American comedian and actor Andy Richter was born on October 28, 1966 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He attended Columbia College Chicago, taking up film. During his stay there, he started to work in numerous student productions, and moved on to work as a production assistant in commercial shoots around Chicago. He trained under Improv Olympic in 1989, and quickly rose through the ranks from student to house performer.
Richter got his big break when he performed with the Annoyance Theater. On one of their shows in New York, he met Saturday Night Live head writer Rob Smigel, who later recruited him for a new show, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, as a writer. A few weeks before the show premiered in 1993, he was cast as O’Brien’s sidekick; it is a role that he’ll play until 2000, when he left the show to pursue further acting opportunities.
Richter had several solo projects after his stint on Late Night, some of which he produced himself His first sitcom, Andy Richter Controls the Universe, had two midseason runs from 2000 but was ultimately cancelled because of poor ratings. His second sitcom, Quintuplets—which was co-written by Conan O’Brien—premiered in 2005 and lasted a season before cancellation. His latest sitcom, Andy Barker, P.I., was commissioned for six episodes and was cancelled subsequently after.
Richter also played several television guest roles: these include those for Will & Grace, Arrested Development, Monk, 30 Rock, The New Adventures of Old Christine and Malcolm in the Middle. He also works as a voice actor, providing voices for characters in television shows Crank Yankers, American Dad!, The Mighty B!, and the film Madagascar. His film credits include New York Minute, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Smei-Pro and If I Had Known I Was A Genius.