Eric Wareheim - Biography

Biography

Wareheim graduated from Methacton High School in Norristown, Pennsylvania and then later attended Temple University, where he met his comedy partner Tim Heidecker and produced his first film about dads, shat on the Jersey shore. Wareheim and Heidecker are the creators, writers, and stars of Tom Goes to the Mayor, a limited animation that was on the Adult Swim programming block on Cartoon Network. Wareheim and Heidecker had mailed copies of an early version of the show to comedian Bob Odenkirk, who agreed to take on the project as the executive producer of the series and sold it to Cartoon Network. Wareheim played "The Mayor", an official who always managed to destroy Tom's well-intentioned plans often along with the entire town as well.

Heidecker and Wareheim's most recent show, Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, premiered February 11, 2007 on Adult Swim. The show is a mix of "live action, sketch, animation, emotions, phone calls, love, etc." according to their website.

Wareheim played in several Philadelphia area bands, including the new wave punk band Twelve Tone System, of which Tim Heidecker was also briefly a member. Wareheim briefly played backup guitar for the duo Adam and Justine in the 1990s. Wareheim was also the principal songwriter for The Science Of and had been a member of Elements of Need, I Am Heaven, and briefly with the Vampire-themed punk band Ink & Dagger. He currently is involved with the band Sola.

Wareheim has directed several music videos, including "Polite Dance Song" by Los Angeles indie pop duo The Bird and the Bee, "The Youth" by MGMT, "She's Got Me Dancing" by Tommy Sparks, a remix of Maroon 5's "If I Never See Your Face Again", "Dance Floor Dale" for Flying Lotus' "Parisian Goldfish", as well as "Keep it Goin' Louder" and "Pon De Floor" by Major Lazer. He and Tim Heidecker also directed and starred in the video for "You Don't Know Me" by Ben Folds (feat. Regina Spektor).

Wareheim and Heidecker (along with comedian and frequent "Awesome Show" guest Zach Galifianakis) created marketing videos for Absolut Vodka.

Wareheim and Heidecker appeared together as Debt Collectors on the Adult Swim special, The Young Persons Guide to History and have made guest appearances in the movie Let's Go to Prison, as well as the Scottish video game series VideoGaiden and a Version 2 episode of Mega64. Wareheim also played a recurring role in Michael Cera's and Clark Duke's Internet TV show Clark and Michael as Randy, the neighbor of the titular duo.

Wareheim, along with Tim Heidecker, also directed the 2010 Super Bowl commercial, The Shuffle, for Boost Mobile and most recently a series of Old Spice commercials with actor Terry Crews.

Using characters and skits from Awesome Show, Heidecker and Wareheim (via their Absolutely production company) created an online-only show called Tim and Eric Nite Live!, originally broadcast on the website SuperDeluxe.

Between May and June 2010, six episodes of an Awesome Show spin-off, Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule, were aired on Cartoon Network. The show parodied local newscasts, and as described by Tim Heidecker, "It's like his half-hour to go around town and interview the local beer-maker or whatever." The show had an episode run time of approximately 11 minutes, and featured John C. Reilly reprising his role as Dr. Steve Brule. According to Heidecker, Reilly had the original idea of giving the Dr. Steve character an entire show.

In a July 2008 New York Times article, it was reported that the duo was in the process of developing a surreal game show series starring Neil Hamburger, titled The New Big Ball with Neil Hamburger. Wareheim described it as a mix between "Japanese bizarre game show and The Price Is Right." In late July 2009, Neil Hamburger posted a blog on MySpace stating that a pilot had been filmed, but that Adult Swim was not satisfied and had "pulled the plug on the project."