J. Keith van Straaten has been called “a local hero” by LA Weekly. He hosted Comedy Central’s TV game show “Beat The Geeks” and the LA landmarks The J. Keith van Straaten Show , What’s My Line? – Live On Stage, and The Fix-Up Show. His TV appearances include slightly-memorable turns on “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Gilmore Girls,” “Beverly Hills, 90210,” and ads for McDonald’s, Nike, Pizza Hut, Cheez-It, and many more.
J. Keith has been seen as the host of “Yahoo! Answers On The Street,” a talking head on VH1′s “Best Week Ever” and on E! countdown shows like “Wildest Cop Show Moments” and “Celebrity Feuds.” He’s appeared on “The Today Show” and twice been recommended viewing by People magazine.
J. Keith wrote sketch and stand-up comedy for several years, performing both at venues around the country. J. Keith’s animation scripts and songs for “Casper,” “Toonsylvania,” and “Mega-Babies,” air around the world (and he has the royalty check for 8 cents from Belgium to prove it). He is a charter member and teaches creative writing through LA Writers Group. He’s written lyrics for ABC News, sketches for Clear Channel Radio, singles columns for The Jewish Journal, editorials for Backstage, and jokes for NBC-Universal. A fixture on the storytelling scene, J. Keith has performed his work in Sit N Spin, Bawdy Storytelling, The Liar Show, Rant & Rave, Pinata, and more.
J. Keith’s improv training include stops at The Groundlings, Second City, UCB, Gotham City Improv, Empty Stage, and ACME Comedy Theater. He is approximately 50% of the two-person improv group Course Correction.
Currently, J. Keith is developing several live comedy, music, and TV projects. He wrote many of the puzzles on GSN’s “Chain Reaction.” He is a contributing writer to The Points Guy travel site and NPR’s “Ask Me Another” game show.
J. Keith is an avid Scrabble player, Angels fan, and cat-lover. He once got lost at Disneyland and his family didn’t come look for him for over two hours.
