There is no other host quite like Jimmy Kimmel . For more than a decade, he’s consistently raised the Late Night TV bar time and time again.
Below are 10+ facts about Jimmy Kimmel that fans did not know.
Make sure to hide your Halloween candy because it’s about to get real! Oh, and don’t tell Matt Damon…
1. Jimmy got his start on a game show called *Win Ben Stein’s Money*.
Win Ben Stein’s Money was a poor man’s Jeopardy . Jimmy played Ben’s co-host , reading the questions aloud to the guests and providing a heavy helping of comedic relief.
2. He created and co-hosted *The Man Show* with Adam Carolla.
The Man Show was everything that was wrong with the ’90s masculinity as a whole.
It was a skit show for lack of a better word, that highlighted such behaviors as beer chugging and watching women jump on trampolines.
No, I’m not joking.
3. Jimmy plays the bass clarinet.
There aren’t many bass clarinetists floating around. That’s why when the ska band The Mighty Mighty Bosstones caught wind of Jimmy’s talent, they were quick to recruit him.
The sound in the video is terrible but you can hear Jimmy belting out ” The Impression That I Get ” clear as day.
4. He appreciates the great outdoors.
A quick scroll through Jimmy’s Instagram reveals his deep love of fishing. Just take a look at that beautiful brown trout Jimmy landed in the picture above.
The only thing I catch when I go fishing is a cold.
5. Jimmy’s hosted the Emmy Awards.
On more than one occasion! Jimmy has hosted the prestigious award show a total of two times.
Recently, it was announced that Jimmy will go for the hat trick and take another turn as host this fall.
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6. He’s the creator of one of the funniest, longest-running Halloween pranks of all time!
Jimmy instructed parents to video themselves telling their children that they’d eaten all the Halloween candy .
He then got the parents to upload the videos to YouTube and made a montage of the best responses.
7. Jimmy got into a Christmas prank war with John Krasinski and Emily Blunt.
It started off small at first: John and Emily buried a zombie head in Kimmel’s garden, so he erected a 24-foot inflated reindeer in their driveway (complete with real reindeer poop).
Things got out of hand quickly and culminated in John and Emily stealing Jimmy’s car, smashing it into a pole, and then dropping a piano onto the hood.
8. He famously dated comedian Sarah Silverman.
Sarah even participated in a skit with Matt Damon after they’d broken up. It was a music video performed by Matt and Sarah called “I’m [expletive]-ing Matt Damon.”
Which, in my opinion, was Matt’s pinnacle move in their feud.
9. He’s tired of getting mistaken for Jimmy Fallon.
The pair of hosts made a video together called ” Know Your Jimmy .”
In a hilarious effort to reveal their differences, all they managed to do was point out just how similar they actually are!
10. His daughter is his best friend.
Jimmy’s social media is absolutely plastered with cute and hilarious videos of his daughter.
If you haven’t seen the video where he tells her that he ate all of her Halloween candy , it will melt your heart.
11. Jimmy is a narcoleptic.
Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder that causes a person to fall asleep uncontrollably and at random intervals. Jimmy try to explain what it felt like in an essay to Esquire :
“You know how when you’re regular tired , your whole body is tired? With narcolepsy, just the inside of your head is tired.”
Jimmy goes on to say that “It’s like somebody’s gently sitting on your brain. You have almost no focus.”
According to Jimmy, all of your thoughts and energy becomes devoted to not falling asleep .
Although even he admits it’s not the worst thing to have when traveling in an airplane.
12. He once shared an incredibly emotional story about how he and his wife nearly lost their infant newborn son.
Jimmy’s story is incredibly sad. He recalls how his son was born with a heart condition that put a hole in the left and right side of his heart .
The doctors were able to repair the holes with surgery. 6 days after the surgery, Jimmy was able to bring his son home.
13. He’s had an ongoing ‘feud’ with Matt Damon for more than 15 years.
It all began back in 2003. During one of Kimmel’s earlier shows, he signed off with “Sincere apologies to Matt Damon, we ran out of time for him tonight. We’ll get him on the air again soon.”
This became Jimmy’s sign-off for more than three years!
In 2006, Matt finally appeared in Jimmy’s guest chair.
But Jimmy spent so much time introducing him that they ran out of time! Matt Damon became enraged (not really) and began yelling and swearing.
This would spawn countless pranks, videos, and cameos from both stars. You can watch a chronicle of the feud here .
