Thomas John Giuliano II[1] (born February 9, 1969), known professionally as Tom Scharpling, is an American comedian, television writer, producer, music video director, voice actor, and radio host.
Since 2010, Scharpling has directed music videos for MGMT, The New Pornographers,[2] Ted Leo, Titus Andronicus, Wild Flag, Aimee Mann, Real Estate, Frankie Cosmos, and The Ettes.
He also contributed the liner notes for The Electrifying Conclusion, Guided By Voices's DVD documentary of their "final" live show in Chicago released in 2005.
The show began incorporating more celebrity guests, including regular appearances from Patton Oswalt, Ted Leo, Paul F. Tompkins and other names from film, music and comedy.
It began podcasting in early 2006 with the music removed from the latest shows and offered as downloadable files on the internet through the rest of its run on the station, helping it reach an even wider audience than it had already developed.
The live webcast of the show follows a similar format as it did on WFMU, with callers, skits performed by Scharpling & Wurster, and a three-hour run-time.
This new iteration of the show includes a live video stream on Twitch, musical performances and two 24-hour episodes,[13] which have featured the likes of Bill Hader, Conan O'Brien, Jarvis Cocker, Bob Odenkirk, Nathan Fielder, and Sarah Squirm.
The pair met at a concert in the early 1990s, and bonded over their mutual love of Chris Elliott's short-lived sitcom Get a Life.
He appeared on an episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force ("The Shaving") as the voice of "Willie Nelson", an awkward, unassertive onion–spider monster hybrid who lives in the attic of the house.
Starting in August 2010, Scharpling has directed a number of music videos, typically for groups that he is friends with, and mostly on an extremely limited budget.
[22] The video features Paul F. Tompkins as a theater promoter, Julie Klausner as a dance instructor and John Hodgman as a theatre critic.
[2] As a solution, Scharpling chose to create a trailer for a fake biographical film about The New Pornographers, with a number of comedy celebrities portraying the various members of the band.
[23] Scharpling has also directed music videos for Titus Andronicus, Wild Flag, The Ettes, Real Estate, The Stepkids, and MGMT.
[citation needed] Scharpling wrote and directed the web "trailer" aired on Funny or Die for The Postal Service band's 10-year anniversary reissue of their album Give Up.
[25] Scharpling has appeared as a guest multiple times on The George Lucas Talk Show, and is a frequent contributor to the live chatroom conversation.
In 2011, Scharpling was commissioned by New York Magazine to write multi-page recaps for every episode of the fourth season of NBC's Celebrity Apprentice.