Early life and education
Oswalt was born on January 27, 1969, in Portsmouth, Virginia, the son of Carla and Larry J. Oswalt, a career United States Marine Corps officer. He was named after General George S. Patton. His younger brother, Matt Oswalt, is also a comedy writer. Because of his father's military service the family moved frequently during his childhood, and Oswalt grew up an avid reader of comic books and a devoted fan of horror and genre film, interests that would later run through much of his work.1
He graduated from Broad Run High School in Ashburn, Virginia, in 1987, where he placed first in humorous dramatic interpretation at a regional forensics meet. He went on to the College of William and Mary, where he was a member of the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English in 1991.1 In May 2023 his alma mater awarded him an honorary Doctor of Arts degree and he delivered the commencement address.2
Career
Stand-up comedy
Oswalt performed his first stand-up set on July 18, 1988, while still in college. After working the club circuit he relocated to San Francisco in the early 1990s and then to Los Angeles in 1994, joining the writing staff of the sketch series MADtv in 1995. He built a reputation as one of the most literate and ambitious comedians of his generation, known for densely written, pop-culture-saturated material.1
His comedy albums and specials include 222 (Live and Uncut) (2003), Werewolves and Lollipops (2007), My Weakness Is Strong (2009), Finest Hour (2011), Tragedy Plus Comedy Equals Time (2014), Talking for Clapping (2016), Annihilation (2017), I Love Everything (2020), and We All Scream (2022). He won the 2017 Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album for Talking for Clapping, and the same special earned him the 2016 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special.1 He has also published essay collections, including Zombie Spaceship Wasteland (2011) and Silver Screen Fiend (2015), the latter chronicling his obsessive years as a moviegoer.
Acting and voice work
On screen, Oswalt is best remembered as Spence Olchin, the awkward friend and neighbor across nine seasons of The King of Queens. He served as the unseen narrator and adult voice of Adam Goldberg for the entire ten-season run of The Goldbergs. Other television roles include Neil on Showtime's United States of Tara, Constable Bob Sweeney on Justified, the title role in Adult Swim's The Heart, She Holler, a guest turn on Parks and Recreation that won him a 2013 Critics' Choice Television Award, and a supporting role on A.P. Bio. In Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. he memorably played a string of identical Koenig brothers, including Eric, Billy, Sam, Ernest, and Thurston.
His voice acting is anchored by his lead performance as Remy in Ratatouille, and extends to The Secret Life of Pets 2 (as Max), Sorry to Bother You, WordGirl, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, and the video games Grand Theft Auto and Minecraft: Story Mode.1 On film he has appeared in Magnolia, the sports drama Big Fan (2009) in a rare leading role, and Jason Reitman's black comedy Young Adult (2011) as Matt Freehauf, among many others. More recently he hosted the FOX game show The 1% Club.
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters VR: Now Hiring (2017)
Oswalt voiced Mooglie, the iconic no-ghost logo character, in the PlayStation 4 and mobile virtual reality game Ghostbusters VR: Now Hiring. The character's inclusion came directly from producer Ivan Reitman, who suggested bringing Mooglie into the game and personally recruited Oswalt to provide the voice. Reitman and Dan Aykroyd had used the name "Mooglie" for the Icon Ghost privately for years. In the game's Act 1: Firehouse chapter, Mooglie serves as the player's guide through the iconic firehouse environment.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024)
Oswalt portrayed Dr. Hubert Wartzki in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. During production he wore socks printed with a map of Innsmouth, a location from H.P. Lovecraft's fiction, for his scenes, a fitting nod from a lifelong horror and genre fan.
Other Ghostbusters connections
Beyond his credited roles, Oswalt's ties to the franchise turn up in a few places. As the uncredited narrator of The Goldbergs, he is the voice behind a sitcom that has worked in numerous Ghostbusters references over its run. On page 17 of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Ghostbusters Volume One Issue #2, a bystander who calls the police is drawn as a visual likeness of Oswalt. On July 6, 2016, Oswalt publicly revealed that he had attended an early screening of the 2016 Ghostbusters film and confirmed that it included a post-credits scene.
Personal life
Oswalt married true-crime writer Michelle McNamara on September 24, 2005, and the couple had a daughter, Alice, born in 2009. McNamara died unexpectedly in her sleep on April 21, 2016; the cause was later determined to be an undiagnosed heart condition combined with the effects of prescription medication. Oswalt completed and published her unfinished investigation into the Golden State Killer, I'll Be Gone in the Dark, on February 27, 2018, shortly before a suspect in the case was arrested. He married actress Meredith Salenger in November 2017.1
References
Some content on this page was researched using the Ghostbusters Wiki on Fandom.
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"Patton Oswalt," Wikipedia, accessed 2026-06-13, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patton_Oswalt
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William & Mary, "Patton Oswalt '91 exhorts extraordinary W&M Class of 2023 to wander easy, embrace life" (May 22, 2023), https://news.wm.edu/2023/05/22/patton-oswalt-91-exhorts-extraordinary-wm-class-of-2023-to-wander-easy-embrace-life/
