Dave Mordal (pronounced like "more doll") is a comedian from Elk River, Minnesota. [1] [2] [3]
He was a contestant on the first and third seasons of NBC's Last Comic Standing where, as per the Arizona Daily Star , he came to be "best known for his sarcastic humor as a battling comedian". [2] In a July 2003 People report, Mordal shared his views about the show: "“Ten comics living in a house together. [...] It’s just going to be a matter of time before either everybody gets used to it or somebody snaps and kills somebody." [4]
He was fourth eliminated in the first season after losing in a head-to-head competition to Dat Phan, the eventual winner of Last Comic Standing season 1. He was first runner-up in the third season. On the show he was known for his great friendship with Rich Vos, with whom he was seen taking baths and ironing. Also notable was the "infamous" rat hunt where Dave caught a rat.
He also has made guest appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno [5] and was in the 1999 movie Los Enchiladas as the bread delivery guy.
Mordal was the host of Wreckreation Nation , which first aired January 2009 on the Discovery Channel. [6] A February 2009 New York Times report called Mordal "the intrepid star of "Wreckreation Nation,”..." additionally quoting a Nielsen report that said that the show had garnered an average viewership of 1.3 million. [7]
While largely retired from his stand-up comedy career, he currently appears on-air weekdays as a personality on the morning-drive "The KQ Morning Show," on Minneapolis/St. Paul's KQRS-FM 92.5.
David Michael Letterman is an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He hosted late-night television talk shows for 33 years, beginning with the February 1, 1982, debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC and ending with the May 20, 2015, broadcast of Late Show with David Letterman on CBS. In total, Letterman hosted 6,080 episodes of Late Night and Late Show, surpassing his friend and mentor Johnny Carson as the longest-serving late-night talk show host in American television history.
James Douglas Muir Leno is an American television host, comedian, and writer. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's The Tonight Show from 1992 until 2009 when Conan O'Brien took over as host. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ET, also on NBC. O'Brien turned down NBC's offer to have Leno host a half hour monologue show before The Tonight Show to boost ratings amid reported viewership diminishing, which sparked the 2010 Tonight Show conflict that resulted in Leno returning to hosting the show on March 1, 2010. He hosted his last episode of his second tenure on February 6, 2014. That year, he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. From 2014 to 2022, he hosted Jay Leno's Garage, and from 2021 to 2023, hosted the revival of You Bet Your Life.
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Donald Jay Rickles was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He became known primarily for his insult comedy. His film roles include Run Silent, Run Deep (1958), Enter Laughing (1967), Kelly's Heroes (1970), and Casino (1995). From 1976 to 1978, Rickles had a two-season starring role in the NBC television sitcom C.P.O. Sharkey, having previously starred in two eponymous half-hour programs, an ABC variety show titled The Don Rickles Show (1968) and a CBS sitcom identically titled The Don Rickles Show (1972).
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010, and ended on February 6, 2014.
Last Comic Standing is an American reality television talent competition show on NBC that aired from June 1, 2003, to August 9, 2010, and again in 2014 and 2015. Each season a comedian from an initially large group of hopefuls was picked as a winner. For the first seven seasons, the winner received a cash prize and a television special; for season eight in 2014, the winner won a cash prize, a talent deal with NBC, and a half-hour scripted project developed by Universal Television.
Dat Phan is a Vietnamese-American stand-up comedian. He first rose to fame in 2003 after defeating runner-up Ralphie May to win Season 1 of Last Comic Standing.
Gary Lewis Weston Gulman is an American stand-up comedian. He was a finalist on the NBC reality-talent show Last Comic Standing in its second and third seasons. He released his first CD, Conversations With Inanimate Objects in 2005, and his first television special Gary Gulman: Boyish Man the following year. Since then, he has released two other comedy albums and three other comedy specials, including 2019's The Great Depresh on HBO.
Rich Vos is an American stand-up comedian, writer and actor. Since 2011, he has been the co-host of the podcast My Wife Hates Me with his wife, comedian Bonnie McFarlane.
Regina Obedapo Iyashere is a British comedian, actress and writer who has made numerous appearances on British and American television. She co-created the sitcom Bob Hearts Abishola, on which she plays a supporting role.
Ralph Duren May was an American stand-up comedian and actor, known for his extensive touring and comedy specials on multiple media platforms.
The Jay Leno Show is an American prime time talk show hosted by Jay Leno that was broadcast by NBC from September 14, 2009 to February 9, 2010. The series was a spiritual successor to his previous late-night talk show The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and used a similar format consisting of a comedic monologue, followed by celebrity interviews and other comedy segments.
Kira Soltanovich is an American comedian, writer, and actress.
Rocky LaPorte is an American actor and a stand-up comedy performer. In 2005 he had his own stand-up special on Comedy Central Presents. After the comedian Tim Allen watched Rocky on The Tonight Show, he claimed Rocky as his "favorite new comic" and brought him on to play in his movie The Shaggy Dog. Rocky visited Iraq with Drew Carey, and the trip became a movie called Patriot Act: a Jeffrey Ross Home Movie, which aired on Showtime. He was also one of the few comedians to get a standing ovation on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show that featured Conan O'Brien as host from June 1, 2009, to January 22, 2010, as part of NBC's Tonight Show franchise. O'Brien had previously hosted NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien, which followed The Tonight Show with Jay Leno for 16 years, until his brief succession after Leno.
Wreckreation Nation is a travel/reality television show on the Discovery Channel, highlighting unusual recreational activities and amateur competitions across the United States. It is hosted by Dave Mordal.
Jimmy Brogan, sometimes credited as Jim Brogan, is an American stand-up comedian, writer and actor. He has made numerous stand-up appearances on the talk show circuit including The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and Late Night with David Letterman. He was a writer on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno for 9 years. As an actor, he starred in the ABC sitcom Out of the Blue.
The 2010 Tonight Show conflict was a media and public relations conflict involving the American television network NBC and two of its late-night talk show hosts, Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno, over the timeslot and hosting duties of the long-running franchise The Tonight Show.
"Khonani" is the eighteenth episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 76th overall episode of the series. It was written by co-producer Vali Chandrasekaran and directed by Beth McCarthy Miller. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on April 22, 2010, following shortly after the episode "Lee Marvin vs. Derek Jeter" on the same night. Guest stars in this episode include Kapil Bawa and Subhas Ramsaywack.
Dwayne Perkins is an American stand-up comedian from Brooklyn, New York, currently residing in Los Angeles. He has made appearances on Conan, Comedy Central, and as a regular correspondent on The Jay Leno Show. In August 2012, he was selected by Rolling Stone magazine as one of their "Five Comics to Watch". In October 2015, he was the artist-in-residence at the Rotterdam International Comedy Festival.