Judah Friedlander is unmissable—you’d perhaps see him wearing trucker’s hats and oversized glasses that fail to cover up his scruffy appearance. He makes it a point that his roles would have such a look. The comedian, born on March 16, 1969 in Gaithersburg, Maryland, started out as a soundman for Chris Rock’s 1989 short, Who is Chris Rock? It was only ten years later when he finally appeared in front of the camera, starring in episodes of the short-lived sitcom LateLine.
Most of Friedlander’s career, however, was spent in films. After his first film appearance—as a wrestling fan in mockumentary film Endsville—he appeared in many other films. Some of these include Meet the Parents, Wet Hot American Summer, Zoolander, American Splendor, Along Came Polly, Starsky and Hutch, Date Movie, Live Free or Die, Full Grown Men and Meet Dave. Throughout the time, he also played several guest roles, in shows such as Curb Your Enthusiasm, Spin City, Wonder Showzen and The Flight of the Conchords.
Friedlander’s most prominent television role, however, is as Frank Rossitano in the NBC sitcom 30 Rock. Like in most of his roles, his trademark look is evident in every episode that his character is in, complete with different slogans on the trucker hats that he wears, most of which he coins himself. He is the most prominently featured writer of the show-within-a-show TGS with Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan), after protagonist Liz Lemon (Tina Fey). He is often portrayed as childish, lazy and libidinous, and always makes fun of and pulls pranks on his colleagues.
Friedlander has also performed stand-up routines across different venues in New York and Los Angeles. One of his more popular schticks involve him making outlandish claim of greatness in any imaginable aspect. Fans of the Dave Matthews Band may also know him as the “hug guy” in the band’s music video for “Everyday.”
"I remember about 10 years ago, people used to make fun of me for wearing trucker style hats. Years ago, some people used to get angry with me for wearing them and someone even called me racist for wearing a trucker hat 'cause I looked like a redneck. I bet now, some people think I'm a loser for wearing them because now they're out of fashion. But you know what, I never wore 'em to be "in" or trendy or cool. I just like them. And I'll be wearing them long after they're a not a trend."
"The hats are all mine. I come up with all the sayings, and I make them all myself. As a stand-up, when I do stand-up, I always wear a hat that says "World Champion," and I talk about how I'm a great athlete and get tons of chicks and stuff. I've probably been making my own hats for over 10 years, because it's something I thought would be funny to bring to the show, to have some hidden laughs in the show. So even if my character's not doing anything, I can have something funny on the hat."