Biography

A multi-talented artist who works as a performer and behind the scenes, Jeff Grace had established himself as an actor, writer, producer, and director before he released his first album as a standup comic. Jeff Grace grew up in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. He graduated from Morristown-Beard High School in Morristown, New Jersey in 1992, and received a bachelor's degree from Colorado College in Colorado Springs in 1996. After completing college, Grace moved to Chicago and landed a job with an ad agency, but as he developed a passion for comedy, he began performing in his off hours, and went on to work with the Second City and ImprovOlympics troupes. Grace also began doing standup comedy, and a set at The Improv in Los Angeles earned him a job offer to write for The Henry Rollins Show. The job brought him to Los Angeles permanently, and once settled there, Grace founded an improv group, the Vacationeers, who made online videos as well as performing live. One of the Vacationeers' clips, "Google Maps," ended up going viral, racking up over 3.5 million views. As his work with the Vacationeers raised his profile, Grace landed work as an actor, appearing on episodes of Mad Men, How I Met Your Mother, iCarly, and Fresh Off the Boat, among others. In 2009, Grace produced his first full-length feature film, The Scenesters, and his second effort as producer, It's a Disaster, was released in 2012. Folk Hero & Funny Guy, a feature-length comedy-drama written and directed by Grace and starring Alex Karpovsky, Wyatt Russell, and Melanie Lynskey, was released in 2016. While working in film and television, Grace continued to perform standup comedy, and in 2017 he released his first comedy album, Live in Los Angeles. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi