Randy_Rainbow

Randy Rainbow

Randy Rainbow

American comedian, singer, and YouTuber

Randy Stewart Rainbow (born July 6, 1981) is an American comedian and singer. He is best known for spoof interviews that he uploads to YouTube that blend political satire and musical parodies from a liberal perspective.[2][3]

Quick Facts Born, Occupation(s) ...

Early life

Randy Rainbow was born to a Jewish family in Huntington, New York. Rainbow is his real last name. He grew up in Commack, New York. When he was 10 years old, his father, Gerry Rainbow (né Ribner),[4][5][6] a musician and talent booker,[7] moved the family to Plantation, Florida. Rainbow credits his grandmother as his greatest comedic influence. In a 2017 interview with The New York Times, he recalled, "It was really my grandmother who was the biggest influence because she'd talk back to the celebrities and politicians on TV. She was a combination of Joan Rivers, Elaine Stritch, Betty White, and Bea Arthur rolled into one." After dropping out of community college in his early 20s, Rainbow moved back to New York to pursue a theatrical career. It was then he began blogging and making comedic videos.[2]

Career

Blog

Rainbow created his blog, The Randy Rainbow Bloggity BLAHg-BLAHg, to document his theatrical experiences and "kvetch about my day-to-day as a single homo in the city."[8][9]

Celebrity videos

In his early work, Rainbow stages fake phone conversations with famous people by editing real audio clips of those celebrities. He posted his breakout video, "Randy Rainbow is Dating Mel Gibson" in 2010. It received more than 60,000 views in one week and has since surpassed 280,000 views. Subsequent videos include "Randy Rainbow Calls Lindsay Lohan", "Randy Rainbow Calls Dr. Laura", "The Morning After Chelsea's Wedding", "Randy Rainbow Gets a Job (from Rachel Zoe?)", "Randy Rainbow Kicks It with Kanye West", and "Randy Rainbow Spends Christmas with Mel Gibson". Michael Urie appeared as himself in "Randy Rainbow Getting Married?" Tituss Burgess appeared as himself in "Randy Rainbow Stars in a Show!" Brent Corrigan appeared as himself in "Randy Rainbow Makes a Sex Tape (w/Mel Gibson)". Rainbow's cat Mushi has also appeared in some of his videos.[10]

Rainbow's videos have been featured on a number of blogs. Popular LGBT blogs Towleroad and Queerty have reposted many of his videos since "Randy Rainbow is Dating Mel Gibson".[11][12] His Lohan clip was featured by Perez Hilton.[13] Rainbow made a guest appearance in Tituss and the Tightass Band, a 2010 benefit concert for The Trevor Project at New World Stages.[14] He also made a guest appearance in the third annual Living for Today benefit concert at the Laurie Beechman Theatre.[15] Rainbow appeared on the cover of Out Front Colorado.[16]

Political videos

Rainbow gained a larger audience and shifted focus during the 2016 American presidential campaign, with a series of spoof interviews and musical parodies skewering the election process and the candidates, especially Donald Trump, who became Rainbow's primary subject following his nomination by the Republican party and subsequent election. Among the musical parodies he has done about politics are:[17]

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Filmography

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Musical career

Rainbow has released several recordings on Broadway Records. He released three singles in August 2012: an original jingle for Chick-fil-A written while he was employed there,[18] a cover of "An Old-Fashioned Wedding," and a parody of "Born This Way" called "Born This Gay."

He released the holiday EP Hey Gurl, It's Christmas! on November 8, 2019, featuring a studio version of "Trump's Favorite Things"; the title track is an original song.[19]

Following the launch of his Pink Glasses Tour,[20] Rainbow released his debut studio album A Little Brains, A Little Talent on October 29, 2021.[21] The album includes several studio versions of his YouTube parodies, plus the two original songs "Pink Glasses," and "Randy Rainbow For President!" both co-written by Rainbow.[22] The album also features a studio version of "The Jitterbug," a scrapped song from The Wizard of Oz, and two bonus tracks: "If Donald Got Fired" (featuring Patti LuPone) and "Mr. Biden (Bring My Vaccine)."

Awards and nominations

Rainbow was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Variety Series in 2019[23] and 2020.[24]

After Primetime Emmy Award categories were combined starting in 2021 to form the Outstanding Short Form Comedy, Drama or Variety Series, The Randy Rainbow Show was nominated in 2021[25] and again in 2022.[26]

The album "A Little Brains, A Little Talent" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards.[27]

Personal life

Rainbow is Jewish and openly gay.[28] He was born on Long Island, lived in Queens for 17 years, attended community college in Plantation, Florida, and since July 2019 has resided in Manhattan.[29][30]

On April 19, 2022, Rainbow published a memoir, Playing With Myself, which tells the story of his personal life and rise to internet fame.[31]

Controversy

In mid-August 2020, critics of Randy Rainbow circulated several dozen of his tweets, all but a few published between 2010 and 2012, featuring jokes widely described as racist and transphobic.[32] Rainbow apologized on August 20, 2020, in an interview with The Advocate.[33]

References

  1. [1]
    "About Randy Rainbow". YouTube.
  2. [2]
    Morris, Bob (June 23, 2017). "YouTube Star Randy Rainbow Brings Sass to His Trump Bashing". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 31, 2017. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  3. [3]
    "Randy Rainbow Has Built A Viral-Video Empire From His Queens Apartment". www.wbur.org. November 27, 2018. Archived from the original on March 28, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  4. [4]
    "Gerald (Gerry) Rainbow, Class of 1953 - Monroe High School - Classmates". Classmates.com. Archived from the original on July 17, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  5. [5]
    "Obituaries - Levitt Weinstein Memorial Chapels & Cemeteries". www.levitt-weinstein.com. Archived from the original on January 26, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  6. [6]
    "Gerald Ribner". Obituaries. tributes.com. Archived from the original on July 25, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  7. [7]
    "In an Ugly Election Year, Randy Rainbow Uses Musical Parody to Bring on the Laughs". People. Archived from the original on July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  8. [8]
    Voss, Brandon (July 26, 2010). "Mel Gibsons Rainbow Connection". Advocate.com. Archived from the original on December 14, 2011. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  9. [9]
    "RandyRainbow.com". Therandyrainbowblahg.blogspot.com. March 20, 2013. Archived from the original on February 7, 2011. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  10. [10]
    "Randy Rainbow". YouTube. Archived from the original on May 23, 2014. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  11. [11]
    Mandell, Sean (July 20, 2016). "Randy Rainbow Spells It Out: 'We Got Trump Trouble, America'". Towleroad. Archived from the original on March 16, 2015. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  12. [12]
    "Randy Rainbow News and Photos". Queerty. Archived from the original on July 31, 2017. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  13. [13]
    "ICYMI: Will & Grace Cast Sparked Even More Reunion Rumors With This Broadway-Style Hillary Clinton Support Song!". Perez Hilton. November 1, 2016. Archived from the original on July 31, 2017. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  14. [14]
    Hetrick, Adam (October 30, 2010). "Tituss Burgess Performs Trevor Project Benefit Concert Oct. 30". Playbill. Archived from the original on July 31, 2017. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  15. [15]
    Hetrick, Adam (October 22, 2010). "Jill Paice and Kate Jennings Grant Added to Living for Today Concert". Playbill. Archived from the original on July 31, 2017. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  16. [16]
    Compton, Julie (October 13, 2016). "Comedian Randy Rainbow brings humor to tense election year". NBC News. Archived from the original on July 31, 2017. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  17. [17]
    "Randy Rainbow Videos". YouTube. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  18. [18]
    "WATCH Randy Rainbow Serves Chick fil A to Sarah Palin". www.advocate.com. August 2, 2012. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  19. [19]
    "Randy Rainbow — Recordings". Randy Rainbow. Archived from the original on March 28, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  20. [20]
    "@RandyRainbow". Twitter. June 7, 2021. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  21. [21]
    "RANDY RAINBOW'S 'A LITTLE BRAINS, A LITTLE TALENT'". Life Entertainment. October 22, 2021. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
  22. [22]
    "Randy Rainbow: A Little Brains, A Little Talent CD 2021". www.broadwayworld.com. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
  23. [23]
    "Emmys 2019: List of Nominations". Variety. July 16, 2019. Archived from the original on July 18, 2019. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  24. [24]
    "72nd Emmy Awards Nominees and Winners". Emmys.com. Emmy's. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  25. [25]
    Lieber, Sarah Jae (July 13, 2021). "HAMILTON, Cynthia Erivo, Bernadette Peters & More Earn 2021 Emmy Nominations - See the Full List!". Broadway World. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  26. [26]
    "Outstanding Short Form Comedy Or Drama Series Nominees / Winners 2022". Archived from the original on July 14, 2022. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  27. [27]
    "Grammy Awards (2023)". IMDb. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  28. [28]
    "Randy Rainbow Is the Gay Jewish Crooner of the Christmas Season". www.advocate.com. December 13, 2019. Archived from the original on December 14, 2019. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  29. [29]
    mike (July 15, 2019). "Randy Rainbow Moves To Upper West Side". I Love The Upper West Side. Archived from the original on September 18, 2020. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  30. [30]
    Robinson, AuthorPam (July 17, 2019). "Huntington Native Randy Rainbow Nominated for Emmy". HuntingtonNow.com. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  31. [31]
    Rainbow, Randy (2022). Playing with myself (First ed.). New York. ISBN 978-1-250-27625-4. OCLC 1268205789.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  32. [32]
    Bollinger, Alex (August 19, 2020). "Randy Rainbow's racist & transphobic tweets resurface. There are dozens". LGBTQNation. Archived from the original on August 25, 2020. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  33. [33]
    Artavia, David (August 20, 2020). "Randy Rainbow on Emmy Nom and Resurfaced Racist, Transphobic Tweets". Archived from the original on August 25, 2020. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
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