Comedian Jimmy Shubert was born and raised in Philadelphia, and decided on a career in entertainment after attending the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts, where he majored in drama (and took great delight in becoming the school's resident class clown, as well as becoming a professional magician). During the early '80s, Shubert decided though that his heart lay in comedy, and began appearing regularly at comedy clubs around his hometown. But it wasn't until he relocated to California that he began to find success, as he performed at the renowned Comedy Store, and helped write jokes for other comedians, including Yakov Smirnoff, Jimmy Walker, and Louie Anderson. He also befriended the late Sam Kinison, who was so impressed with Shubert's knack for witty standup that he invited him to become a member of his Outlaws of Comedy, a group that toured with Kinison up until his untimely death in 1992. Shubert has also made three appearances at the Montreal Comedy Festival (from 1995-1998), and he's also launched an acting career on network television, including appearances on such shows as Angel, Rude Awakenings, Once Again, and a recurring role on the hit series ER (he also landed a development deal at FOX, which unfortunately only led to developing a pilot idea for a show he would have starred in). He's also appeared in such movies as Columbia Pictures' 1999 flick Go, and in 2001, issued his debut comedy album, Animal Instincts. ~ Greg Prato