Gabe Abelson

Gabe Abelson is a late night network television writer, producer, stand-up comedian and comedy writing teacher. Following a decade of global stand-up personal appearances, he became Head Monologue Writer for CBS's Late Show with David Letterman from 1997-2001. During his five-year tenure with Letterman, he received five Emmy Award nominations and three Writers Guild nominations.
Abelson has written for ABC's Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and CBS's The Late, Late Show with Craig Kilborn. In addition to these shows, he wrote and produced MTV's The New Tom Green Show, co-wrote the pilot of TBS's Lopez Tonight, was co-creator and head writer on the pilot for Comedy Central's Mind of Mencia, and was consulting producer for VH1's Pop-Up Video.
Abelson was born in New York City to philosophy professor emeritus Raziel Abelson and Holocaust survivor Ulrike Abelson. Abelson's uncle, Lionel Abel, was an Obie Award-winning playwright, essayist, and theater critic. Abel was also the authorized translator of Jean-Paul Sartre and coined the term "metatheatre" which is now taught in university theater history courses.
Abelson holds a BA in Drama from New York University Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. While there, he studied under acting guru Lee Strasberg.
Abelson is a member of the Writer's Guild of America (WGA) and SAG-AFTRA.
Outside of performing and writing, Abelson has been a stand-up comedy mentor and a late-night writing instructor for over three decades. He is affiliated with New York City's Manhattan PunchLine Theater and Los Angeles's Flappers Comedy Club. and conducts private sessions coaching stand-up comics and aspiring late night writers.
Abelson pursued stand-up comedy, touring globally for over a decade after booking a number of stage roles and television commercials. He accepted the role of Head Monologue Writer for CBS's Late Show with David Letterman in 1997 and remained there until 2001.
After his tenure with Letterman, Abelson relocated to Los Angeles to write for several network late-night shows, including ABC's Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (for which he also created, produced, and directed segments) and CBS'sThe Late, Late Show with Craig Kilborn.
==== Producing ====
In addition to late-night writing, Abelson has also produced and co-created several television shows and comedy specials. These productions include MTV's The New Tom Green Show, the pilot of TBS's Lopez Tonight (for which he also was a writer), Comedy Central's Mind of Mencia (on which he served as co-creator and head writer), AXS TV's Tom Green Live and Adult Swim's The Tom Green Flash Mob Talk Show. He was also a consulting producer for VH1's Pop-Up Video. 
Other shows that Abelson produced includes Comedy Central's Bar Mitzvah Bash Special, Nickelodeon's Edgar and Ellen, Planet Green's Go for the Green, FOX's Beyond Twisted, GSN's Instant Recall,Direct TV's Supreme Court of Comedy, FUSE's Skee-TV, and Call It a Night with Julie Stewart-Binks.
==== Stand-Up ====
Abelson's television stand-up personal appearances include NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien, CBS's Late Show with David Letterman, MTV's The Half-Hour Comedy Hour, A&E's Comedy on the Road and A&E's Caroline's Comedy Hour, and NBC's The Today Show. He has also made frequent appearances on Comedy Central. 
==== Film ====
Year	Title 	Role 	Ref.
2009	Inkpen	Co-Producer	
==== Television ====
Year 	Title 	Role 	Ref.
1997-2001	Late Show with David Letterman 	Head Monologue Writer 	
2002 	Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher 	Staff Writer 	
2002-2003	The Late, Late Show with Craig Kilborn 	Staff Writer 	
2003 	The New Tom Green Show 	Producer 	
2004 	Comedy Central's Bar Mitzvah Bash! 	Producer 	
2004 	Mind of Mencia 	Co-Creator/Head Writer (pilot only)	
2004-2006	The Tonight Show with Jay Leno 	Writer/Producer 	
2007 	Edgar and Ellen 	Producer 	
2008 	Night on the Townsend with Robert Townsend	Head Writer 	
2008 	Go for the Green 	Producer 	
2009 	Dogg After Dark 	Producer 	
2009 	Beyond Twisted 	Producer 	
2009 	Lopez Tonight 	Writer/Producer (pilot only) 	
2010 	Instant Recall 	Producer 	
2010-2011	Supreme Court of Comedy 	Producer 	
2012-2014	Pop-Up Video 	Consulting Producer 	
2013 	Tom Green Live 	Producer 	
2015-2017	Skee-TV 	Producer 	
2018 	The Tom Green Flash Mob Talk Show 	Producer 	
2019-2020	Call It A Night with Julie Stewart-Binks 	Producer 	
== Awards and Nominations ==
==== Emmy Awards ====
Year	Category 	Nominated Work 	Result	Ref.
1997	Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Program	Late Show with David Letterman	 	
1998	Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Program	Late Show with David Letterman	 	
1999	Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Program	Late Show with David Letterman	 	
2000	Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Program	Late Show with David Letterman	 	
2001	Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Program	Late Show with David Letterman	 	
==== Writer's Guild Awards ====
Year	Category 	Nominated Work 	Result	Ref.
1999	Outstanding Script for a Comedy/Variety Series	Late Show with David Letterman	 	
2000	Outstanding Script for a Comedy/Variety Series	Late Show with David Letterman	 	
2001	Outstanding Script for a Comedy/Variety Series	Late Show with David Letterman	 	
Category:American producers
Category:American stand-up comedians
Category:American comedy writers