Christopher Paul Anthony Distefano (born August 26, 1984)[1] is an American comedian. Primarily a stand-up comedian, he began his career in entertainment on MTV and MTV2's shows Guy Code and Girl Code. His first hour-long standup special, Chris Distefano: Size 38 Waist, was released in 2019 by Comedy Central. His second special, Speshy Weshy, premiered on Netflix in May 2022. Distefano co-hosts Hey Babe! podcast with Sal Vulcano from Impractical Jokers and hosts a podcast, Chrissy Chaos.
Distefano, who is of mostly German descent[2] (he has some Italian and Irish ancestry),[3][4] grew up in the Ridgewood neighborhood of Queens and attended Archbishop Molloy High School in the Briarwood area of Queens .[5][6] He went to St. Joseph's College where he played basketball and studied psychology; he graduated in 2006. Distefano was recruited to play for St. Joseph's College Brooklyn's D-III basketball team in 2002. He was the team's lead scorer, and was inducted into the college's Hall of Fame in 2018.[7]
Distefano earned a doctorate in physical therapy from New York Institute of Technology in Manhattan, New York in 2010.[8] He was a pediatric physical therapist until 2013 when he began pursuing his career in comedy full-time.[9]
Career
Distefano signs the Beacon Theatre's famous elevator before performing a sold-out show on February 5, 2022
Distefano began performing stand-up in August 2009.[4][9] He hosted the 2010 Fencing Masters on the SNY network and Elite 8 of the 2011 and 2012 March Madness comedy competitions at the comedy club Carolines on Broadway. He headlined Carolines Breakout Artist Series and was selected as a finalist in the 2011 NY Comedy Festival. He also performed standup at venues including New York Comedy Club, Comedy Cellar, Gotham Comedy Club, Broadway Comedy Club, and the Laugh Lounge.[10]
After appearing on Late Night with Seth Meyers,[13] Distefano began his first national U.S. tour in September 2015 with Monster Energy Outbreak Presents. He co-starred in the 2015 IFC series Benders with Andrew Schulz.[14] He was one of two announcers on Season 2 of Netflix's Ultimate Beastmaster, which debuted on the streaming service on December 15, 2017.
Distefano was in seven television pilots which did not get picked up, including a CBS-produced show based on his own life called Distefano.[9] He co-starred in the web series Bay Ridge Boys alongside fellow comic Yannis Pappas, with whom he co-hosted the weekly history podcast History Hyenas, which was launched in February 2018.[11] Distefano regularly performs and tours globally. In January 2019, his first hour standup special Chris Distefano: Size 38 Waist premiered on Comedy Central, which included a personal welcome on stage by Chazz Palminteri. The special was part of a deal he made with Comedy Central in December 2018, which included the series Stupid Questions with Chris Distefano, and at least two series in development.[15] That also included his weekly podcast Stand-Up with Chris Distefano, launched in April 2019.[16]
In February 2022, Distefano sold out his first performance at Beacon Theatre in Manhattan.[17] He then sold out his first two shows at the Gramercy Theatre a month later, during the shows he recorded his second special, Speshy Weshy.[18]
Distefano, an avid sports fan, has hosted episodes of shows including MLB's Off The Bat and MSG's The Brackets. He was invited by the New York Mets to throw the first game pitch in 2021,[19] and he set off the Vegas Golden Knights' pre-game siren alongside friend and fellow comedian Andrew Santino in March 2022. In early April, Distefano was featured on The Pat McAfee Show, hosted by Pat McAfee.[20]
Personal life
Distefano dated comedian Carly Aquilino from 2010 to 2014.[21] Distefano has three children with Jasmin Canuelas, whom he has been dating since 2015.[22][23] They live on Staten Island.[24]
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