Tony Sam

Last updated
Tony Sam
Tony Sam Comedy Central Stand Up.jpg
Tony Sam
Born
Chicago, Illinois
Alma mater Florida Atlantic University
Occupation(s)TV producer, stand-up comedian, author, actor
Years active2003-present

Tony Sam (also credited as A.W. Sam) [1] is an American stand-up comedian, writer, actor, and Emmy-winning television producer from Chicago, now living in Los Angeles. In 2015, LA Weekly named him one of 10 Comedy Acts To Watch. [2]

Contents

His debut comedy album, Scaredy Cat, was released on Stand Up! Records in 2014.

Early life

Sam was born and raised in Chicago. [3] He has a degree in molecular and marine biology from Florida Atlantic University. [4] [5] He worked for several years as a scientist at various jobs, including studying cranio-facial defects in developing zebrafish embryos at Chicago's Children's Memorial Hospital. [3] [6] In 2006, he co-authored a paper in the prestigious medical journal, Nature Medicine . [7]

Career

Comedy and television

Sam began performing stand-up around 2003 in Chicago, [8] and studied improv and sketch at iO Theater and The Second City Training Center. [9] He became known as an alternative-comedy scenemaker, co-founding (with Brooke Van Poppelen) Chicago Underground Comedy in 2005, a weekly rotating showcase of alternative comics designed to forefront stand-up as opposed to sketch comedy and improv. [10] [11] [12] Kumail Nanjiani was one of the original cast members. [13] Chicago's NewCity called Sam one of the city's most interesting comics in 2009, and praised ChUC as a "mainstay of alternative comedy" [14] and "one of the two best places to perform in Chicago". [15]

Several critics have praised the comic range of Sam's voice; Jake Kroeger of website The Comedy Bureau wrote that it "is so unique, drastically wandering up and down in frequency, that he makes [his] characters exceptionally hilarious and absolutely unforgettable". [16]

Sam's television credits include co-executive producer for Cooking Channel's Food: Fact or Fiction? with Michael McKean and a producer for Josh Gates Tonight , Expedition Unknown , Jay Leno's Garage , Girl Meets Farm , Storage Wars: Barry Strikes Back , Brandi & Jarrod: Married to the Job , MTV's Ridiculousness [17] and the Netflix hit home-renovation show, Instant Dream Home, [17] which in 2023 was nominated and won the Daytime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Instructional and How-To Program". [18]

Sam has also written for Smosh [9] and MTV News. [19] McKean praised Sam's work on Food: Fact or Fiction? in an interview on Andy Richter's podcast, Three Questions with Andy Richter, calling Sam "a very funny writer". [20]

As an actor, Sam has appeared on truTV's Hack My Life , Conan , [17] G4's Attack of the Show! , Food: Fact or Fiction? , and Josh Gates Tonight . [21] [22]

Sam has performed frequently at the Hollywood Improv, [9] and at festivals including the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival, [23] Bridgetown Comedy Festival, [24] [25] San Francisco Comedy & Burrito Festival, [26] Bumbershoot, SF Sketchfest, Chicago Sketch Fest, New York International Fringe Festival, and New York Underground Comedy Festival. [9]

Podcasts

Sam has hosted several podcasts, including Tony Sam's Word of the Day, a podcast about language begun in 2014. [27] [28] In 2017, he began co-hosting the podcast Legally Insane with Matt Ritter, a lawyer turned comedian. [29] [30]

He has also guested on many other podcasts, including Jackie Kashian's The Dork Forest, [3] Josh Adam Meyers' The 500, [31] Probably Science , [32] Dumb People Town and Sklarboro County with the Sklar Brothers, [33] and The Space Cave with David Huntsberger. [4] [5]

Albums

Sam's debut album, Scaredy Cat, was recorded May 24, 2014 at Acme Comedy Company in Minneapolis and released later that year on Stand Up! Records. [34] It received generally positive reviews and praise from several high-profile comics including Kyle Kinane, Michelle Buteau, The Sklar Brothers, Beth Stelling, Jason Nash, former SNL cast member, Brooks Wheelan, Brody Stevens and Eddie Pepitone. [35] Jake Krueger of the Los Angeles based review site, The Comedy Bureau, called the album one of the best of 2014, [36] saying it "strikes a great balance between a genuine silliness and unfiltered candor". [37] Ed Placencia of the website Comedy Reviews said "Sam gleefully adds a touch of fun and whimsy to each of his bits. ... Scaredy Cat wonderfully displays that he has decided to embrace the simple tactic of just having a good time." [38] Richard Lanoie of The Serious Comedy Site called it "smart". [39] Huffington Post reviewer Tony Bartolone called the album "refreshingly silly". [40] Chris Spector of Midwest Record wrote that "Sam does a fine job of being that normal guy that lives next door that suddenly, unexpectedly goes nuts." [41]

Four segments from the CD were turned into cartoons by animator Alex Clark. [42] [43] [44] [45]

Author

In 2021, under the name A.W. Sam, he published a book of poetry, Waste[LA]nd: Poems For L.A., about Los Angeles. [1] In 2022, Sam released his second collection of poetry, Toil. The book was praised by actors Jonah Ray and James Urbaniak. [46]

Discography

Books

YearTitlePublisher ISBN PagesNote
2020 WASTELAND: POEMS FOR LAGRAVEL YARD BOOKS 978-1737893806 79
2021 TOIL 978-1737893844 97
2022 THE PERPETUAL PLUMMET OF IMPERFECTION 978-1-7378938-5-1 101

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References

  1. 1 2 Sam, Tony (2021-10-04). "Waste[LA]nd: Poems For LA: Sam, A W: 9781737893806". Tony Sam. Tumblr. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  2. ↑ Seabaugh, Julie (2014-12-26). "10 Comedy Acts To Watch in 2015". LA Weekly . Los Angeles . Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  3. 1 2 3 Jackie Kashian (2014-11-25). "TDF 261 – Tony Sam". The Dork Forest (Podcast). Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  4. 1 2 David Huntsberger (November 7, 2017). "113 – Marine & Molecular Biology with Tony Sam pt. 1". The Space Cave (Podcast). Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  5. 1 2 David Huntsberger (November 14, 2017). "114 – Molecular & Marine Biology with Tony Sam pt. 2". The Space Cave (Podcast). Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  6. ↑ McQuern, Elizabeth (2006-11-02). "Inside With: Tony Sam, Comedian, Producer, Scientist". The Apiary. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  7. ↑ Topczewska, Jolanta M.; Postovit, Lynne-Marie; Margaryan, Naira V.; Sam, Anthony; Hess, Angela R.; Wheaton, William W.; Nickoloff, Brian J.; Topczewski, Jacek; Hendrix, Mary J.C. (2006-07-30). "Embryonic and tumorigenic pathways converge via Nodal signaling: role in melanoma aggressiveness". Nature Medicine . 12 (8): 925–932. doi:10.1038/nm1448. PMID   16892036. S2CID   31906174 . Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  8. ↑ Johnson, Allan (2005-04-08). "Stand up and deliver: Thriving underground scene puts the edge back in comedy". Chicago Tribune . Chicago . Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Quick Dish: TONY SAM Headlines at The Hollywood Improv". Comedy Cake. September 24, 2015. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  10. ↑ Canon, Ramsin (2010-06-01). "Chicago Underground Comedy Celebrates 5 Years, Telfer CD Release". Gapers Block . Chicago . Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  11. ↑ Ryan, Kyle (2005-09-15). "Interview: Tony Sam". The Onion A.V. Club (Chicago print edition). Vol. 41, no. 37. Chicago.
  12. ↑ Holm, Kelsey (2005-09-01). "Underground comics stand up at Jokers". The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier . Waterloo, Iowa/Cedar Falls, Iowa.
  13. ↑ Shively, Colin (2010-06-08). "Comedy group marks anniversary". The Columbia Chronicle . Chicago . Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  14. ↑ Kowarski, Ilana (2009-05-17). "Ten Rising Comics to Look For And Five Places to Go See Them…". Newcity Stage. Chicago . Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  15. ↑ Schramm, Mike (2007-05-17). "Solo System: Mike Schramm looks at the current state of stand-up comedy in Chicago". Newcity . Chicago . Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  16. ↑ Kroeger, Jake (2011-06-12). "Tony Sam-Tip of the Hat 6/11/11". The Comedy Bureau. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  17. 1 2 3 Tony Sam at IMDb
  18. ↑ "IMDB - INSTANT DREAM HOME (TV SERIES 2022-) AWARDS". IMDb . Retrieved 2023-06-04.
  19. ↑ "Author: Tony Sam". MTV News . Archived from the original on September 5, 2014. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  20. ↑ Andy Richter (2020-01-27). "Michael McKean". The Three Questions with Andy Richter (Podcast). Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  21. ↑ "HAHAJK.com Head Writer and Chicago Underground Comedy Co-Founder to Host Showcase at Just For Laughs Chicago Festival". PRWeb. 2011-05-19. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  22. ↑ Wenzel, John (2012-07-26). "Tony Sam's "Persona!" draws characters out of stand-up comics". Denver Post . Denver, Colorado . Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  23. ↑ McCarthy, Sean L. (May 19, 2011). "The Full Schedule For The 2011 TBS Just For Laughs Chicago Comedy Festival". The Comic’s Comic. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  24. ↑ Kroeger, Jake (May 23, 2016). "The 2016 Bridgetown Comedy Festival Is Happening Next Week". The Comedy Bureau. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  25. ↑ Kroeger, Jake (April 26, 2011). "The Last Day of Bridgetown". The Comedy Bureau. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  26. ↑ Kroeger, Jake (August 15, 2012). "Tickets and the Line-up for The San Francisco Comedy & Burrito Festival is Here". The Comedy Bureau. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  27. ↑ Sam, Tony. "Tony Sam's Word of The Day Podcast". Soundcloud. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  28. ↑ Kroeger, Jake (February 17, 2014). ""Learn" More Words with Tony Sam's Dictionary Word of the Day Podcast". The Comedy Bureau. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  29. ↑ "New Podcast "Legally Insane" Dives Into Crazy Legal History". PR Newswire . 2017-10-10. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  30. ↑ Ritter, Matt; Sam, Tony. "Legally Insane Podcast". Cascade Media. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  31. ↑ Josh Adam Meyers (2019-07-03). "Episode 465: Magnetic Fields' 69 Love Songs with Tony Sam". The 500 with Josh Adam Meyers (Podcast). Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  32. ↑ Matt Kirshen (June 19, 2012). "Episode 25 with Tony Sam!". Probably Science (Podcast). Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  33. ↑ The Sklar Bros. (2014-10-04). "Episode 220.5 Sklarboro County 125". Earwolf (Podcast). Earwolf. Retrieved 2014-10-04.
  34. ↑ Tony Sam, Scaredy Cat at AllMusic . Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  35. ↑ Sam, Tony (November 12, 2014). "Comedian Testimonials". Tony Sam Tumblr. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  36. ↑ Kroeger, Jake (January 2, 2015). "The 100 Best Things in Comedy We Were Witness To In No Particular Order of 2014". The Comedy Bureau. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  37. ↑ Kroeger, Jake (October 7, 2014). "Tony Sam's Scaredy Cat Out Now from Stand Up! Records". The Comedy Bureau. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  38. ↑ Placencia, Ed (2019-04-18). "Tony Sam's Scaredy Cat". Comedy Reviews. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  39. ↑ Richard Lanoie (2018-04-09). "Tony Sam – Scaredy Cat". The Serious Comedy Site. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  40. ↑ Bartolone, Tony (2014-10-28). "Tony Sam Is a Big, Fat Scaredy Cat". Huffington Post . Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  41. ↑ Chris Spector (2014-11-12). "Volume 37/Number 12". Midwest Record. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  42. ↑ Tony Sam (comedian), Alex Clark (animator) (2020-10-28). Tony Sam: Haunted House (cartoon). Stand Up! Records . Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  43. ↑ Tony Sam (comedian), Alex Clark (animator) (2020-09-16). Tony Sam: Beard Jokes (cartoon). Stand Up! Records . Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  44. ↑ Tony Sam (comedian), Alex Clark (animator) (2020-09-30). Tony Sam: Death Jokes (cartoon). Stand Up! Records . Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  45. ↑ Tony Sam (comedian), Alex Clark (animator) (2020-09-30). Tony Sam: Lost Dog Poster (cartoon). Tony Sam. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  46. ↑ Sam, Tony (2022-02-01). "I'm proud to announce the release of my newest..." Tony Sam. Tumblr. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
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