Paul F. Tompkins - Biography

Paul F. Tompkins (who people may recognize as "the guy in the suit" on VH1's Best Week Ever) has been a staple of the Los Angeles comedy scene for years. He boasts a unique voice, mixing absurdist commentary with deadpan delivery. In many ways a throwback to the comics of the 1950s and '60s (wearing a suit; staging a regular variety show), Tompkins combines an old-school sensibility with a modern alternative comedy edge.

• Paul F. Tompkins is a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• He began doing stand-up comedy in 1986.
• He moved to Los Angeles in 1994 and began regularly performing at clubs like Un-Cabaret, Largo and the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater.
• Tompkins was a regular cast member and writer on the HBO sketch show Mr. Show with Bob and David.
• He's a regular contributer to VH1's Best Week Ever.
• Tompkins hosts a regular variety show in Los Angeles, called "The Paul F. Tompkins Show."
• He released his first stand-up album, Impersonal, in 2007.

In the 2000s, Tompkins became visible everywhere. He regularly performed stand-up around Los Angeles at clubs like Un-Cabaret, Largo and Comedy Death-Ray. In 2002, he started "The Paul F. Tompkins Show," a moving variety show with comedians, sketch actors and musicians performed once a month. He also became recognizable as host of VH1's Best Week Ever. In 2007, he released his first stand-up album, Impersonal.

His second stand-up album, Freak Wharf, was released in 2009 on AST Records.

• Tompkins appeared on most episodes of the Tenacious D HBO show, playing the host of the open mic the duo regularly performed at. He reprised his role in the 2006 feature film Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny.
• Alongside fellow Mr. Show alum, he was a cast member on 2005's extremely short-lived Kelsey Grammar Presents: The Sketch Show on FOX.
• He had a small role in director Paul Thomas Anderson's Academy Award-nominated 2007 film There Will Be Blood.