Robert Young Lee Jr., commonly known as Bobby Lee, is a podcaster, stand-up comedian, and American actor that is best known for being a cast member of MAD TV.
Lee also took part in different movies and TV shows such as The Dictator, Pineapple Express, and Harold and Kumar.
From 2001 to 2009, Lee was a cast member on MAD TV. He also co-starred in Splitting Up Together, a single-camera sitcom series on ABC. He worked together with Oliver Hudson and Jenna Fischer between 2018 and 2019.
Recently, Lee had a guest appearance on Reservation Dogs. It is a comedy TV show on Hulu where he played Dr. Kang, a burned-out and cynical doctor.
Lee co-hosts the podcast TigerBelly with Khalyla Kuhn, his girlfriend. He is also a co-host of Bad Friends, a podcast with Andrew Santino.
Table of Contents
Personal Life
Bobby Lee was born in San Diego County, California on September 17, 1971. His parents were Korean American. His father is Robert Lee and his mother is Jeanie Lee.
Lee has a younger brother. Both of them grew up in Poway, California. His parents owned clothing stores in both Encinitas and Escondido, California.
Lee went to Poway High School, Twin Peaks Middle School, and Painted Rock Elementary School. During his high school days, Lee was a member of a breakdancing team.
At 18, he moved out of his parent’s house and took jobs in coffee shops and restaurants in the San Diego area. He also went to Palomar College. Later on, Lee decided to drop out.
Around age 12, Lee started taking marijuana and meth. By age 15, he started taking heroin. Lee went through 3 attempts for drug rehabilitation before becoming sober when he was 17.
After getting bad feedback from a producer, Lee ended his 12-year sobriety and relapse on Vicodin. After Lauren Dombrowski, producer for MAD TV, fought for him after he was fired from the show a second time, he got sober.
Lee talked about his story in his appearance on the pilot episode of This Is Not Happening, a TV show on Comedy Central.
During episode 224 of TigerBelly, Lee admitted to guest Theo Von that he had relapsed after the death of his father in August 2019.
After that, Lee went to rehabilitation again to get sober. According to Lee, he is also a recovering alcoholic.
Steve Lee, his younger brother, is a musician. He is also the host of a podcast called The Steebee Weebee. Steve also made guest appearances together with Bobby on MAD TV.
Career
A lot of people are surprised by this fact. However, Lee has had more than 70 films completed throughout his career from 2001 to 2016.
Starting back in 2001 from Unreal TV, he has been part of a couple of the most successful comedy films of all time. This includes Curb Your Enthusiasm, Laid in America, Hand Breakers, The Dictator, The League, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, and more.
However, that isn’t the extent of Lee’s acting career. He has also been in one of the music videos of the famous rapper, Eminem, We Made You.
Lee also became a part of an extremely accomplished comedy show as an actor. He worked together with fellow cast members Kevin Shea and Steve Byme back in 2005. The show was called Kims of Comedy.
The show became one of the most successful comedy shows and gave him the idea of creating his own podcast and making the most out of YouTube.
While his career as an actor did not last several years, being part of more than 70 films and a lot of different operas and shows contributed heavily to his net worth.
Podcast
The podcast that Bobby Lee hosts is called TigerBelly. His wife also hosts the show.
The podcast is an audio video format in which they talk about different topics. Each episode has a duration of around 60 to 90 minutes. Usually, they talk in English.
The couple also publishes their podcast on YouTube. They have a YouTube channel called TigerBelly. As of 2021, it has more than 112 million views and 570,000 subscribers.
Typically, the couple talks about topics such as culture and problems such as ethnicity, adolescence, politics, racism, and other entertainment industry-related problems in their podcast.
Furthermore, both Lee and Kuhn talk about their lives during their podcast.
Lee’s Success
One of the reasons why Bobby Lee is successful is due to his ability to portray and illustrate various characters on MAD TV.
In 2002, Lee made his debut on the big screen with a minor role in the movie “The Underground Comedy”. He also worked in a huge range of movies in the early years of his career.
Bobby Lee Total Net Worth
As of 2021, the net worth of Bobby Lee is around $1.5 million. This is according to Forbes.
Lee’s parents were hesitant about the career of his son at first. However, he worked hard and has been determined to make a name for himself.
Because of this, the net worth of Bobby Lee can’t be credited to a single source of income. However, it is due to the determination of Lee and hard work as an actor, podcast host, and stand-up comedian.
His income sources include his TV shows, appearances in films, and his podcast. After he played the main character in MAD TV, Lee gained popularity.
Lee also does stand-up comedies. The ticket prices for these live shows earn him a decent amount of money.
Furthermore, Lee made a good amount of money from his Box Office hits. This includes The Dictator, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, and Pineapple Express.
Bobby Lee might not be the wealthiest comedian in the entertainment industry. However, his net worth and journey are an inspiration to a lot of people.
Despite his drug addictions and alcohol abuse, he still made a name for himself that greatly contributed to his current net worth.