Paul Provenza

Paul Provenza (born July 31, 1957) is an American stand-up comedian and actor.

Provenza in 2013

Provenza was born and grew up in the Pelham Parkway section of the Bronx, New York City. He graduated in 1975 from the Bronx High School of Science. In high school, he started performing stand-up comedy, making his stage debut at age 17 at the original The Improv in Manhattan. He continued performing while attending the University of Pennsylvania, taking a year's leave of absence to study in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

In 1994, he joined the cast of Northern Exposure as Dr. Phil Capra, replacement for a rebellious Joel Fleischman (Rob Morrow). Due to haphazard scripts and schedule shuffling, the job was a less-than-ideal opportunity and Northern Exposure went off the air in 1995.

At around the same time, Provenza was involved in a Penn & Teller special entitled Phobophilia: The Love of Fear. He would later work again with Penn Jillette as co-director of The Aristocrats, a documentary tracing the life of an extremely off-color joke of the same name.

Filmography

• Odd Jobs - Byron (1986)
• Pursuit of Happiness - David Hanley (1987–1988)
• The Facts of Life - Casey Clark (1987–1988)
• Kids' Court - Host (1988)
• Miami Vice - TV series, "Miami Squeeze" (5x11) (1989)
• Comics Only - Host (1991)
• Empty Nest - Patrick (1992–1993)
• Northern Exposure - Dr. Phillip Capra (1994–1995)
• Phobophilia: The Love of Fear (1995)
• Sabrina the Teenage Witch - Ethan (1996)
• Beggars and Choosers - Parker Meridian (1999–2000)
• The West Wing - Steve Onorato (2000)
• Fixing Frank - Jonathan Baldwin (2002)
• The Aristocrats - producer, director, editor (2005)
• The Green Room with Paul Provenza - Host (2010–2011)

Other websites

• Paul Provenza on IMDb