Theo Von

Theodor Capitani von Kurnatowski III (born March 19, 1980), known professionally as Theo Von, is an American stand-up comedian and podcaster. He is the host of This Past Weekend podcast and has appeared on various MTV and Comedy Central shows.

Early life and education Von was born Theodor Capitani von Kurnatowski III on March 19, 1980, in Covington, Louisiana, to Gina Capitani and Roland Theodor Achilles von Kurnatowski (1912–1996). His mother was born and raised in Wyoming, Illinois, where Von spent part of his childhood. His father was a native of Bluefields, Nicaragua, who later settled in New Orleans. His grandfather was a Polish missionary who settled in Cabo Gracias a Dios; he is descended from the Kurnatowski szlachta, a noble family in Poland. He grew up in Covington with his older brother and two younger sisters and was legally emancipated at 14.

Von later moved to Mandeville, Louisiana, and graduated from Mandeville High School. He attended Louisiana State University where he wrote for The Reveille. He also attended the Loyola University New Orleans, University of Arizona, College of Charleston, and Santa Monica College. Von received his undergraduate degree in Urban Planning in 2011 from the University of New Orleans.

Television career Von appeared on MTV's Road Rules: Maximum Velocity Tour in 2000 at age nineteen. He auditioned for the show at an open casting call for The Real World and Road Rules at a bar while studying at Louisiana State University. Von faced controversy on the show for his views, including stating in the casting special that he was against interracial dating, an opinion he defended to the LSU newspaper after the show aired.

Von was on four seasons of MTV's reality game show The Challenge (formerly known as Real World/Road Rules Challenge), a combined spinoff of MTV's The Real World and Road Rules. He was a part of the cast of Battle of the Seasons (2002), The Gauntlet (2003–2004), Battle of the Sexes II (2004–2005), and Fresh Meat (2006). Von was runner-up in 2002, and was the winner of the following two seasons.

In 2006, Von competed on season 4 of Last Comic Standing,

In mid-2008, Von was a member of the Comedy Central sketch/competition show Reality Bites Back. He won the show, beating fellow comedians, including Amy Schumer, Bert Kreischer, and Tiffany Haddish.

Beginning in 2011, Von took over as host of the Yahoo! online TV recap show Primetime in No Time. He hosted the TBS hidden camera show Deal With It (executive produced by Howie Mandel) for its run of three seasons (2013–2014). During this period, Von began appearing in cameo acting roles on select television shows, including Inside Amy Schumer and Why? with Hannibal Buress. He has said that he was not more interested in acting earlier on — despite having opportunities to do pilots and sitcoms — because he was not very enthused about the projects offered at the time and because they often conflicted with his touring and podcasting schedules.

In the spring of 2018, Von's three-episode scripted comedy show Man Up was released on Comedy Central, in which he attempted to improve the 'spiraling' lives of male comics. In August 2019, Von announced that he had been cast in the big-budget film The Tomorrow War (at the time known as Ghost Draft), and had been recruited for the project by its lead actor, Chris Pratt; a few weeks later, Von announced on his podcast that he had dropped out of the movie due to the time commitment required.

Stand-up comedy Von began performing stand-up comedy in Louisiana. At age 23, after his tenure on MTV, he decided to move to Los Angeles and professionally pursue a career in comedy. According to Von, he had difficulty as an entertainer in Hollywood, as talent agents viewed him as a former reality TV star and were thus skeptical about giving him work as a comedian. He has since related that it has taken years to shake this image and establish himself as a comedian.

Von released his first Netflix stand-up special, No Offense, in 2016. His second Netflix special, Regular People, was released in 2021. In addition to his recorded specials, Von has conducted multiple national stand-up tours, including the Dark Arts Tour (2019) and Return of the Rat Tour (2021–present).

Podcasting

In April 2011, Von began his first podcast, The Comedy Sideshow. Taped at the Improv Comedy Club in Hollywood, Von interviewed comedians and other entertainers. The show had 23 episodes, the last of which premiered in November of that year.

In 2015, Von started a weekly podcast with filmmaker and journalist Matthew Cole Weiss called Allegedly with Theo Von & Matthew Cole Weiss. The two friends, whose styles and presentation contrasted, competed to see who had better "alleged" tales of celebrities, hilarity, trauma, dating, success, and failure from their years living in Hollywood. The podcast lasted three years and had a total of 123 episodes.

Since 2016, Von has hosted the podcast, This Past Weekend, a podcast featuring long-form interviews and discussions. According to Spotify's 2025 Wrapped rankings, This Past Weekend was the second most-streamed podcast in the United States on Spotify during 2025, behind The Joe Rogan Experience. He also started the podcast King and The Sting with Brendan Schaub, which later became King and the Sting and the Wing featuring Chris D'Elia.

He has been a recurring guest on many comedians' podcasts, including The Joe Rogan Experience, Joey Diaz's The Church of What's Happening Now, The Fighter and the Kid, Bobby Lee's TigerBelly,

In December 2018, Von and fellow podcaster/comedian Brendan Schaub started a podcast called King and The Sting. At the podcast's release, it debuted at number 1 on the iTunes Podcast charts in the US and also reached the top charts in the United Kingdom, Canada, Spain, and Australia.

In January 2022, Schaub and Von added a third host, Chris D'Elia, to King and The Sting, renaming it King and The Sting and Wing. During this time Von began taking breaks from the podcast, allowing guest hosts to fill in. On November 4, 2022, King and The Sting and Wing was officially renamed The Golden Hour, with Workaholics actor Erik Griffin replacing Von.

In September 2023, Von publicly accused Kast Media and its CEO Colin Thomson of non-payment, after pro wrestling personality and podcaster Jim Cornette had made similar claims about Kast and Thomson in July. Corresponding accusations were also made by Jason Ellis, Brendan Schaub, Bryan Callen, Whitney Cummings, and Alyx Weiss, each of whom stated they were owed money by Kast Media, including several six-figure and seven-figure shortages. It was reported that Kast Media was in the process of being acquired by PodcastOne and that in lieu of full payment, Thomson offered creators partial compensation combined with stock options. Amid the news, LiveOne and PodcastOne stock dropped considerably and the company no longer planned to officially hire Thomson.

In July 2025, Von was named to Time magazine's inaugural "TIME100 Creators" list - the publication's roster of the 100 most influential digital voices - appearing in the "Leaders" category for his podcast This Past Weekend.

Personal life Von has lived in Nashville, Tennessee, since September 2020, after purchasing the home of former Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason. Von had an older half-brother, Roland von Kurnatowski Jr., whom he never had any connection with, who owned Tipitina's and founded the Tipitina's Foundation; he died in 2019 after an accidental shooting, aged 68. Von also has one older brother who is two years his senior, two younger sisters and an older half-sister who is in real estate.

In media Comedy specials and albums No Offense (Netflix, 2016) Musket Fire: Early Years of Satire (2017 album) 30lb Bag of Hamster Bones (2017 album) - on March 6 it placed #1 on the iTunes Comedy Album charts and #4 on Billboard. Regular People (Netflix, 2021)

Podcasts The Comedy Sideshow (2011) Allegedly with Theo Von & Matthew Cole Weiss (2015–2018) This Past Weekend (2016–present) King and The Sting (and Wing) (with Brendan Schaub (2018–2022) 2008 America's Prom Queen| Panelist 2008 Live at Gotham| Season 3 2008 Reality Bites Back| Contestant 2012–14 Primetime in No Time| Host; replaced former host Frank Nicotero Guest 2021 The Joe Rogan Experience #1731 Guest 2022 The Joe Rogan Experience #1847 Guest 2022 Kill Tony #569 Guest 2023 Full Send Podcast|Guest 2023 The Joe Rogan Experience #1994 Guest 2023 Kill Tony #615 Guest 2024 Get Down with Sean and Marley #17 Guest 2024 The Joe Rogan Experience #2226|Guest 2025 The Joe Rogan Experience #2253|Guest 2026 The Joe Rogan Experience #2478'' Guest

+ Acting Year Title Role Notes 2013 InAPPropriate Comedy Mountain Climber Film 2013 Inside Amy Schumer Director Episode: "A Porn Star Is Born" 2015 Why? with Hannibal Buress Alex 2024 Sweet Dreams Garvey Film 2026Busboys Lead role, writer, producer