Humorist James Judd

Monologuist and humorist James Judd, headliner of NPR‘s Snap Judgment, has accidentally ended up in a whorehouse in China while working as a banned journalist, singlehandedly ruined more than a half dozen good jobs (and counting) in industries ranging from journalism to law, and is a former patient—and current pen pal—of sham Manhattan dermatologist turned Attica prisoner Dean Faiello.  Judd is also is a writer and performer whose comic, autobiographic tales crowd the stage with hilarious characters and situations.

Often compared to David Sedaris and Oscar Wilde, Judd connects with audiences as he shares stories classified as "spectacular public embarrassments and utter failures." However humiliating, they affirm that part of being human is telling the stories that have happened to us, emphasizing that even in the face of failure, it's getting up and moving forward that matters. 

The Washington Post says, “Judd’s conversation style is loud, lightning fast and nonstop — he doesn’t seem to need to breathe as much as a typical human — and the result is a constantly engaging pileup of quips. It can take a few moments for a joke to register, but by then Judd has unfurled a few more laugh-worthy lines. One of Judd’s biggest assets is his delivery, which rarely feels rehearsed, as if he’s simply recounting these absorbing personal anecdotes over dinner. And his talents extend to physical humor, whether he’s imitating a shark or mimicking an oafish boat captain.” 

Judd’s story of battling a shark in open water was named Snap Judgment’s Most Hilarious Story of 2012. You can watch it on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ww7-1dtaGB0.  It is also part of his recently published collection of essays and monologues, Now I Know, available through Amazon. 

At the Snap Judgment live shows, Judd regularly performs as “the closer” (meaning the finale) in the series' sold-out performances for audiences upwards of 3,000 people. The Snap Judgment podcasts are then downloaded by 2.5 million listeners monthly. Judd recently closed Snap Judgment’s live tour, playing Los Angeles (Ace Theatre), Phoenix (Ikeda Theatre), San Francisco (Nourse Theatre), Seattle (Moore Theatre), Portland (Revolution Hall), Detroit (Royal Oak Music Hall), Chicago (Vic Theatre), Minneapolis (State Theatre), NYC (BAM Opera House), Washington D.C. (Warner Theatre), Atlanta (Symphony Hall), Austin (Paramount Theatre), Dallas (Majestic Theatre) and Houston (Cullen Performance Hall).  The 2nd Snap Live National Tour will take him to Boston, Philidelphia, Kansas City, Salt Lake City, Tampa, Miami, San Diego and back to Oakland's legendary Paramount Theater for a live filming on December 1st, 2017. James has closed the Snap Live shows in previous performances in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, New York City and Ann Arbor, Michigan. 

 A former member of the Los Angeles based improv group—and Saturday Night Live training ground—The Groundlings, Judd worked the stand-up circuit until age 30, when he decided to go to law school to become a criminal defense attorney. (He’s still licensed in New Hampshire.) An epiphany as an underprepared law student making his debut in criminal court—detailed in his story The Defense Rests—propelled him back to comedy, where he opted for autobiographic storytelling instead of stand-up for a more theatrical and satisfying experience for himself and his audience.

Judd was recently the New York All For One Theater Festival Artist in Residence, where he developed his 75-minute autobiographical play Killer Quack.  The piece details the true story of his involvement with Dean Faiello, an infamous con man who posed as a dermatologist in Manhattan and was dubbed by The New York Post as “The Killer Quack in the Concrete Coffin Case.” Faiello made tabloid headlines when it was discovered that he’d killed one of his patients, buried her in a garage, and fled to Costa Rica.

Judd, looking to have a tattoo removed, became his patient, and is now his prison confidant.  Debuting in November 2013, Killer Quack has since been performed in various U.S. cities as well as in Toronto.

DC Metro Theater Arts called Judd’s Killer Quack, “One of those rare moments in the theatre that moves the audience along the spectrum of emotion … the beauty of the work that Judd has composed, or rather lived through and repurposed into this evening of storytelling, is that he spends time in the grey areas of emotions, where humor and drama coincide, and where self-awareness and uncertainty overlap.”

As a comedian and comedy writer, James has worked on many entertainment projects, including television appearances on Star Search and Evening at the Improv. His critically acclaimed, award-winning, one-man, autobiographical play 7SINS has been produced more than two dozen times in North America and internationally. 

 More information is at jamesbjudd.com

Off-the-wall and out-of-the ballpark entertainment
     – Toronto Star

I’m not sure I’ve ever laughed so hard.
     – DC Metro Theater Arts

Who is this guy and why am I laughing so hard?
     – San Francisco Weekly

Hilarious!
     – San Francisco Examiner

It was dirty.  It was funny.  It was a swell party.  Bravo!
    – San Francisco Chronicle

Like David Sedaris on a pot of coffee.
     – Democrat & Chronicle