Pootie Tang, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Blades of Glory, Semi-Pro, and Dr. T & the Women.

Richter appeared in the 2009 movie Aliens in the Attic, starring Ashley Tisdale and Robert Hoffman.

Personal life

Richter is married to comedic actress and writer/author Sarah Thyre, and they have two children, William and Mercy. Thyre was part of the cast of the cult comedy series Strangers with Candy, on which Richter made frequent cameo appearances. Richter and Thyre also appeared together playing Hansel and Gretel in an episode of the Upright Citizens Brigade sketch comedy series on Comedy Central in 1998.

External links

• Andy Richter at IMDb
• Kittenpants.org interview