[2] Brown began his career as a street juggler, and he became a stand-up comedian after entering the 1977 San Francisco Comedy Competition.
Early television appearances include Showtime's The Big Laff Off (1978), Late Night with David Letterman (1983), and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1986).
[2] He became a member of the Writer's Guild when he was hired by Lorne Michaels to join the writing staff of Saturday Night Live in 1985; he was also a featured performer, most notably on a Weekend Update segment called The Big Picture.
[4] He won a 1989 Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program, along with Al Franken, Tom Davis, Phil Hartman, Mike Myers, Lorne Michaels and Conan O'Brien.
[6] He also wrote the screenplay for an episode of HBO's horror anthology show Tales From the Crypt named "Collection Completed".