Rich Vos

Last updated
Rich Vos
Rich Vos.jpg
Vos in 2007
BornJune 30th, 1957 (66 Years Old)
Plainfield, New Jersey
Medium Stand-up, television, radio
Years active1984–present
Genres Observational comedy, black comedy, cringe comedy
Spouse Bonnie McFarlane (m. 2005)
Children3
Website richvos.com

Rich Vos (born 1957) is a 67 year old 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. [1]

Contents

Early life

Vos was raised in a Jewish family who lived in an "all black neighborhood" in New Jersey. [2] [3] Vos's parents divorced when he was young and he did not graduate from high school. [4] He became a fan of stand-up comedy from watching television as a child and cites acts featured on The Ed Sullivan Show as a big influence. [5]

Career

Vos on stage during Opie and Anthony's Traveling Virus Comedy Tour in 2006 Rich Vos Traveling Virus Worcester 2006.jpg
Vos on stage during Opie and Anthony's Traveling Virus Comedy Tour in 2006

Vos began his stand-up career in 1984, choosing to pursue it full-time as he "failed at everything else", [2] and developed his act in local clubs. [4] In 1995, Vos became the first white comic to perform a set on Def Comedy Jam on HBO, a show usually featuring African American comedians. [4] [2] In July 1999, Vos hosted at the Woodstock '99 festival, later calling it a highlight of his career. [6] In 2000, Vos received the Bistro Award for Outstanding Achievement as Comedy Performer. [7] In 2001, Vos played the bouncer and wrote and performed skits on the British television show The People vs. Jerry Sadowitz .

In 2001, Vos released his first stand-up comedy album, I'm Killing Here. This was followed by the DVD Vos in 2004, consisting of an unedited, 55-minute performance recorded at the Stress Factory in New Jersey. He went on to produce two half-hour specials on Comedy Central Presents .[ citation needed ]

From 2002 to 2004, Vos was a frequent guest on Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn on Comedy Central. He picked the show as one of his favorites to do as he lived close to its filming location and by the fact that he could do it with his best friends. [2] In 2003, Vos finished third on the first season of Last Comic Standing on NBC. During this time he was given the nickname "The Don" by Cory Kahaney "because of my rough and tough demeanor ... maybe it was more because I was the most experienced comic". [2] At the end of the season, Vos toured with Kahaney and Dave Mordal for eight months. [2] In 2004, Vos was a finalist in its third season.

Vos was a frequent guest on the Opie and Anthony radio show, [8] [4] with jokes centered at his expense, most often highlighting his speech impediment or lack of intellect. In 2002, he was responsible for having fellow comedian Patrice O'Neal come on the show, who also became a popular regular guest. When the show aired on SiriusXM Radio, Vos hosted a Saturday night program with his wife Bonnie McFarlane. He hosted the 2006 and 2007 editions of the Opie and Anthony's Traveling Virus Comedy Tour. [4]

Between 2006 and 2008, Vos prepared three pilot episodes for a comedy series alongside McFarlane, but neither were picked up by a network. [4] [9]

He was featured in a segment of the television show, What Would You Do? .

In November 2011, Vos and McFarlane started their own podcast, My Wife Hates Me. [10] [11]

In 2016, Vos released his fifth comedy album V, of which its material took between one year and a half and two years to develop. It charted at number one on the iTunes and Billboard release charts. [11]

Personal life

After struggling with crack cocaine and alcohol addiction throughout his 20s, Vos completed a one-month rehabilitation course in 1987, three years into his comedy career. He has been clean since. [4] [8]

Vos has married twice; he and his first wife have two daughters, Jessica and Ellen. [7] [6] [2] In September 2005, Vos married comedian Bonnie McFarlane. Their daughter Rayna was born in 2007. [4] Vos lives in Hillsborough Township, New Jersey to be closer to his children. [12]

Stand-Up Releases

Related Research Articles

<i>Last Comic Standing</i> American reality television talent show

Last Comic Standing is an American reality television talent competition show on NBC that aired from June 1, 2003, to August 9, 2010, then again in 2014 and 2015. The goal of the program was to select a comedian from an initially large group of hopefuls. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Norton (comedian)</span> American comedian, radio personality, actor, author, and podcast host (born 1968)

James Joseph Norton is an American comedian, radio personality, actor, author, and television and podcast host. Norton has been the co-host of the podcast UFC Unfiltered with Matt Serra and the morning radio show Jim Norton & Sam Roberts on SiriusXM Radio since 2016, and The Chip Chipperson Podacast since 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Di Paolo</span> American comedian, writer, actor and radio personality

Nicholas Rocco Di Paolo is an American stand-up comedian, writer, actor, radio personality and podcast host. He is the host of The Nick Di Paolo Show podcast, and is best known for his appearances as a regular on Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, the Comedy Central Roasts, Opie and Anthony, and The Howard Stern Show, as well as recurring roles on Louie and Horace and Pete.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greg Giraldo</span> American comedian (1965–2010)

Gregory Carlos Giraldo was an American stand-up comedian, television personality, and lawyer. He is remembered for his appearances on Comedy Central's televised roast specials, and for his work on that network's television shows Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, Lewis Black's Root of All Evil, and the programming block Stand-Up Nation, the last of which he hosted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Kelly (comedian)</span> American comedian and actor

Robert Kelly is an American stand-up comedian, actor, radio personality, and podcast host.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faction Talk</span> Radio station

Faction Talk is a subscription-based channel on the satellite radio service Sirius XM Radio. The channel first aired on XM on August 6, 2004, as xL High Voltage in preparation for the launch of the American radio show Opie and Anthony several months later, and required subscribers to purchase the channel as a premium, until 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gabriel Iglesias</span> American comedian (born 1976)

Gabriel Jesús Iglesias is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He has produced a number of stand-up specials for television outlets such as Comedy Central and Netflix, including I'm Not Fat… I'm Fluffy and Hot & Fluffy. As an actor, he has appeared in numerous live-action and animated TV shows and films, including starring in the sitcom Mr. Iglesias on Netflix, playing Tobias in the 2012 movie Magic Mike and its 2015 sequel, and providing the voice of Speedy Gonzales in Space Jam: A New Legacy. He was also the host of the shows Stand Up Revolution on Comedy Central and Fluffy's Food Adventures on Fuse.

<i>Opie and Anthony</i> American radio show

Opie and Anthony was an American radio show hosted by Gregg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia that aired from March 1995 to July 2014, with comedian Jim Norton serving as third mic from 2001. The show originated in 1994 when Cumia took part in a song parody contest on Hughes' nighttime show on WBAB on Long Island, New York. After subsequent appearances, Cumia decided to pursue a radio career and teamed with Hughes to host their own show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ralphie May</span> American comedian (1972–2017)

Ralph Duren May was an American stand-up comedian and actor, known for his extensive touring and comedy specials on multiple media platforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrice O'Neal</span> American comedian and actor (1969–2011)

Patrice Lumumba Malcolm O'Neal was an American comedian and actor. He was known for his stand-up comedy career and his regular guest appearances on the talk show Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn and the radio show Opie and Anthony.

Opie and Anthony's Traveling Virus was a stand-up comedy tour hosted by American radio personalities Gregg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia that featured a roster of comedians from their radio show, Opie and Anthony. There were three editions of the tour between 2006 and 2008; the first consisted of 4 dates, the second had 8 dates, and the third consisted of a single show.

Joke theft is the act of performing and taking credit for comic material written or performed by another person without their consent and without acknowledging the other person's authorship. This may be a form of plagiarism and can, in some cases, be copyright infringement. A comic who is known to steal jokes may be labelled with the epithet "hack" by other comics. A "hack comic" uses material that is unoriginal or which is blatantly copied from its original author.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Jefferies</span> Australian stand-up comedian, actor and writer

Geoff James Nugent, known professionally as Jim Jefferies, is an Australian comedian, actor, and writer who holds dual Australian and American citizenship. He created and starred in the American FX sitcom Legit (2013–2014) and the Comedy Central late-night show The Jim Jefferies Show (2017–2019).

Mike DeStefano was an American stand-up comedian. He used material from his heroin addiction, which began at age 15, and his recovery in brutally honest, profanity-laced routines. He was also a drug counselor to others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonnie McFarlane</span> Canadian-American comedian and writer

Bonnie McFarlane is a Canadian comedian and writer. She is best known for appearing on the second season of the TV reality show Last Comic Standing and for co-hosting the podcast My Wife Hates Me with her husband Rich Vos.

Vincent S. Brand III is an American stand-up comedian from Middletown, NJ. He is best known for being the owner of The Stress Factory Comedy Clubs located in New Brunswick, NJ and Bridgeport, CT. Brand has also made television and radio appearances on shows, such as Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, Last Comic Standing, The Rosie O'Donnell Show, The Opie and Anthony Show, NickMom, Night Out, and Restaurant Stakeout.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Epps</span> American actor and comedian

Michael Elliot Epps is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He played Day-Day Jones in Next Friday and its sequel, Friday After Next, and also appeared in The Hangover and The Hangover Part III as "Black Doug". He was the voice of main character Boog in Open Season 2, replacing Martin Lawrence, with whom he starred in the comedy Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins, playing "Reggie", cousin of Roscoe. He played Lloyd Jefferson "L.J." Wayne in the films Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) and Resident Evil: Extinction (2007). He has had starring roles in the sitcoms Uncle Buck and The Upshaws.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dwayne Perkins</span> American standup comedian

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe List</span> American comedian and actor

Joseph Albert List is an American comedian and actor.

Mike Bocchetti is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer from Staten Island, New York. He is most notable for his role as the announcer on The Artie Lange Show from 2012 to 2014, and has acted frequently on film and television.

References

  1. Zaino III, Nick A. (September 5, 2008). "Rich Vos is still standing". The Boston Globe . The New York Times Company . Retrieved February 15, 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Interview with Rich Vos of Last Comic Standing – Reality Shack". Realityshack. September 11, 2004. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
  3. "Marco Island Sun Times". Marco Island Sun Times. Retrieved January 26, 2016.[ permanent dead link ]
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Zaino III, Nick A. (September 5, 2008). "Rich Vos is still standing". The Boston Globe. The New York Times Company.
  5. Tanamor, Jason (October 2009). "Rich Vos has failed at everything but stand-up comedy". ZoiksOnline. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
  6. 1 2 "The Next to the Next to the Last Comic Standing – Interview! Rich Vos". SheckyMagazine.com. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
  7. 1 2 David, Amelia (March 3, 2000). "A passion for comedy". Backstage. p. 46. Retrieved December 22, 2020 via ProQuest.
  8. 1 2 Gelb, Daniel (April 2, 2014). "Rich Vos". The Philadelphia Weekly. Archived from the original on 2017-03-18. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
  9. Thrasher, Don (October 10, 2008). "Rich Vos to make Dayton debut at Wiley's Oct. 9-12". Dayton Daily News . Cox Enterprises. Archived from the original on 2017-03-18. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
  10. Vos and Bonnie's 'My Wife Hates Me', RiotCast.com; accessed November 29, 2017.
  11. 1 2 Ciemcioch, Mark (December 27, 2016). "Comedian Rich Vos amped for New Year's Eve". The Buffalo News . BH Media . Retrieved March 17, 2017.
  12. Condran, Ed. "Rich Vos", Bucks County Courier Times, February 23, 2006; accessed July 10, 2013.
    "'I'm very close with my daughters,' Vos said. 'I moved to Hillsborough to be close to them. I know comics who never see their kids. I don't get that.'"