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Go Fact Yourself LIVE with Taran Killam and Jen Kober

Saturday, August 17, 2024 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
  • The Crawford, 474 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena
$0-$20
A promotional graphic with faint circles and a line pattern on a black background with circle icons that show a question mark, a brain icon, a microphone, and a lightbulb. The overlaying text reads, "Go Fact Yourself LIVE with special guests Ann-Margret and Antonio Villaraigosas". In 4 circles are headshots of each of the two hosts, J. Keith Straaten a white male and Helen Hong a medium skin tone female, and the two guests, Ann-Margret a white female and Antonio Villaraigosa, a dark skinned male.
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LAist Design
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Go Fact Yourself
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Go Fact Yourself – “the podcast where we quiz the smartest celebrities we know, and find out why they love what they love” – is back at The Crawford! The show will be recorded as a podcast, but you'll be able to see and hear it weeks before the rest of the world.

Hosts J. Keith van Straaten (he/him) and Helen Hong (she/her) will welcome actor and comedian Taran Killam (he/him) and comedian Jen Kober (she/her), plus super-secret special experts to try to stump them in their self-proclaimed areas of expertise.

Register for free for general admission or reserve a guaranteed seat for $20. Concessions available starting at 6 p.m.

This program may contain some mature language or themes.


ABOUT TARAN KILLAM

Throughout the course of his career, Taran Killam has established himself as one of the most versatile actors in Hollywood. Perhaps best-known for his scene-stealing work on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE for six seasons, Taran extended his talents even further in 2017 as he made both his Broadway and feature directorial debuts. 

Taran has been seen on stage as “King George III” in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s award-winning Broadway hit HAMILTON at Richard Rogers Theater. Although HAMILTON was Taran’s Broadway debut, he has appeared off-Broadway in the City Center Encores! presentation of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS as Orin Scrivello, opposite Jake Gyllenhaal and Ellen Greene in 2015.

Taran can be seen in Universal Picture’s NIGHT SCHOOL opposite Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish, directed by Malcolm D. Lee. In addition, Taran wrote, directed, and starred in the action-comedy WHY WE’RE KILLING GUNTHER opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger, Cobie Smulders, and Bobby Moynihan, released in 2017. He also joined J.K. Simmons, Analeigh Tipton, and Emile Hirsch in the comedy ALL NIGHTER, which was released in 2017.

Taran’s previous feature film credits include 12 YEARS A SLAVE, THE HEAT, GROWN UPS 2, MY BEST FRIEND’S GIRL, BIG FAT LIAR, JUST MARRIED, EPIC MOVIE, and BROTHER NATURE, which he co-wrote with Mikey Day.

On the television side, Taran was a series regular on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE for six seasons. He has also appeared on HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, COMMUNITY, SCRUBS, NEW GIRL, DRUNK HISTORY, MADtv and the Disney Channel Original Movie, STUCK IN THE SUBURBS. Taran voiced the lead in the PBS series, NATURE CAT, as well as multiple characters in the Weinstein Company’s animated film, UNDERDOGS.

Taran was seen in the lead role of the ABC/20th ½ hour comedy, SINGLE PARENTS alongside Leighton Meester and Brad Garrett and in Ryan Murphy's AMERICAN CRIME STORY: IMPEACHMENT as "Steve Jones" opposite Annaleigh Ashford. 

Taran was seen on NBC's MR. MAYOR opposite Ted Danson and will soon be seen in THE RIVER WILD for Universal 1440 Entertainment.

Originally from Culver City and Big Bear Lake, California, Taran graduated from Los Angeles High School for the Arts and attended UCLA in 2000.


ABOUT JEN KOBER

Celebrated for her dynamic and tremendously engaging performances, comedian Jen Kober has crafted a uniquely hilarious style born out of her humble Southern upbringing. She is the headlining comedian for Cirque Du Soleil’s hit Las Vegas show Mad Apple and previously earned the award for Best Comedic Performance on NPR’s hit storytelling show Snap Judgement. Her TV appearances include Hacks, The Righteous Gemstones, The Mandalorian, Dead to Me, Diary of a Future President, and American Horror Story. Jen's new comedy special No Flies On Me is available now from 800 Pound Gorilla Media.


ABOUT J. KEITH VAN STRAATEN
J. Keith van Straaten is a content producer/writer for TV game shows, including The Hustler, Master Minds, Funny You Should Ask and In the USA Today, and wrote trivia questions for Bally Sports. He was also a longtime senior writer on NPR’s Ask Me Another.

Previously, he wrote many of the games on GSN’s Chain Reaction and the iPhone trivia app Arena. He created and hosted the live matchmaking show The Fix-Up Show, as well as hosting What’s My Line? – Live On Stage and Comedy Central’s Beat The Geeks.

J. Keith has appeared on Best Week Ever, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Beverly Hills, 90210, and a deleted scene in Gilmore Girls.

As a journalist, J. Keith has written about COVID and comedy for the Los Angeles Times, points and miles for ThePointsGuy.com, and theatre for tdf Stages magazine.

J. Keith has two cats and is an avid Angels fan.


ABOUT HELEN HONG
A fan favorite on the hit NPR podcast Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, Helen Hong also co-hosts the celebrity trivia game show podcast Go Fact Yourself. Helen's acting credits include roles on Never Have I Ever, Silicon Valley, the Jennifer Garner Christmas movie Family Switch, and 5 seasons of The Thundermans on Nickelodeon.

A long-time touring standup comedian, Helen's comedy special Well Hong was co-produced by Comedy Dynamics and Tribeca Film Festival, and is streaming now on Amazon Prime & Apple TV+. Audiences love Helen's lightning quick crowd-work which can be seen on her Instagram and TikTok @funnyhelenhong.

A breast cancer survivor, Helen makes light of her cancer experience (and her "fresh new boobies") onstage. She also brings light to Asian-American issues with her family's YouTube channel "Old Korean Dad Stories."

If you bring Helen a Topo Chico and a mini Snickers bar, she will love you FOREVER.


ACCOMMODATIONS
LAist is committed to providing access and accommodation for individuals with disabilities at our events. To request accommodations, please email events@laist.com or call us at (626) 583-5222 at least 7 days in advance of the event.