James Harvey Kennedy is an American stand-up comedian, television producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is best known for playing Randy Meeks in the Scream franchise and playing various characters in The Jamie Kennedy Experiment on The WB. Take a look below for 23 more fun and fascinating facts about Jamie Kennedy.
1. Kennedy was born in Upper Darby Township, a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
2. Kennedy was raised Roman Catholic.
3. He attended and graduated from Monsignor Bonner High School in 1988.
4. After high school, Kennedy began his career as a Hollywood extra. Meanwhile, he worked on voice impersonations.
5. When Kennedy first arrived in Los Angeles, he became a professional Hollywood extra.
6. During his first night in Los Angeles, he was reading Joan Rivers autobiography in a diner when the waiter explained to him that he had been in a dozen movies as an extra. Kennedy asked, “If you’ve been in so many movies, why are you a waiter?” The waiter responded, “I have to keep my day job.”
7. After a few years of struggling, Kennedy was unable to find an agent and worked as a host at Red Lobster.
8. He auditioned for over 80 commercials and could not book one.
9. He then took a job as a telemarketer, and learned that he had a talent in selling things. Kennedy then thought that if he could sell anything, “why not sell myself?”, becoming his own agent.
10. Kennedy created a false persona, screen agent “Marty Power”, to attract the attention of real agents and managers over the phone, who would later book his performances.
11. He came to prominence in the late 1990s for playing Randy Meeks in the Scream film series.
12. His lead role as Tim Avery in Son of the Mask earned him a Golden Raspberry Award nomination for Worst Actor.
13. The film would go on to inspire Kennedy to host the 2007 documentary Heckler, after feeling hurt by the film’s poor reception in which some reviewers attacked him personally.
14. Kennedy formed a production company called Wannabe Producers, alongside Josh through which he has produced the shows The Jamie Kennedy Experiment, Blowin’ Up, The Starlet, and Living with Fran created by David Garrett.
15. Kennedy lent his voice to the videogame ESPN NFL 2K5 as a celebrity adversary with his own football team, the Upper Darby Cheesesteaks.
16. His stint as Activision’s emcee at Electronic Entertainment Expo 2007, however, drew much criticism not only for his ignorance of the industry, but also for performing drunk as he insulted the audience.
17. While working on his film Malibu’s Most Wanted, Kennedy wrote an autobiography titled, Wannabe: A Hollywood Experiment. The book chronicles his life in Hollywood as he attempts to become a star.
18. A performer of stand-up comedy, he is also known for his sketch performances on his television reality show, The Jamie Kennedy Experiment, which became the WB Network’s highest-ranking new show in 2002, but which was cancelled in April 2004 due to falling viewership.
19. From 2008-2010, Kennedy played psychology professor Eli James in the CBS drama Ghost Whisperer.
20. Kennedy dated his Ghost Whisperer co-star Jennifer Love Hewitt from March 2009 to March 2010.
21. Kennedy is also active in California’s tourism campaign, having appeared in several commercials with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
22. From 2009-2013, he was in the TV series, The Cleveland Show, playing Roberta Tubbs’ boyfriend.
23. In December 31, 2012 Kennedy hosted and produced First Night 2013 with Jamie Kennedy, a New Year’s Eve television special widely considered one of the worst shows of all time.
