Jeff Ross

Jeffrey Ross Lifschultz (born September 13, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known as the "Roastmaster General" for his insult comedy, his multiple appearances at celebrity roasts held by the New York Friars Club, the Comedy Central Roast television series, and the Netflix historical comedy series Historical Roasts. In 2009 the Chicago Tribune called Ross "the new millennium Don Rickles." His directorial debut, the 2006 documentary Patriot Act: A Jeffrey Ross Home Movie, won the prize for Best Film at the Comedia film festival held at the Just for Laughs comedy festival in Montreal. Ross was raised in Newark, New Jersey, until he was in second grade; then his family moved to Union, New Jersey, and later to Springfield, New Jersey, where he attended Jonathan Dayton High School. He is of Jewish heritage and has a younger sister named Robyn. His mother Marsha died from leukemia when he was 14 years old. His father died of drug-related causes when Ross was 19 years old and attending college. His father owned and ran Clinton Manor Catering, a business that was started by Ross's great-grandmother. The business was located in Newark, and later moved to Union. Ross attended Boston University as a broadcasting and film major with a minor in political science. He graduated from the Boston University College of Communication in 1987. Ross also worked as the music director at the university's student-run radio station WTBU in addition to working for the university's public radio station WBUR where he was an audio engineer.