Cast of the TV series 'Mr. Show with Bob and David,' and 'Craig of the Creek'

Karen Kilgariff | Biography

Kilgariff's delivery of the title phrase in the episode 'Oh, You Men' of the comedy show 'Mr. Show,' was one of the greatest parts of the show 

• By Ojasbi
• Update : February 17, 2022

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Karen Kilgariff is a scriptwriter who wrote for four episodes of The Ellen DeGeneres Show from 2006 to 2007.

Who is Karen Kilgariff?

Kilgariff was born on 11 May 1970 in Petaluma, California. She is an actress, writer, producer, podcast host, comedian, singer, and author. She attended St. Vincent de Paul High School at Petaluma and was enthusiastic about cheerleading throughout high school. About her subsequent studies, she dropped out of community college. 

She has appeared on Mr. Show with Bob and David from 1997 to 1998 as a comedian. Sarah Silverman, Jack Black, Paul F. Tompkins, Tom Kenny, Scott Aukerman, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Jill Talley, Brian Posehn, and Dino Stamatopoulos were among the alternative comedians who appeared on the program as both cast members and writers.

Kilgariff has also written scripts for about four episodes of The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2006-2007) and the TV series Love You, Mean It with Whitney Cummings (2012). 

Furthermore, she co-wrote the book 'Stay Sexy & Don't Get Murdered: The Definitive How-To Guide' (2019). She is also the co-host of the number one ranked podcast series, My Favorite Murder.

Family

Kilgariff was born into a Roman Catholic household. Her father, Jim, was a San Francisco-based fireman, and her mother, Patricia, was a psychiatric nurse (RN). She grew up with her parents and elder sister outside of Petaluma, California. Unfortunately, her mother died in 2016.

When Kilgariff was a teenager, her maternal and paternal grandparents emigrated from Ireland to California. 

Drunk and Seizure

Kilgariff, in her twenties, was an alcoholic and a drug addict. She began to experience strange alcoholism-related side effects when she was 27 years old. 

Walking out of the bar, she would collapse. Naturally, people assumed this was due to her clumsiness. Kilgariff had also thought it was due to her clumsiness, but she used to blackout in reality. 

She would wake up in the morning with a bitten drunk, and one morning, Kilgariff woke up in her studio apartment with a bitten tongue and blood all over the walls.

The blood all over the wall turned out to be hers due to the convulsions she experienced while biting her tongue. Nonetheless, she was ignorant of her seizure problem as she had related all the symptoms to her excessive drinking. Her actual condition came to light when she experienced seizures in a sober state one day when her friend was staying with her for the night. Her friend quickly sought medical assistance, and once she was aware of her situation, Kilgariff quit drinking. During her alcoholic phase, she had once drenched herself in wine-cooler formaldehyde.

Career

Kilgariff is an actress, producer, writer, host of several podcast episodes, and comedian. 

She started her professional career as a stand-up comedian in the 1990s before transitioning to television acting, importantly as a part of the cast of Mr. Show. Besides her successful career graph, Kilgariff experienced several setbacks during her early career, attributing to her alcoholism and substance abuse habits.

As an Actress

Kilgariff had substantial acting credits. She guest appeared in the TV series The Drew Carey Show in 1995, Cybill and Wings in 1996, Jenny and Tenacious D in 1997, Super Adventure Team in 1998, Late Friday in 2001, Maron in 2014, W/Bob and David in 2015, Another Period in 2016, and Tuca & Bertie (voice) in 2019.

Furthermore, she played a recurring role in the TV series Mr. Show with Bob and David from 1997 to 1998, and on Craig of the Creek from 2018 to 2020. She was also a part of the TV series The Book Group in 2003.

Kilgariff also made appearances in films such as The Anniversary Party (2001), Punch-Drunk Love; voice (2002), and I Confess (2010). 

As a Writer

As a writer, Kilgariff had written five episodes of the TV series Hype - three in 2001 and two in 2000. She was also credited for writing the short, The Girls Guitar Club in 2001, Ellen DeGeneres: Here and Now documentary in 2003, The 55th Annual Primetime Emmy Award in 2003, and The 79th Annual Academy Awards in 2007. 

Furthermore, she wrote 4 episodes of Ellen: The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2006-2007), 1 episode of The Rosie Show (2011), four episodes of Love You, Mean It with Whitney Cummings (2012), 24 episodes of The Pete Holmes Show (2014), ten episodes of Portlandia (2017), four episodes of Baskets ( (2017-2019), eight episodes of Other Space (2015), among many others.

As a Television Producer

Kilgariff had produced four episodes of The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2006-2007), eight episodes of Making History (2017), and one episode of Baskets (2018). She was the senior supervising producer of the TV series The Rosie Show in 2011. Furthermore, she co-produced fourteen episodes of 2 Broke Girls in 2015 and co-executive produced twenty-one episodes of Talk Show the Game Show (2017-2018).

As a Comedian

Kilgariff starred in the third season of the comedy show Mr.Show, which aired from 1997 to 1998. She frequently appeared in roles that displayed their sexuality in unexpected ways. Her delivery of the title phrase in the episode 'Oh, You Men' was also one of the greatest parts of the show. 

Also Read: Franklyn Ajaye - Bio, Comedia, The Jazz Comedian

As a Podcast Host with Georgia Hardstark

Kilgariff launched the podcast, Do You Need A Ride? with comic Chris Fairbanks in 2014. Karen and Chris drive their guests in a car for the whole episode, occasionally picking them up or leaving them off at the airport. 

Kilgariff also launched a number one ranked comedy podcast, My Favorite Murder, with television personality Georgia Hardstark in January 2016. 

The duo shares their self-styled Murderino's stories of chaos and lunacy and encourages everyone to contribute to their hometown murders. Hardstark is also the presenter of the crime podcast Jensen & Holes: The Murder Squad that debuted in 2019 and has broadcasted three seasons so far.

As an Author

Kilgariff and the co-host of her podcast series My Favorite Murder co-wrote the book 'Stay Sexy & Don't Get Murdered: The Definitive How-To Guide,' released in 2019.

Marriage/ Ex-husband

Kilgariff was married to her ex-husband, Peter Stewart Thompson. While her wedding date is not disclosed, in 2013, Thompson petitioned Kilgariff in a Family - Marriage Dissolution/Divorce case. In the jurisdiction of Los Angeles County, Thompson, represented by, filed a Dissolution W/O Minor Children (General Jurisdiction) lawsuit against Kilgariff Karen L., on 18 January 2013.

Eventually, the legal separation decision was approved by the court in September 2014.

The duo was said to have met while Peter was working as a photographer on The Ellen Show. Peter kept his personal life under wraps after his divorce from Kilgariff.

Thompson was born in Portland, Oregon, United States of America, on 20 October 1976. He is a cinematographer who has credits including Axe Giant: Paul Bunyan's Wrath (2013), Unlivable (2014), and Time Travel Through Time (2015).

Did You Know?

On 27 April 2019, she tweeted that she would get new teeth. "I’m getting a shit ton of new teeth then you’ll be sorry," Kilgariff tweeted.