Results tagged “comedian”

Daniel Tosh described his stand-up act to us as "insanely condescending and sarcastic." We'd add that he has lightning-quick wit that comes with ease. If you've seen him on YouTube or his Comedy Central special, you know that he is naturally honest and unguarded, irreverent without going out of his way to push people's buttons. This Saturday he's headlining his first theater show in New York at Town Hall. He talked with us about winning a Razzie for a movie he refuses to watch, Dave Chappelle's taste in women and why people always mistakenly quote to him, "Always bet on black."

Christian Finnegan has been doing stand-up in New York for almost fifteen years. Many people might recognize him as one of the longest-running regulars on VH1's Best Week Ever, a show that he left recently in what he says was "one of those things where I think I broke up with them." This weekend he'll be headlining at Comix as he gets ready for the upcoming airing of a new Comedy Central special that will also be released as a DVD this May. He talked with us about why he doesn't like griping about how New York has changed, his beefs with the alt comedy world, and how becoming a better comedian might mean "killing" less.

Mr. Show, Arrested Development, the stand-up stage, The Year One Super Bowl commercial from last night...you know who David Cross is by now. Currently he's filming a new series with Will Arnett for Britain's Channel 4, and come this summer you'll be able to soak up his wisdom in the written word when his book "I Drink For A Reason" hits shelves. Recently he told us about the Arrested Development movie, an upcoming Squeakel, and what he thinks of a law banning fans from talking to him. Tomorrow night he'll return to the stage, joining Zach Galifianakis, Janeane Garofalo, Demetri Martin, John Oliver and Paul F. Tompkins for “Stand-Ups Give BAC,” a benefit for the Brooklyn Autism Center.

We've been big fans of Aziz Ansari since he first hit the comedy scene all those years ago, and it seems like since then he's been speedily checking things off his To-Do list. He launched off the stand-up stage to get his own MTV series (Human Giant), is now in an anxiously awaited spin-off of The Office (he clears up the plotline below), and he's been busy filming movies with the likes of Seth Rogan and Paul Rudd. Not too shabby. This weekend he returns to New York, after moving out to Los Angeles—catch his Glow in the Dark Tour (not to be confused with Kanye's) at Comix this Friday or Saturday (buy tickets).

Max Silvestri can teach you how to use the internet, how to maximize your man style and, according to our research, about four other things. Each Thursday you can find him at Sound Fix for his Big Terrific comedy show (returning January 8th)—but he's also writing Top Chef recaps, hosting award shows, making videos for Details, entertaining Radiohead, and allegedly sitting in the basement of MoMA. He recently told us all about most of this.

We could waste this introduction telling you how consistently funny Mike Birbiglia's new solo show Sleepwalk With Me is, but why not just let the man's comedy stylings speak for themselves? Here's a totally unrelated Birbiglia riff on our 43rd President: "I think Bush seems like that fun guy. You know, that guy you invite to the barbecue because you know he'll start the whiffle ball game. He's like Whiffle Ball Tony! You're like, 'Yeah, Whiffle Ball Tony's here! Alright, alright. This is cool.'

Michael Ian Black, David Wain and Michael Showalter met each other twenty years ago at NYU and have been performing comedy together ever since. Their college sketch group would go on to become the short-lived but widely-loved MTV show, The State. In 1997, the three of them began performing as Stella at Fez in Greenwich Village, a comedy show that would help define alternative comedy in New York throughout the decade to follow. That was also the name of the show the three made for Comedy Central in 2005, an absurdist mix of sitcom and sketch inspired by the shorts the three had been doing for years. But their legacy may end up being Wet Hot American Summer, the send-up of 80s summer camp movies that has taken on a life of its own as a cult classic since it was released in 2001. Tomorrow night Stella will host New York Magazine's 40th Anniversary Event that features performances by The National and Grizzly Bear.

Comedian Bernie Mac died in Chicago's Northwestern Memorial hospital this morning at the age of fifty. It was reported first by the Chicago Sun-Times after receiving a call from his publicist earlier this morning. Mac had been hospitalized earlier this week for pneumonia. Just last year, he had been talking to David Letterman on the Late Show about his hopes to retire soon, "I'm going to still do my producing, my films, but I want to enjoy my life a little bit. I missed a lot of things, you know". Mac was a road comedian for years and then built a formidable film career with memorable roles in the Ocean's Eleven series, Bad Santa, and Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. Gothamist will most fondly remember being directly addressed as "America" during the regular testimonials he would give throughout the Bernie Mac Show.

George Carlin, a native of Morningside Heights, died of heart failure yesterday in California. He was 71. The iconoclastic comedian was famously arrested (pictured) after doing his “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television” routine during a 1972 performance in Milwaukee (you can see video of a 1978 performance after the jump). When the words were later aired on WBAI, the ensuing lawsuit went all the way to the Supreme Court, who ruled in 1978 that the government could sanction broadcasters for offensive language. The counterculture comedian told the AP earlier this year: “So my name is a footnote in American legal history, which I'm perversely kind of proud of.”

Comedian Demetri Martin's initital career trajectory wasn't aimed toward show business stardom; the New Jersey native went from busing tables in his parents' diner to Yale and a full scholarship at NYU Law School. But a year before graduation, to his family's dismay, he abandoned the justice system to pursue a career in comedy. A gutsy move, but one that paid off, against considerable odds, when Martin worked his way up to a recurring spot on The Daily Show. One hour specials, comedy albums, Windows Vista ads, and a flurry of palindromes followed.

Next Wednesday a cornucopia of comedians (Dave Attell, Louis C.K., Artie Lange and more) will gather at Town Hall for the The Gerry Red Wilson Foundation Comedy Benefit. Greg Fitzsimmons is one of the comedians responsible for putting together the show, which will raise awareness about meningitis (a disease that struck three people in his life, one of which was Gerry Red Wilson). You can buy tickets here.