# Robert Klein
**Robert Klein** (born 1942) is an American comedian, actor, and singer who became one of the leading stand-up comedians of the 1970s through observational humor drawn from his Bronx childhood and postwar American life, and who was the first comedian to appear in a live concert on Home Box Office.[1](https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Robert-Klein/1881095) • [2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/robert-klein/) He is also a stage actor with a Tony Award nomination for the [Neil Simon](https://www.edgepedia.org/neil-simon) musical *They're Playing Our Song* and a near half-century of film and television credits.[1](https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Robert-Klein/1881095)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1942 in the Bronx, New York[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/klein-robert-1942) |
| Education | B.A. in political science and history, Alfred University, 1962; attended Yale University, 1962–63[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/klein-robert-1942) |
| Breakthrough | Debut album *Child of the Fifties* (1973) plus a sold-out Carnegie Hall concert[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/robert-klein/) |
| Grammy nominations | Twice nominated for Best Comedy Recording, for *Child of the 50's* and *Mind Over Matter*[4](https://www.grammy.com/artists/robert-klein/9231/) |
| HBO first | First comedian to appear in a live concert on HBO, 1975; seven one-man shows for the network followed[1](https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Robert-Klein/1881095) |
| Theater honors | Tony nomination for *They're Playing Our Song* (1979); Obie and Outer Critics Circle Award for *The Sisters Rosensweig* (1993)[1](https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Robert-Klein/1881095) • [3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/klein-robert-1942) |
| Later recognition | Named one of the 100 greatest stand-up comedians of all time by Comedy Central, 2004; inducted into the Bronx Walk of Fame[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/klein-robert-1942) |
## Early life and education
Klein grew up in a middle-class Jewish apartment building in the Bronx, sang in a neighborhood doo-wop band, and spent a summer working in the restaurant of a Catskills resort. He graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School in 1958 and followed with four years at Alfred University in upstate New York, where he worked toward a bachelor's degree in political science and history and became involved in the drama department.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/robert-klein/) With the encouragement of an acting coach, he went on to postgraduate work at Yale's drama department in 1962–63.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/robert-klein/) • [3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/klein-robert-1942)
## Second City and Broadway
While at Yale, Klein learned of the Second City comedy troupe and traveled to Chicago to audition. At 23, he was paired with fellow hopeful [Fred Willard](https://www.edgepedia.org/fred-willard) in a successful improvised scene, and both were cast in 1965 in a company that included [David Steinberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-steinberg). Klein called joining Second City in 1965 the moment when it "all began".[5](https://www.secondcity.com/people/robert-klein) • [6](https://www.broadwayworld.com/rockland/article/BWW-Interviews-Robert-Klein-Talks-Career-at-the-White-Plains-Performing-Arts-Center-20130531)
He spent a year in Second City productions before returning to New York in 1966, where he immediately landed stage roles including the [Mike Nichols](https://www.edgepedia.org/mike-nichols)-directed Broadway musical *The Apple Tree*.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/robert-klein/) Further Broadway work followed, including *Morning, Noon and Night* and *New Faces of 1968*.[7](https://www.eaglestalent.com/robert-klein/) While performing on Broadway he was encouraged to try stand-up at the Improv comedy club; a comedian who had just changed his name to [Rodney Dangerfield](https://www.edgepedia.org/rodney-dangerfield) praised his first set and became an unofficial mentor. "He was my Yale Drama School for stand-up comedy," Klein later said.[8](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2019/11/13/arts/since-70s-its-been-robert-kleins-time/)
## Stand-up career
Klein's first major television exposure came as host of the 1970 CBS variety series *Comedy Tonight*, where his extensive routines about the [Watergate scandal](https://www.edgepedia.org/watergate-scandal) made him popular with audiences.[5](https://www.secondcity.com/people/robert-klein)
**The breakthrough.** His stand-up career hit broadly in 1973 with the release of his first comedy album, *Child of the Fifties*, and a sold-out concert at [Carnegie Hall](https://www.edgepedia.org/carnegie-hall).[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/robert-klein/) The album drew on the everyday features of his postwar upbringing, lunch ladies, air-raid drills, and the idolatry of [Babe Ruth](https://www.edgepedia.org/babe-ruth), and it established him as one of the leading comics of the baby boomer generation.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/robert-klein/) • [9](https://freshairarchive.org/guests/robert-klein) He was twice nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Recording, for *Child of the 50's* and for *Mind Over Matter*.[4](https://www.grammy.com/artists/robert-klein/9231/) Later albums included *New Teeth* (1975) and *Let's Not Make Love* (1992).[10](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/robert-klein-mn0000245133)
**HBO.** In 1975 Klein was the first comedian to appear in a live concert on Home Box Office, and he went on to do seven one-man shows for the network, collected in the box set *Robert Klein: The HBO Specials 1975–2005*.[1](https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Robert-Klein/1881095) • [11](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/30841/robert-klein-the-hbo-specials-1975-2005/) The specials include *Child in His 50s* (2000), from which his song "Colonoscopy," co-written with Bob Stein, drew an Emmy Award nomination for outstanding music and lyrics in 2001.[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/klein-robert-1942) He also hosted *The Robert Klein Radio Show*, an internationally syndicated comedy-rock show taped before a live audience, which ran for two years.[7](https://www.eaglestalent.com/robert-klein/)
Critics have placed his style in the observational tradition: a Los Angeles Times review of a 1987 Henry Fonda Theatre run described a performer who "works like a jazz musician, building his observations into riffs of opulent verbiage," moving from New York crime to deregulated airfares to evangelists, with sentimental asides about the Bronx of his childhood.[12](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-10-30-ca-11502-story.html) [Comedy Central](https://www.edgepedia.org/comedy-central) named him one of the 100 greatest stand-up comedians of all time in 2004.[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/klein-robert-1942)
## Acting career
In 1979 Klein was nominated for the [Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-award-for-best-actor-in-a-musical) for his role in the Neil Simon hit *They're Playing Our Song*, and he won a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for the performance.[1](https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Robert-Klein/1881095) In 1993 he won an Obie Award and the Outer Critics Circle Award for his work in Wendy Wasserstein's *The Sisters Rosensweig*.[1](https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Robert-Klein/1881095)
His film credits include *The Owl and the Pussycat* (1970), *Hooper*, *[Two Weeks Notice](https://www.edgepedia.org/two-weeks-notice)*, and *How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days*.[1](https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Robert-Klein/1881095) On television he was a star of the NBC series *[Sisters](https://www.edgepedia.org/sisters-american-tv-series)* and has made more than 100 appearances on *The Tonight Show* and *The Late Show with David Letterman* combined.[1](https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Robert-Klein/1881095) Guest roles range from *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit* and *The Good Wife* to playing the mayor of New York City in the last two *Sharknado* films.[13](https://www.metacritic.com/person/robert-klein/) • [8](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2019/11/13/arts/since-70s-its-been-robert-kleins-time/) In 2016 he was the subject of the documentary *Robert Klein Still Can't Stop His Leg*.[13](https://www.metacritic.com/person/robert-klein/)
## Writing and legacy
Klein published a memoir, *The Amorous Busboy of Decatur Avenue: A Child of the Fifties Looks Back*, in 2006, which he wrote "completely like a writer does, writing it down, re-writing everything".[1](https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Robert-Klein/1881095) • [14](https://www.avclub.com/robert-klein-1798220426) His 2005 HBO special *The Amorous Busboy of Decatur Avenue* was his eighth for the network.[15](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/robert_klein)
His influence on later observational comics is a recurring theme in coverage of his career: Rotten Tomatoes' profile notes that echoes of Klein could be heard in the routines of many top comics of the 1990s, most notably [Jerry Seinfeld](https://www.edgepedia.org/jerry-seinfeld), and the liner notes to the HBO specials box set argue that "without Robert Klein, modern stand-up comedy would not exist," a claim its own reviewer calls generous while crediting Klein's trailblazing, deadpan style for the careers of many marquee names.[15](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/robert_klein) • [11](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/30841/robert-klein-the-hbo-specials-1975-2005/) He was inducted into the Bronx Walk of Fame, and Alfred University awarded him an honorary D.H.L. degree in 1980.[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/klein-robert-1942)
Klein married the opera singer Brenda Boozer in April 1973; the marriage ended in divorce in 1989.[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/klein-robert-1942)
## References
1. [Robert Klein, Official Publisher Page, Simon & Schuster](https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Robert-Klein/1881095)
2. [Robert Klein, Comedian, Singer, Actor, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/robert-klein/)
3. [Klein, Robert 1942–, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/klein-robert-1942)
4. [Robert Klein Grammy Awards and Nominations, Recording Academy](https://www.grammy.com/artists/robert-klein/9231/)
5. [Robert Klein, The Second City](https://www.secondcity.com/people/robert-klein)
6. [BWW Interviews: Robert Klein Talks Career at the White Plains Performing Arts Center, Broadway World](https://www.broadwayworld.com/rockland/article/BWW-Interviews-Robert-Klein-Talks-Career-at-the-White-Plains-Performing-Arts-Center-20130531)
7. [Robert Klein, Eagles Talent Speakers Bureau](https://www.eaglestalent.com/robert-klein/)
8. [Since the '70s, it's been Robert Klein's time, The Boston Globe](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2019/11/13/arts/since-70s-its-been-robert-kleins-time/)
9. [Robert Klein, Fresh Air Archive](https://freshairarchive.org/guests/robert-klein)
10. [Robert Klein, Biography and Discography, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/robert-klein-mn0000245133)
11. [Robert Klein: The HBO Specials 1975–2005, DVD Talk review](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/30841/robert-klein-the-hbo-specials-1975-2005/)
12. [Comedy Review: Robert Klein: Overdoing His Own Thing, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-10-30-ca-11502-story.html)
13. [Robert Klein - Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/robert-klein/)
14. [Robert Klein, The A.V. Club interview](https://www.avclub.com/robert-klein-1798220426)
15. [Robert Klein Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/robert_klein)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames Ki to La*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license