Background and career
Robert Francis "Bobcat" Goldthwait (born May 26, 1962) is an American comedian, actor, director, and screenwriter. He is known for his black comedy stand-up act, delivered through an energetic stage persona with an unusual raspy and high-pitched voice. He came to prominence with his stand-up specials An Evening with Bobcat Goldthwait—Share the Warmth and Bob Goldthwait—Is He Like That All the Time? and his acting roles, including Zed in the Police Academy franchise and Eliot Loudermilk in Scrooged. Since 2012, he has been a regular panelist on the radio-quiz show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!. Goldthwait has written and directed a number of films and television series, most notably the black comedies Shakes the Clown (1991), in which he also starred, Sleeping Dogs Lie (2006), World's Greatest Dad (2009), God Bless America (2011), and the horror film Willow Creek (2013); episodes of Chappelle's Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2004–07), and Maron (2013–15); and several stand-up specials, including Patton Oswalt: Tragedy Plus Comedy Equals Time (2014). He has also worked extensively as a voice actor, with voice roles in Capitol Critters (1992–95), Hercules (1997), and Hercules: The Animated Series (1998–99), and has provided the voice of Pop Fizz in the Skylanders video game series since the character's debut in 2012's Skylanders: Giants.
Robert Francis Goldthwait was born on May 26, 1962, in Syracuse, New York, the son of Kathleen Ann (née Welch), a department store employee, and Thomas Lincoln Goldthwait, a sheet metal worker. He was raised in a working-class Catholic family. At an early age, Goldthwait decided on a career as a comedian, inspired by enjoying making his friends laugh. During his time at St. Matthew's Grammar School, Goldthwait would host performances for his friends regularly, among them being future voice actor Tom Kenny. Goldthwait would experiment with new content, and developed a strong liking for props.
I had nuns for all my grammar school, and there I was just told that I was not funny and that I was fat—it was just my first dealings with critics, actually. And I really did. I had like a nun telling me I was fat. It's no wonder as an adult I had "manorexia" for, like, ten years. And then in high school I still went to a Catholic school but I had these teachers that were kind of very encouraging. You know, Tom Kenny and myself were doing stand-up comedy when we were fifteen. I remember in physics class falling asleep, and the physics teacher going "Well, you know, they did a show last night, and they're on another journey," and the guy was cool with it, you know? And I had an English teacher that was the same way: Santo Berlotti, who was very encouraging of me writing and stuff. In 1980, Goldthwait and Kenny graduated from Bishop Grimes Junior/Senior High School in East Syracuse, New York. They formed a comedy troupe called The Generic Comics. In their mid-teens, they saw an ad for an open-mic night in Skaneateles that featured comedian Barry Crimmins with the moniker "Bear Cat". He and Kenny went to the event and performed under the monikers Bobcat and Tomcat, respectively, as a tribute to Crimmins. Early in his career, Goldthwait also co-wrote with Martin Olson, who is listed as writer on his first two comedy specials Share the Warmth and Don't Watch This Show. In 1985, he co-starred in the George Carlin HBO television series Apt. 2C of which only the pilot episode was ever made.
Goldthwait became recognized as a solo stand-up comedian and had a record "Meat Bob" and two televised concert specials in the 1980s: An Evening with Bobcat Goldthwait —Share the Warmth and Bob Goldthwait —Is He Like That All the Time? He became known for his unique brand of comedy, which combines elements of political satire and often bizarre or unsettling black comedy. In the 1990s, Goldthwait and Robin Williams appeared on the same bill together, but not as a comedy team, using the names Jack Cheese and Marty Fromage. Later, Goldthwait used the name Jack Cheese when he appeared in Tapeheads. When Williams made a cameo as Mime Jerry in Goldthwait's Shakes the Clown, he was billed as Marty Fromage.
Q: Tell me a little bit about Jack Cheese and Marty Fromage.A: Well, all that was is Robin and I would perform sometimes—like, sometimes I would perform as Jack Cheese, and honestly, this is twenty years ago, when me showing up at a club would actually be something you'd have to keep on the downlow. Now, you put my real name there, and there's still plenty of empty seats. So it's when Robin and I would go out here in the Bay Area and do comedy, and we would just be performing under fake names just because of other concert obligations and stuff. So it was just so we could go out and write, yeah. (2009) During the fall of 1993, Goldthwait performed stand-up material as an opening act for Nirvana on what would be their final North American tour. He had been selected for the slot due to frontman Kurt Cobain being a fan of his comedy, and the two developed a friendship over the course of the tour. He also appeared in a promo video for the band's album In Utero and once fooled an interviewer during a phone interview, impersonating Dave Grohl. At midnight on New Year's Eve 1993, Goldthwait rappelled nude from a catwalk of the stage at the Oakland Coliseum as Kurt Cobain led a countdown. Goldthwait filmed a half-hour HBO special in 1995, and another comedy album in 2003 I Don't Mean to Insult You, But You Look Like Bobcat Goldthwait and in 2004 his stand-up was featured in Comedy Central's animated series Shorties Watchin' Shorties.
Goldthwait has appeared in several films. His first major role was Zed in the Police Academy franchise. He starred in One Crazy Summer, Burglar, Scrooged, and Hot to Trot. In 1992, Goldthwait directed, wrote, and starred in Shakes the Clown. He also made an appearance as a writer in Radioland Murders. In 1985, Goldthwait appeared in Twisted Sister's official video to "Leader of the Pack" and "Be Chrool to Your Scuel" from Come Out and Play. In 1992, Goldthwait appeared as a guest-co-host of the second episode of The Ben Stiller Show. He appeared as a relative of Peggy Bundy on the Married... with Children show where he and his wife dropped one of their numerous offspring on the Bundys. Later in 1992, Goldthwait was a guest star as an excitable and peculiar psychiatrist in the second episode, season one of the sitcom, Golden Palace (starring Betty White, Rue McClanahan, Estelle Getty, Don Cheadle, and Cheech Marin).
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
