The Black Box
P.O. Box 591822
Houston, TX
77259-1822
John Bloom (Joe Bob Briggs)
Joe Bob made the Dallas Observer!
John Bloom is an actor, comedian and satirist best known for his alter-ego Joe Bob Briggs, a Texas wisacre who hosts "Joe Bob's Monstervision" on Turner's TNT Channel. he also writes two nationally-syndicated newspaper columns, "Joe Bob's America" and "Joe Bob's Drive-In", which are distributed by The New York Times Syndicate.
Joe Bob also hosted "Joe Bob's Drive-In Theater" on The Movie Channel for 9 1/2 years. It was The Movie Channel's highest-rated show for seven years and was twice nominated for the Cable Ace Award.
Bloom was signed by director Martin Scorcese to co-star with Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Sharon Stone and James Woods in the Universal Studio film "Casino", released in 1995. He is also putting the finishing touches on the screenplay for a Joe Bob feature to be produced by Woods Entertainment.
Bloom has written over 250 syndicated radio programs as Joe Bob, and his one-man show "An Evening with Joe Bob Briggs" has played to sold out houses in several American cities.
Bloom has also written six books of humor, criticism, and journalism, the most recent of which was Iron Joe Bob, Joe Bob's long awaited volume on relationships among the "assorted sexes" published last fall by Atlantis Monthly Press. The result of years of male encounter groups held in various Texas topless bars, Iron Joe Bob is a cross between Robert Graves' The White Goddess and Erwin Stone's How To Pick Up Girls. It has just been released in paperback and is already in its second printing.
Bloom's other books include Joe Bob Goes To The Drive-In, The Cosmic Wisdom of Joe Bob Briggs, A Guide To Western Civilization, Joe Bob Goes Back to the Drive-In, and Evidence of Love (co-authored with Jim Atkinson), a true crime story which became the Emmy-winning CBS movie "A Killing in A Small Town". Prior to that, Bloom was an award-winning investigative reporter of the Robert F. Kennedy Award for Social Reporting and nationally recognized for such daring feats as infiltrating an Italian-based stolen art ring, riding with the Ku Klux Klan, and uncovering police killings of Mexican-Americans in South Texas.
In 1985, Bloom switched to a performing career, and has since worked as a stand-up comedian, stage monologuist, and an actor in films and on television. He has appeared on most of the major talk shows, including three appearances on "The Tonight Show". A frequent "guest" on various TV programs, he writes all of his own material, except for acting appearances, such as his roles in "Married...with Children", the ABC mini-series "The Stand", and "Great Balls of Fire".
Bloom also produced the Bi-Weekly newsletter The Joe Bob Report (aka We Are The Weird) from 1987 to 1995. This fanzine was widely received by it's fans.
Bloom was born in Dallas, grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas, attended Vanderbilt University, lived in New York, where he studied acting with Fred Kareman, writes and performs with a small theatre ensemble, and is developing several new projects for cable TV and films. He is currently reputed to be living in El-Lay.
Last Updated: July 30, 2008
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