# Bess Kalb

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{{Short description|American television writer}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Infobox writer
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| name             = Bess Kalb
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| birth_name       = Bess Bell Kalb
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| birth_place      = New York City
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| occupation       = {{hlist|Author|television writer}}
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| education        = [Brown University](/source/Brown_University)
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| genre            = Comedy
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'''Bess Kalb''' is an American [Emmy Award](/source/Emmy_Award)-nominated writer for the ''[Jimmy Kimmel Live!](/source/Jimmy_Kimmel_Live!)'' television show and journalist with ''[The New Yorker](/source/The_New_Yorker)'' magazine. She is the author of the best-selling book ''Nobody Will Tell You This But Me: A True (As Told to Me) Story'', which recounts the life of her grandmother, Bobby Bell.

==Early life==
Kalb was raised in [Manhattan](/source/Manhattan) and [Westchester](/source/Westchester_County%2C_New_York).<ref name="The Ledger">{{cite news |last1=Buckholtz |first1=Alison |title=Book review: Kalb spans generations with touching memoir |url=https://www.theledger.com/entertainment/20200329/book-review-kalb-spans-generations-with-touching-memoir |accessdate=April 25, 2020 |work=The Ledger |date=March 29, 2020}}</ref><ref name="The Spiel">{{cite news |last1=Leach|first1=Samantha|title=Bess Kalb Almost Looked Like The Long Island Lolita At Her Bat Mitzvah |url=https://samanthaleach.substack.com/p/bess-kalb-almost-looked-like-the |accessdate=January 23, 2021 |work=The Spiel |date=December 29, 2020}}</ref> She later moved to San Francisco, California<ref name="LA Magazine">{{cite news |last1=Eber |first1=Hailey |title=TV Writer Bess Kalb Turned Her Grandmother's Hilarious Voicemails Into a Family History |url=https://www.lamag.com/culturefiles/bess-kalb-nobody-will-tell-you-this-but-me/ |accessdate=April 25, 2020 |work=LA Magazine |date=February 27, 2020}}</ref> where she contributed articles to [''Wired''](/source/Wired_(magazine)), [GQ](/source/GQ).com, ''[The New Republic](/source/The_New_Republic)'', [GOOD](/source/Good_Worldwide), [Salon.com](/source/Salon_(website)) and other publications. In 2012, Kalb moved to Los Angeles to begin a comedy career.<ref name="Portland Mercury">{{cite news |last1=Moore |first1=Jenni |title=The Best Things to Do (While Staying Home and Staying Safe) in Portland: Tues April 21 |url=https://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2020/04/21/28316957/the-best-things-to-do-while-staying-home-and-staying-safe-in-portland-tues-april-21 |accessdate=April 25, 2020 |work=Portland Mercury |date=April 21, 2020}}</ref>

==Career==
Kalb began writing comedy for ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' in 2012;<ref name="LA Times" /> the show airs on the [ABC Network](/source/American_Broadcasting_Company). In addition, she wrote for the 2012 [Primetime Emmy Award](/source/Primetime_Emmy_Award)s ceremony with Kimmel as the host.<ref name="Variety 2">{{cite news |last1=Kroll |first1=Justin |title=Elizabeth Chomko to Direct Bess Kalb's 'Nobody Will Tell You This But Me' |url=https://variety.com/2020/film/news/elizabeth-chomko-bess-kalb-nobody-will-tell-you-this-but-me-1234576416/ |accessdate=April 26, 2020 |work=Variety |date=April 9, 2020}}</ref>

In 2013, she was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series for her work alongside the rest of the writing team of ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' including [Tony Barbieri](/source/Tony_Barbieri), Jonathan Bines, Joelle Boucai, [Gary Greenberg](/source/Gary_Greenberg), [Sal Iacono](/source/Sal_Iacono), Eric Immerman, Josh Halloway, [Jimmy Kimmel](/source/Jimmy_Kimmel), Jeff Loveness, Molly McNearney, Bryan Paulk, Danny Ricker and [Rick Rosner](/source/Rick_Rosner).<ref name="Emmy">{{cite web |title=65th Emmy Awards Nominees and Winners |url=https://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/2013/outstanding-writing-for-a-variety-series |website=www.emmys.com |accessdate=April 25, 2020}}</ref>

Three years later, with Kimmel once again hosting the Primetime Emmy Awards, Kalb was part of the writing team.<ref name="IMDB">{{cite web |title=Bess Kalb Writer |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5402867/ |website=IMDB |accessdate=April 26, 2020}}</ref> Her work with ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' earned her a Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Comedy-Variety Talk Series that year as well.<ref name="Variety">{{cite news |last1=McNary |first1=Dave |title=WGA Honors 'Big Short,' 'Spotlight,' 'Mad Men' at 68th Awards |url=https://variety.com/2016/film/awards/wga-awards-winners-writers-guild-america-1201705269/ |accessdate=April 26, 2020 |work=Variety |date=February 13, 2016}}</ref>

Working with [Hillary Clinton](/source/Hillary_Clinton), Kalb wrote for the Senator's [Al Smith Dinner](/source/Alfred_E._Smith_Memorial_Foundation_Dinner) speech in February 2016.<ref name="LA Magazine 2">{{cite news |last1=Stein |first1=Joel |title=The Day Cancel Culture Was Canceled |url=https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/cancel-culture-canceled/ |accessdate=April 25, 2020 |work=LA Magazine |date=February 14, 2020}}</ref>

On May 28, 2017, Kalb's politically-themed [tweets](/source/Twitter) gained the attention of President [Donald Trump](/source/Donald_Trump), who blocked her account from his Twitter feed.<ref name="CNN">{{cite news |last1=France |first1=Lisa |title=Kimmel writer fires off scathing tweets at senators who accept NRA contributions |url=https://money.cnn.com/2018/02/15/media/bess-kalb-kimmel-gop-shooting/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215191858/http://money.cnn.com/2018/02/15/media/bess-kalb-kimmel-gop-shooting/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 15, 2018 |accessdate=April 25, 2020 |work=CNN.com |date=February 22, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Wired">{{cite magazine |last1=Feinberg |first1=Ashley |title=A Running List of People Donald Trump Has Blocked on Twitter |url=https://www.wired.com/story/donald-trump-twitter-blocked/ |accessdate=April 25, 2020 |magazine=Wired |date=June 14, 2017}}</ref>

In 2018, Kalb did a stand-up comedy routine introducing Hillary Clinton at a fundraiser for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense and then-candidate [Lucy McBath](/source/Lucy_McBath) (now a congresswoman).<ref name="Paste">{{cite news |last1=Bornstein |first1=Zack |title=The 28 Best Comedy Writers of the Year Who Will Die in Global Warming-Related Catastrophes |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/comedy/global-warming/the-28-best-comedy-writers-who-will-die-in-global/#bess-kalb-bessbell- |accessdate=April 26, 2020 |work=Paste Magazine |date=January 11, 2019}}</ref>

On March 17, 2020, Kalb released her first book, ''Nobody Will Tell You This But Me: A True (As Told to Me) Story'', from Knopf. The book tells the story of her grandmother, Bobby Bell, from her own mother's migration from Russia, her birth on a kitchen table in a Brooklyn tenement, to her life in upscale New York suburbs of Westchester<ref name="NY Times">{{cite news |last1=Popkey |first1=Miranda |title=The Ghost Writer: An Author Imagines a Letter From Her Late Grandmother |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/17/books/review/bess-kalb-nobody-will-tell-you-this-but-me.html |accessdate=April 24, 2020 |work=New York Times |date=March 17, 2020}}</ref> to her death at age 90. Kalb adds her own comedic observations of their relationship from their conversations and voicemails.<ref name="LA Times">{{cite news |last1=Barton |first1=Chris |title=Bess Kalb channels her bubbeh |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2020-03-20/bess-kalb-q-a |accessdate=April 24, 2020 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=March 20, 2020}}</ref>

''Nobody Will Tell You This But Me'' was ranked No. 8 on the [American Booksellers Association](/source/American_Booksellers_Association) Indie Bestseller Hardcover Non-Fiction list.<ref name="Bookweb">{{cite web |title=Best-seller List for April 8, 2020 |url=https://www.bookweb.org/indie-bestseller-lists/april-8-2020 |website=www.bookweb.org |accessdate=April 24, 2020}}</ref>

The audiobook is narrated by the author and produced by Random House Audio.

The film rights for the book were optioned by Sight Unseen Pictures, with [Elizabeth Chomko](/source/Elizabeth_Chomko) (''What They Had'') set to direct. Kalb will write the screenplay.<ref name="Deadline">{{cite news |last1=N'Duka |first1=Amanda |title='What They Had' Helmer Elizabeth Chomko To Direct 'Nobody Will Tell You This But Me' Adaptation For 'Bad Hair' Producer |url=https://deadline.com/2020/04/what-they-had-elizabeth-chomko-nobody-will-tell-you-this-but-me-sight-unseen-1202905152/ |access-date=April 24, 2020 |work=[Deadline Hollywood](/source/Deadline_Hollywood) |date=April 9, 2020}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalb, Barbara}}
Category:1987 births
Category:Living people
Category:American women television writers
Category:Writers Guild of America Award winners
Category:American television writers
Category:Writers from Manhattan
Category:Brown University alumni
Category:21st-century American screenwriters
Category:Comedians from Manhattan
Category:Screenwriters from New York City
Category:21st-century American women writers

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bess Kalb](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bess_Kalb) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bess_Kalb?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.