Tony Sam (also credited as A.W. Sam) 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 ...

, author, actor, and former marine biologist from Chicago now living in Los Angeles. He has worked extensively as a television producer and writer.

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose paren ...

named him one of 10 Comedy Acts To Watch in 2015. His debut comedy album, ''Scaredy Cat'', was released 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 ...

in 2014.

Early life

Sam was born and raised in Chicago. He has a degree in molecular and marine biology from

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Florida, Dania Beach, Davie, Florida, Davie, Fort Lauderd ...

. He worked for several years as a scientist, at various jobs including studying cranio-facial defects in

zebrafish The zebrafish (''Danio rerio'') is a freshwater fish belonging to the minnow family ( Cyprinidae) of the order Cypriniformes. Native to South Asia, it is a popular aquarium fish, frequently sold under the trade name zebra danio (and thus often ...

embryos at Chicago's

Children's Memorial Hospital Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, formerly Children's Memorial Hospital and commonly known as Lurie Children's, is a nationally ranked pediatric acute care children's hospital located in Chicago, Illinois. The hospital has 3 ...

. He co-authored a paper in the prestigious journal ''

Nature Medicine ''Nature Medicine'' is a monthly Peer review, peer-reviewed medical journal published by Nature Portfolio covering all aspects of medicine. It was established in 1995. The journal seeks to publish research papers that "demonstrate novel insight int ...

''.

Career

Comedy and television

Sam began performing stand-up around 2003 in Chicago, and studied improv and sketch at

iO Theater iO, or iO Chicago, (formerly known as "ImprovOlympic") is an improv theater and training center in central Chicago, with a former branch in Los Angeles, called iO West and in Raleigh, North Carolina called iO South. The theater taught and hosted p ...

and

The Second City Training Center The Second City Training Center was founded in the mid-1980s to facilitate the growing demand for workshops and instruction from the world famous The Second City theatre. Training Centers are located in Chicago, Toronto and Los Angeles. Satelli ...

. He became known as an alternative-comedy scenemaker, co-founding (with

Brooke Van Poppelen Brooke Van Poppelen (born 1978) is an American comedian, actress, and writer. She co-hosted the truTV series ''Hack My Life''. Van Poppelen is from Detroit, Michigan. Prior to working in New York City and Los Angeles, she performed and trained in ...

) Chicago Underground Comedy in 2005, a weekly rotating showcase of alternative comics designed to forefront stand-up as opposed to sketch comedy and improv.

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 ...

was one of the original cast members. Chicago's ''

NewCity Newcity is a media company based in Chicago, founded in 1986 by Brian and Jan Hieggelke." It started as the ''Newcity'' independent, free weekly newspaper in Chicago. Effective March 2017, the founders changed the newspaper into a glossy monthly ...

'' called Sam one of the city's most interesting comics in 2009, and praised ChUC as a "mainstay of alternative comedy" and "one of the two best places to perform in Chicago". Several critics have praised the comic range of Sam's voice; Jake Kroeger of website The Comedy Bureau wrote that it "is so unique, drastically wandering up and down in frequency, that he makes ischaracters exceptionally hilarious and absolutely unforgettable". Sam's television credits include co-executive producer for

Cooking Channel Cooking Channel is an American basic cable channel owned by Food Network, a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (69%) and Nexstar Media Group (31%). The channel is a spin-off of Food Network, broadcasting p ...

's '' Food: Fact or Fiction?'' with

Michael McKean Michael John McKean (; born October 17, 1947) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, composer, singer, and musician known for various roles in film and television such as Lenny Kosnowski in '' Laverne & Shirley'', David St. Hubbins in '' ...

and a producer for ''

Josh Gates Tonight ''Expedition Unknown'' is an American reality television series produced by Ping Pong Productions, that follows explorer and television presenter Josh Gates as he investigates mysteries and legends. The series premiered on January 8, 2015 and ori ...

'', ''

Expedition Unknown ''Expedition Unknown'' is an American reality television series produced by Ping Pong Productions, that follows explorer and television presenter Josh Gates as he investigates mysteries and legends. The series premiered on January 8, 2015 and o ...

'', ''

Jay Leno's Garage ''Jay Leno's Garage'' is an American web and television series about motor vehicles, primarily cars and motorbikes starring Jay Leno, the former host of ''The Tonight Show''. Originally a web series for NBC.com, a special aired on CNBC in August ...

'', ''

Girl Meets Farm ''Girl Meets Farm'' is an American cooking television series that airs on Food Network, and is presented by cookbook author Molly Yeh. The series features Yeh cooking Midwestern farm meals sometimes influenced by her Jewish and Chinese heritage, ...

'', '' Storage Wars: Barry Strikes Back'', '' Brandi & Jarrod: Married to the Job'',

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's '' Ridiculousness'' and the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

hit home-renovation show, ''Instant Dream Home'', which in 2023 was nominated for a

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

for "Outstanding Instructional and How-To Program". Sam has also written for Smosh and

MTV News MTV News is the news production division of MTV. The service is available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network. In February 2016, MTV Networks confirmed it would refresh the MTV News brand in 2016, to compete with the likes ...

. McKean praised Sam's work on ''Food: Fact or Fiction?'' in an interview on

Andy Richter Paul Andrew Richter (born October 28, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and talk show announcer. He is best known as the sidekick for Conan O'Brien on each of O'Brien's talk shows: '' Late Night'' and ''The Tonight Show'' on NBC an ...

's podcast, ''Three Questions with Andy Richter'', calling Sam "a very funny writer". As an actor, Sam has appeared on

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 ...

's ''

Hack My Life ''Hack My Life'' was a weekly American how-to series that premiered on truTV on January 6, 2015. The U.S. cable network teamed up with micro-blogging site Tumblr and phone service MetroPCS to create this show, and it invited its viewers to share ...

'', '' Conan'', G4's ''

Attack of the Show! ''Attack of the Show!'' (''AOTS'') is an American live television program and that aired on G4. AOTS features segments on pop culture, video games, and movies. After an initial run from 2005 to 2013 (which originally aired from 2005 until 2013 ...

'', '' Food: Fact or Fiction?'', and ''

''. Sam has performed frequently at the

Hollywood Improv The Improv is a comedy club franchise. It was founded as a single venue in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City in 1963, and expanded into a chain of venues in the late 1970s. History Originally, it was a single venue founded in 19 ...

, and at festivals including the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival, Bridgetown Comedy Festival, San Francisco Comedy & Burrito Festival,

Bumbershoot Bumbershoot is an annual international music and arts festival held in Seattle, Washington. One of North America's largest such festivals, it takes place every Labor Day weekend (leading up to and including the first Monday of September) at the ...

SF Sketchfest SF Sketchfest, or The San Francisco Comedy Festival, is an American comedy festival founded in 2002 by Bay Area actor-comedians David Owen, Janet Varney and Cole Stratton. It takes place every January and February in a variety of Bay Area venues a ...

Chicago Sketch Fest The Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival (or SketchFest) is an annual nonprofit sketch comedy festival held in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood at Stage 773 (1225 W Belmont Ave). This is the world's largest sketch festival, featuring 160 sketch group ...

New York International Fringe Festival The New York International Fringe Festival, or FringeNYC, was a fringe theater festival and one of the largest multi-arts events in North America. It took place over the course of a few weeks in October, spread on more than 20 stages across seve ...

, and

New York Underground Comedy Festival The New York Underground Comedy Festival is a comedy festival. Founded in 2003 with 3 shows in 3 nights at the Laurie Beechman Theatre, the festival has grown to 10 days and 300+ shows making it the largest comedy festival in New York. The NYUCF ...

Podcasts

Sam has hosted several podcasts, including ''Tony Sam's Word of the Day'', a podcast about language begun in 2014. In 2017, he began co-hosting the podcast ''Legally Insane'' with Matt Ritter, a lawyer turned comedian. He has also guested on many other podcasts, including

Jackie Kashian Jackie Kashian (born July 20, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian. Early life and career Kashian, who is of Armenian and Irish descent, was born in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin and raised by her father, Elliot, and her stepmother, Nancy, along ...

's ''The Dork Forest'',

Josh Adam Meyers Josh Adam Meyers is an American comedian and actor. He is known for his live show, turned Comedy Central series, ''The Comedy Jam'' (also known as ''The Goddamn Comedy Jam''.) His podcast ''The 500 With Josh Adam Meyers'' was acquired by Spotify ...

' ''The 500'', ''

Probably Science ''Probably Science'' is a weekly comedy and science podcast which first aired on January 21, 2012. The show is co-hosted by Andy Wood, Matt Kirshen, and Jesse Case. Former co-host and founding member Brooks Wheelan left the show in 2013 for per ...

'', Dumb People Town and Sklarboro County with the

Sklar Brothers Farrell Randal "Randy" Sklar and Jason Nathan Sklar (born January 12, 1972), professionally known as the Sklar Brothers, are American identical twin brother comedians and actors best known for hosting the show '' Cheap Seats'', which aired for ...

, and ''The Space Cave'' with

David Huntsberger David Huntsberger is an American comedian, known as co-host of the '' Professor Blastoff'' podcast and host of the ''Reactor'' television show on the SyFy channel. Huntsberger is a frequent guest on the podcasts '' Alison Rosen is Your New Best F ...

Albums

Sam's debut album, ''Scaredy Cat'', was recorded May 24, 2014 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 ...

and released later that year on

. It received generally positive reviews and praise from several high-profile comics including

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 ...

Michelle Buteau Michelle Buteau (born July 24, 1977) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, television host, and podcast host. Early life Buteau was born in New Jersey to a Haitian father of partial Lebanese descent and a Jamaican mother of half-French desc ...

The Sklar Brothers Farrell Randal "Randy" Sklar and Jason Nathan Sklar (born January 12, 1972), professionally known as the Sklar Brothers, are American identical twin brother comedians and actors best known for hosting the show '' Cheap Seats'', which aired fo ...

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, '' ...

Jason Nash Jason Eric Nash (born May 23, 1973) is an American Comedian and Internet Personality . Known for his channel on Vine, he also appeared on ''Last Comic Standing'' in 2010. Nash has written, directed, and starred in a pair of films: ''Jason Nash ...

, former

SNL ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

cast member,

Brooks Wheelan Brooks Patrick Wheelan (born August 21, 1986) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, voice actor, and podcaster. First breaking through as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' for the 2013–2014 season, he has had a half-hour spe ...

Brody Stevens Steven James Brody (May 22, 1970 – February 22, 2019), known professionally as Brody Stevens, was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He starred in the Comedy Central reality series '' Brody Stevens: Enjoy It!'', and was known for appearan ...

and

Eddie Pepitone Edward David Pepitone (born November 5, 1958) is an American character actor and stand-up comedian. Early life Pepitone was born to a Sicilian father and a Jewish mother in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, and was raised from the age of nine ...

. Comedy Bureau's Kroeger called the album one of the best of 2014, saying it "strikes a great balance between a genuine silliness and unfiltered candor". Ed Placencia of the website Comedy Reviews said "Sam gleefully adds a touch of fun and whimsy to each of his bits. ... ''Scaredy Cat'' wonderfully displays that he has decided to embrace the simple tactic of just having a good time." Richard Lanoie of The Serious Comedy Site called it "smart". ''

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'' reviewer Tony Bartolone called the album "refreshingly silly". Chris Spector of ''Midwest Record'' wrote that "Sam does a fine job of being that normal guy that lives next door that suddenly, unexpectedly goes nuts." Four segments from the CD were turned into cartoons by animator Alex Clark.

Author

In 2021, under the name A.W. Sam, he published a book of poetry, ''Waste Ad: Poems For L.A.'', about Los Angeles. In 2022, Sam released his second collection of poetry, ''Toil''. The book was praised by actors

Jonah Ray Jonah Ray Rodrigues (born August 3, 1982) is an American actor, comedian and writer from Los Angeles. He stars as Jonah Heston, the most recent primary host of ''Mystery Science Theater 3000''. He is a former host of ''The Nerdist Podcast'' and w ...

and

James Urbaniak James Christian Urbaniak (born September 17, 1963) is an American character actor. He is best known for his roles as Simon Grim in three Hal Hartley films: ''Henry Fool'' (1997), ''Fay Grim'' (2006) and ''Ned Rifle'' (2014), Robert Crumb in ''Ame ...

Discography

*Tony Sam, ''Scaredy Cat'' (

, 2014)

Books

References

External links

Tony Sam on TumblrTony Sam at Stand Up! Records website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sam, Tony American male comedians American stand-up comedians People from Chicago Living people 21st-century American comedians Stand Up! Records artists Comedians from Illinois Male actors from Chicago Florida Atlantic University alumni Year of birth missing (living people)