Simon Taylor
Simon Taylor is a Melbourne-born comedian, who by the age of 24 became a writer for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Since then, he has appeared on Just for Laughs and became the first-ever Australian to perform stand-up on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon.
- Opinion
- Web culture
Should we be banning influencers? China is having a crack
Should we expect social media influencers like Joe Rogan and Kim Kardashian to have degrees or certifications before discussing “serious” topics?
- Simon Taylor
Latest
Comedians have tried to satirise Trump for years. Nothing comes close to this
Take it from a TV comedy writer: this season of South Park is appointment viewing.
- Simon Taylor
- Opinion
- Trump's America
Trump’s war on free speech won’t stop with Jimmy Kimmel or Stephen Colbert
When I wrote for The Tonight Show, the last thing I was thinking was, “Will this joke annoy the president?” The whole point of my job was to take jabs at political figures.
- Simon Taylor
- Opinion
- Pop culture
I lived my dream on US talk shows – the axing of Colbert’s Late Show is about one thing
It seemed surreal that I could go straight from the Melbourne comedy scene to a job with Jay Leno. But don’t think for a minute that the suits running the place are champions of political causes.
- Simon Taylor
- Opinion
- Property prices
Why I traded saving for a house to ‘doom spend’ on an overseas holiday
Every person my age who I know who has a house had help from their parents. We’re now living in an inheritocracy, so I’m going to live a little.
- Simon Taylor
- Opinion
- Phones
I’m hearing the call, it’s time to switch back to landline phones
Preferring a text message is fine when the topic of conversation is which mall to hang out, but try telling a potential employer to send you a voice note instead of calling.
- Simon Taylor
- Opinion
- City life
State Library should stay open at night for booze-free chats
Melbourne needs more third places. After 6pm, the library should say “laptops away” and turn the space from study zone into a place for booze-free conversation.
- Simon Taylor
- Opinion
- Crime
The criminal reason we should bring back blue light discos
How to keep the minds of bored teenagers off pinching a Nissan Skyline or accosting strangers at a train station? The answer is clear to me.
- Simon Taylor
- Opinion
- City life
Sydneysiders are fleeing. But Melbourne shouldn’t get too smug just yet
Melbourne has soared past Sydney as the nation’s biggest city, but that shouldn’t mean just cramming everyone in. That’s what cruise ships are for.
- Simon Taylor
- Opinion
- Political leadership
Australia will never elect a Donald Trump – and it’s due to one national trait
When I was working on a cruise ship, a noticeboard poster said it all: “Please remember that Americans consider it acceptable to brag about their kids. Australians do not.”
- Simon Taylor