{{short description|American author and satirist (born 1980)}} {{Infobox person | name = Frank Lesser | image = | imagesize = | alt = | caption = | pseudonym = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1980|01}} | birth_place = Columbus, Ohio | death_date = | death_place = | resting_place = | occupation = {{flatlist| *Novelist *screenwriter}} | education = | alma_mater = Brown University | spouse = | partner = | children = | influences = | influenced = | website = {{URL|http://www.franklesser.com}} | portaldisp = }}
'''Frank Lesser''' (born 1980) is an American author and satirist best known as a staff writer for ''The Colbert Report'' from 2005 until 2013. For his work in the show he has received four Primetime Emmys.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2125028/ |title = Frank Lesser - IMDb |website = IMDb |access-date = 18 February 2015 }}</ref> In 2011 he wrote the book ''Sad Monsters'' and in 2019 created the IMDb adult animated series ''You're Not a Monster''. He was also a writer for the first season of TruTv's ''At Home with Amy Sedaris'' (2017–2021) Lesser has also contributed comedic pieces for '' The New York Times'', ''The Washington Post'', Slate.com, and McSweeney’s Internet Tendency.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/09/tattoos-for-the-terrified/ |title = Tattoos for the Terrified |first = Frank |last = Lesser |date = 9 April 2012 |access-date = 10 February 2015}}</ref>
==Early life== Lesser was born an only child and grew up in Bexley, Ohio. He attended Brown University, where he wrote for ''The Brown Jug'' and majored in Semiotics, graduating in 2002.<ref name=monsters>{{cite web|url=http://www.colbertnewshub.com/2011/12/16/exclusive-interview-frank-lesser-author-sad-monsters/|title=Exclusive Interview with Frank Lesser author of "Sad Monsters".|work=Colbert News Hub|date=15 December 2011 }}</ref><ref name="Brew"/> After college Lesser worked as a production assistant and freelance writer for various Viacom stations.<ref name=monsters/>
==Career==
=== 2005–2013: ''The Colbert Report''=== Lesser joined Comedy Central's ''The Colbert Report'' as a writer in 2005:
<blockquote>I met somebody who had just been hired as a writer’s assistant on Colbert. She invited me to a taping and asked what was up. I told her this whole sob story ending with, “I was at the lowest point in my life,” and she said, “Oh well, you know that they're hiring,” and then sort of didn't say anything. And then a month later they hired me, although she did say after I got hired, “Yeah, give it a month and a half, you'll be complaining just as much as you were before.” I think she really nailed the comedy writer mindset.<ref name="Brew">{{cite web|first = Jamie |last = Brew |title = Frankly, Somewhat Pro-Pun |publisher = The College Hill Independent |url = https://students.brown.edu/College_Hill_Independent/?p=5850 |access-date = 24 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304062855/http://students.brown.edu/College_Hill_Independent/?p=5850|archive-date=March 4, 2016}}</ref></blockquote> On ''The Colbert Report'' Lesser has appeared as different characters, among them a drug lord, a conquistador, and Colbert's "interview stunt beard."<ref>{{cite web|url = http://splitsider.com/2014/03/follow-friday-frank-lesser/ |title = Frank Lesser |first = Emma |last = Soren |work = Splitsider |date = 7 March 2014 |access-date = 14 February 2015 }}</ref> During his send-off on the show, Colbert remarked that "Around the office Frank was known for his intelligence, sensitivity, and his completely unproducible scripts. Seriously, Frank, where are we going to get a hovercraft."<ref>{{cite web|url = http://thecolbertreport.cc.com/videos/99z3wt/sign-off---farewell-to-frank-lesser |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141105064828/http://thecolbertreport.cc.com/videos/99z3wt/sign-off---farewell-to-frank-lesser |url-status = dead |archive-date = November 5, 2014 |title = Sign Off - Farewell to Frank Lesser|date = 10 December 2013 |access-date = 15 February 2015 }}</ref> When asked about his experience writing for ''The Colbert Report'', Lesser said: <blockquote>It’s wonderful when the person who’s in charge is a brilliantly talented, hilarious person. And so in some ways, you don’t feel as bad when they cut your jokes because you’re like, “Okay, well this person knows what they’re talking about,” and in other ways you’re like, “Why doesn’t Stephen Colbert like this joke?”<ref name="Brew"/></blockquote>
=== 2011–present: ''Sad Monsters'' and ''You're Not a Monster''===
In 2011 he wrote the book ''Sad Monsters: Growling on the Outside, Crying on the Inside'', a collection of short humor pieces exploring the trial and tribulations of different monsters, accompanied by illustrations by Willie Real.<ref name="observer">{{cite web|last=Grant|first=Drew|title=Partying With Colbert Writer Frank Lesser's Sad Monsters|url=https://observer.com/2011/10/partying-with-colbert-writer-frank-lessers-sad-monsters/|work=Observer|date=October 4, 2011|access-date=October 15, 2024|language=en}}</ref><ref name=monsters/>
In 2017 he joined the writing staff of surreal comedy television series ''At Home with Amy Sedaris''. In 2019, Lesser created the adult animated series ''You're Not a Monster'' for IMDb.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Frank Lesser |url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2125028/ |access-date=2022-11-18 |website=IMDb}}</ref> It was the streaming service first ever scripted series. The show starred Kelsey Grammer as a vampire turned therapist mentoring his great-great grandson Max, played by Eric Stonestreet, "a therapist who has inherited his practice".<ref name="deadline-19-07">{{cite web|last=Ramos|first=Dino-Ray|title=IMDb Unveils First Scripted Series "You're Not A Monster"; Sets Sneak Peek At Comic-Con|url=https://deadline.com/2019/07/imdb-youre-not-a-monster-comic-con-kelsey-grammer-eric-stonestreet-aparna-nancerla-frank-lesser-lily-stuart-streiff-1202643274|work=Deadline Hollywood|date=July 9, 2019|access-date=July 9, 2019|language=en}}</ref><ref name="screen">{{cite web|last=Wojnar|first=Zak|title=Creator Frank Lesser Interview: You're Not a Monster|url=https://screenrant.com/youre-not-monster-frank-lesser-interview/|work=Screen Rant|date=October 10, 2019|access-date=October 15, 2024|language=en}}</ref>
==Personal life== As of 2011 Lesser lived in the East Village neighborhood of New York.<ref name="ny">{{cite web|title='Sad Monsters' author Frank Lesser imagines human problems for non-human counterparts |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2011/10/26/sad-monsters-author-frank-lesser-imagines-human-problems-for-non-human-counterparts/|work=New York Daily News|date=October 26, 2011|access-date=October 15, 2024|language=en}}</ref>
==Credits== === Television === {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year!!Title!!Role!!Notes |- | 2005–2013 | ''The Colbert Report'' | Various | Writer |- | 2010 | ''Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear'' | - | TV special, writer |- | 2017 | ''At Home with Amy Sedaris'' | - | Six episodes, writer |- | 2019 | ''You're Not a Monster'' | - | Creator and writer |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lesser, Frank}} Category:American comedy writers Category:American satirists Category:Brown University alumni Category:1980 births Category:Living people Category:American male non-fiction writers Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers Category:Writers from Columbus, Ohio Category:21st-century American male writers