Affion Crockett

AFFION CROCKETT is one of the most versatile entertainers around, as an accomplished actor, writer, dancer, rapper, comedian, music producer, and director - his YouTube videos have become an internet sensation. Affion began his career as a dancer at age 10, winning breaking and popping contests with his older brother. Later on, he honed his impression skills by imitating anyone from his...

Al Madrigal

The New York Times calls Madrigal's comedy "dynamic" and HBO's U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen named him "Best Stand-Up Comedian." His unique, spontaneous, and fast-paced lyrical, story-telling style has made him a regular favorite on television. He has been seen in numerous network series roles and starred in his own half-hour stand-up special, COMEDY CENTRAL PRESENTS: AL MADRIGAL...

Amy Sohn

For three years Amy Sohn wrote the autobiographical dating diary, "Female Trouble," in New York Press, which elicited loads of bitter invective from readers and shamed her parents at cocktail parties. After six years as a contributing editor at New York magazine, where she wrote about sex, relationships, and parenting, she is now at work on her third novel for Simon & Schuster, to be published...

Andy Richter

Actor and writer Andy Richter rose to fame on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” as O’Brien’s sidekick since its premiere on September 13, 1993. Richter starred in the Emmy nominated “Andy Richter Controls the Universe” for the Fox network, and the series “Andy Barker, P.I.” for NBC. Richter has been very active in the feature film world as well. His many appearances include such films as...

Baratunde Thurston

Baratunde Thurston is a technology-loving comedian from the future who cares enough about the world to engage with it politically. Yes, he votes. Regularly. With an ancestry that includes a great-grandfather who taught himself to read, a grandmother who was the first black employee at the U.S. Supreme Court building and a mother who took over radio stations in the name of the black liberation...

Bill Maher

Whether skewering Republicans, Democrats, the mass media or Hollywood, Bill Maher is one of the most perceptive and hilarious satirists at work today. From the podium he delivers his trademark blend of devastating social commentary and politically incorrect humor that always leaves audiences begging for more.

Billy Crystal

Billy Crystal is a Golden Globe Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning actor, writer, producer, comedian and film director. Originally, Crystal studied film and television direction under Martin Scorsese at New York University before he starred in his first prominent role as “Jodie Dallas,” one of the first gay characters portrayed on American television on the hit series Soap.

BJ Novak

B.J. Novak is an actor, writer, and comedian, best known for his contributions to NBC's Emmy Award winning comedy, "The Office." In addition to starring as Ryan, the temp-turned-boss-turned-temp, Novak is also a co-executive producer for the hit series and has written many of the show's most memorable episodes, including "Diversity Day," "Sexual Harassment," "The Fire," "Initation," "Boys and...

Capitol Steps

Twenty five years ago the Capitol Steps began as a group of Senate staffers who set out to satirize the very people and places that employed them. In the years that followed, many of the Steps ignored the conventional wisdom (Don't quit your day job!), and although not all of the current members of the Steps are former Capitol Hill staffers, taken together the performers have worked in a...

Cedric 'The Entertainer'

Cedric ‘The Entertainer’ is best known for his crowd-pleasing roles in the recent hit films Barbershop with Ice Cube, Be Cool with John Travolta, Madagascar (animated feature), Intolerable Cruelty with George Clooney, and The Original Kings of Comedy, MTV’S documentary feature directed by Spike Lee. Additionally, in April 2004, Cedric was star and producer of the box office hit Johnson Family...

Chris Hardwick

Chris Hardwick was born on the starship Enterprise and is the product of two red-shirts that quickly met their demise in a transporter lovemaking mishap. He was banished by the Federation to earth after “inappropriate conduct” on the holodeck with a computer-generated Buffy Summers. Since then, Chris has become am professional stand-up comedian and a self-proclaimed nerd. He hosts The Soup’s...

Dan Aykroyd

Daniel Edward Aykroyd is an Academy Award nominated and Emmy Award winning actor, comedian, screenwriter, and most recently business entrepreneur. He attended Carleton University in Canada, but dropped out before receiving his degree. He veered away from his study of criminology in college in order to pursue his interest in acting. He began as a comedian in various Canadian nightclubs and went...

Dana Carvey

Emmy-award winning comedian Dana Carvey has maintained an illustrious career. Carvey was born in Missoula, MT. While a student at San Francisco State University, he won the San Francisco Stand-Up Comedy Competition. After his graduation (with a degree in communication arts), he played at numerous clubs in the Bay Area and then moved to Los Angeles in 1981 to pursue his career. A repertory...

David Feherty

David Feherty was born in the seaside town of Bangor in Northern Ireland. He grew up with aspirations to become an opera singer, until he discovered he had the knack for hitting a golf ball. He jokes about his career change, "I was always interested in music from a very early age. But when I turned pro at age 17, I haven't sung a note since. Now, I only sing to punish my children."

David Javerbaum

David Javerbaum was the Executive Producer of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Comedy Central's Emmy Award-winning mock newscast which, according to a Pew Research Center poll, is a primary news source for over 20 percent of 18-to-29-year-olds.

David Steinberg

Emmy award winning director, writer, producer, actor and comedian David Steinberg has been called "a cross between Woody Allen and Lenny Bruce" by The New York Times and "a credit to his people, actually to all people" by Robin Williams. He has worked in movies and television and on Broadway, and has launched the careers of many successful comedians. Now in his fifth decade as a major...

Ed Helms

Ed Helms was born and raised in Atlanta. After attending Oberlin College in scenic Ohio, he headed for New York City to pursue comedy. For years, Helms worked in the comedy trenches as a stand-up comedian which led to regular spots at NYC's top comedy clubs. His television credits include Comedy Central’s Premium Blend, numerous national voice-overs and a 2002 Super Bowl Budweiser...

Eve Ensler

EVE ENSLER, playwright, performer, and activist, is the author of THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES, translated into over 45 languages and performed in over 130 countries, including sold-out runs at both Off-Broadway's Westside Theater and on London's West End (2002 Olivier Award nomination, Best Entertainment.) Her experience performing THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES inspired her to create V-Day, a global movement...

Frank Caliendo

Born at the age of three in northern Illinois, Frank was already ahead of his time. Even on the day of his birth, Frank's two younger brothers knew something was funny.

George Lopez

Time Magazine has called him one of “The 25 Most Influential Hispanics In America;” a Gallup Poll recently named him one of America’s top-ten television personalities. In 2004 Harvard University presented him with their Artist of the Year and Humanitarian Award. His own charity, The George & Ann Lopez-Richie Alarcon CARE Foundation, provides significant community and arts resources for...

Greg Schwem

Chicago Magazine call Greg Schwem “America’s favorite corporate funnyman.” The Chicago Tribune proclaimed Greg “king of the hill” in the growing world of corporate comedy. Indeed, Greg’s client list included such corporate heavyweights as McDonald’s, Microsoft, Motorola, IBM, Verizon Wireless, United Airlines and Cisco Systems. If your company or association wants to laugh at today’s fast-paced...

Hollis Gillespie

Writer and former flight attendant Hollis Gillespie is a syndicated columnist and top-selling author. Her column "Moodswing" appears in the alternative weekly Creative Loafing. She is the travel columnist at Paste Magazine and writes a humorous financial column for BeE WOMAN magazine. Hollis has appeared on the cover of numerous publications including Atlanta magazine, Creative Loafing...

Jim Gaffigan

Jim Gaffigan has proven himself a major talent beloved to a wide range of audiences after achieving milestones in stand-up, acting and writing. As approachable as he is edgy, Jim is responsible for some of the funniest and most memorable moments in recent television (primetime, cable and the late-night circuit) and film.

Jim Morris

Like no other political satirist Jim Morris brings the real West Wing to comedic life recreating our political scene Washington D.C. and the Beltway, caricaturing our nation's leaders utilizing his uncanny ability to vocally and physically impersonate the newsmakers with flair, wit and intelligence, creating a hilarious living political cartoon.

Jimmy  Fallon

Long a renowned comic talent, Jimmy Fallon's ability to deliver versatile, standout performances on the screen has allowed him to join the exclusive ranks as one of the "Saturday Night Live" alumni at the forefront of a diverse line-up of television and film projects - while always staying grounded in his standup roots. Most recently, NBC named Fallon as the replacement for Conan O'Brien...

John Cleese

John Cleese is both a versatile comedic actor and a leading business motivator. With the legendary Monty Python's Flying Circus, Fawlty Towers and A Fish Called Wanda, he created a unique comedic style that has inspired countless writers and comedians. John Cleese's influence is also felt in the corporate world as the founder of Video Arts, the world's largest provider of business training...

John Leguizamo

A multi-faceted performer and Emmy Award winner, John Leguizamo has established a career that defies categorization. With boundless energy and creativity, his work in film, theatre, television, and literature covers a variety of genres, continually threatening to create a few of its own.

John Oliver

John Oliver was born and raised in England, Great Britain, in the Year of Punk 1977. His passport lists his occupation as "comedian" and as we all know, passports never lie. He has worked as a stand-up comedian around the UK entertaining and irritating audiences in equal measure for the last seven years, and has regularly taken shows to the Edinburgh Festival.

John Pinette

Fresh off his starring role on Broadway as Edna Turnblad in the hit musical, Hairspray, John Pinette returns to the Montreal Comedy Festival. When asked to describe his stand-up, John Pinette says, “I talk about my life, it is the funniest thing I can think of. For some reason, people enjoy seeing me lose my cherub like demeanor.”

Johnathan Katz

Author, producer, actor, comedian and musician, Jonathan Katz is one of the entertainment industry’s most original and versatile creative personalities. Katz co-created and starred in the hit animated series Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist, which, during the six seasons it aired on Comedy Central, was credited with branding that network as the home for sophisticated, smartly stupid...

Jon Lovett

After three years as a speechwriter for President Barack Obama during a dynamic and tumultuous time in our history, Jon Lovett brings a unique perspective on politics, humor, communications, and the absurd way things really work in...

Kenan Thompson

Kenan Thompson is in his fourth season on Saturday Night Live. He has made numerous contributions to the show including impressions of Bill Cosby, Rev. Al Sharpton and Star Jones, and entertained us as DJ Dynasty Handbag, the scathingly fierce co-host of Club Traxxx. A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Thompson made his television debut as a member of Nickelodeon’s all-kid sketch comedy series...

Loretta Laroche

Loretta is an international stress management and humor consultant whose wit, and irreverent humor, has, for over 30 years raised the humor potential in all of us. She is on the Mass General advisory council for anxiety and depression and was recently awarded the National Humor Treasure Award. Loretta writes a weekly newspaper column called, 'Get a Life. She is also featured as a stress...

Matt Harding

Recently named as TIME magazine’s “#1 Viral Video of 2008,” Matt Harding’s inspiring, universally appealing videos have reached over 30 Million viewers around the globe. At 26, Matt Harding quit his job as a videogame designer and spent his life savings on a trip around the world. He took a friend’s suggestion to perform his terrible dancing techniques in the various exotic settings he...

Nathan Lane

Award-winning actor, singer, and librettist, and star of such blockbusters as The Birdcage and The Producers, Nathan Lane brings his gigantic talent center stage in regaling audiences with the stories behind his spectacular Broadway and Hollywood triumphs. Nathan also enjoys imparting to fellow actors the secrets to success on stage, screen and television, as he inspires them to reach for the...

Rick Cleveland

Rick Cleveland was a writer and Executive Producer for all five seasons of HBO's award-winning Six Feet Under. In 2000, he won an Emmy Award, a Writer's Guild Award, and The Humanitas Prize for his writing on The West Wing. He was nominated for an Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America for his screen adaptation of John Grisham's Runaway Jury. His play Jerry and Tom was adapted as a...

Rick Reilly

RICK REILLY, 50, has been voted National Sportswriter of the Year 11 times. He is the new back-page columnist for ESPN The Magazine, and a featured columnist for ESPN.com, as well an essayist for ESPN SportsCenter and ABC Sports...

Rob Riggle

Rob Riggle is currently a Correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Prior to becoming a Correspondent, he was a cast member of Saturday Night Live. He has also appeared on The Office on NBC and Arrested Development on FOX. Rob has also appeared in several feature films to include Talladega Nights with Will Ferrell and Unaccompanied Minors with Lewis Black.

Roseanne Barr

After 9 years, 224 episodes, 4 Emmy awards, and countless other accolades, you couldn't blame Roseanne if she wanted to quietly slip away, able to take solace in the fact the single-handedly relandscaped the medium of situational comedy forever. Instead, Roseanne continues to remain actively involved in performance, production, charity, politics and raising a family.

Sarah Jones

Sarah Jones is a Tony Award winning playwright and performer. Her multi-character solo show Bridge & Tunnel was originally produced Off-Broadway by Oscar-winner Meryl Streep, and went on to become a critically acclaimed, long running hit on Broadway.

Sarah Silverman

Emmy winner Sarah Silverman is as versatile of a performer as they come. Her repertoire includes everything from film and television, stand-up comedy, to iconic online videos and she just added author to this list when she released her first book this spring. Silverman was most recently seen starring in the third season of “The Sarah Silverman Program,” on Comedy Central and her book, a memoir...

Seth Meyers

The New Hampshire-born Seth Meyers graduated from Northwestern University and soon joined the improv/sketch comedy group Boom Chicago, which performed in Chicago, London, Amsterdam, Edinburgh and Singapore. Meyers also performed with Chicago's Improv Olympic, which has been used as a springboard by many other SNL cast members and writers.

Sherri Shepherd

Whether on stage or screen, Emmy® award-winning talk show host, comedienne/actress Sherri Shepherd never fails to delight audiences with her magnetic personality and hilarious sense of humor, which is showcased in her position as co-host of ABC’s The View. Sherri will star and executive produce her new Lifetime series, SHERRI. The show is loosely based on her life and stand-up comedy, and...

Spike Feresten

Spike Feresten was raised in West Bridgewater, MA, where he attended public school and got his first job as a bag boy at the local supermarket. With a dream to be the next Jimi Hendrix, Feresten attended Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Stephen Colbert

Stephen Colbert stars in and executive produces the hit latenight series on Comedy Central, The Colbert Report. Touted by the New York Times as “one of the best television shows of the year” and praised as “a must watch show” by Entertainment Weekly, The Colbert Report has already garnered ratings and critical success as one of the top new entries on the television landscape.

Steve Bodow

Steve Bodow is Head Writer for the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, the acclaimed Comedy Central news parody. Since joining TDS in 2002, Steve has won four Emmys, two Television Critics Awards, and a Peabody. He was also a writer for the Daily Show's #1 best-selling America: The Book. As a journalist, Steve has written both humor and "straight" pieces on politics, media, business and culture...

Steven Wright

Academy Award Winner Steven Wright is a prototype comedian that many others continually try to follow. One of four children, Wright was raised in Burlington, MA. Upon graduating from Emerson College and holding a bevy of odd jobs, Steven attended an “open mike” audition and became a regular performer at Ding Ho’s Comedy Club and Chinese Restaurant in Cambridge, MA.

Tommy Chong

Beloved stoner comedian Tommy Chong is now older, wiser, and officially an EX-CON! On the morning of February 24, 2003, agents of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration launched a sting called Operation Pipe Dreams and forced themselves through the door of Tommy's California home, with automatic weapons drawn. As a result of the raid on his home; the simultaneous ransacking of his son's...