| Hannibal Buress | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name: | Hannibal Amir Buress |
| Born: | February 4, 1983 |
| Birth Hometown: | Chicago, Illinois |
| Occupation: | Comedian Actor Writer Producer |
| Years active: | 2002-present |
Hannibal Amir Buress (/ˈbʌrɪs/ BURR-iss, born February 4, 1983) is an American comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He started performing comedy in 2002 while attending Southern Illinois University. He starred on Adult Swim's The Eric Andre Show from 2012 to 2020, and was featured on Comedy Central's Broad City from 2014 to 2019.
Early life[]
Hannibal Amir Buress was born in Chicago, Illinois, on February 4, 1983, the son of teacher Margaret and John Buress, a Union Pacific Railroad employee. He was raised in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago. He was named after Carthaginian general Hannibal, and has told stories in his stand-up act about his name causing women to turn him down because of its association with fictional cannibal Hannibal Lecter. After attending Steinmetz College Prep, he attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale for four years but did not graduate. While there he became friends with hip hop artist Open Mike Eagle, his RA at the time.
Career[]
Buress began his stand-up career at an open mic in 2002. He has been featured in The Awkward Comedy Show special on Comedy Central, and alongside comics Baron Vaughn, Eric André, Marina Franklin, and Victor Varnado, and on the FX sitcom Louie. Beginning in 2012, he has co-starred as Eric André's sidekick on The Eric Andre Show. In July 2010, Buress made Variety magazine's "Ten Comics to Watch in 2010" list.
His first stand-up comedy album My Name is Hannibal was released on July 27, 2010.
Buress was a writer on Saturday Night Live from 2009 to 2010. He left with only one of his sketches having aired. In September 2010, he began writing for the fifth season of the NBC comedy series 30 Rock. He left after six months, although he continued to portray various characters on the show for 9 episodes from 2010 to 2012 such as "Gus", "Homeless Guy" and "Bum".
He released his second album, Animal Furnace, in 2012, which also aired as a special on Comedy Central. The album received positive reviews.
His stand-up comedy has been featured on Comedy Central programs such as Live at Gotham and John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show. He has also performed on several late night talkshows such as The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Lopez Tonight, Russell Howard's Good News, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Late Show with David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell, and Conan.
An hourlong Comedy Central show, Hannibal Buress Live from Chicago, aired on March 29, 2014.
He used to host a weekly stand-up comedy show at The Knitting Factory on Sunday evenings in Brooklyn, New York. In October 2016, Buress began a podcast called Handsome Rambler.
Buress played Coach Wilson in the 2017 Marvel movie Spider-Man: Homecoming. Buress paid a lookalike who didn't look like him to attend the film's premiere in his place, because he was busy with the film Tag. He got in contact with the lookalike when he did a video for the MTV Movie Awards.
On February 8, 2020, he appeared on The Bob Ross Challenge, painting for the first time, coming up with the art nickname 7.
He had a comedy special for Cornell University via Zoom on April 17 at 9 pm exclusive to the students.
Buress was one of many collaborators on 'Foam and Flotsam,' a comedy album by Chelsea Peretti about coffee. The EP was released on April 21, 2020.
On April 30, 2020, he released a single called Judge Judy, paying homage to the series of the same name after it was announced that the show would end in 2021.
Personal life[]
Buress is an atheist. After living in New York City, he moved back to his hometown of Chicago in 2017 and settled in its Wicker Park neighborhood. Buress is a fan of the Chicago White Sox.
In December 2017, Buress was arrested in Miami for disorderly intoxication. Bystander footage of the arrest showed Buress mocking the police officers and demanding to know why he was being arrested. The arrest report revealed that Buress was detained because he approached the police officers and would not stop asking them to call an Uber for him. Buress later stated, "I asked the [officer] to call me an Uber, and he said, 'No.' He told me to leave the street. I go into this bar to get a phone charger for an Uber. He follows me into the bar, and told me I'm too drunk to go inside. [...] 'If I can't be on the street, where do you want me to be?' I ask him. I was in a state of trying to get home. [...] I don't really believe I was at fault." The case was later dismissed. The Miami New Times reported that the arresting officer has an alleged history of violence and was previously disciplined by internal affairs for an alcohol-fueled assault. The report was included by Buress in a televised stand-up routine he did at the Olympia Theater in Miami, in August 2019.
Buress stated in a September 2018 interview that he had "quit drinking" after a number of "different situations [happened] that were alcohol fuelled," such as "arguments" stating that the ways he had handled things "were not smooth, just messy shit."
Buress has been called a "landlord". Buress was later attacked on Twitter for behavior around his rental property. He attributed the criticism he received to fallout over comments he made on Bernie Sanders's age. Buress claimed that subsequent developments were jokes on his part. However, Buress also said a housing charity no longer wanted his $4,000 donation due to his perceived landlord advocacy.