Neil Hamburger is a standup comedian and singer character created and portrayed by Australian-American entertainer Gregg Turkington. Distinguished for his misanthropic jokes and anti-comedy style,[1] Turkington has released a number of albums as Hamburger and has appeared as the character in various films, television shows, and other media. In 2015, the act inspired the feature-length film Entertainment, which stars Turkington as a "variant" of the character.[2]
Turkington developed the character in the 1990s and originally envisioned the concept as a "weird recording project". It originated from a prank call that had appeared on the album Great Phone Calls Featuring Neil Hamburger (1992). He followed the LP with three more albums issued on Drag City Records before he began receiving offers to perform as the character for live shows.[3] His albums Neil Hamburger Sings Country Winners (2009) and First of Dismay (2014) feature original songs and cover versions backed by "The Too Good For Neil Hamburger Band".[4]
Style
Hamburger's live act, which is quite different from his many albums, features a barrage of question/answer jokes aimed often at celebrity targets as well as barbs aimed at his ex-wife. The confrontational aspects of his act drew comparisons to Tony Clifton.[5] One of his gags is "Zipper Lips", in which he asks an audience member a question. If the audience member doesn't respond, Hamburger derides them for being a "zipper lips". A common phrase used by the comedian is "But that's my life!", which he uses when he mentions being humiliated or degraded for some reason.[citation needed]
Turkington's first Neil Hamburger recordings were self-recorded, imagining an unfunny, poorly recorded self-released stand-up comedy act. Turkington used recordings of audience laughter that were intentionally out of sync with his jokes, to replicate the private pressing albums by outsider artists that he enjoyed.[6] These early recordings found a cult audience, which led to record label Drag City issuing his album America's Funnyman in 1996.[6] Several more albums were issued on the record label.
After originally conceiving Hamburger to be a studio-only character, Turkington was convinced to perform as the character on stage. His first shows were supporting punk rock band Frenzal Rhomb, who flew Turkington from the United States to Australia especially for the performance.[6] Neil Hamburger would later appear in the music videos for the songs "Ballchef" and "Punisher" from Frenzal Rhomb's 2003 album Sans Souci.
In December 2010, Special Entertainment released an iPhone App called Shaky Advice from Neil Hamburger that functions much like a Magic 8 Ball, with 30 video clips of Hamburger giving comical advice.[citation needed]
In 2015, the Neil Hamburger act was dramatized for the Rick Alverson film Entertainment. In it, the character is shown repeatedly on and offstage; as well as the life of a fictional portrayal of the man behind the act separate from the real Gregg Turkington. The film's script was written by Turkington, Alverson, and comedian Tim Heidecker, although the dialogue was improvised.[2]
In 2021, Neil Hamburger won "Best Guest Host" of Tim Heidecker's podcast Office Hours.
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