Josh "J. Elvis" Weinstein (born May 21st, 1971) is a Cinematic Titanic writer and cast member who began his standup career in Minneapolis at the age of 15. Two years later, he became one of the founding writers/performers of Mystery Science Theater 3000, playing Dr. Laurence Erhardt and the original voice of Tom Servo.
After leaving Mystery Science Theater 3000, he went on to become a writer for My Guide to Becoming a Rock Star, Malcolm in the Middle, and the critically acclaimed NBC dramedy Freaks and Geeks. He has also been the head writer for America's Funniest Home Videos and NBC's late night show Later with Greg Kinnear.
Josh Weinstein is married. His wife's name is Alison, which he referred to during The Alien Factor.
Weinstein has an extensive background in stand-up comedy; he has performed over a thousand shows as a stand-up comedian, and has also written material for Garry Shandling, Dennis Miller, Roseanne Barr, Louie Anderson and other comedians. He is currently the president of Stinkburger Inc. He contributed material to the documentary film The Legend of 420, and his own documentary film I Need You to Kill was released in December of 2017. Weinstein also starred in the 2019 independent film The Fiddling Horse.
Weinstein co-hosts the podcast Thought Spiral with comedian Andy Kindler. In 2019, Weinstein released his first stand-up comedy album, entitled Chunks.
Josh's last name is pronounced like "Einstein". He changed his professional name from "Josh" to "J. Elvis" to avoid confusion with former Simpsons writer Josh Weinstein. The two are frequently confused nonetheless.
As of 2019, Mr. Weinstein is the only cast member from Cinematic Titanic who has not performed with RiffTrax. He did reprise his role of Dr. Erhardt in Season 12 of Mystery Science Theater 3000.
External links
- Josh "J. Elvis" Weinstein at the Internet Movie Database
- J. Elvis Weinstein on Twitter
- J. Elvis Weinstein on Soundcloud