In the world of comedy, certain individuals make an indelible mark on the entertainment industry. One of a kind doctor/comedian/comedy writer/producer/director/radio personality/best-selling author and motivational speaker Jeffrey Gurian has definitely made a real impact with his unique presence, humor and talent.
Jeffrey Gurian was raised in the Bronx, discovering his love of comedy at an early age. He says he always dreamt of being a doctor and comedian from the time he was 12 years old. He knew he wanted to be a doctor, but he felt he was too sensitive to handle life and death situations, and he was wearing braces at the time, so Dentistry seemed like the right choice.
He was a practicing Cosmetic Dentist and lecturer till the late 90’s, then became a Clinical Prof. at NYU in Oral Medicine and Oro-Facial Pain, lecturing to other doctors on his approach to TMJ headaches caused from clenching and grinding the teeth due to stress. He also spent 20 years on the Board of The Association for Spirituality and Psychotherapy lecturing at Energy Psychology conferences in the US and Canada describing cognitive techniques to change thought which he used effectively to overcome his own severe stutter. As an avocation, he now works with stutterers all over the world to teach them how NOT to stutter. http://www.stopstutteringnowgurian.com
He did all that while he was writing comedy for the likes of Rodney Dangerfield, Joan Rivers, Richard Belzer, Gilbert Gottfried, Andrew “Dice” Clay, George Wallace, and even earlier legends like Jerry Lewis and Milton Berle who was his sponsor at the legendary Friars Club. Jeffrey was the main writer for the famed Friars Roasts for 12 years.
One of the earliest Roasts he wrote was for Broadway star Jim Dale, as the result of an emergency comedy call he got while he was working on a patient in his office. His nurse had strict instructions never to interrupt him when he was with a patient, except if it was for show business. The Friars Club needed jokes for Jim Dale right away, so after his long day of fixing teeth, and making people beautiful, he ran down to Jim Dale’s apartment, and they worked together to write material for his Roast.
He may be the only Doctor turned comedian who went on to actually succeed in the field! He’s been profiled with a cover story in the NY Times, in Dan’s Papers in The Hamptons, had a cover story in Sutton Place Magazine, is a fixture on Page Six in the NY Post with over 50 mentions, and has been featured on every TV station coming out of NY and is a regular guest on Sirius XM radio and WABC radio.
He has performed at all the top clubs in NYC and L.A., including The Comic Strip, Gotham Comedy Club, New York Comedy Club, Stand Up New York, and The Comedy Store, Laugh Factory and The Improv in LA. Comedy stars like Nick Kroll and Paul Provenza have said on video that Jeffrey is known by everyone in comedy, and you can’t really be in comedy if you don’t know him.
He wrote the book “Make ‘Em Laugh” which was the history of The Comic Strip, the legendary club that launched the careers of Eddie Murphy, Jerry Seinfeld, Ray Romano, Colin Quinn, Susie Essman, Billy Crystal, and Chris Rock who wrote the introduction. The book includes interviews with the aforementioned comedians and more. Jack Rollins, Manager for Billy Crystal, Robin Williams and Woody Allen met Jeffrey and wanted Billy to portray Jeffrey in a sit-com about a dentist who wanted to be in show business, which is how Jeffrey first met Billy!
In 1999 at the request of a publisher he founded what was then called a “zine”, which was an online magazine called Comedy Matters in which he covered the comedy scene as a comedy journalist. In later years, he began working as a red carpet host, shooting interviews at major comedy events and comedy festivals like Just for Laughs in Montreal, which is the biggest, most prestigious comedy festival in the world.
He interviewed the biggest stars in the business including the stars of today like Kevin Hart, who he produced in a comedy benefit for Haiti, Amy Schumer, Colin Jost, Nick Kroll, King of Comedy D.L. Hughley and John Mulaney. That’s when he created Comedy Matters TV, his You Tube channel which boasts over 600 interviews with everyone in comedy from Jimmy Fallon on down. https://www.youtube.com/comedymatterstv
In 2020 they made a short award-winning documentary film about Jeffrey’s life called “Who The F*** Is Jeffrey Gurian” and you can see it at this link: https://vimeo.com/414818932
His goal has always been to put out Positive Energy to The Universe. In that regard he’s the author of 8 books, 5 on comedy and his last three on Happiness, mindset, and changing negative thinking to positive thinking. He always capitalizes the word “Happiness” because it’s so important. Next September he will be teaching a weekend workshop at the famous Omega Institute. He calls those books his ‘Happiness Series’ and they became Best Sellers on Amazon. The most popular is called “Healing Your Heart, By Changing Your Mind – A Spiritual and Humorous Approach to Achieving Happiness.” It’s about releasing the pains of childhood which he calls “Heart Wounds” by learning to change the way you think. One memorable quote is “You can’t change your past, the only thing you can change is your PERSPECTIVE of your past.” https://www.amazon.com/dp/0692982515
His other Happiness books are “Fight The Fear- Overcoming Obstacles That Stand In Your Way”, and “Facing Adversity-Stories of Courage and Inspiration.”
Radio legend Ron Bennington of Sirius XM fame says that Jeffrey is the only one he knows who knew and worked with the legends of the Golden Age of Comedy, as well as the current young stars of today. Jeffrey holds the distinction of being the very first person to be pranked on Comedy Central by Nick Kroll and John Mulaney in the Too Much Tuna sketch. He also walked the red carpet with them at the opening of their hit Broadway show called “Oh, Hello” wearing the custom jacket they made for him that said “Gurian Angels” an exact replica of Curtis Sliwa’s Guardian Angels jacket. And he co-hosted the legendary Black Phillip Show on XM radio with Patrice O’Neal. He also had his own column in the iconic Weekly World News called “Gurian’s World of the Bizarre” which led to his book “Man Robs Bank With His Chin- And Other Unusual Stories Missed By Mainstream Media.”
Lest anyone think he might be slowing down, he just got back from performing at the Vermont Comedy Festival with Colin Quinn. He also starred in a music video for comedian Joe DeRosa who opens for The Impractical Jokers as well as a short film called “A Walk In The Park” at the request of the creator, comic/Instagram influencer Noel Leon with a million followers on IG. He is also Exec. Producer and on-air host of a TV pilot called “The Raw Side of Comedy” which will be a competition/reality show, and by the time you read this he will have performed at and been the official interviewer for the Sunshine Comedy Festival in Florida.
I guess it’s safe to say that the man who broke the mold of the traditional dentist is sure to produce more exciting material in the future.