nbc.com

Bill Bellamy Correspondent

• - Fearne Cotton
• - ANT
• - Debra DiGiovanni

Scouts

• - Richard Belzer
• - Steven R. Schirripa
• - Kathy Najimy
• - Fred Willard
• - Alfonso Ribeiro
• - Angela Kinsey
• - Oscar Nuñez
• - Neil Flynn
• - Josh Gomez
• - French Stewart
• - Richard Kind
• - Dave Foley
• - Brian Baumgartner
• - Kate Flannery
• - George Wendt
• - John Ratzenberger
• - Lonny Ross
• - Keith Powell

Angela Kinsey:

Judge, Los Angeles

Broadband Emmy winner Angela Kinsey portrays the feisty, tightly-wound head of accounting "Angela Martin" at Dunder Mifflin on NBC's critically acclaimed show "The Office," voted television's best comedic ensemble by the Screen Actors Guild in 2007. The series also earned the 2006 Emmy Award for best comedy and has been nominated for a consecutive award this year.

Kinsey's television credits include, "All of Us," "Run of the House," "King of the Hill," "Mad TV," "Fire Me Please," "Spy TV," "Step by Step" and "The Blame Game." Her feature film credits include "Tripping Forward," and the short film "Career Suicide." "Career Suicide" has been chosen to play as part of Moviefone.com's short film festival and can be viewed online.

Kinsey has been a member of The Improv Olympic Theater for the last seven years. She has performed with several of the main stage troupes including "The Armando Show," and the all- female improv show "Bitch Planet." She has written and performed several of her own shows, including "Tiny Blonde," "Linz & Kinz," and was a featured member of the sketch show "Hot Towel," directed by comedian Dom Irrera.

As a struggling actress, Kinsey worked as an operator for 1-800-Dentist, and often draws upon her days in corporate America for her scenes in "The Office."

Angela completed a cameo appearance in Ken Kwapis' latest film "License to Wed," and also be seen starring in an episode of USA's hit series "Monk" this summer.

Originally from Texas, Kinsey grew up in Jakarta, Indonesia, and still speaks the language. A graduate of Baylor University, Angela currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their two cats. Her birthday is June 25th.

Be sure to check out Adventures with Angela on The Office site here.

Oscar NuÑez:

Judge, Los Angeles

Oscar Nuñez portrays Dunder Mifflin paper supply accountant Oscar Martinez on NBC's "The Office."

Born in Cuba and raised in Union City, New Jersey, Nuñez started his comedy career by joining the Shock of the Funny improv troupe in New York. The troupe performed in the East Village for several years. Nuñez performed in theatre in New York and Washington D.C. before moving to Los Angeles in the mid 1990's, where he joined the Groundlings Theatre Company and performed in their Sunday Company.

Nuñez's television credits include "Malcolm in the Middle," "24," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Reno 911," "The District" and "Mad TV." Most recently, Nuñez created and sold a television pilot to Comedy Central titled "Halfway Home." In film, he has appeared in "The Italian Job," "Reno 911: Miami," and "When Do We Eat?"

Having attended various colleges in New York such as F.I.T for fashion and Parsons School of Design for writing, Nuñez became a certified dental technician from Magna Institute of Dental Technology.

Nuñez currently lives in Los Angeles. His birth date is November 18.

Also, be sure to catch up with Oscar and the gang from The Office here.

Richard Kind

Judge

Helping to 'find the funny' this season on Last Comic Standing as a talent scout in Toronto this season is stage, screen and TV actor Richard Kind.

Successful on stage, screen and television, Richard Kind is currently starring In "Candide" at the New York City Opera. And recently starred in "The Lady In Question" at the Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, New York. He has also starred in the smash hit musical "The Producers," as Max Bialystock at the St. James Theater in New York, and in the Sondheim musical Bounce, directed by Hal Prince. Bounce premiered at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago and was then moved to the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.

Television viewers perhaps best know Richard as "Paul Lassiter," the irrepressible press secretary to the Mayor of New York on the ABC series Spin City. He is also known as "Mark," Fran's ex-husband on NBC's Mad About You. Additional TV credits include stints as a series regular on Carol and Company with Carol Burnett, two ABC series, Blue Skies and A Whole New Ball Game, as well as Unsub. Recently, he has guest starred on Scrubs, Still Standing, The Division, Miss Match, and Curb Your Enthusiasm with Larry David.

Along with television, Richard's experience also encompasses the areas of film and theatre. He recently filmed the feature entitled The Grand directed by Zak Penn and he also completed filming a recurring role on Stargate Atlantis. Richard has appeared as "Dr. Robert Farley" in the Miramax feature Spymate, and also in the critically acclaimed "The Station Agent." Richard has been seen in the independent film Hacks, and as the voice of the character "Molt," the dim-witted obnoxious grasshopper in Disney's blockbuster animated film, A Bug's Life. Additional film credits include a role in the Sundance film, Johns, directed by Scott Silver, as well as roles in Stargate, Mr. Saturday Night with Billy Crystal, and many others. He also played the only voice ever attributed to "Tom" in the animated feature film, Tom and Jerry. And now Richard can be heard in Pixar's animated feature Cars.

Richard appeared on Broadway in Charles Busch's The Tale of the Allergist's Wife. He also starred opposite Eric Stoltz and Christopher Evan Welsh in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Other theatre credits include Power Failure, written by Larry Gelbart, directed by Arthur Penn, and staged at the Actor's Studio Free Theatre.

In Chicago, Richard started his career with the Practical Theatre Company, founded by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Brad Hill and Gary Kroeger. He was then hired by Second City, where he honed his comedic talents for a few years in such productions as How Green Were My Values; John, Paul, Sartre and Ringo; and True Midwest.

Brian Baumgartner

Judge

Helping to 'find the funny' this season on Last Comic Standing as a talent scout in Minneapolis is Brian Baumgartner from The Office.

Broadband Emmy winner Brian Baumgartner portrays Dunder Mifflin accountant "Kevin Malone" on NBC's critically acclaimed show "The Office," voted television's best comedic ensemble by the Screen Actors Guild in 2007. The series also earned the 2006 Emmy Award for best comedy and has been nominated for a consecutive award this year.

Baumgartner's television appearances include roles on "Jake in Progress," "Arrested Development" and "Everwood." He can also be seen in the latest Ken Kwapis film, "License to Wed."

Before moving to Los Angeles, Baumgartner served as Artistic Director of Hidden Theatre in Minneapolis, where he received multiple awards for artistic and acting excellence. In addition, Baumgartner performed regionally at the Guthrie Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Children's Theater Company and Theatre de la Jeune Lune, which were all special Tony Award recipients.

Baumgartner was born in Atlanta, Georgia. He studied acting in college at the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University.

Baumgartner happily resides in Los Angeles with his wife, daughter and three dogs, Truman, Otto and Merle.

Also, be sure to catch up with Oscar and the gang from The Office here.

Fred Willard

Judge

Helping to 'find the funny' this season on Last Comic Standing as a talent scout in Tempe this season is veteran stage, screen and TV actor Fred Willard.

Fred Willard radiates a unique charm that has established him as one of our generation's most gifted comic actors. A master of sketch comedy, Fred is most heralded for his quick wit and improvisational expertise. Fred is an alumnus of The Second City and was a co-founder of the comedy group Ace Trucking Company which appeared on the "Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson over fifty times as well as being regulars on the "Tom Jones Show."

As a sketch performer, Fred appears on "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno. His reoccurring character, Willard J. Fredericks brings much laughter. Over the years, he has appeared as a number of other characters on "The Tonight Show". These appearances are indicative of his ability to transform any character into a unique comic portrayal. He has played such diverse characters as Skippy Hussein, President Clinton's dog, Buddy, and Christopher Columbus. Jay Leno calls Fred, "The funniest man in the world."

Fred writes a monthly column for Stuff Magazine (a sister publication of Maxim). His column will surely make you laugh out loud!

Fred also currently stars on the FOX comedy Back to You with Patricia Heaton and Kelsey Grammer. Fred and Martin Mull co-starred in the ground breaking comedies Fernwood 2Night and America 2Night and was honored by the Museum of Television and Radio. Fred was nominated for an Emmy for best daytime talk show host for What's Hot, What's Not.

Fred was co-star of the critically acclaimed WB TV series Maybe It's Me and in the FOX TV series A Minute With Stan Hooper. Stan Hooper starred Norm Macdonald, and behind the show: Barry Kemp, veteran sitcom writer and producer whose work dates to Newhart and Coach. Of course Fred continued on Everybody Loves Raymond as Amy's Dad and Robert's father-in-law.

Fred also has an extensive Film and Stage career.

John Ratzenberger

Judge

Helping to 'find the funny' this season on Last Comic Standing as a talent scout in Nashville this season is actor John Ratzenberger.

Born on April 6th, 1947 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, master improvisational actor John Ratzenberger gained international fame as the character Cliff in the NBC phenomenon Cheers. During more than three decades of movie making and theatre, John has enjoyed success as a screenwriter, director, producer and multi Emmy-nominated actor. He is also an accomplished entrepreneur and philanthropist.

John's career began in earnest in the early 1970s, when he formed the improvisational theatre duo "Sal's Meat Market," which performed to standing-room-only crowds throughout Europe for 634 straight performances.

In between his theatre touring in Europe, John was a producer and screenwriter for the BBC, Paravision, Royal Court Theater, Hampstead Theater Club, Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, and Granada TV. Projects he wrote include: 5 Minutes in America, The Golden Dreamboat, Friends in Space, Crown Court and Winner Take All.

On the silver screen, John's first motion picture role was in the Golden Globe-nominated film The Ritz (1976), directed by Richard Lester and starring Rita Moreno and Jack Weston. He went on to appear in over 22 major motion pictures over the next few years, including Gandhi (1982) and Star Wars' Empire Strikes Back (1980). He also starred in the Granada TV series, Small World.

In all, John has acted in 38 major motion pictures, including Determination of Death (2001), Superman 1 (1978) and 2 (1980), One Night Stand (1997), Tick Tock (1999), That Darn Cat (1997), She's Having a Baby (1988), Protocol (1984), The Falcon and the Snowman (1985), Ragtime (1981), Reds (1981), Outland (1981), Yanks (1979), and A Bridge Too Far (1977).

In 1982 John accepted a writing assignment for CBS in Los Angeles. On the day he was scheduled to return to London, he auditioned for a role on the upcoming Cheers. At the time of his audition, the character of the postman did not exist. "Do you have a bar know-it-all?" he asked the creators. They didn't know what that meant, so John gave them five hilarious minutes of improv, demonstrating exactly what it meant. They loved what they saw. Thus was born the lovable postman and trivia king, Cliff Clavin—American icon.

In the history of television, only a handful of series have achieved the worldwide success of Cheers, on which John portrayed Cliff for the show's entire 11-year run. To this day, thanks to daily syndication, Cliff continues as one of America's most loved characters.

As Hollywood's most versatile vocal talent, John is the only actor to voice a role in all of the Pixar films: the charming and witty Hamm the piggy bank in Toy Story 1 (1995) and 2 (1999); P.T. Flea, the excitable circus ringmaster in Bug's Life (1998); the lovable snow monster Yeti in Monsters, Inc.(2002); the ever-changing school of Moonfish in Finding Nemo (2003); the philosophical character Underminer in Pixar's Incredibles (2004); as a Mac-truck in Cars (2006) and as Mustafa, the head waiter in Ratatouille (2007) and the upcoming Toy Story 3 and WALL-E (both in production). Pixar artists always find a way to include John's recognizable eyebrows and mustache. As Pixar's creative head, John Lasseter, once said, "John is our good luck charm."

John has acted in many TV movies, including a starring role as miner Tom Foy in ABC's The Pennsylvania Miners' Story (2002; A Fare to Remember (1999), AMC's award-winning Remember Wenn (1998), NBC's How I Spent My Summer (1990), Going to the Chapel (1988) and Combat Academy (1986), Largo Entertainment's Under Pressure (1997) with Charlie Sheen, CBS' Timestalkers (1987), PBS Masterpiece Theatre's The Good Soldier (1997) and BBC's Song of a Sourdough (1997) and The Detectives (1997).

As a much-loved American icon, John has appeared as himself on live episodes of Fox's Best Damn Sports Show (2004), TV Tales (2002), The Drew Carey Show (2001), E! True Hollywood Story (2000), The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1993), and Monty Python's Flying Circus: Live at Aspen (1998), as well as endless TV interviews.

John has guest-starred in a variety of TV shows including: 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter (2003), That 70's Show (2001), Touched By An Angel (2000), Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1997), Caroline in the City (1996), Sister, Sister (1995), Murphy Brown (1994), The Love Boat (1985), Magnum P.I. (1984), and Hill Street Blues (1982), among others.

John portrayed his character "Cliff" in Fraiser (2002), eight NBC TV specials (1986-2002), The Simpson's (1994), Blossom (1993), Wings (1990), The Tortellis (1987), and St. Elsewhere (1985).

John executive produced and created Fox's The World's Most Incredible Animal Rescues (1997-1999). As host, creator and executive producer, John integrated life and art in Home and Garden TV series American Hobbies and Pastimes with John Ratzenberger (1994). One of the first reality shows, it gave an adventurous look at unusual hobbies, visiting with "regular" Americans in their homes. He created, executive produced, and starred in Fox's situation comedy pilot Locals (1994). He executive produced NBC's And Now You Know (1995), in which he focuses his camera on "people who know how to fix things."

John continues to direct, produce and write. He currently heads up his own production company, Fiddlers Bay Productions, located in Los Angeles. He has directed more than 50 TV episodes including several on: Cheers (1982), Down Home (1991), Madman of the People; Pearl (1996) and Sister, Sister (1994). John also directed single episodes of MTM's Evening Shade (1990) and Warner Brother's Sydney (1991).

John enjoyed a great run with ABC's Dancing with the Stars during the spring of 2007. He continues to dance when he can – but has given up his dreams of becoming a professional ballroom competitor!

During his free time, John is an avid sailor, fisherman, and billiard player. He enjoys international travel, fencing and collecting antiques. He plays the drums and belongs to a bagpipe band, as part of the Emerald Society. Sports such as karate, yoga and skeet shooting keep him active. He has one son and one daughter.