Biographie
Jim was raised in the small college town of Claremont, California. After earning a degree in Art History from the University of California, Berkeley, he relocated to San Francisco. There, along with his high school friend Barry Lank, he formed the comedy duo Lank and Earl, making their debut at the iconic Holy City Zoo on Clement Street in 1985. Over the next decade, they earned a reputation as "comics' comics" for their distinctive and quirky humor, performing in numerous stage and television productions.
Jim later became a writer for the acclaimed The Daily Show. During his four-year tenure, he received both Emmy and Peabody Awards.
Following his time on The Daily Show, Jim emerged as a trailblazer in liberal talk radio, serving as a founding writer and performer for Air America Radio. His contributions included writing for personalities such as Al Franken, Sam Seder, Janeane Garofalo, and Randi Rhodes. However, he is most renowned for creating, writing, and performing the highly rated morning comedy segments Rapture Watch, War on Brains, Mourning Remembrance, Sammy the Stem Cell, among others, on the Morning Sedition show hosted by Marc Maron and Mark Riley. Jim also appears in the 2005 Air America documentary Left of the Dial, and his best performances are archived on his website for listeners.
Upon returning to California, Jim took on the role of head writer and co-host for the Marc Maron Show on Air America's Los Angeles affiliate KTLK AM 1150. Subsequently, he worked as a staff writer on Fox’s late-night comedy program TalkShow with Spike Feresten.
Jim also served as head writer for The Friday ITch, a comedic news web series released weekly on Techweb.com. Additionally, he regularly contributed to Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen and the syndicated Jackie Guerra Show on KTLK 1150AM.
He is a frequent featured writer and performer on the David Feldman Comedy Podcast, collaborating with talents such as Patton Oswalt, Jeff Garlin, Robert Smigel, Rick Overton, Paul F. Tompkins, Paul Provenza, Greg Proops, Neal Brennan, Tom Kenny, and Carlos Alazraqui.
In 2010, Jim’s band, The Clutter Family, released its self-titled debut album, described as "a crabby, perverse, and catchy blend of sardonic lyrics and upbeat melodies.
