5 Times Billy Eichner Made the World a Happier Place

Image by YouTube

By Thea Glassman January 5, 2017

It’s barely 2017, and Billy Eichner is already owning the year like no other.

Eichner, perhaps best known for pounding the pavements and shrieking at unsuspecting New Yorkers for his television show “Billy on the Street,” has been churning out segment after segment of solid gold comedy since 2011.

The 38-year-old New Yorker takes simple, absurdist concepts and makes them a reality — often lugging A-list celebrities along for the ride.

Ever wonder if the people would have sex with Paul Rudd in exchange for $1? Want to know of Rashida Jones can guess which celebrities changed their last names to sound less Jewish?

Eichner is on the case.

Here’s just a few of his best moments, each of which hopefully provide a bright, often shrill, reminder of the pockets of goodness still left in the world.

That time he wandered the streets asking people if they would have a threesome with himself and Jon Hamm.

When he hit the streets looking for random New Yorkers to answer pop culture questions and he met the delightfully eccentric Elena, who would later become a regular on his show.

When he went around yelling at people about how pretty Olivia Wilde is.

The time he helped Conan O’Brian master the gay hook up app Grindr.

When he hung out with Joan Rivers in bed.

Just keep doing what you’re doing, Billy. We need you now more than ever.

Thea Glassman is an Associate Editor at the Forward. Reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter at @theakglassman.

Thea Glassman was an associate editor for the Forward. Follow her on twitter @theakglassman.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’re in the middle of our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we have a very ambitious goal of $127,000 by April 21.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO