Early work In 1986, Tompkins first performed comedy at 17 years of age at The Comedy Works in Philadelphia (a club now located in
Bristol, Pennsylvania), where he performed as half of a
sketch comedy duo with
Rick Roman. Tompkins attended
Temple University; he dropped out and left for
Los Angeles,
California, in 1994. Tompkins met actor
Jay Johnston in L.A. through their mutual friend, actor and director
Adam McKay. McKay and Tompkins had become friends in Philadelphia, where they had both started to perform stand-up at around the same time. McKay later moved to Chicago and met Johnston; Johnston moved to L.A. at around the same time as Tompkins and McKay introduced the two. His shows often consist of extended riffs and long anecdotes. Tompkins is known for his style of dress during his live comedic performances, always performing in suit and tie, his look has been described by some in the press as "dapper". Tompkins has described his look as "
foppish" and "just this side of
Cedric the Entertainer." His show has featured such guests as
Fiona Apple,
Jack Black,
Dave Foley,
Zach Galifianakis,
Ed Helms,
Aimee Mann, and
Weird Al Yankovic. The show began
podcasting in January 2011; in October of that same year the show's podcasts moved to the
Nerdist Industries podcast network created by
Chris Hardwick. Tompkins is a member of the
Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre (UCB) Los Angeles. His comedy album
Impersonal was recorded live at the UCB Theatre. He also performs monthly at the "Dead Authors" show at UCB Theatre in support of the nonprofit organization
826LA; Tompkins plays the role of
H.G. Wells who serves as the host of the show. and prefers to perform in independent venues, rather than conventional comedy clubs. Facebook groups were subsequently started in other North American cities In 2011 he said that the Facebook 300 groups had become his main method of booking comedy shows. He also appeared in the
RiffTrax live broadcast of
House on Haunted Hill.
Acting and writing Tompkins wrote for and performed on
Mr. Show with Bob and David from 1995 to 1998; the show's writers, including Tompkins, were nominated for an
Emmy Award in 1998 for "Outstanding Writing for a Variety or Music Program". Tompkins has appeared on television programs including
NewsRadio,
Frasier,
Weeds,
The Sarah Silverman Program,
Pushing Daisies,
Community, and
Curb Your Enthusiasm. Tompkins has expressed in interviews that he dislikes writing (particularly writing for others), preferring instead to perform in front of a camera. Tompkins later appeared in an episode during the show's
7th season. He was also the voice of one of the thugs in
Walt Disney Animation Studios' 2010 animated film
Tangled. Tompkins was the voice of Benton Criswell, a character in
MTV series
Super Adventure Team which featured
marionettes in the style of the 1960s British series
Thunderbirds; the role was credited under the stage name Francis Mt. Pleasant. He was the voice of a puppet in ads for the
Ford Focus. Tompkins played Mr. Peanutbutter in the 2014 Netflix original animated series
BoJack Horseman. Tompkins voices the recurring character,
Gladstone Gander, in the
reboot series of
DuckTales. In 2020, he voiced Dr. Migleemo, a therapist aboard the USS Cerritos in the
CBS All Access animated series
Star Trek: Lower Decks.
Political and social commentary Tompkins has appeared on several television programs devoted to discussing politics,
popular culture, and
current events; however, he says he does not consider himself to be a political comic. Tompkins was a contributor to the "Us People's Weekly Entertainment" segment of
The Daily Show in 1998. in 2008, the show was retooled and relaunched as
Best Week Ever with Paul F. Tompkins with Tompkins as host. and took part in a panel on
Larry King Live in an episode titled "Politics & Humor". Tompkins has appeared in documentaries such as
Jamie Kennedy's
Heckler (2007) and
Doug Benson's
Super High Me (2007). He also appeared in
The Bitter Buddha (2013), a documentary about the career of actor and comedian
Eddie Pepitone. Tompkins later became the host of a discussion show called
No, You Shut Up! by
The Jim Henson Company under its Henson Alternative banner.
Podcasts, webcasts and radio In 2010, Tompkins launched his podcast called
The Pod F. Tompkast. The podcast was a mixture of Tompkins discussing various topics, clips from his live show at Largo, and segments where Tompkins voices a variety of celebrities speaking with one another. Comedian Jen Kirkman was a regular contributor on the show. In May 2012, Tompkins started a weekly web series called
Speakeasy. Hosted by the
Break Media site MadeMan.com, the series features Tompkins interviewing various guests in the entertainment industry, such as
Ty Burrell,
Nathan Fillion,
Zach Galifianakis,
Chris Hardwick,
Oscar Nunez,
Weird Al Yankovic, and
Alison Brie. The interviews are conducted as casual conversations between Tompkins and his guests over
cocktails at various bars in the L.A. area. The show's format mixes conversation between the host and guests, and usually includes improv games. Some guests play characters or impersonate certain celebrities, usually for the entirety of the episode; Paul F. Tompkins has impersonated celebrities such as rapper
Ice-T, composer
Andrew Lloyd Webber, and
Buddy Valastro from the
reality television series
Cake Boss (cakeboss.). Tompkins has also been a regular guest on the radio show and podcast
The Best Show on WFMU with Tom Scharpling. The first season ran for 41 episodes throughout the rest of 2020, and season two started in January 2021. ==Personal life==