Originally from North Dakota, Steve Gelder studied broadcasting at Brown Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota and then moved to North Carolina to practice what he had learned as half of the popular radio morning show “The Bob and Steve Breakfast Show.” On the show, he wrote regular comedy bits and performed as a number of characters. Included in his duties were numerous live appearances at local businesses and public events. While in North Carolina, he was made both an Honorary Ringmaster and Honorary Secretary of State for Life.
Steve eventually transitioned out of radio into his first passion, stand up comedy. Starting as an open mic comic and working his way up the ladder to become a national headliner, he toured the U.S.,, Canada (The Toronto Sun called him “The very funny Steve Gelder, the most Canadian American we’ve ever met.”) and the Caribbean, receiving standing ovations and signing up numerous fans for his mailing lists. He taught classes in stand-up comedy at Charlie Goodnight's Comedy Club in Raleigh, NC, one of the finest and most renowned comedy clubs in the country. He opened for The Tubes, The Manhattans, The Outlaws, Gino Vannelli, Axe, and many more. During this time, Steve also began writing a syndicated newspaper column, "Free Association", which was carried by newspapers in seven states. The column was awarded Best Personal Column in by the NDNA, and received an Honorable Mention from the National Newspaper Association. He compiled a collection of his best columns into his popular book, "Somewhere Between Amused and Annoyed".
After relocating to the West coast in 2003, he studied and performed as an advanced student with The Groundlings in Los Angeles, the improv troupe that launched the careers of Phil Hartman, Lisa Kudrow, Jon Lovitz, Pee Wee Herman and many more. This helped lead to a number of acting jobs, including several television shows, award-winning films, web series, and commercials. He was also chosen to be the video host for the website, Carmind.com, an award-winning provider of online sales training tools for the automotive dealer community. Throwing himself into the creative scene in LA, Steve wrote and sold a feature screenplay with a writing partner to producers for The Hallmark Channel. He has produced or co-produced a number of movies and plays in Hollywood, including the popular documentary on the current surf music scene in California, "Reverb Junkies", Jann Karam's successful one-woman show, "Reclining Nude on La Cienega", and films under his own production company banner, Beef Tips On Rice Productions. He wrote and directed several award-winning short films, three of which screened at over 80 film festivals around the world and won more than two dozen awards, including "Best Of The Fest" honors. One of his favorite experiences was with Glynn Beard from Brooks Institute and director Donlee Brussel, as they made the entirely-improvised short film "Cabbie" starring Gelder as Marty Yacovelli, a character so convincing and compelling that people at film festivals argued over whether or not he was a real person.
Steve has also edited numerous reality television shows, among them, HouseHunters, HouseHunters International, Life or Debt, Pros Vs. Joes, Beverly Hills Pawn and more. He has edited numerous hosted interviews for the popular movie review website Rotten Tomatoes, which have garnered over four million hits on YouTube and the Rotten Tomatoes site. In addition, he found the time to produce and host a political podcast, "Independent Thinking with Steve Gelder" which ran for over two years and was nominated as one of LA Weekly's "Best Podcasts" in 2012. During the run of his show, he interviewed musicians, authors, comedians, artists, founders of the Tea Party and Occupy Movement, Senators, Congressmen and Mayors, and five Presidential candidates.
Recently, Steve was invited to speak at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, which produces the annual Emmy Awards, to a class of Film & TV students from Tompkins-Cortland Community College, who were visiting from New York. Many members of the class stated their appreciation for Gelder's style, sharing humorous stories about his filmmaking experiences and practical advice on how to accomplish any number of entertainment goals.