Biography
Jimmy Shubert entered the world in Philadelphia and spent his formative years there, ultimately choosing a path in show business after enrolling at the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts, where drama became his focus and he reveled in his role as the campus prankster while also training as a professional magician. By the early 1980s he recognized that stand-up comedy was his true calling and began performing regularly at local venues throughout the city. Only after moving to California did his career gain traction; there he took the stage at the Comedy Store and contributed material to fellow comics such as Yakov Smirnoff, Jimmy Walker, and Louie Anderson. He formed a close bond with the late Sam Kinison, whose admiration for Shubert’s sharp comedic timing earned him a spot in the Outlaws of Comedy, the ensemble that accompanied Kinison on tour until the latter’s death in 1992. Between 1995 and 1998 he delivered three performances at the Montreal Comedy Festival, and he simultaneously pursued acting opportunities on network television, guest-starring on Angel, Rude Awakenings, and Once Again while securing a recurring part on ER; a development arrangement with FOX followed, though it advanced no further than a single pilot concept intended for his own starring vehicle. On the big screen he appeared in Columbia Pictures’ 1999 release Go, and two years later he unveiled his first comedy album, Animal Instincts.
Albums
