Greenspan was born in Newark, New Jersey to a Jewish family, the son of Ruth Minnie (née Simon), a nurse and health care administrator, and Alexander B. Greenspan, an accounting manager. Greenspan later borrowed his father's first name to create his stage name, Jason Alexander.[1]
Alexander grew up in Maplewood and Livingston, New Jersey, and is a 1977 graduate of Livingston High School.[4] Interested in magic from an early age, he initially hoped to be a magician, but while attending a magic camp was told that his hands were too small for card magic. He became interested in theater, eventually realizing, "Wait a minute—the whole thing's an illusion. Nothing up there is real" and that theater itself was "a magic trick". He then decided to pursue a theater career.[5]
After high school, he studied theater at Boston University. He wanted to pursue classical acting, but a professor redirected him toward comedy after noticing his physique, remarking, "I know your heart and soul are Hamlet, but you will never play Hamlet."[6][7] Alexander left Boston University without a degree after his third year to take a full-time acting job in New York City. The university awarded him an honorary degree in 1995.
Concurrently with his Seinfeld role, he had a part in the ABC sitcom Dinosaurs as Al "Sexual" Harris (who frequently engaged in sexual harassment) as well as other characters from 1991 to 1994. Alexander voiced the lead character in the animated series Duckman (1994–1997) and voiced Catbert, the evil director of human resources, in the short-lived animated series Dilbert from 1999 to 2000, based on the then-popular comic strip.[12][13] In January 1995, he did a commercial for Rold Gold pretzels to be broadcast during the Super Bowl. The commercial depicts him with Frasier dog Eddie jumping out of an airplane with a parachute over the stadium. After the commercial, the audience is brought back to a supposedly live feed of the playing field hearing startled sports commentators as Alexander and the dog land in the field to wild applause.
2000–2009: Solo-lead sitcoms and return to theatre
Despite a successful career in film and stage, Alexander did not repeat his Seinfeld-level of success in television. The year 2001 marked his appearance as inept womanizer Mauricio in Shallow Hal and his first post-Seinfeld return to prime-time television: the heavily promoted but short-lived ABC sitcom Bob Patterson, which was canceled after five episodes. Alexander partially blames the show's failure on the country's mood after 9/11.[16] Alexander made cameo appearances as himself in 2001 in the second season of Curb Your Enthusiasm, and he appeared in the show's seventh season with his three principal Seinfeld co-stars.[17] He was featured in the Friends 2001 episode "The One Where Rosita Dies" as Earl, a suicidal supply manager. Phoebe calls him trying to sell him toner, learns about his problem, and tries to persuade him not to commit suicide. This is referenced in an episode of Malcolm in the Middle where Alexander appears as Leonard, a neurotic and critical loner. He describes himself as "free" and says he makes money "selling toner over the phone". Later in the episode, he is repeatedly harassed by a man named George.
In a 2006 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Alexander demonstrated several self-defense techniques. Also that year, he hosted the PBS "A Capitol Fourth" celebrations in Washington, D.C., singing, dancing, and playing tuned drums. Alexander was featured as a recurring cast member in the second season of Everybody Hates Chris. He hosted the Comedy Central Roast of William Shatner. He was the artistic director of Reprise Theatre Company in Los Angeles from 2007 until it went defunct in 2013,[22] where he previously directed Sunday in the Park with George, and directed its 2007 revival of Damn Yankees.[23] In 2007, Alexander was a guest star in the third episode of the improv comedy series Thank God You're Here.
Alexander hosted the LOL Sudbury opening night gala in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada in 2008, which was simulcast throughout Canada at 60 Cineplex theaters, a first for any comedy festival. He has lent his voice to several episodes of the Twilight Zone Radio Dramas. In 2008 and again in 2009, Alexander fronted Jason Alexander's Comedy Spectacular, a routine exclusive to Australia. The show consists of stand-up and improvisation and incorporates Alexander's musical talent. He is backed up by several well-known Australian comedians. His first time performing a similar show of this nature was in 2006's Jason Alexander's Comedy Christmas. In February/March 2010, Alexander starred in his show, The Donny Clay Experience, at the Planet Hollywood Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. Donny Clay, whom he has portrayed in a tour of the United States and Orillia, Ontario, is a self-help guru in a similar mold to his Bob Patterson character. In 2009, he played Joseph in the Thomas Nelson audio Bible production The Word of Promise. The project featured a large ensemble of actors, including Jim Caviezel, Lou Gossett Jr., John Rhys-Davies, Jon Voight, Gary Sinise, Christopher McDonald, Marisa Tomei, and John Schneider.[36][37] In 2009, Alexander had a small role in the film Hachi: A Dog's Tale as a train station manager.
In 2019, Alexander appeared on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel as Asher Friedman, a blacklisted Broadway playwright who is an old friend of Midge Maisel's father Abe Weissman.[44] He won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Song for "The Bad Guys?" on Brainwashed By Toons (2020). In 2020, Alexander hosted the Saturday Night Seder, an online Passover Seder that featured many celebrities and benefited the CDC Foundation.
From February 2023 he co-presented Really? No, Really?, a weekly podcast in which he, co-host Peter Tilden, and their guests attempt to find answers "to life’s most baffling, intriguing, confusing and annoying questions".[45] In July 2023, he made his Broadway directing debut with Sandy Rustin's comedy The Cottage. The cast includes Eric McCormack, Laura Bell Bundy and Lilli Cooper.[46] In 2023, on the December 21 primetime CBS special Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic, Alexander performed two songs in conjunction with dance-performers and closed the show with a spoken tribute to Van Dyke.[47]
Personal life
Alexander has been married to Daena E. Title, cousin of director Stacy Title, since May 31, 1982.[48][49][2] They have two sons, Gabriel[49][50] and Noah.[49]
Alexander performed a mentalism and magic act at The Magic Castle in Hollywood, California, from April 24 to 30, 2006, and he was later named The Academy of Magical Arts Parlor Magician of the Year for this act. He won the academy's Junior Achievement Award in 1989.[51]
Charity
Alexander was the national spokesman for the Scleroderma Foundation, a leading organization dedicated to raising awareness of the disease and assisting those who are afflicted.[52] In summer 2005, he appeared with Lee Iacocca in ads for DaimlerChrysler. Iacocca did the ads as part of a way to raise money for Denise Faustman's research on autoimmunity.[53] Iacocca and Alexander both have loved ones whose lives have been adversely affected by autoimmunity.
Alexander competed on televised poker shows and in various tournaments. He appeared twice on Bravo'sCelebrity Poker Showdown, winning the final table of the 8th season. Alexander won the $500,000 prize for the charity of his choice, The United Way of America, to help benefit the New Orleans area. Alexander played in the 2007 World Series of Poker main event, but he was eliminated on the second day. He returned in 2009, making it to day 3 of the event and finishing in the top 30% of the field. Alexander has appeared on NBC's Poker After Dark in the "Celebrities and Mentors" episode, finishing in 6th place after being eliminated by professional poker player Gavin Smith. He signed with PokerStars, where he plays under the screen name "J. Alexander". In 2021, Alexander competed in a virtual National Poker Tournament, hosted by the Children's Tumor Foundation, to raise money for Neurofibromatosis research.
Political views
Alexander has been a prominent public supporter of the OneVoice initiative, which seeks out opinions from moderate Israelis and Palestinians who want to achieve a mutual peace agreement, through what it states is the silent majority of Israelis and Palestinians. This has been criticised by The Electronic Intifada as "promoting what many Palestinians see as "a false peace that fails to address the structural injustices driving the conflict", and as a fake peace group which "manufactures consent for Israeli apartheid".[54][55] On Real Time with Bill Maher, he said he had visited Israel many times and spoke about progress toward peace he had observed.
On December 6, 2012 Alexander emceed his third[56] gala event for non-profit group Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, a charity supporting the Israel Defense Forces.[56] Musician Stevie Wonder cancelled his performance at the event following a recommendation from the UN,[56] and a public petition from Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) requesting that he not attend the event.[54] Alexander who was interviewed at the event by Jewish News Syndicate stated he supported the OneVoice Movement, and acknowledged an occupation of Palestine and called for a two-state solution,[56] which was later criticised by Roz Rothstein, CEO of the pro-Israel education group StandWithUs.[56] When asked about the IDF, Alexander stated that they were humane and noble, stating "some of the finest, most humane, most admirable, most noble-serving soldiers that I've ever seen" and that "there can never be any doubt that I am also an advocate for Israel".[56] When asked about why he had repeatedly emceed the event, Alexander stated, "They don’t understand first of all what [FIDF] is, and they see it as just a blanket support for Israeli military, and they don’t understand how I can say that I’m an advocate for both sides. And given the fact that there are eyes on this event tonight, I thought it was important to get up and say, 'This is why I can advocate for this group and I can advocate for Israel, and I’m not blind to the fact that we’re in conflict, and I hold everyone equally accountable, and I hold everyone equally to my heart.'"[56] On November 6, 2015 he again emceed an event at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in California, which raised $31 million for the, "provid[ing] educational, cultural and recreational programs and facilities for IDF soldiers."[57]
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrst"Jason Alexander (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved November 17, 2023. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.