Monty Hoffman (October 15, 1952 - October 1, 2013) was an American comedian and actor.
He appeared on Married... with Children twice, playing the bartender at the Paternity Ward Bar in the season 6 episode, "She's Having My Baby (Part 2)" and as one of the Mall Santas at the bar in the Season 7 episode, "Christmas".
Early Life[]
Born in New York, he was raised a single mother and 8 siblings. He grew up idolizing comedians Lou Costello and Lenny Bruce.
After high school, he spent two years in the United States Army, before doing various odd jobs to make ends meet. Then, at the age of 30, he studied acting at San Francisco State University, and joined an improvisational comedy group, Papaya Juice, whose members included Robin Williams. In between bits, Williams would perform stand up, inspiring Hoffman to write an act of his own.
Career[]
Stand up Comedy[]
He performed in the 1984 San Francisco Comedy Competition, and eventually made the move to Los Angeles. During this time, he would perform regularly at the popular Los Angeles comedy clubs, The Improv and The Laugh Factory.
In 1988, he appeared in the stand up comedy concert film, Comedy's Dirtiest Dozen, appearing alongside several then up and coming comedians including Tim Allen and Chris Rock.
In March 1989, he appeared on A&E’s An Evening at the Improv. In 1990, he appeared on Showtime's Comedy Club Network (along with MWC guest star Rick Overton). He also performed on Late Night with Conan O'Brian and Full Frontal Comedy in the mid 1990s.
After taking a break, he appeared on NBC's Last Comic Standing in 2004 and continued touring across the U.S. until his passing.
His comedy routine often featured him making fun of his looks such as being bald since middle school, college girls giving him the pet name "Eww", or kids asking if he was the person on the Operation board game. He also touched on other topics such as drug addiction, personal observations and dating / sex.
He mentioned that his earlier comedy routines were more bitter and angry and often abusive towards women, but later toned it down after his cancer diagnosis.
Acting[]
While working the stand up comedy circuit, he began to take on acting roles. His first acting role was as a bouncer in the 1986 film, Howard the Duck.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, he continued appearing in guest-starring roles on shows such as Saved by the Bell, Family Matters, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, The Drew Carey Show, Everybody Loves Raymond and Boy Meets World.
In 1994, he was one of the stars on the NBC sitcom, The Good Life, featuring fellow comedian Drew Carey (and also featured several MWC staff including Gerry Cohen, Kevin Curran, Mark Driscoll, and Jonathan Wolff). The series ran for 13 episodes before being suddenly cancelled.
After taking a break due to his health, he resumed acting in 2004, appearing in shows and films including Funny People and Curb Your Enthusiasm .
According to IMDb, his last acting appearance was in the 2011 film, Bucky Larson: Born to be a Star.
Personal Life[]
In 2002, he was diagnosed with throat cancer, which caused him to put his career on hold. With the radiation treatment, he had lost a significant amount of weight as well as strength. After a year of treatment, he was given a clean bill of health.
In his later years, he was also diagnosed with diabetes.
As frequently mentioned in his comedy routine, he had dealt with drug and alcohol addiction for several years. He offered to help those who dealt with addiction, noting that he knew what it was like to be addicted and had the scars to show it.
Death[]
Hoffman died on October 1, 2013 at the age of 60 in Los Angeles, California.