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Brad Garrett

Brad Garrett built his career by carrying the instincts of a stand-up comedian into television, film, voice work and the occasional Broadway stage. Born in Woodland Hills on April 14, 1960, he briefly attended UCLA before leaving to pursue comedy. By the early 1980s, he was working Los Angeles clubs including The Improv and The Ice House. A major break came in 1984, when Garrett became the first $100,000 grand champion in Star Search’s comedy category. A Tonight Show appearance followed, along with opening engagements for performers including Frank Sinatra, Diana Ross, Sammy Davis Jr. and Liza Minnelli. That stand-up foundation proved useful as his work expanded into acting: Garrett could play exasperation, jealousy and wounded pride without losing sight of the joke. His defining television role was Robert Barone, Ray Romano’s brother on Everybody Loves Raymond. Garrett received five Emmy nominations for the performance and won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2002, 2003 and 2005. He also shared a 2003 Screen Actors Guild Award with the show’s ensemble. Elsewhere on television, he played a rogue mechanic on Seinfeld, appeared on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and later led the sitcom ’Til Death. Garrett’s career has never stayed in one lane. He earned an Emmy nomination for portraying Jackie Gleason in Gleason, appeared opposite Vin Diesel in The Pacifier and joined the Broadway revival of Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple as Murray the Cop, later substituting for Nathan Lane as Oscar Madison. His voice work has ranged from Hulk Hogan’s Rock ’n Wrestling and Transformers to Planes, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows and Christopher Robin, in which he voiced Eeyore. Stand-up has remained part of the picture. Garrett opened Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club in Las Vegas in 2010 and later moved the club to the MGM Grand. Across comedy, acting and voice performance, his career reflects a performer comfortable moving between the spotlight and the ensemble.