Chad Daniels is an American

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...

. His albums have reached the top 10 on the Billboard comedy charts three times: No. 2 for 2017's ''Footprints On The Moon'', No. 6 for 2019's ''Dad Chaniels'', and No. 7 for 2014's ''Natural Selection''. As of 2019, his albums have been streamed more than 700 million times. ''Footprints on the Moon'' also reached No. 1 on the iTunes comedy chart. In 2020, Vulture.com called him "one of the great unsung American comedians right now, who has some of the best stuff about being a dad out there."

Early life

Daniels was born March 2, 1975, in

Fergus Falls, Minnesota Fergus Falls is a city in and the county seat of Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,119 at the 2020 census. History The falls from which the city gets part of its name were discovered by Joe Whitford (a Scotti ...

. He graduated from Fergus Falls High School in 1993.

Career

Stand-up comedy

Daniels' comedy is known for what

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

critic Mark Deming described as a "skewed, often dark view" on domestic family life. He started performing standup at an

open mic An open mic or open mike (shortened from "open microphone") is a live show at a venue such as a coffeehouse, nightclub, comedy club, strip club, or pub, usually taking place at night, in which audience members may perform on stage whether the ...

night at ACME Comedy Company in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

in 1998. His performance earned him a job as house emcee at

Grand Forks, North Dakota Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the state of North Dakota (after Fargo and Bismarck) and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 59,166. Grand Forks, along with its twin city o ...

, comedy club Westward Ho, hosting six shows a week in 1998–1999. During the early 2000s, Chad was a favorite comedian at Hilarities comedy club inside of Pickwick and Frolic, in Cleveland, Ohio. In 2003, Daniels was a finalist in

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 ...

’s ''Laugh Riots'' competition. In 2009, he was named Artist of the Year in comedy by Minneapolis alt-weekly

City Pages ''City Pages'' was an alternative newspaper serving the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area. It featured news, film, theatre and restaurant reviews and music criticism, available free every Wednesday. It ceased publication in 2020 due to a ...

, which said "Plenty of comics have jokes about marriage and children, but few speak about the experience with such uncompromising honesty." He has toured extensively in the U.S. and across the world. In 2012, he won the $10,000 grand prize at the Gilda's LaughFest competition in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...

. He also performed at the Just for Laughs Festival in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

in 2004 and 2012, Limestone Comedy Festival, Akumal Comedy Festival, World Comedy Festival, and the

Aspen Comedy Festival The Comedy Festival, formerly known as the US Comedy Arts Festival, was a comedy festival that ran from 1995 to 2008. The festival included stand-up comedy performances, appearances by the casts of television shows, and has a film component calle ...

, where he won the Comic's Comic award. He hosts a weekly podcast, ''Middle of Somewhere'', with fellow comedian Cy Amundson.

Television and film

Daniels' 2008 ''Comedy Central Presents'' half-hour special was named fifth-best all-time special by viewers in the network's 2010 Stand-Up Showdown. He has also starred in two hour-long specials, 2012's ''As Is'' and 2019's ''Dad Chaniels''. He is featured in J. Elvis Weinstein's documentary ''I Need You To Kill''. He has also appeared on ''The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien'' (one of only 13 comics to appear on that version of the show), O’Brien’s TBS talk show '' Conan'', '' The Late Late Show'' with both

Craig Kilborn Craig Lawrence Kilborn (born August 24, 1962) is an American comedian, sports and political commentator, actor, and television host. Kilborn began a career in sports broadcasting in the late 1980s, leading to an anchoring position at ESPN's ''Spo ...

and

Craig Ferguson Craig Ferguson (born 17 May 1962) is a Scottish-born American comedian, actor, writer, and television host. He is best known for hosting the CBS late-night talk show ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' (2005–2014), for which he won a ...

, ''

Live at Gotham ''Live at Gotham'' is a standup comedy television show airing on Comedy Central in the United States. The show features up and coming stand up comedians performing live at the Gotham Comedy Club in New York City Ne ...

'', ''

The Bob and Tom Show ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', and ''Laugh Riots''.

Albums

Daniels has released seven albums: three with

Stand Up! Records Stand Up! Records is an American independent comedy record label founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota, by Grammy-winning producer Dan Schlissel. It has been called "the country's most respected indie comedy label." Stand Up! has released more than 20 ...

, three with 800 Pound Gorilla Records, and his self-produced debut. Richard Lanoie of The Serious Comedy Site called Daniels "a smart, funny, surprising stand-up whose comedy will stand the test of time." He and Brett Watson both named ''You’re The Best'' in the website's top 10 comedy albums of 2012; Lanoie called it "a superb, brilliant, smart, very funny, original album." Lanoie called 2014's ''Natural Selection'' "funny and original". Reviewing ''Natural Selection'', Chris Spector of Midwest Record said "Daniels keeps the laughs coming (in) rapid-fire fashion without any misses." Jake Austen of ''Roctober'' magazine, reviewing his early albums, was impressed that Daniel could deliver "domesticated, regular-guy" humor about families and airline food "yet manages not to lose his edge."

Personal life

Daniels is divorced, and has a son and a daughter. In March 2023, fellow comedian Kelsey Cook announced on

Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...

's ''Jim and Sam Show'' that she and Daniels were dating. Cook also stated that the two had recently moved in together.

Discography

*''Two Minutes for Stale Hacking'' (self-released) *''Busy Being Awesome'' (

, 2009) *''You're the Best'' (

, 2012) *''Natural Selection'' (

, 2014) *''Footprints on the Moon'' (800 Pound Gorilla Records, 2017) *''Dad Chaniels'' (800 Pound Gorilla Records, 2019) *''Twelfth Night'' (800 Pound Gorilla Records, 2021)

Filmography

Film

*''As Is'' (2012) *''I Need You To Kill'' (2017) *''Dad Chaniels'' (2019) *''Mixed Reviews'' (2023)

Television

*''

The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn ''The Late Late Show'' is an American late-night television talk and variety comedy show on CBS. It first aired in January 1995, with host Tom Snyder, who was followed by Craig Kilborn, Craig Ferguson, and current host James Corden. The show o ...

'' *''

'' (2006) *''

Comedy Central Presents ''Comedy Central Presents'' is an American stand-up comedy television series created for Comedy Central. It is the network's main half-hour program which highlights either one or a series of stand-up comedians each episode. In 2011, the series e ...

'' (2008) *''

The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien ''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 Ni ...

'' (2009) *''

'' (2010) *'' Conan'' (2012, 2014, 2018) *''

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish actor and comedian Craig Ferguson. This was the third iteration of the ''Late Late Show'' franchise, airing from January 3, 2005, to December 19, ...

'' (2012) * ''After Midnight'' (2023)

References

External links

* * * * *
Chad Daniels at Stand Up! Records website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daniels, Chad American stand-up comedians Comedians from Minnesota Living people 1975 births People from Fergus Falls, Minnesota 21st-century American comedians Stand Up! Records artists 20th-century American comedians