Robert Smigel is an American actor, comedian and writer known for his numerous contributions to comedy variety show Saturday Night Live. He is also the puppeteer and voice behind Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog. Smigel was born in New York City in 1960. After graduating from NYU, he studied improvisation at The Players Workshop in Chicago. He was brought on to the writing team at Saturday Night Live in the late 1980s after creator Lorne Michaels saw Smigel in a Chicago sketch show. Though Smigel rarely appeared on screen, he was the genius behind a slew of famous comedy bits on SNL, as well as "Late Night with Conan O'Brien." His most famous creation is Triumph the Insult Dog, who mercilessly mocks celebrities. Triumph made his debut in 1997 on Conan O'Brien's show, and has continued to make appearances since then. Smigel, Adam Sandler and Judd Apatow co-wrote the script for "You Don't Mess with the Zohan" (2008) starring Sandler. Recently, Smigel co-wrote and produced "Hotel Transylvania" (2012) and starred in Apatow's "This Is 40" (2012).