To Know Her Is To Love Him (Emmy-nominated John Roberts of Bob’s Burgers)

FEATURED PHOTO: John Roberts | CREDIT: Gabe Ayala

Do you know Linda Belcher? You may have bumped into a version of her without realizing at the Colts Neck Pharmacy, or you may “see” her at the Monmouth Film Festival later this month. She’s an upbeat, and often wacky, mother of three and devoted wife to Bob Belcher. She and her family presumably live in New Jersey and run a little burger joint that often leaves them in financial trouble. Her passions include singing, dinner theater, Tom Selleck, romance novels about the sea, porcelain baby figurines, prenatal yoga, and a penchant for bursting into song. Next month, at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards on September 17, Linda and her family will be among those honored as television’s best for the past year at a live ceremony in Los Angeles. But Linda may or may not make an appearance. Instead, sitting in her seat in the audience will be the man who provides her voice on film and shares his life with her. His name is John Roberts, and the nominated show is Bob’s Burgers on Fox.

John now makes his home in Monmouth County, after being born in Brooklyn, raised in Edison, and an inhabitant of both Manhattan and LA. He’s been nominated himself for an Emmy, but this year he’s rooting for the series in which he co-stars to win its third statue for Best Animated Series.

“I was hoping the show would get nominated for the Emmy’s again,” said John. “I was nominated a few years ago and it was just such a crazy surprise. I didn’t expect it at all; it’s such a bucket list thing, a truly surreal experience. And then I lost to Hank Azaria, so he’s so talented it’s like, of course I lost to him. I took my mom and we had a great weekend. It was really special. Bob’s won last year and I’m hoping it will again.”

John’s first viral videos, The Christmas Tree, My Son is Gay, and Jackie & Debra, earned him a broadband Emmy nod and more than 40 million combined views. His vast array of characters got him many Hollywood meetings, including one with Saturday Night Live executive producer Lorne Michaels. But it was his imitation of his Brooklyn-born mother that caught the attention of Bob’s Burgers creator Loren Bouchard who turned John’s characters into Linda Belcher with her trademark red glasses.

“We have several mutual friends, and someone gave Loren Bouchard my YouTube videos,” said John. “The character of Linda was created around my Mom character. I didn’t even have to audition or anything. It was the absolute best way to get a showbiz job. I hate auditioning, but I love creating and putting stuff out there. I audition because I have to for things, it’s a love/hate relationship, but it’s really a weird, unnatural process.”

John performs his stand-up comedy live at various venues around the country, in addition to performing as a part of Bob’s Burgers Live. And for John it’s all about creating and performing live. Whether it be a new character for his shows or YouTube channel, writing a song, or putting together an album or TV show.

“I enjoy having the freedom to work on other projects thanks to Bob’s,” shared John. “The show is going on its ninth season, so all the pressure to make the show super successful has fallen away. So it’s really manageable. After going to LA and experiencing the vibe out there, it just made more sense to move back home and go at my own pace. Which is something I’ve always done. Bob’s is a great gift in that sense because it gives me time to work on other stuff and be creative.”

“I met Debbie early on with my band Optigrab. We were a little tongue in cheek, a drop of Weird Al and a little Beastie Boys, it was fun. Opti-grab is what Steve Martin invents in the movie The Jerk,” explained John. “So we had this fun, kind of downtown band, and we would go to this club SqueezeBox in New York and Debbie would go there a lot. We had our first show at a punk rock party and we got introduced, and then we went on tour and opened for Blondie. That was where our friendship kicked off and that was in 2002 or 2003.”

Recently engaged, John is looking toward the future and adding children to his current three-dog fur family. He wants to be more involved in local Monmouth life and make a home for his fledgling family. Asked to be a panelist at the Monmouth Film Festival this month, he is trying to do just that.

“I’m going to raise my kids here, so I want to be part of these towns,” shares John. “My friend AnnMarie (Cioffi, who is co-owner of the Colts Neck Pharmacy with her husband Rob,) joined the area just a little while after I did. And I’ve been hanging out here for years with Debbie. Being raised over in Edison, this feels right for me. My sister is here, and now that my mother has moved to Florida, I have a room for her to come and stay. New York and LA were fun, but New Jersey is home.”

Bob’s Burgers is a 20th Century Fox Television and Bento Box Entertainment production. The series was created by Loren Bouchard. Bouchard and Jim Dauterive serve as executive producers and writers.