David Steinberg is a Canadian comedian, actor, writer, director and author from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Steinberg was born to very religious parents, and initially studied theology in Israel. He would later go on to study at the University of Chicago where he decided to become a comedian. Steinberg quickly joined The Second City troupe in Chicago, where he remained for six years.In 1968, Steinberg quickly rose to fame after one of the most notorious performances on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. On the show, he performed a number of mock-sermons, which caused the network to receive a number of complaints. Steinberg was one of the best-known stand-up comics of the late-1960s and 1970s. Steinberg appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson over 130 times. This puts him second on the list of most appearances behind Bob Hope. Steinberg also served as the guest host twelve times. The first of those appearances, Steinberg was the youngest people to ever guest host the show.Steinberg has directed a number of films and TV shows. Notably, Steinberg has directed episodes of Seinfeld, Friends, and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Steinberg has also regularly directed episodes of Designing Women, a sitcom that aired on CBS in the late-1980s and early 1990s. Steinberg currently has his own show, hosting Inside Comedy on the Showtime network. Steinberg has released four albums, The Incredible Shrinking God in 1968, Disguised As a Normal Person in 1970, Booga, Booga’ in 1974, and Goodbye to the ‘70’s in 1975.Steinberg has won a number of awards. He has been nominated for five Emmy Awards, winning twice. He won in 1991 and 1992 for his role as one of the writers of the Academy Awards. In 1992, he won a CableACE Award for his stand-up routine Cats, Cops and Stuff. Steinberg has been nominated for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series twice by the Directors Guild of America, once for Seinfeld in 1991, and once in 1996 for Mad About You. Steinberg also won a Playboy Humor Award for his parody of the novel Ragtime.
