On September 2, 2001, Adult Swim premiered on Cartoon Network with an airing of the Home Movies’ episode “Director’s Cut.†It’s been a good decade since, with Adult Swim providing literally DOZENS of hours of entertainment, from shows like Robot Chicken and Aqua Teen Hunger Force. But it all goes back to Home Movies, about an eight-year-old and his homemade films, and the show’s creators Loren Bouchard and Brenden Small, and Soup2Nuts, the animation studio that also worked on Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist. Oh yeah, and the voice cast. Here’s what they’re up to today.
Brendon Small, as Brendon, Duane/Dwayne, etc.
If Loren Bouchard hadn’t spotted Brendon Small at the Comedy Studio in Harvard Square all those years ago, there’s a chance the world may never have gotten not only Home Movies, which the two co-created, but also Metalocalypse, and therefore, Dethklok, and therefore(er), “I Tamper with the Evidence at the Murder Site of Orin.†Among many other voice acting gigs, Small has appeared numerous times on The Venture Bros., often as Action Johnny, and his first solo album, Brendon Small’s Galaktikon, is set to be released later this year.
H. Jon Benjamin, as Coach McGuirk, Jason, etc.
He’s Archer on Archer, Bob on Bob’s Burgers, and Jon Benjamin on Jon Benjamin Has a Van, making H. Jon Benjamin possibly the only person in history to have three shows on at the same time in which he voices/plays the titular character. He also voiced the Devil on Lucy, Daughter of the Devil, Can of Beans in Wet Hot American Summer, Yoda in the Family Guy spoofs of Star Wars, and the best character on Home Movies (McGuirk), and appeared on Parks and Recreation as Scott Braddock in season two’s “Kaboom.†His is a career to be jealous of.
Melissa Bardin Galsky, as Melissa
Melissa Bardin Galsky and H. Jon Benjamin must be BFFs, because the two have worked together on six different projects. There’s, of course, Home Movies, but also Bob’s Burgers (Galsky played Nora Samuels in the recent “Bed & Breakfast†episode), Lucy, Daughter of the Devil (as Lucy and the Devil’s Advocate), O’Grady (as Abby Wilde), The Dick & Paula Celebrity Special (which she produced), and Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist (as an associate producer and talent coordinator). She also voiced a character on the short-lived Hey Monie!, which aired on BET and later, Oxygen.
Paula Poundstone/Janine Ditullio, as Paula
Paula Poundstone voiced Brenden’s mom Paula for the first five episodes of Home Movies, but when the show moved from UPN to Comedy Central, the 88th best comedian of all-time departed. Janine Ditullio took over, and although the character was based on Poundstone, she did a great job. Ditullio worked as a writer for The Jon Stewart Show from 1994-1995, Late Night with Conan O’Brien from 1995-2001, and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon from May-November 2010. She has also written for Metalocalypse. Ditullio is the founder and CEO of Chirpbug, a widget that “allows users [online] to interact with talent the way they already know how, by giving a round of applause or not. Viewers simply click on natural reactions like ‘clap’ and ‘laugh’ and their collective mood instantly gets heard by everyone (including the performer!).â€
Ron Lynch, as Mr. Lynch
Every Saturday night, at the Steve Allen Theater in Hollywood, Ron Lynch hosts Tomorrow!, a “bizarre variety show†with “music, comedy, and,†naturally, “madness.†Elsewhere, Lynch has continued to work on offbeat shows in a post-Home Movies world, playing various characters on Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, Tom Goes to the Mayor (including City Council Member), and Bob’s Burgers, as Ron, the Health Inspector. He can soon be seen as a Park Ranger in The Five-Year Engagement, which might end up being the greatest movie ever, considering Jason Segel, Alison Brie, Chris Pratt, and Mindy Kaling are all in it.
Jonathan Katz, as Erik Robbins
Jonathan Katz is best known for starring in and co-creating the Peabody Award-winning Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist, which ran for six seasons on Comedy Central between 1995-1999 (with three more episodes in 2002). But he’s a bit of a renaissance man, too: Katz worked as the musical director of Robin Williams’$2 1979 stand-up tour; co-wrote House of Games with buddy David Mamet (and later appeared in Mamet’s Things Change, Homicide, The Spanish Prisoner, and State and Main); created Raising Dad, starring Bob Saget and Kat Dennings; and recently hosted a podcast entitled Hey, We’re Back, which has since been animated.
Sam Seder, as Fenton
In 2004, political comedian Sam Seder began co-hosting The Majority Report with Janeane Garofalo on Air America Radio, and when the former-SNL cast member departed two years later, Seder lost the “co-“ half of the title. The program then became The Sam Seder Show. He worked on two other shows for Air America—Seder on Sundays and Breakroom Live with Maron & Seder—and now, considering the progressive radio experiment didn’t work out financially, he hosts a podcast, also called The Majority Report. Seder can also be heard on Ring of Fire with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and in a role more closely aligned to his Home Movies past, Bob’s Burgers as Hugo the Health Inspector. He also directed all six episodes of Comedy Central’s I’m with Busey. I know, I’m bitter about the show being off the air, too.
Josh Kurp only relatively discovered the brilliance of Home Movies, and it’s been a wonderful few months since