Chris Fleming (comedian)

Chris Fleming (born January 29, 1987) is an American comedian and actor best known for his YouTube series Gayle, in which he stars as the eponymous character Gayle Waters-Waters. In June 2019, Variety named Fleming one of its "10 Comics to Watch for 2019".[3]

Chris Fleming
Fleming at the Wilbur Theater in Boston
Personal information
Born (1987-01-29) January 29, 1987
Stow, Massachusetts, U.S.
EducationSkidmore College[1]
Occupation
  • Comedian
  • YouTube personality
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2009–present
Subscribers435,000 subscribers as of February 2022[2]
Total views71+ million views (May 2021)[2]

Early life and education

Fleming grew up in Stow, Massachusetts and attended Nashoba Regional High School, when he first began to do stand-up comedy. He received a degree in theatre from Skidmore College in 2009,[4][5] and graduated one credit short of receiving a minor in dance.[6]

Gayle

Gayle is a 40-episode, absurdist comedy series on YouTube that was launched in 2012.[6] The series follows high-strung, eccentric suburban mother Gayle Waters-Waters and her ruthless journey to uphold social status in her small suburban community of Northbread, Massachusetts.[7] Fleming developed the idea for Gayle through stand-up.[5] The series is written by Fleming and directed by Melissa Strype, who also plays Gayle's daughter, Terry Gross Waters-Waters.[5] Fleming's mother co-stars as Bonnie, Gayle's best friend and biggest rival, and his father's legs play the role of Dave (with Fleming's voice), Gayle's very submissive husband.[5]

The music is by Brian Heveron-Smith,[6] Tom Lowery, and Chris Hartford.[8] Comedian Margaret Cho grew an interest in the show and guest starred in an episode.[9] The series is filmed in Fleming's hometown in Massachusetts.[10] In 2014 the Gayle team went on a US tour with the show titled Gayle Live.[11]

YouTube channel

Fleming runs a YouTube channel under his own name; the channel has gained over 426,000 subscribers as of May 2021. In addition to Gayle, Fleming has a variety of other content that ranges from music videos to car rants. His 2015 video 'COMPANY IS COMING',[12] starring his Gayle character, went viral, accruing over 12 million views as of September 2020.

Stand-up comedy

Fleming began doing stand-up comedy in 2005, and in 2016 and 2017 he toured the United States with his stand-up comedy show titled Showpig.[13]

Fleming's stand-up tour entitled Boba Everyday began in late 2019 and was postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[14] In October of 2020, Fleming announced Forest Musings, a virtual show.[15] In August of 2021, Fleming announced his new stand-up tour, Tricky Tricky.[16]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2012 Genderfreak Zach
2019 The Last Laugh Palace Comic

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2012–15 Gayle Gayle Waters-Waters Main role; Writer[17]
2019 Corporate Todd
Splitting Up Together Rando
Twelve Forever Mr. Fleming Voice role
The Diaper Sert
2020–22 Bigtop Burger Cesare Voice role
2021 Adventure Time: Distant Lands New Death Voice role, Episode: "Together Again"
Summer Camp Island Proffessor Q. Voice role, Episode: "Oscar and the Monsters Chapter 1: Unaccompanied Oscar"

References
  1. "Chris Fleming '09".
  2. "About chuntzit". YouTube.
  3. "Variety Announces 10 Comics to Watch for 2019". 13 June 2019.
  4. Boston Comedy: Funny Grown Here. "Chris Fleming Interview March 2010". YouTube. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  5. Humphrey, Michael. "Meet The Man Inside The Madwoman, Gayle Waters-Waters". Forbes. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  6. Wenzel, John (9 July 2017). "The Ideal Jester for the digital age". The Denver Post. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  7. The Paley Center for Media. "The Next Big Thing in Digital Comedy: Gayle Waters-Waters". YouTube. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  8. "Dadgeplott, by Brian Heveron-Smith & Friends". Brian Heveron-Smith. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
  9. "Margaret Cho – Chris Fleming (Gayle Waters Waters) – 1:22:19". radiopublic.com. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
  10. "Local Comedian Chris Fleming Brings Fictional Local Web Character 'Gayle' to Boston Stage". BDCWire. 2015-03-19. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
  11. Zaino III, Nick A. "Comic takes 'Gayle' offline in Davis Square". The Boston Globe. The Boston Globe. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  12. "COMPANY IS COMING". Youtube.
  13. Bedford, Keith. "Chris Fleming is going beyond 'Gayle'". The Boston Globe. The Boston Globe. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  14. "Tweet from @chrisfluming". Twitter. 23 September 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-09-23. Retrieved 2020-10-12.
  15. "Chris Fleming: Forest Musings – new media touring". Retrieved 2020-10-13.
  16. "Tweet from @chrisfluming". Twitter. 25 August 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-11-20. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
  17. Gayle (TV Series 2012– ) - IMDb, retrieved 2020-10-12
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