Clifton Freeman Cash 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 North Carolina. His album ''Half Way There'', released on January 8, 2021 on

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 ...

, reached No. 1 on the iTunes comedy chart.

Personal life

Cash was born in Gastonia, North Carolina and raised in a conservative Southern Baptist home. He is the younger brother of

New York Times best-selling ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...

novelist Wiley Cash. The two have often appeared on stage together. They also have a sister. He attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville. He lives in Wilmington, North Carolina. He was divorced in 2017. He is also a photographer, and has made a goal of visiting and documenting all 61 U.S. national parks while on tour as a comic.

Career

Cash's first open mic was in 2011. Before becoming a full-time comedian, Cash worked in sales and real-estate investing for six years, then started a recycling company, Green Coast Recycling. Cash won a Pelican award from the

North Carolina Coastal Federation The North Carolina Coastal Federation is a nonprofit organization that works with coastal residents and visitors to protect and restore the beautiful and productive N.C. coast. The four main areas in which the federation operates include: coasta ...

in 2013 for organizing the environmental group Friends of the Lower Cape Fear. His comedy, inspired by George Carlin, is often satiric and politically pointed, tackling topics such as racism, religious fundamentalism, and the

MeToo movement #MeToo is a social movement against sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and rape culture, in which people publicize their experiences of sexual abuse or sexual harassment. The phrase "Me Too" was initially used in this context on social media in ...

. It often reflects his progressive political outlook, contrasting it with his conservative upbringing and Southern cultural stereotypes. He often uses shows as fundraisers for environmental and other causes. Bill Poteat of the

Gaston Gazette ''The Gaston Gazette'' is an American, English-language daily newspaper based in Gastonia, North Carolina. The newspaper was owned by Freedom Communications until 2012, when Freedom sold its Florida and North Carolina papers to Halifax Media Grou ...

noted that Cash's skewering of southern conservatism can be sarcastic, "yet the humor is at its foundation gentle rather than confrontational". With two other Southern comics, Tom Simmons and Stewart Huff, Cash launched the Sick of Stupid Tour, which he described as "the unofficial rebuttal" to the more stereotypically Southern

Blue Collar Comedy Tour The Blue Collar Comedy Tour was an American comedy troupe, featuring Jeff Foxworthy with three of his comedian friends, Bill Engvall, Ron White, and Larry the Cable Guy, who had replaced fellow comedian Craig Hawksley, who performed in the fir ...

and a different perspective on topics like

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , 3 ...

, religion and

gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians. Most countries have a restrictive firearm guiding policy, with on ...

to shows like '' Duck Dynasty''. He has performed across the U.S. since 2016, including the Houston Whatever Fest, Cape Fear Comedy Festival, Norfolk Comedy Festival, Altercation Comedy Festival, San Luis Obispo Comedy Festival, and the Boise, Idaho Treefort Music Fest. He won the Port City’s Top Comic contest in 2013, was a semifinalist and regional winner in Comedy Central's Up Next competition, and a semifinalist on ''Standup NBC''. He appeared on two episodes of the Fox series ''Laughs'' in 2014.

Albums

''Half Way There'' was distilled from four hours of material recorded at Dead Crow Comedy Room in Wilmington in 2016. It begins with Cash in character as a stereotypical "redneck", satirizing conservative attitudes, before seguing into his own voice, which is more observational and left-leaning. Richard Lanoie of The Serious Comedy Site reviewed the album positively, writing "I enjoyed it a lot. I just wish there was more, lots more."

Discography

*Cliff Cash, ''Half Way There'' (

, 2021)

References

External links

Cliff Cash official websiteCliff Cash at Stand Up! Records website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cash, Cliff 1981 births American male comedians American stand-up comedians People from Wilmington, North Carolina People from Gastonia, North Carolina Living people 21st-century American comedians Stand Up! Records artists Comedians from North Carolina University of North Carolina at Asheville alumni