Adam Cayton-Holland
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Adam Cayton-Holland (born June 2, 1980) is an American
stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a comedy, comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of One-line joke ...
from
Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
best known for his work with the comedy trio The Grawlix and their sitcom television series ''
Those Who Can't ''Those Who Can't'' is an American sitcom that premiered February 11, 2016 on truTV. On December 1, 2015, the show was renewed for a second season before the first season aired. The pre-launch renewal is a first for the cable net, which ordered 12 ...
.'' Cayton-Holland is also a writer who has been published in numerous regional and national publications; his first book, ''Tragedy Plus Time: A Tragi-Comic Memoir,'' received the 2019 Colorado Book Award for Creative Non-Fiction''.'' He is the founder and executive director of High Plains Comedy Festival. As a comic, he is a regular headliner at clubs and colleges throughout the United States and abroad.


Career


Stand-up comedy

Adam Cayton-Holland started in stand-up comedy by attending open mics at Denver dive bars in 2003. In 2006, Cayton-Holland competed against nearly 200 other aspiring comedians for Comedy Works' New Talent showcase, and won. Cayton-Holland was included in ''
Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...
''s 25 Best New Stand-Up Comedians in 2012. That same year he was invited to the prestigious New Faces competition at Montreal's Just for Laughs Comedy Festival, appeared on the Nerdist podcast, and had a cameo on the ABC show ''
Happy Endings (TV series) ''Happy Endings'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from April 13, 2011, to May 3, 2013. The single-camera ensemble comedy originally aired as a mid-season replacement with a one-hour premiere of two back-to-back episodes startin ...
''. Along with his co-horts in The Grawlix, Cayton-Holland was named one of “10 Comics to Watch” by ''Variety'' magazine in 2015. After making his national television stand-up debut on '' Conan'' in 2013, he appeared on ''
The Pete Holmes Show ''The Pete Holmes Show'' is an American late-night talk show starring comedian Pete Holmes. It aired Monday through Thursday at midnight on TBS, from October 28, 2013 until June 18, 2014. The show was atypical among late-night talk shows for havi ...
'' in February 2014. He quickly followed that appearance with a repeat trip to
South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...
where he was featured on the Comedy Bang! Bang! podcast and competed on
@midnight ''@midnight with Chris Hardwick'' (shortened to and formerly exclusively titled ''@midnight'') was an American late night Internet-themed panel game show, hosted by Chris Hardwick, that aired Monday through Thursday nights between October 21, ...
against Baron Vaughn and
Rove McManus John Henry Michael McManus (born 21 January 1974), better known by the stage name Rove McManus, is an Australian triple Gold Logie award-winning comedian, television and radio presenter, producer and media personality. He was the host of the e ...
. Cayton-Holland was invited back on @midnight for the September 17, 2014 episode when he competed against
Beth Stelling Beth Stelling (born April 9, 1986) is an American stand-up comedian and writer. She has performed in the Netflix series ''The Standups'' and served as a writer for the HBO television series '' Crashing''. Stelling has released two comedy albums, '' ...
and
Nate Bargatze Nathanael Lee "Nate" Bargatze (born March 25, 1979) is an American comedian. Early life Nathanael Bargatze was born in Nashville, Tennessee, on March 25, 1979, the son of Carole and Stephen Bargatze. His father is of Italian descent and is a fo ...
, winning the competition; and returned to the show again for the April 14, 2015 episode, facing Megan Neuringer and Kurt Braunohler.


The Grawlix

The Grawlix is a comedy trio from Denver, Colorado that includes Cayton-Holland, Ben Roy, and Andrew Orvedahl. The trio produces a monthly show at The Bug Theater in Denver, featuring standup sets from each of the principals and a variety of national guest comedians. Past shows also included regular screenings of their self-entitled web series, which was produced and directed by The Nix brothers. The trio emerged from "Los Comicos Super Hilariosos," a comedy show created by Cayton-Holland with fellow comedians Greg Baumhauer, Ben Roy, Jim Hickox, and Andrew Orvedahl. During its run, "Los Comicos" welcomed big-name comics like Arj Barker, Maria Bamford, Tig Notaro, and Moshe Kasher. That group eventually dissolved and reformed as The Grawlix in 2011.


''Those Who Can't''

In June 2012, The Grawlix teamed with The Nix Brothers to produce a television pilot called ''
Those Who Can't ''Those Who Can't'' is an American sitcom that premiered February 11, 2016 on truTV. On December 1, 2015, the show was renewed for a second season before the first season aired. The pre-launch renewal is a first for the cable net, which ordered 12 ...
'', a sitcom about three inept Denver high school teachers, for Amazon Studios. Amazon initially ordered six additional scripts, but eventually passed on the series. In December 2015,
TruTV TruTV (stylized as truTV) is an American basic cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel primarily broadcasts comedy, docusoaps and reality shows. The channel was originally launched in 1991 as Court TV, a network that focu ...
hired the trio to rewrite and re-film the pilot in December 2014. In February 2015, the network announced and order for 10 episodes of the series. The show ultimately aired on TruTV for three seasons.


''The Grawlix Saves the World''

In January 2020, The Grawlix started a podcast, The Grawlix Saves the World. In the fortnightly podcast, the trio presents a series of challenges to one another, hoping to better the world around them by bettering themselves. The podcast is produced by Ron S. Doyle and is part of the Sklarbro Country imprint on the Starburns Audio Network. As of December 2020, 24 episodes and a handful of bonus episodes have been released.


Writer

Before becoming a comedian, Cayton-Holland was a journalist, working at Denver's alt-weekly ''
Westword ''Westword'' is a free digital and print media publication based in Denver, Colorado. ''Westword'' publishes daily online coverage of local news, restaurants, music and arts, as well as longform narrative journalism. A weekly print issue cir ...
'' from 2003 through 2008. During his time with the alt-weekly, Cayton-Holland was best known for his column "What's So Funny?" and his long-form feature writing. His writing has appeared in ''
Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
,'' '' The Onion's
A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
''. In late 2013, Cayton-Holland had a piece called "Ghosts I've Known" published in ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
''. The essay addressed the painful topic of his younger sister's suicide. Reviewer Michael Wear called it a "haunting," "beautiful," and "heartfelt" "love letter."


''Tragedy Plus Time: A Tragi-Comic Memoir''

Cayton-Holland's first book, ''Tragedy Plus Time: A Tragi-Comic Memoir,'' was published in August 2018 by ''
Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...
''. The book was a critical success and later was received the 2019 Colorado Book Award for Best Creative Non-Fiction. Asked to describe the book in 50 words or less, Cayton-Holland said, ''"''If you’re expecting a guide to navigating life after grief, this isn’t it. It’s an honest look at mental illness, depression, death and the beautiful relationships between families and siblings — one that lets you know that there is no guide to grief, and that it’s still O.K. to laugh.''"''


Other projects


High Plains Comedy Festival

In 2013, Cayton-Holland partnered with Denver producer Andy Juett to launch the High Plains Comedy Festival. In its inaugural year, the Festival ran three days in venues throughout Denver, and featured both local and national talent—including headliner
Reggie Watts Reginald Lucien Frank Roger Watts (born March 23, 1972) is an American comedian, actor, beatboxer, and musician. His improvised musical sets are created using only his voice, a keyboard, and a looping machine. Watts refers to himself as a "disinf ...
,
Matt Braunger Matthew Braunger (born August 1, 1974) is an American actor, writer, and stand-up comedian. His most recent special ''Finally Live In Portland'' was launched by Comedy Dynamics in 2019. Outside of performing stand-up, Braunger is noted for bein ...
, and
Kyle Kinane Kyle Christian Kinane (born December 23, 1976) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and voice actor from Addison, Illinois. Career Kinane's first television appearance was on ''The Nanny'' playing "Young Roger Clinton". His debut album ''Dea ...
. High Plains returned to Denver in 2014 with
T.J. Miller Todd Joseph Miller (born June 4, 1981) is an American actor and comedian. In 2008, he made his acting debut in ''Cloverfield'', and from 2010 to 2014, he voiced Tuffnut Thorston in the first two ''How to Train Your Dragon'' films. From 2014 to ...
,
Kumail Nanjiani Kumail Ali Nanjiani (; ur, کمیل علی ننجیانی, ; born May 2, 1978) is a Pakistani-American actor, comedian and screenwriter. He is known for his role as Dinesh in the HBO comedy series ''Silicon Valley'' (2014–2019) and for co-wri ...
, and Pete Holmes headlining.


''Happy Place''

In 2019, Cayton-Holland adapted his book ''Tragedy Plus Time'' into a one-man play called ''Happy Place''. He workshopped ''Happy Place'' at Buntport Theater in Denver, the Dairy Arts Center in Boulder, and the Moxi Theater in Greeley, in preparation for its official debut at the Montreal Just For Laughs Festival in July 2019. In recognition of his work on the play, Cayton-Holland received the 2019 True West Award from the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.


''My Dining Room Table''

From 2013 to 2015, Cayton-Holland produced a biweekly podcast called ''My Dining Room Table''. The central concept of the podcast was Cayton-Holland's loyalty to and love of Denver and his home (hence, the majority of the recordings took place at his actual dining room table), and his subsequent decision to stay in the city rather than move to LA or New York. He interviewed local and national comics and musicians about a variety of topics, but often returned to the core ideas of "home" and "success" while promoting the burgeoning Denver cultural scene.


Personal life

Cayton-Holland grew up in the neighborhood of
Park Hill, Denver Park Hill is a neighborhood in Denver, Colorado, U.S. Located in the northeastern quadrant of the city, it is bordered by Colorado Boulevard on the west, East Colfax Avenue on the south, Quebec Street on the east, and East 52nd Avenue on the nort ...
. He attended East High School in Denver and
Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...
where he majored in film. Cayton-Holland lives with his wife and two sons in
Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
. His "twin obsessions" are birdwatching and the
Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...
baseball team. His father has held Rockies season tickets since the team was formed. Before the start of the 2014 season, Cayton-Holland campaigned to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at a Rockies' game. He created buzz on Twitter with the hashtag #ACHFirstPitch, and took the plea national when he talked about it on ''The Pete Holmes Show''. On April 7, 2014, Cayton-Holland got his wish when he threw out the first pitch at a Rockies vs. White Sox game at Coors Field.


Discography

Comedy specials *''Dick Jokes for Artists'' (2008) *''I Don't Know If I Happy'' (2013) *''Backyards'' (2015) *''Performs His Signature Bits'' (2018) *''Semblance of Normalcy'' (2020)


Filmography


Scripted


Stand up


Other credits

* ''
@midnight ''@midnight with Chris Hardwick'' (shortened to and formerly exclusively titled ''@midnight'') was an American late night Internet-themed panel game show, hosted by Chris Hardwick, that aired Monday through Thursday nights between October 21, ...
'' (
Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...
, 2014–2016); contestant, 5 episodes *''Welcome to Bridgetown'' (2015); documentary * ''
The Playboy Morning Show ''The Playboy Morning Show'' is a live, daily, nationally syndicated talk show that airs internationally on Playboy TV and PlayboyRadio.com, reaching over 85 million households. The show is an audio/visual version of ''Playboy'' and integrates ma ...
'' (2016); with The Grawlix * ''Flophouse'' ( Viceland, 2016); documentary with The Grawlix * '' Talk Show the Game Show'' (
Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...
, 2017); contestant * '' Planet Scum Live'' (2020); with The Grawlix


Bibliography

* ''Tragedy Plus Time: A Tragi-Comic Memoir'', New York: Gallery Books/
Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...
, 2009.


References


External links


AdamCaytonHolland.com

The Grawlix

High Plains Comedy Festival

Tragedy Plus Time: A Tragi-Comic Memoir
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cayton-Holland, Adam Living people American humorists People from Denver 1980 births