Christopher Nash Elliott (born May 31, 1960) is an American comedian.
Elliott was born in New York City, the son of Lee and Bob Elliott, who was a well-known comedian as part of the very successful comedy team Bob and Ray. He attended the National Theater Institute in 1979. Elliott has been married since 1986 and has two children.
Elliott often tends to play a smarmy character who thinks he is a "ladies' man" and is clueless to the fact that the women cannot stand him. He exploited that in a series of TV ads touting snack foods, in which the women tell him "Get out of here!" (though he does not "get it"). Elliott became known in the early 1980s, when he was a writer and performer on Late Night With David Letterman, playing an assortment of recurring oddball characters. His characters on the show included:
Elliott began appearing for infrequent pre-recorded comedic bits on Late Show with David Letterman in 2007 with fellow former Letterman writer Gerard Mulligan. On average, these bits appear once per month.
In 1990, Elliott created and starred in his own sitcom, which was called Get A Life!, about a 30-year-old paperboy named Chris Peterson, who lived at home with his parents. Elliott's real-life father, Bob Elliott, appeared in the show as Peterson's father. The January 1999 issue of TV Guide called the "Zoo Animals On Wheels" episode the 19th funniest TV moment of all time.
In 1993, Elliott teamed up with producer Brad Hall and directed a series of critically acclaimed short films that Elliott showed when appearing on Late Show with David Letterman.
Elliott became a cast member of the popular Saturday Night Live show in 1994. Also that year, Elliott starred in his first movie—entitled Cabin Boy—which also featured a short appearance by Elliott's old boss, David Letterman, and was produced by Tim Burton. It was nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst New Star.
His other television credits include:
Elliott has written three books. Daddy's Boy is a comedic fictionalized biography about growing up with his famous father, spoofing Christina Crawford's Mommie Dearest. The Shroud of the Thwacker is an historical novel about Elliott's investigation of a serial killer in 1882 New York City, spoofing London's infamous Jack the Ripper case. "Into Hot Air" tells the story of Chris climbing Mt. Everest with a group of celebrities tagging along to underwrite the trek as he investigates his Uncle Percy's failed Everest expedition.
