Brad Garrett (born April 14, 1960) is an Emmy Award winning
American television/
voice actor and
stand-up comedian. He is well-known for his
sitcom roles on
Everybody Loves Raymond and
'Til Death.
Biography
Early life
Garrett was born
Bradley H. Gerstenfeld[According to the State of California. California Birth Index, 1905-1995. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At Ancestry.com] in
Woodland Hills, California, the son of Barbara (
née Colton), a homemaker, and Al Gerstenfeld, a
hearing aid salesman.
[Brad Garrett Biography (1960-)] He has two older brothers, Jeff and Paul. He attended
George Ellery Hale Middle School in
Woodland Hills, California and graduated from
El Camino Real High School in
Woodland Hills, where he was the head yell leader, in 1978. He attended
UCLA for less than two months before dropping out to pursue his comedy career.
Career
Garrett started out at various improv clubs in
Los Angeles, including The Improv in
Hollywood and The Ice House in
Pasadena. In 1984, he became the first $100,000 grand champion winner in the comedy category of the TV show
Star Search. This led to his first appearance, at age 23, on
The Tonight Show starring
Johnny Carson, making him one of the youngest comedians ever to perform on the show. His appearance with Carson brought Garrett a lot of national attention, and soon he was appearing as an opening act for such headliners as
Diana Ross and
Liza Minnelli. He also opened in
Las Vegas for
Frank Sinatra,
David Copperfield,
Smokey Robinson,
Sammy Davis, Jr., the
Beach Boys, the Righteous Brothers and
Julio Iglesias.
