Brad Upton

Official Website: http://www.bradupton.com/

Kevin Meaney

Date of Birth: 4/23/1947
Official Website: http://www.kevinmeaney.com/

Gina Yashere

Real Name: Gina Obedapo Yashere
Date of Birth: 4/6/1974
Official Website: http://ginayashere.com/

Tony Deyo

Official Website: http://tonydeyo.com/

Wayne Cotter

Official Website: http://www.waynecotter.com/

Andrew Norelli

Official Website: http://andrewnorelli.webs.com/

Freddie James Prinze

Date of Birth: 6/22/1954
Real Name: Frederick Karl Pruetzel

Nick Kroll

Real Name: Nicholas J. Kroll
Date of Birth: 6/5/1978
Official Website: http://www.nickkroll.com/

Gregg Rogell

Date of Birth: 2/18/1967
Official Website: https://twitter.com/Greggrogell

Nate Bargatze

Official Website: http://www.natebargatze.com/

Ross Bennett

Official Website: http://rossbennett.com/

Tom Dreesen

Date of Birth: 9/11/1942
Official Website: http://tomdreesen.com/

Melissa Villasenor

Official Website: http://melissavillasenor.virb.com/

Dennis Regan

Official Website: http://www.dennisregan.com/

Maryellen Hopper

Official Website: http://www.maryellenhooper.com/

                                 

Standup comedy while being very entertaining for the onlooker is equally tough for the presenter. But some like veteran Maryellen Hooper make it look like a piece of cake. An ace standup comedian, Maryellen Hooper, has performed everywhere from clubs, to colleges to theaters to television. In 1998 she broke all records when American Comedy Awards recognized her outstanding contribution to stand up comedy and presented her the 'Female Comedian of the Year Award'. Having appeared on several shows like ' The Dennis Miller Show', 'The Tonight Show' with Jay Leno, 'The Martin Short Show' and she had her own special half hour show on Comedy Central, known as 'Lounge Lizards'.

A storyteller of par excellence, she very smoothly weaves her life's stories into her act without ever making it sound crude or offensive. Her act is draws from her own life and is greatly influenced by her journey as a woman, wife and mother. She often claims that this way is certainly cheaper than therapy! Having adopted not one but two kids, Nate and Zeke, a lot of her stories revolve around her family and kids and her journey with them. She often says that she does not have to write, but just has to report instead. Every time she wants to come up with a new story all she has to do is watch her kids for ten minutes and they are sure to do something extremely hilarious.                 

Maryellen Hooper's act of adopting kids did not come as a surprise to many. She has been someone who has always been in favor of adoption. In one of her very famous quotes she says that if you really wanted to see some angry mothers you could take your six week old to the park in a jogging stroller, wearing a size six miniskirt. She has always stood in favor of adoption more than conceiving. She says that she had seen the video of giving birth and you have to be holding a grudge and she wouldn't even want to conceive with no drugs! Both her children Nate and Zeke, though born of different mothers, were born in Las Vegas, while she had been working as a comic there. Each time, she got to know about a child who was about to be born, from friends and acquaintances, she would put up an application for adoption.

Though she always favored adoption, she never tried to severe the children's ties with their birth mothers. Infact, both the times, she adopted a child, she was present in the delivery room, when the child was delivered. Now she happily lives with her husband mark, and her two sons, in Celebration, Florida, and weaves most of her stories around them. Even her famous blog called 'Stinky flowers' is a euphemism for Motherhood. Many a times, in her stand up act she includes a small anecdote about why perfectly fertile couples would choose to adopt, rather than bear children of their own.

With Maryellen Hooper, having adopted her two sons, and very proudly so, many others have followed suit. At best she is not only a standup comedian who loves her job of entertaining people but is also an ideal mother to her two sons who draws inspiration for her job from them.

 

Leo Gallagher

Real Name: Leo Anthony Gallagher, Jr.
Date of Birth: 7/24/1946
Official Website: http://gallaghersmash.com/










The Props Master
Being born in North Carolina and growing up in the south of Florida, Leo Gallagher, a graduate of the University of South Florida, knew early on that some day he would work as a comedian and musician. In fact, directly after college, Gallagher and his close friend decided to take a trip to Southern California where he began performing in improving his comedic skills at places such as the Ice House and The Comedy Store. Here you will discover more about Leo Gallagher as well as where it began, his infamous Sledge-O-Matic routine, and why he had to ultimately make the decision to retire from his comedic career.

The Younger Days
After leaving college the trip to California wasn't taken very lightly. In fact, Leo Gallagher didn't know exactly how he would support himself and decided that he should take to the stage and begin honing his skills as that entertaining comedian he knew he was. Soon after, Gallagher got his break on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. However, there were a lot of people that didn't really understand the combination of prop acts and comedy. Most people were used to comedians that provided standup comedy such as acts that were provided by George Carlin, Bill Cosby, and other talented comedians of the time.

Early Comedic Career
As time moved forward, Leo Gallagher found his act to become extremely popular among the masses. This is especially true when he performed a unique routine that he termed the Sledge-O-Matic. This was a routine that has been trademarked is something that has been created and performed only by Gallagher. Smashing watermelons could only be extremely funny when the person doing it was named Leo Gallagher. However, during the mid-1980's this wasn't always the case. In fact his brother Ron Gallagher at one point tried to ask for permission to use this trademark routine for his own purpose. After a short time, Leo Gallagher decided that allowing his brother to utilize his routine wasn't the best idea.





Comedy Style
So, who would want to go see a funny guy holding a large wooden mallet smashing watermelons? Everyone would. If you've ever had a chance to experience any of Leo Gallagher's comedy shows, you would have truly left the event with pain in your stomach from laughing for so long. From smashing watermelons to a large trampoline that was constructed to look like a large couch, Gallagher's physical comedy style was totally unique and extremely different. However, in addition to the props he used during his comedic acts, his comedy lines were extremely short and to the point. He typically played with words pointing out the inconsistencies and eccentricities that were found throughout the English language.

Retirement
After having one of the most challenging and rewarding comedic careers, Leo Gallagher finally had to announce his retirement in 2012. After 32 years of providing top-quality entertainment, the 65-year-old comedic entertainer decided he's had enough. After suffering a series of heart attacks on and off stage, Gallagher finally decided it was time to give up the wooden sledgehammer and take care of his health.
If anyone has ever had the opportunity to experience a comedy show that included Leo Gallagher, you'll know that he will truly be missed when it comes to prop comedy using the Sledge-O-Matic. He has definitely brought something totally different and unique to the comedy stage and he will be remembered for providing entertainment that was unlike anything people considered normal. This is one of the reasons many individuals will associate the name Gallagher, with smashing watermelons and extreme comedy.

Tim Lee

Date of Birth: 1977
Official Website: http://www.youtubecomedian.com

Jeff Stilson

Date of Birth: 1959

Don McMillan

Official Website: http://www.technicallyfunny.com/













The Man Who Makes Technology Funny
If you've been looking for a laugh when it comes to the technology industry, Don McMillanDon McMillanDon McMillan is the man who has changed the way people think about power point presentations and office cubicles. You won't find a funnier comedian when it comes to computer chips and laboratories. McMillan has been in the electronics industry since 1982 when he obtained his Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. McMillan was part of the original team at Bell laboratories that designed and developed the first 32-bit Microprocessor.

Although working with Bell laboratories was promising, McMillan decided to take a position at VLSI Technology in Silicon Valley, California. There he would continue to work for several years working on ASIC designs, which in fact many are still in use today. All the while Don McMillan was working, he began to notice different things here and there about people and how they worked. He began to see that there is a lot of humor in people, but there is even more humor in the technological creations people have built.

With this in mind, McMillan began to test his theory on friends and family, and before long his comedic talent became obvious. In 1991 McMillan enrolled in the then 16th annual San Francisco Stand-Up Comedy Competition, and proved to himself and others he surely has what it takes. In 1993 he proved it on nationwide television by winning the $100,000 grand prize on Star Search. Since that day there was absolutely no turning back, and as a result he has gone on to appear on many different television programs, and guest appear on a variety of television shows.





Don McMillan has been able to take something that is used every day by millions of people around the world and turn it into something that is truly funny. His comedic talent is completely in sync with everything he does on stage. His timing with the crowd is simply phenomenal, and this is proven each and every time he's performing. He is able to communicate with people by using everyday analogies that people can relate to. Many people relate to the experiences that McMillan makes fun of, but in a humorous and relaxing way.

If you watch closely, you will even see Don McMillan on TV commercials such as United Airlines, Budweiser Beer, and Franco-American Ravioli to name a few. He has starred in a variety of different movies as well which only proves that he totally has what it takes. There are a lot of great things ahead for Don and if you stay tuned you might find out more. If there is one thing for sure, no one probably ever thought it was possible to make fun of power point presentations. But this wasn't true for Don McMillan, because not only was he able to make a stand-up skit about power point presentations, he also made it interesting, engaging, and funnier than anything you could have ever imagined.

Stewart Francis

Official Website: http://www.stewartfrancis.com/