Paul Varghese (born January 4, 1977 in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

) is an American comedian and actor of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n descent who appeared on the hit reality show ''

Last Comic Standing ''Last Comic Standing'' was 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 ...

2'', where he made it to the semi-finals.Stand-Up Comedian, Paul Varghese with Laura Bartlett at MPAC McKinney Performing Arts Center (Saturday, September 30, 2006) - Upcoming
/ref> He taped his first full set for national television on March 8, 2007, for

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 '' Live at Gotham'' which aired July 13, 2007. He was a regular on the Pugs and Kelly radio show, noon-3 p.m. weekdays on Live 105.3/Free FM in Dallas when that radio station and show was still on the air. Varghese is

Indian American Indian Americans or Indo-Americans are citizens of the United States with ancestry from India. The United States Census Bureau uses the term Asian Indian to avoid confusion with Native Americans, who have also historically been referred to ...

, the son of

Malayali The Malayali people () (also spelt Malayalee and also known by the demonym Keralite) are a Dravidian peoples, Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala in India, occupying its southwestern Malabar coast. ...

immigrant parents from

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

, and grew up in Garland, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. He earned a bachelor's degree in radio, television and film from the University of North Texas in 2000. He spent his junior year of college at

William Paterson University William Paterson University, officially William Paterson University of New Jersey (WPUNJ), is a public university in Wayne, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Founded in 1855 and was named after American ju ...

of New Jersey, during which he interned on Sally Jessy Raphael's talk show. His sister Winnie Varghese is the rector of

St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery is a parish of the Episcopal Church located at 131 East 10th Street, at the intersection of Stuyvesant Street and Second Avenue in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The property has been ...

, an

Episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

parish in New York City. Varghese, who began doing stand-up in 2001, opened for Canadian-born comedian Russell Peters in a short theater tour through Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston and New York in 2005. That led to his headlining a 16-city ''Gurus of Comedy'' tour in the spring of 2006. In 2007 he was named "Best Stand-Up Comic in Dallas" by the ''Dallas Observer'' and won the 2009 "Funniest Comic in Texas" competition. Varghese was also featured on Showtime's "Russell Peter's Presents", Telemundo 2's "Loco Comedy Jam", Comedy Central's "Live at Gotham" and "Gabriel Iglesias Presents Stand-Up Revolution". On June 18, 2012, Varghese was given the opportunity to open for comedian

Dave Chappelle David Khari Webber Chappelle ( ; born August 24, 1973) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known for his satirical comedy sketch series ''Chappelle's Show'' (2003–2006), which he starred in until quitting in the middle of p ...

at the Dallas House of Blues and the following night in

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

at the Paramount Theatre. On May 31, 2014, Varghese opened for

Joan Rivers Joan Alexandra Molinsky (June 8, 1933 – September 4, 2014), known professionally as Joan Rivers, was an American comedian, actress, producer, writer and television host. She was noted for her blunt, often controversial comedic persona—heavi ...

at IP Casino Resort in Biloxi, Mississippi. This was followed by several more openings for Ms. Rivers in June 2014.

References

External

official websiteMyspace pageReview and biopicInterviewDallas news articleMentions an upcoming series on the International channelGoogle video of routine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Varghese, Paul American male actors of Indian descent American people of Malayali descent 1977 births Living people American stand-up comedians Male actors from Dallas 21st-century American comedians Stand Up! Records artists