Robert Smigel (born February 7, 1960) is an American actor, humorist, comedian, and writer known for his Saturday TV Funhouse cartoon shorts and as the puppeteer and voice behind Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog.
Smigel initially joined Saturday Night Live as a writer in 1985 and served as an SNL featured player from 1991 to 1993. Then after eight years as a writer (including two as a featured player), Smigel left to become the head writer for Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
Smigel would contribute and write additional sketches over the next few seasons, and rejoined SNL in 1996 to contribute the TV Funhouse cartoon shorts, and would be in that role until his departure in 2008, after 20 accumulative seasons as a writer.
Impressions/Characters[]
Impressions[]
- Alan Dershowitz
- Gene Shalit
Characters[]
- Carl Wollarski, from Bill Swerski's Superfans
- Hank Fielding, with "The Modern Perspective" on Weekend Update
- Hub's Gyros Employee
SNL Career[]
- 1985-1993; 1996-2008: Writer
- 1991-1993: Featured Player