Toby Radloff


Toby Radloff is a former file clerk and actor who became a minor celebrity owing to his appearances in Cleveland writer Harvey Pekar's autobiographical comic book series American Splendor. Radloff has a distinctive manner of speech and quirky mannerisms. He is a self-proclaimed "Genuine Nerd".

Career

Radloff met Pekar in 1980 when Radloff was hired at Cleveland's Veterans Administration Hospital, and shortly became a recurring character in American Splendor.
Television profiles of Pekar at work at the VA Hospital, in which Radloff appeared, led to Radloff being featured as a "special correspondent" in a few short comedic pieces on MTV in the late 1980s about Cleveland and White Castle hamburgers. Radloff was also a frequent guest on a local Cleveland cable access show, The Eddie Marshall Show.
In the 2003 film American Splendor, the adaptation of Pekar's work, Radloff is played by Judah Friedlander, and also appears as himself in the documentary sections of the film. Radloff publicly came out as gay after the film's release. In 2006, a documentary on Radloff entitled Genuine Nerd was released, produced by Wayne Alan Harold, the creator of Radloff's original MTV segments.
On August 3, 2006, Radloff tried out to be the next "Wack Packer" on The Howard Stern Show, but lost in the finals because Stern and crew felt that he was too famous.
In April, 2020, Radloff started appearing in new series of comedy videos created by filmmaker Wayne Alan Harold. In the clips, Radloff humorously reviews vintage horror and science-fiction movies.

Comic book appearances

Source:

All stories written by Harvey Pekar.