Greg Tewksbury

Gregory Henry Tewksbury (born June 21, 1961) is an American comedian, actor, musician, singer, producer, writer and director. He is best known for his stand-up comedy specials and his television series Greg Tewksbury on Television (2000–present), Bellingham vs. Timmer (2005-2007) and Couples Counseling (2008-2013), as well as for his comedic characters such as George Timmer and Ben Bellingham, both satires of political pundits.

Tewksbury was born in, the son of bluesman Frank Richard Tewksbury, and raised in the in. He graduated from the, where he studied visual arts. After losing interest in a career in graphic design, Tewksbury focused on stand-up comedy. Tewksbury got his start performing at Feingold's Comedy & Magic Club in, where he was discovered by his long-time manager Leo Turea. His first stand-up comedy album, I Forgot to Plug in the Microphone at First (1997), was certified 5x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 2002. His second, George Timmer Speaks! (2000), was certified Double Platinum by the RIAA in 2004.

Early life
Gregory Henry Tewksbury was born on June 21, 1961, in. He is the eldest of four children born to Daphne Henrietta (née Thompson), a writer, and Frank Richard Tewksbury, a blues musician. At the time of his birth, his father was performing in a blues band. Tewksbury spent the first half of his early childhood in, but was later raised from the age of five in. He attended and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the  in 1985.

Career beginnings
After graduating from the in 1985, he moved to  and held several brief jobs in graphic design and promotional artwork, but found himself growing bored with visual arts. In 1987, he moved back to the Dallas area to work for. Tewksbury quit after two months and became a roadie for his father's blues rock band, The Frank Richard Tewksbury Band. In 1992, Tewksbury began busking in, doing stand-up comedy. He was noticed by Jay Feingold, owner of Feingold's Comedy & Magic Club, who hired him to perform his stand-up routines on weeknights.

George Timmer
In 1996, Tewksbury created George Timmer, a parody of conservative talk radio hosts, with producer/writer Koba Ioseliani. The character "hosted" Smart Thinking with George Timmer, airing on and originating from  in Dallas. Socially inept and with a brash, dog-eat-dog demeanor, Timmer, who calls the small town of "home", has an inflated sense of celebrity and influence.

Timmer was featured in the RKOx sitcom Bellingham vs. Timmer (2005-2007), which featured Timmer and Ben Bellingham as rival morning drive hosts at competing talk radio stations in New York City. The show earned two Emmy nominations, critical acclaim and a cult following. Afterwards, Timmer was featured in a third series of Smart Thinking, which aired on NPR in 2007-08.

Ben Bellingham
In 2002, Tewksbury created Ben Bellingham, a parody of left-wing political pundits. Tewksbury has described Bellingham as a "", who "champions the latest left-wing ideals yet does nothing to put them into legitimate practice, and doesn't bother to question something before showing any support for it" and has a sense of poor taste. Bellingham, "born and raised" in, is socially inept, angering even guests who'd support him otherwise, and, much like George Timmer, has an inflated sense of celebrity and influence.

After Bellingham vs. Timmer, Bellingham was featured in The Truth with Ben Bellingham, produced by KERA for NPR, which spoofed progressive talk radio content such as , and. It aired in 2007-08 alongside the third series of Smart Thinking with George Timmer. A second series aired in 2010.

Personal life
Tewksbury married Olympic figure skater Markéta Sochorová in 2006. The officiant was Tewksbury's father, blues musician Frank Richard Tewksbury.

Tewksbury resides in. He and his wife Markéta own properties in, ; ; , ; ; ; , ; and in.

Tewksbury said in 2005 of his political views: "I'm a registered . I find just as many flaws of the left to ridicule as I do with the right. People on the far-left and people on the far-right are equally hypocritical." Tewksbury supported in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and  in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

Tewksbury identifies as a "cultural Baptist" and a Unitarian Universalist.