Brooklyn’s 50 Funniest People: Streeter Seidell
Streeter Seidell
Times change and the internet happens, but Saturday Night Live is still a big deal. In just barely two years, Streeter Seidell has written skits for Donald Trump, Tina Fey, Taraji P. Henson, Amy Schumer, Ryan Gosling, and tons more. All these people—despicable to drop-dead gorgeous—have said things that Seidell wrote! It’s magic.
Before he was a writer for Saturday Night Live, Seidell wrote and performed for CollegeHumour (“8 Highdeas You Have To Read NOW”), got a show on MTV (Pranked), and wrote for ABC’s The Trophy Wife. He also published White Whine: A Collection of First-World Problems, which is a ridiculous (real) collection of posts like “I JUST REALIZED I LEFT MY TIFFANY EARRINGS IN ITALY WTF BYE I HATE MY LIFE.”
Seidell was born in Connecticut, and yes, there is a picture of baby Seidell on the beach wearing a pink polo with a popped collar posted on his Instagram. Now he lives in Park Slope, and yes, there is also a picture of Seidell and his wife with their brand new, beautiful baby boy.
When was the first time you remember making someone laugh? What happened?
I was probably about 5 or 6 years old and my best friend, Adam Rice, and I found a little tape player where you could record yourself. So we sat in my room and recorded a fake radio show called “24 Hours of Fart.” The programming consisted of us making fart noises and then popping in to do a station ID every now and then, which we did in a British accent. We were both in tears the entire time. I’ve looked for that tape for years but no luck so far.
What is the toughest part about being on the comedy scene in Brooklyn today? What is the best?
I feel like I should point out that I wasn’t aware I was part of the scene until you guys contacted me, so this is very exciting news. The only hard thing about it that comes to mind is how quickly it changes. It seems like shows blink into existence and then vanish, so keeping track of that is kind of difficult. That’s also probably the best thing about it, that it’s always changing and staying interesting.
Who do you find funny?
All the usuals. And my friends, which is kind of a cop out answer. But I promise I really do find them to be the funniest people in the world. Jake and Amir crack me up, and Sarah Schneider, Mikey Day, Jeremy Beiler. My little sister Heidi is so funny that I’m always worried she’ll start doing comedy and steal my whole thing away.
What was the last time you laughed so hard you cried?
My wife woke me up a few weeks ago with some very normal question. Something like, “Can you take the dogs out later?” So I kind of woke up to answer and opened my eyes and saw her. And she was naked, with her hair up in a towel and some kind of beauty cream mask on her face that made it pure white. She is also very pregnant, so the whole thing presented this kind of terrifying visual. Like something from American Horror Story. And this terrifying vision asks the most normal, boring question. I definitely was terrified for a second and did that thing where you sit up real fast and try to scoot back. But when my brain caught up to what my eyes were seeing I started laughing and didn’t stop for fifteen hours.
What are your goals for your comedy career?
I want to do well enough and get good enough that my kid isn’t embarrassed when his friends find my work online.
And finally: What is your favorite knock-knock (or otherwise goofy) joke?
I guess it would be this stupid classic: “Knock knock” “Who’s there?” “Impatient cow.” “Impat-” “Moo”
To see 49 more of Brooklyn’s funniest people, click here.
Photo by Nicolas Maloof.
