circuit beginning in the 1980s and appeared in cinema and on television. Besides stand-up,

Pinette did impressions of The Chipmunks, Elvis Presley, Gollum from The Lord of the

Rings, Hervé Villechaize, an Ewok, actor Marlon Brando, as well as various ethnic accents.

He occasionally sang, for example "Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz, in stand-up

routines.

Early life John Pinette was born in Boston, Massachusetts,

on March 23, 1964, and graduated from Malden Catholic High School in 1982. He graduated

from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell in 1986 with a degree in Accounting. He started

a career in accounting, but on the advice of friends left to pursue a career in comedy.

Pinette has Irish and French ancestry. Career

Pinette got a break when asked to tour with Frank Sinatra. Pinette was a regular guest

on The Tonight Show and The View. Pinette was in Duets, Dear God, and Junior.

He was a regular on the series Parker Lewis Can't Lose, and in 1998 starred as the carjack

victim in the final episode of Seinfeld. In 2004, Pinette was Bumpo in Artisan Entertainment’s

The Punisher, starring Thomas Jane and John Travolta.

Pinette was named Stand-Up Comedian of the Year by the American Comedy Awards in 1999

and received a Gemini Award nomination for his televised performance at Montreal's Just

for Laughs Comedy Festival in 2000. As of his death, he still held the record for the

highest selling one person show in the history of Just for Laughs.

In 2004, Pinette joined the touring cast of the musical Hairspray in the role of Edna

Turnblad. He later went on to the Broadway production in 2005, and continued in the role

until May 28, 2006. In his 2006 concert I'm Starvin', he said it was the first musical

theater production he had been in since high school.

In 2004, Pinette's stand up material was featured in Comedy Central's animated series Shorties

Watchin' Shorties. In 2007, Pinette performed at the 42nd annual MDA Jerry Lewis Telethon.

He performed at the Edinburgh Comedy Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 2008, and toured

in cities in 2010 beginning in April. During this tour, Pinette recorded a Comedy Central

special entitled "John Pinette: Still Hungry". The taping took place at the Vic Theatre in

Chicago. The world premiere of "John Pinette: Still Hungry" was on July 29, 2011, on Comedy

Central. Pinette was a host of the E4 laughs at Edinburgh

podcasts, showcasing comedians from the Edinburgh Festival in 2008.

In 2012, Pinette was one of the comedy acts in Ron White's Comedy Salute to the Troops

on CMT. He was the host of All You Can Eat, a TV series

taking a humorous look at American cuisine. The show debuted on the H2 network in the

U.S. in late June 2013. Death

Pinette was pronounced dead at 2:30 p.m. on April 5, 2014, at the Sheraton Station Square

Hotel in Pittsburgh. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's office said Pinette had

been suffering from liver and heart disease. An autopsy was not performed, as Pinette’s

personal doctor signed off on his cause of death as pulmonary embolism.

Discography Show Me the Buffet

I Say Nay Nay I'm Starvin'!

Making Lite of Myself Still Hungry

Filmography ALF - as Howie Anderson

Vinnie & Bobby - as William 'Bill' Melvin Belli

Revenge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation - as Trevor Gulf

Parker Lewis Can't Lose - as Coach Hank Kohler Reckless Kelly - as Sam Delance

Junior - as Clerk Revenge of the Nerds IV: Nerds in Love - as

Trevor Gulf Hart to Hart: Secrets of the Hart

Dear God - as Junior Seinfeld - as Howie

Simon Sez - as Micro Duets - as Finale Singer

My 5 Wives - as Stewart Do It for Uncle Manny - as Sammy Levine

Piece a' Cake - as Sammy The Punisher - as Bumpo

The Last Godfather - as Macho All You Can Eat - Host

See also List of stand-up comedians

References

External links

Official website Unregistered domain as of May 9th 2014

John Pinette at the Internet Movie Database John Pinette at Edinburgh Comedy Festival

E4 Laughs at Edinburgh