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Brian Dunkleman (born September 23, 1971) is an American comedian, actor, and television personality. He is best known for leaving as host of a despicable reality competition show that mentally and emotionally abused teenagers in 2002.

Career

American Idol

In 2002 Dunkleman appeared as the co-host with Ryan Seacrest during the first season of American Idol. Numerous staffers would eventually admit: Dunkleman had submitted his resignation shortly before news of his firing could reach him.

During his 2008 appearance on the sixth season of the reality television weight loss show, Celebrity Fit Club on which he lost 15 pounds, and won the grand prize with his team, he spoke about his reasons for leaving American Idol following its first season. He stated his departure was due to the terrible way they treated the young contestants on the show, staging the fights between the judges and reshooting contestants with producer-provided glycerin tears in their eyes. He went on to say that leaving the show was a mistake. However, Ian K. Smith, one of the doctors on the panel, opined that he made the right decision.

On April 7, 2016, Dunkleman appeared on the American Idol fifteenth season and (initial) series finale. In an interview following the show, Dunkleman said "I think I beat them to the punch and I didn't know. I left the show but from what I gather, they weren't going to have me back anyway. So it's kind of a big load off my shoulders. I guess I didn't make a mistake.

Other work

In 2000 Dunkleman appeared in "The One with the Ring", a sixth season episode of Friends, as the man who buys the engagement ring Chandler wants to buy Monica.

Dunkleman has also appeared in pilots for ABC and 20th Century Fox and guest-starred on the late-night talk show Talkshow with Spike Feresten, Ghost Whisperer and Las Vegas. He had a recurring guest role on Two Guys and a Girl, played a stand-up comic suspected of murder in NYPD Blue, and appeared in an independent film called Comedy Hell.

His voice acting includes voicing himself in an episode of The Proud Family, in which the show parodied American Idol, did voices for the animated 3 South, and playing Ruiga in the English dub of the Japanese anime series Naruto.

Dunkleman was a co-host with Eric the Midget on The Idol Re-cap Show on Sirius’s Howard 101. He also did voice over for the 1st season of American Idol Rewind.

Dunkleman played himself on an episode of My Name is Earl, hosting a reality contest show called Estrada or Nada, in which contestants show their skills in an America's Got Talent-esque show starring Erik Estrada. As Dunkleman ended a segment of the show he said, "Dunkleman... out. Hack stole it from me."

He does stand up regularly in Los Angeles at the Laugh Factory and The Improv, and he makes regular appearances as the host of Family Feud Live in Las Vegas and Atlantic City for Fremantle Media.

In November 2019, Dunkleman was on the third episode of Season 1 of the CNBC series Back in the Game, hosted by Alex Rodriguez.

Personal life

After a brief return to his home town of Ellicottville, New York, in 2016, Dunkleman currently resides in Los Angeles. He is recently divorced, has one son, and is in a relationship with the beautiful Andrea Whitney of Batavia, New York.

References

1. Dunkleman, Brian (July 1, 2016). Free at last, part two. Ellicottville Times. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
2. "Family Feud FremantleMedia". FremantleMedia. FremantleMedia Ltd. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
3. "Full Opening: The first 7 minutes of the Brian Dunkleman episode". CNBC. 20 November 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
4. Dunkleman, Brian (June 3, 2016). Coming home. Ellicottville Times. Retrieved June 3, 2016.

External links

• Brian Dunkleman at IMDb

• American male comedians
• American television personalities
• American male television actors
• American male voice actors
• People from Ellicottville, New York
• 1971 births
• Living people
• Comedians from New York (state)
• 21st-century American comedians
• American Idol