Tony Woods (comedian)

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Tony Woods is an American comedy writer and stand-up comedian known for being a mentor to Dave Chappelle and others. [1] He was an original member of Russell Simmons' Def Comedy Jam and P. Diddy's Bad Boys of Comedy. [2]

Contents

Early life

Woods was born in New York, raised in Charlotte, North Carolina until he was seven, and moved to Washington D.C. when he was 10 years old. [3] [4] [5] His teens were spent in Silver Spring, Maryland. [3] He served in the Navy as a corpsman from 1989-1991 during Desert Storm. [3] [5] He has often said that if he hadn't been a comedian he would have been a dentist. [6]

Career

Woods did his first stand-up at the Comedy Cafe in Washington D.C. when he was 23 years old. [3] Much of his earliest comedy work was on international stages, touring Europe and the Middle East. [3] [6]

Woods is a DC-area comedian who frequently performs observational comedy in what the New York Times calls "a laid-back, meditative style, a mellow brand of cool." [1] He will frequently use wordplay and malapropisms to make points about larger issues. [1] When Dave Chappelle won the Mark Twain Prize, Woods was the first person he thanked, saying that Woods "[did] it absolutely right." [1] Woods says he does not have any particular style and his comedy doesn't have a formula. [6] He frequently will not even write down the jokes for his performances. [5]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "He Helped Make Dave Chappelle Dave Chappelle". The New York Times. 2019-10-30. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
  2. "Tony Woods from HBO's Def Comedy Jam, Comedy Central Presents & Funny or Die at Drafthouse Comedy in DC". Drafthouse Comedy. 2018-04-13. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Fraley, Jason (26 August 2020). "Tony Woods, DC comedy vet and Dave Chappelle mentor, cracks up Birchmere". WTOP. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  4. Castleberry, Tony (27 July 2018). "Comedian Tony Woods makes rare return to southeastern NC". WECT. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 Tuccio-Koonz, Linda (2020-12-02). "Chappelle mentor Tony Woods at Bridgeport's Stress Factory". Connecticut Post. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
  6. 1 2 3 "Interview with Comedian Tony Woods, FLOW Entertainment". FLOW Entertainment Group, LLC. Retrieved 2021-02-05.