Comedy
In 1984, Upton performed for the first time at an open-mic at the Comedy Underground in Seattle. [6] After seeing his performance, comedy promoter Laura Crocker invited him to compete in the Seattle International Comedy Competition. [6] Although he did not win the competition, he quit working as a schoolteacher two years later to pursue comedy full time. [6]
Over the course of his career, Upton has performed over 6,000 shows worldwide. [6] He is a previous winner of the Las Vegas Comedy Festival. [7] [1] He was an opening comedian for Johnny Mathis from 2008 until Mathis' retirement from touring in 2025. [7] [8] [9] He has also opened for the late comedian Joan Rivers. [10] [11] [12] Upton has been seen in concert with Smokey Robinson, Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, Glen Campbell, and Pam Tillis. [5] [10] Upton has also performed at the MGM in Macau, in Israel in 2014 as part of the Comedy for Koby Mandell Foundation benefit. [12] [13]
In June 2018, a video clip of Upton's stand-up produced by Dry Bar Comedy was posted online. It became a viral video and reached 36 million views in ten days. [14] He made his Grand Ole Opry debut in 2019. [5]
Upton performed on an episode of the CBS talk show The Talk, which aired on May 17, 2024. [15] He also performed at Caesar's Palace as part of the HBO Comedy Festival. [7] [16]
