Wikipedia

John Pinette

John Paul Pinette (/pɪˈnɛt/ pi-NET) (March 23, 1964 – April 5, 2014) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, and Broadway performer. He toured the comedy club circuit beginning in the 1980s and appeared in cinema and on television. Besides stand-up Pinette did various impressions, among them Michael Jackson, The Chipmunks, Elvis Presley, Gollum from The Lord of the Rings, Hervé Villechaize (Tattoo from Fantasy Island), an Ewok, actor Marlon Brando (notably Brando's role in The Godfather), as well as a range of regional accents. He occasionally sang in his stand-up routines; for example, "Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz, "Will You Be There" from Free Willy, and "Don't Cry for Me Argentina".

John Pinette
Pinette in 2010
Birth nameJohn Paul Pinette
Born(1964-03-23)March 23, 1964
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedApril 5, 2014(2014-04-05) (aged 50)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Resting placeSts. Peter & Paul Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Medium
  • Stand-up
  • television
  • film
GenresObservational comedy
Subject(s)
  • Impressions
  • self-deprecation
  • everyday life
  • obesity
  • world travel
  • food

Early life

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Pinette was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 23, 1964,[1][2] the son of Robert Pinette Sr. (1929–1988) and Louise Pitre (Petrie) (1927–1982).[3] His mother was of Acadian ancestry, with both her parents from New Brunswick, Canada. He graduated from Malden Catholic High School in 1982.

He graduated from the University of Massachusetts Lowell in 1986 with a degree in accounting.[4]

Career

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Upon graduating, he started a career in accounting but, after just six months, and on the advice of friends, left to pursue a career in comedy, later telling the Montreal Gazette in 2006 that he "knew the book theory but [he] didn't have the heart for it" and that "[his] job was to distract the auditors with jokes".[5][4][6]

An early break for Pinette occurred in 1991 when he was asked to open for Frank Sinatra, doing so on and off for a year and a half.[7] Originally hired to perform three sets, Sinatra invited him to dinner and chose to keep him on for more shows, including one at the Desert Inn in Las Vegas.[8][7]

That same year, he was cast in the reality show The Grudge Match as the referee on the series and had regular roles on the final season of teen sitcom Parker Lewis Can't Lose and Married... With Children second-generation spin-off Vinnie & Bobby, starring Matt Le Blanc, with both airing in 1992.[5]

Pinette was a recurring guest on The Tonight Show and The View, and in 1998 played the carjacking victim in the final episode of the sitcom Seinfeld.

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.[9] He held the record for the highest-selling one-person show series in the history of Just for Laughs for 16 years, being surpassed by Sugar Sammy in 2016.[10][11]

Pinette appeared in the films Duets, Simon Sez, The Last Godfather, Dear God, and Junior, and played Nathaniel Bumpo in Artisan Entertainment's 2004 film The Punisher, starring Thomas Jane and John Travolta.

In 2004, Pinette joined the touring cast of the musical Hairspray in the role of Edna Turnblad, remarking to The Globe and Mail that "The irony is having to work my ass off six days a week on the treadmill in order to play a fat old woman."[12][13][14] He later went on to the Broadway production in 2005, and continued in the role until May 28, 2006.[12][15] In his 2006 concert I'm Starvin', he said it was the first musical theater production he had been in since high school.

Pinette was on board the cruise ship MS Monarch (formerly Monarch of the Seas) during a grounding incident off the coast of St. Maarten, referencing it in his 2005 DVD special I Say Nay Nay.

Pinette's stand-up material was featured in Comedy Central's 2004 animated series Shorties Watchin' Shorties. In 2007, Pinette performed at the 42nd annual Jerry Lewis MDA 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 titled John Pinette: Still Hungry. The taping took place at the Vic Theatre in Chicago and the world premiere of Still Hungry was on July 29, 2011, on Comedy Central.[16]

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.[17]

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 United States in late June 2013.

In August 2013, Pinette cancelled a nationwide tour of Canada whereupon he checked into a rehabilitation facility after developing a dependency on prescription pain medication, telling his fans on Twitter the following January that he was "physically spent" after "losing a bunch of weight and several small surgical procedures" and would be taking three-and-a-half months off to recover.[4][18] He later resumed touring the U.S. comedy circuit in March, performing shows in California.[19][20]

Style and influences

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Pinette often turned to his experiences with his weight as a key element of his comedy and challenges posed by his size in everyday life became a regular source of humour on stage alongside his takes on different foods and regional cuisines.

When explaining his approach to stand-up comedy on stage, in interviews, and on social media, Pinette often, though sometimes only partially, restated a mantra: "I talk about my life, it's the funniest thing I can think of. For some reason, people enjoy seeing me lose my cherub-like demeanor."[6][14][21]

Pinette cited Jackie Gleason, Jonathan Winters, Buddy Hackett, and Bill Cosby as the main comedians that shaped him as a comic.[22] In response to critics of his chosen subject, he stated in 1998: "Why should that be any different from a comic that says, 'I was an alcoholic,' or, 'I was in a bad relationship'? I want to talk about being a big guy ... it's not a fat joke. It's a joke about living the way you live."[1]

Chortle founder Steve Bennett described the experience of watching Pinette's I Say Nay Nay set at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2008 by saying: "it is not until you leave the show and get your breath back that you realise that you have learned nothing, no boundary has been pushed, no preconception questioned. There is no theme, no grand point other than to make the audience laugh hard and laugh solidly, and Pinette hammers this point home masterfully."[23]

The Guardian wrote in 2012: "Yes, Pinette is indeed a fat man making fat jokes, which may seem to you a touch predictable, yet the joy of his comedy is in his superb technique", describing him as "a comic fantasist instead of an observer".[24]

Personal life

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Pinette readily shared details of his weight journey both on stage as part of his act and in interviews, with his weight dramatically fluctuating throughout his life from an accentuated high of 452 pounds in the late 1990s to a low of 225 pounds in the time before his death, having undergone gastric-bypass surgery in 1999 due to health concerns.[25][26]

In preparation to meet the demands of his Broadway role in Hairspray, Pinette lost 100 pounds from his high (something he purportedly effectuated several times across his life) and wore a fat suit on stage.[27][28] In his comedy show Still Hungry, Pinette detailed how he was diagnosed with a wheat allergy.[29]

As of October 2006, he had moved to Pennsylvania to live part-time in close proximity to his family, in-between periods he spent touring.[28][26]

Death

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Pinette died on April 5, 2014, at the age of 50, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he had been attending a family wedding.[6] Pinette's personal doctor signed off on his cause of death as pulmonary embolism.[30][31] Pinette's funeral services were held near his home in Springfield, Pennsylvania.[3]

In a memorandum following his death, Just For Laughs revealed that they had been working with Pinette's team in preparation for another cross-Canada tour that would have been centred around a belated 25th anniversary celebration of his 28-year-long[32] career in stand-up, highlighting his most famous catchphrases and routines, with the festival organisers going on to describe him as "a master of his craft and a true legend".[10]

Discography

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Filmography

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Films

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Year Title Role Notes
1990 Thanksgiving Day Delivery person Television film
1992 Revenge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation Trevor Gulf Television film
1993 Reckless Kelly Sam Delance Feature film
1994 Junior Clerk Feature film
1995 Hart to Hart: Secrets of the Hart Television film
1996 Dear God Junior Feature film
1999 Simon Sez Micro Feature film
2000 Duets John Feature film
My 5 Wives Stewart Feature film
2002 Do It for Uncle Manny Sammy Levine Feature film
2003 Piece a' Cake Sammy Short film
2004 The Punisher Bumpo Feature film
2010 The Last Godfather Macho Feature film

Television series

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Year Title Role Notes
1988 Smart Guys Nick Byrd Television series; episode: "Pilot"
1990 ALF Howie Anderson Television series; episode: "Make 'em Laugh"
1991 The Grudge Match Himself (referee) Game show
Studio 59 Various roles Television series
1992 Vinnie & Bobby William Melvin Belli Television series; 7 episodes
1992–1993 Parker Lewis Can't Lose Coach Hank Kohler Television series; 15 episodes
1995–1996 High Tide Bob-O DiBella Television series; 4 episodes
1998 Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist John Television series; voice; episode: "Phone Luv"
Life's Work John the Bellhop Television series; episode: "Pregnancy"
Seinfeld Howie Television series; episode: "The Finale"
2013 All You Can Eat Himself (host) Television series; 19 episodes

Video games

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Year Title Role Notes
2013 Impire Ba'al-Abaddon Video game; voice

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Ferguson, Lisa (May 22, 1998). "John Pinette: Keeping His Plate Full". Las Vegas Sun.
  2. ^ Brodeur, Nicole (September 23, 2004). "'Hairspray' and heels: kicking back at spa with mama Edna". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on March 5, 2014. Pinette, 40
  3. ^ a b "John Pinette Obituary - Media, PA". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved December 21, 2019 – via legacy.com.
  4. ^ a b c Associated Press (April 8, 2014). "John Pinette, stand-up comedian, dies at 50". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  5. ^ a b "JohnPinette.com (Official Website)". Archived from the original on October 23, 2015. Retrieved August 12, 2010.
  6. ^ a b c Fox, Margalit (April 7, 2014). "John Pinette, 50, Stand-Up Comic and Actor, Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  7. ^ a b "John Pinette interview". What's So Funny?. August 20, 2012. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  8. ^ Reedy, R.Scott (July 5, 2012). "Comic John Pinette visits So. Shore Music Circus Friday". The Patriot Ledger. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
  9. ^ "John Pinette". Comix at Foxwoods Comedy Club. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  10. ^ a b "In Memory of John Pinette – A Just for Laughs Legend". Just for Laughs. Archived from the original on September 29, 2014.
  11. ^ "Just For Laughs Canadian Comedy Tour with Sugar Sammy". Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. October 14, 2017. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  12. ^ a b "Replacements/Transfers: Hairspray - Neil Simon Theatre". IBDB. Archived from the original on August 7, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2008.
  13. ^ Jones, Kenneth (July 1, 2004). "Comedian John Pinette Straps on Edna's Pumps for Hairspray Tour Starting Sept. 7". Playbill. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011.
  14. ^ a b Hoffman, Tod (July 13, 2004). "Pinette just says 'nay nay'". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved March 30, 2025.
  15. ^ Jones, Kenneth (September 6, 2005). "John Pinette Slips Into Edna's Housecoat in Broadway's Hairspray Sept. 6". Playbill. Archived from the original on July 28, 2010.
  16. ^ "John Pinette Biography". Broadway World. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  17. ^ "Ron White Comedy Salute to the Troops 2012". IMDb. Archived from the original on September 29, 2014. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
  18. ^ Pinette, John [@JohnPinette] (January 9, 2014). "I promise to hit the stage as soon as humanly possible so I can once again have the honor of making you all laugh -JP" (Tweet). Retrieved March 30, 2025 – via Twitter.
  19. ^ Pinette, John [@JohnPinette] (March 11, 2014). "#California! Let's feast March 21-22 at the @ComedyMagicClub in Hermosa! Hope to see you there!" (Tweet). Retrieved April 1, 2025 – via Twitter.
  20. ^ Pinette, John [@JohnPinette] (April 4, 2014). "Happy Fri! Hope you all have a GREAT weekend! Don't forget: I'm @OntarioImprov April 10-13! http://j.mp/jpinette" (Tweet). Retrieved April 1, 2025 – via Twitter.
  21. ^ "John Pinette (@JohnPinette)". X (Twitter). Retrieved April 1, 2025.
  22. ^ "John Pinette's Back, and He's Famished!". ShulmanSays. August 11, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
  23. ^ "John Pinette: I Say Nay Nay". Chortle. January 1, 2008. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
  24. ^ Benedictus, Leo (April 10, 2014). "Comedy gold: John Pinette's I Say Nay Nay". The Guardian. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
  25. ^ "Comic John Pinette weighs in on life and comedy". Bucks County Courier Times. Aggregated by Phillyburbs. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
  26. ^ a b Lerman, Ali (March 25, 2014). "John Pinette's Incentive to Keep Touring: Staying Away From Family". OC Weekly. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
  27. ^ Globe Staff (April 10, 2014). "Comedian John Pinette, 50; was Malden native". The Boston Globe. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
  28. ^ a b Posner, Michael (October 19, 2006). "John Pinette: a super-sized talent". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
  29. ^ "John Pinette: "Still Hungry" as a comedian after 25 years". The Comic's Comic. July 28, 2007. Retrieved March 30, 2025.
  30. ^ Polke, Clarece (April 6, 2014). "Comedian John Pinette, 50, dies in Pittsburgh hotel". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
  31. ^ "John Pinette Dead: Comedian And 'Seinfeld' Actor Dies At 50". The Huffington Post. April 6, 2014. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
  32. ^ Pinette, John [@JohnPinette] (February 19, 2014). "Couldn't fit this all in one tweet, but wanted to share the note! Updated showtimes: http://johnpinette.com" (Tweet). Retrieved April 23, 2025 – via Twitter.
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