Judd Apatow: Precious Moments Fan? Trout Prankster?

With his out-of-wedlock comedy Knocked Up (opening this weekend), Judd Apatow is taking the next step in his total comic domination of America. The bearded director-producer has had a hand in some of the biggest comedy hits of the past few years, from The 40-Year-Old Virgin to Talladega Nights to Anchorman, and has transformed himself from the underdog who saw his beloved TV series Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared unceremoniously canceled to the first name in grown-up Hollywood comedy. But how much do you really know about the man who makes you laugh? We’ve hidden one honest-to-God Truth among three scurrilous, actionable Lies below. We’ll reveal the answer tomorrow.

A) Knocked Up is based on Apatow’s own life: He hooked up with his wife, actress Leslie Mann, the first night they met on the set of Celtic Pride, and their daughter Sadie is the product of that union.

B) He participated in a vicious e-mail flame war with That ‘70s Show creator Mark Brazill, who claims Apatow stole his idea and used it in The Ben Stiller Show. Brazill ended one of his e-mails to Apatow, “Get cancer. Love, Mark.”

C) Apatow owns a large collection of Precious Moments figurines and always includes one of the wide-eyed ceramic urchins’ “inspirational messages” into his scripts.

D) While writing for The Larry Sanders Show, Apatow once shoved a live walleyed trout down Jeffrey Tambor’s pants on a dare from David Duchovny.

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