Theo Von

Theodor Capitani von Kurnatowski III, known professionally as Theo Von, was born on March 19, 1980, in Covington, Louisiana. His early life involved a blended heritage, with his mother from Wyoming, Illinois, and his father, Roland Theodor Achilles von Kurnatowski, a native of Bluefields, Nicaragua, with Polish noble family roots. His father, 68 years older than Von, passed away when Von was 16. Growing up in what he described as “low-income” circumstances, Von was legally emancipated at 14. He attended various universities including Louisiana State University, Loyola University New Orleans, University of Arizona, College of Charleston, and Santa Monica College, eventually earning a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Planning from the University of New Orleans in 2011.

Von’s career in entertainment began at age 19 in 2000, with an appearance on MTV’s “Road Rules: Maximum Velocity Tour.” He continued on MTV’s “The Challenge” for four seasons, winning two of them: “The Gauntlet” (2003–2004) and “Battle of the Sexes II” (2004–2005). Transitioning into comedy, he participated in “Last Comic Standing” in 2006, winning the online competition “Last Comic Downloaded.” In 2008, he won the Comedy Central sketch/competition show “Reality Bites Back,” surpassing comedians like Amy Schumer and Tiffany Haddish. Von hosted Yahoo!’s “Primetime in No Time” starting in 2011 and TBS’s hidden camera show “Deal With It” from 2013-2014.

His stand-up career progressed with a Comedy Central “The Half Hour” special in 2012 and a Netflix debut hour-long comedy special “No Offense” in 2016. In 2017, his album “30lb Bag of Hamster Bones” reached #1 on iTunes Comedy Album charts and #4 on Billboard. Von established himself significantly in podcasting, launching “This Past Weekend” in 2016, which grew to be the 4th biggest podcast globally on Spotify in 2024. He also co-hosted “King and The Sting (and Wing)” with Brendan Schaub and Chris D’Elia. His influence was further recognized when he was named to Time magazine’s inaugural “TIME100 Creators” list in 2025, appearing in the “Leaders” category for “This Past Weekend.” Von’s career highlights include interviewing prominent political figures such as Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump, and JD Vance in 2024.