Overview
Christopher Nash Elliott (born May 31, 1960) is an American actor, comedian, writer, director, and author. He appeared in comedic sketches on Late Night with David Letterman (1982–1988), created and starred in the comedy series Get a Life (1990–1992) on Fox, and wrote and starred in the film Cabin Boy (1994). His writing has won four consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards. His other television appearances include recurring roles on Everybody Loves Raymond (2003–2005) and How I Met Your Mother (2009–2014), starring as Chris Monsanto in Adult Swim's Eagleheart (2011–2014) and starring as Roland Schitt in Schitt's Creek (2015–2020).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/schittscreek/cast/chris-elliott |title=Schitt's Creek cast: Chris Elliott (1960–) |publisher=CBC Television |access-date=January 22, 2015}}</ref> He also appeared in the film Groundhog Day (1993), There's Something About Mary (1998), Snow Day (2000) and Scary Movie 2 (2001).
Early life
Elliott was born in New York City, and is the youngest of five children of Lee (née Peppers), a model and TV director, and Bob Elliott, who was part of the successful comedy team Bob and Ray. He grew up on the Upper East Side. He attended the National Theater Institute at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center for a semester.
Career
Elliott was hired as a production assistant on Late Night with David Letterman, and was with the show from its very beginning in February 1982. Over the first year of the show, he was seen on camera irregularly and usually in small sketch roles. In the spring of 1983, Elliott became a writer on the show and his on-camera appearances became more frequent. He became known in the mid-to-late 1980s for playing an assortment of recurring quirky, oddball characters on Late Night. His characters on the show included:
"The Conspiracy Guy": During staged audience "question and answer" sessions with Dave, Elliott would approach the microphone and begin accusing Letterman of various plots and schemes, after which "security" would wrestle Elliott to the ground and drag him out of the studio while Elliott yelled threats to Dave.
"The Panicky Guy": Elliott would pretend to be an audience member, who panics and runs from the studio at the slightest threat of danger (similar to doomed characters in disaster movies). Once in the hallway he would be run over and crushed by an advancing floor waxer, with his hands raised in terror.
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