Patton Oswalt set to bring the laughs to Huntington

Entertainment Patton Oswalt set to bring the laughs to Huntington By Barbara Anne Kirshner … Comments Posted on November 12, 2026 Patton Oswalt performs at The Paramount on Nov. 19. Courtesy of Patton Oswalt Patton Oswalt, with his quick wit, started as a stand-up comedian in 1988. His career took off after getting a break as a sketch comedy writer for MADtv and starring in his own 1996 comedy special for HBO. He has released ten stand-up specials and won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special and a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album for his Netflix special Patton Oswalt: Talking for Clapping (2016). Now, on Nov. 19, 2026, Oswalt brings his award-winning stand-up to The Paramount in Huntington. When he was asked what’s in store for fans at that show, he said, “Brand-new material that I’m working on. Whatever is going on in my life, I will be talking about it as clumsily and honestly as I can.” Oswalt loves working on his stand-up routine at clubs around the Los Angeles area. On the day of this interview, he was booked to try out some new material that night at The Comedy Store, where he can be found most weeknights. “I do two or three shows a week here in L.A. just to work out new material and warm stuff up. These are 10- to 15-minute sets. It’s really good to go on stage as much as I can to work on new stuff like I’m doing tonight.” Oswalt is quick to point out that stand-up opened the doors for his varied career in television, film and as a writer. He said, “Stand-up was my first love and I’ll always love it. It’s kind of what brought me to the dance and then acting is definitely the most challenging and financially rewarding. Writing is the most spiritually rewarding when it really comes together. Those moments are just unforgettable.” Oswalt’s familiar cherubic face with broad smile and guy-next-door persona has become a staple on television ever since his debut in an episode of Seinfeld (1994) where he played a video store clerk. When asked how he landed that first TV gig, he simply said, “I went in, auditioned, and I got it. I wish I had a better story.” From there, it was on to King of Queens, where he played Spence Olchin, the nerdy friend of Doug Heffernan (Kevin James), throughout all nine seasons (1998-2007). Oswalt’s distinctively inviting voice landed him the voicing of Adam Goldberg in the highly popular series The Goldbergs (2013-2023). Other voice acting credits include the voice of Remy in Pixar’s 2007 Academy Award-winning film Ratatouille, and in 2019 Patton voiced the main character Max in The Secret Life of Pets 2 . His quick mind got him far on the first season of Celebrity Jeopardy in 2023, when he came in second. He returned to Celebrity Jeopardy on May 14, 2026, and made it to the All-Stars semifinal Round 3, where he competed against Ike Barinholtz and Mira Sorvino. Oswalt lives in L.A. with his wife, actress Meredith Salenger, and daughter, Alice, from his first marriage to true crime writer and journalist Michelle McNamara, who died unexpectedly in her sleep at age 46 in April 2009 from a combination of a heart condition and medications. His relationship with Salenger is the stuff romcoms are made of. They talked online for three months before meeting in person. Of his first impression when they finally met, Oswalt said, “It was just fireworks! We kind of knew about each other before we met, but then we met and we thought, wow, this is great!” His 10th stand-up comedy special, titled Tea & Scotch, premiered in June 2026 on YouTube and was filmed in Madison, Wisconsin, a venue deliberately chosen for its intimate setting. It was a treat to talk with Oswalt just before he took off for The Comedy Store to work on some stand-up that he will likely bring to his show at The Paramount on Nov. 19. Does comedic timing come easily for you or is that something you developed? I always had timing in real life because I like comedy so much and I understood the rhythms. But on stage, when you’re working on a bit, each bit has its own language and logic. So that is something that just falls in your lap and the audience will let you know if it’s working or not. It’s a case-by-case basis. Do you find acting technique different when doing voice-over work as opposed to screen acting? Yes. You’re using different muscles when you’re doing voice-overs. Even though it’s still just as physical as acting, you’re not exactly reacting and in interplay with anyone else. You’re by yourself when you do it. If you’re narrating, you’re narrating; if you’re doing a scene with someone else, you have to imagine what their reactions are. So yeah, it’s different. About living in New York, you have said, “I know if I moved here I would end up in Union Square just barefoot playing badminton with a ghost and just talking with myself. It’s too late for me to move here.” Why do you feel you couldn’t live in New York at this time in your life? I’ve always said that New York is great if you’re young and broke or really rich, but if you’re in your 40s and you’re just doing OK, it’s such a mind-scraper. You have to either get in young or get in when you’re old and rich so you can insulate yourself from the madness. How did you prepare for Celebrity Jeopardy ? I watch Jeopardy a lot and I just read a lot, but it wasn’t like I was sitting and studying things. I just went on the show and hoped for the best. It ended up going really well. It’s weird how you freeze up on the easiest questions because it seems too easy. You pause, then you won’t get it. And pushing that button first is a huge factor. Less than two months after your first wife Michelle’s true crime book titled I’ll Be Gone in the Dark was posthumously released, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department announced that they had made an arrest in the Golden State Killer case. Do you feel she helped the police solve this case? Yes, absolutely. She came up with the name The Golden State Killer, which kind of helped to reopen and put interest back on the case. And in her book, she also suggested using familial DNA, which is how they caught him. Are you in the Epstein files? Yeah, I do a whole joke about that. I’m mentioned in an email because he was setting up a screening of a movie that I’m in. He listed all the cast people, so everyone that’s in that movie is mentioned in the Epstein files ’cause of that email. Did you find it creepy to be mentioned in the Epstein files? Yeah, the whole thing is creepy, but it’s also funny. Jon Stewart is mentioned in there. Any email where he talks about a public figure, and then you’re in the files. But it’s kind of funny because he was setting up a screening of a movie that I was in, so that’s why my name is in there. He was trying to get his friends to see this movie. Looking towards the future, what would you like to do that you have not done yet? Direct a film. Direct my brother’s script. We’re trying to put that together. Getting a movie made is a very long process, so we’re still on the process, and then keep directing movies. About the Author All comments are subject to our Community Guidelines . Schneps Media does not endorse the views shared by readers in our comment sections.