Judd Apatow (born December 6, 1967) is an
American stand-up comedian,
film producer,
director, and
screenwriter. He is well-known for making a distinct series of critically and commercially successful comedy films, including
The 40-Year-Old Virgin,
Knocked Up, and
Funny People. He has also produced films such as
Superbad,
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,
Step Brothers and
Pineapple Express. He is the founder of
Apatow Productions, a film production company that also developed the critically acclaimed cult television series
Freaks and Geeks and
Undeclared.
Early life
Apatow was born in
Flushing, New York to a
Jewish family,
[jweekly.com] and raised in
Syosset, New York. His sense of humor provided access to friends while growing up.
[Minton, Jeff. "Judd Apatow's Family Values", New York Times, 2007-05-27. Retrieved on June 4, 2007.] Obsessed with comedy, his childhood hero was
Steve Martin.
He has an older brother Robert and a younger sister Mia;
his father was a real estate developer, and his mother worked at a comedy club in
Southampton.
Apatow's parents divorced when he was 12 years old. His brother Robert went to live with their grandparents whilst sister Mia moved in with their mother. Apatow went to live with his father, visiting his mother on weekends. Both parents understood and supported his obsession with comedy.
Apatow got his comic start while attending
Syosset High School, where he hosted a program called
Club Comedy on the school's 10-watt radio station
WKWZ. He relied on his mother's contacts at the comedy club to gain access to the comedians;
during this time, he managed to interview
Steve Allen,
Howard Stern,
Harold Ramis and
John Candy, along with then-unknowns
Jerry Seinfeld,
Steven Wright and
Garry Shandling.
