Past Program: Patton Oswalt
with Grant Lee Phillips and Paul F. Tompkins
Event date: Friday, March 25, 2011, 8:00 p.m.
The Patton Oswalt program airs on The Current Sunday, April 10 at 9 p.m. and on MPR News Sunday, August 7 at 6 p.m.
Audio
Video
Images from a night with Patton Oswalt
It's unlikely you've made it to your adult life without seeing Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) or hearing his voice somewhere. Maybe you've heard his Grammy-nominated comedy album Patton Oswalt: My Weakness is Strong or seen his numerous HBO specials. Maybe you've caught him as the star of the movies Ratatouille and Big Fan. Or perhaps seen him on TV in The King of Queens, WordGirl, or the Showtime drama The United States of Tara. Now, he's added "author" to that resume, releasing a collection of essays called "Zombie, Spaceship, Wasteland." Don't miss Patton Oswalt kicking off this year's Wits series!
Grant Lee Phillips (@grantleephilips) is a storyteller as much as he is a songwriter and has been making critically acclaimed, smart songs for over two decades. The former lead singer for Grant Lee Buffalo toured with R.E.M. and Pearl Jam and was also the The Stars Hollow Troubadour in the TV series Gilmore Girls. He'll be touring with Grant Lee Buffalo this spring in Europe, after a 10-year solo career. One reviewer says of his latest album: "Phillips' sixth solo album, finds the singer songwriter delicately crafting the kind of angelic alt-country gems that would make Jeff Tweedy salivate."
Comedian Paul F. Tompkins (@PFTompkins) has done everything. He was a correspondent for The Daily Show and had a segment in the first season of Real Time with Bill Maher. He's been in the movies There Will Be Blood and The Informant!. He's even shown up in the latest season of NBC's Community. He's recorded two half-hour specials for Comedy Central Presents, his latest comedy album is Freak Wharf, and he puts out The Pod F. Tompkast once a month.
Bonus: Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett - the Box Dwellers! For ten years Kevin Murphy (@kwmurphy) co-wrote and directed the Peabody Award-winning series Mystery Science Theater 3000, and starred as the plucky red robot Tom Servo. Bill Corbett (@billcorbett) also wrote and performed on the show as well, providing the voice of the robot Crow (v.2.0) and playing various other strange characters -- including the all-powerful but clueless alien The Observer (a.k.a. "Brain Guy"). They both are part of the RiffTrax team that makes MP3 tracks you can play in-sync with your favorite movies. We've asked them to come and riff on Wits™. They'll bet in a box seat at the Fitz, talking about the show and what people are saying on Twitter. Like our own, modern-day Statler and Waldorf.
Twittered #WITS from a night with Patton Oswalt
 |
Wits is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund |
- Become a Member
- Member Connect Accounts
- Leadership Circle
- Sustaining Members
- Member Discounts
- Become a Sponsor
- Tax Information
- Planned Giving
- Vehicle Donation
- Donate Stock