David Strassman
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David Strassman (born: 1957) is a performer. He began performing at the age of 12 after a visit to the Magic Castle in Hollywood.
He began his career performing for the neighborhood kids and the occasional birthday party. It wasn't until attending the prestigious high school, New Trier West, in Chicago, where David took up acting and theater seriously. He performed in plays and musicals and learned improvisation through a master class with Second City's Viola Spolin, the "mother" of Improv.
Strassman then went on to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York where he got accepted to the prestigious 2nd year. He declined, opting for the bohemian life of a street performer on the sidewalks of New York, London, and Paris.
After 2 summers of busking, Strassman took his budding Ventriloquist act into the comedy clubs of NYC. Getting late night spots at the Improv and Comic Strip comedy clubs, he honed his act and began climbing the comedy club hierarchy, beginning as an opener act with 15 minutes of material. Throughout the 80's, Strassman worked his way up to middle act and then headliner, where he evolved his show into a theatrical experience rather than a nightclub show.
In the early 90’s, Strassman took his show to Australia where he began playing theaters and civic centers. Performing national tours “Down Under”, gave Strassman the experience needed to flesh out a fully theatrical show pulling ventriloquism out of the cruise ship and birthday party realm and into mainstream theater.
In 1996, Strassman performed at the world famous Edinburgh Festival in Scotland and won the coveted “Critics Award for Comedy” and the Glasgow “Herald Angel” award. He then was invited to perform on many British television shows, including his own 1 hour special on the BBC and an appearance on the Royal Variety Show for Prince Charles. With a sold out run at the Apollo Theater in London’s West End, Strassman became the first Ventriloquist to play the legit British “boards” in half a century.
Strassman was offered and then starred in his own talk show, “Strassman”, which ran on Channel Nine in Australia. Subsequent series were developed in England and New Zealand and were seen and enjoyed by millions.
Strassman’s current live show, The “Get Chuck’d Tour” has sold out in every Australian venue in 2005 and he continues to tour throughout 2006. This live show can be seen on the DVD titled, "The Chuck You Tour".
Popular characters voiced by Strassman include:
Chuck Wood- a talking puppet who dreams of becoming a real boy. Makes rude and crude jokes, makes fun of other characters, spits and vomits. Can also be remotely controlled.
Ted E. Bare- Crowd favourite. Naive, inquisitive, often the butt of Chuck's jokes and pranks. Has a grandfather named Fred, who is also featured on the Chuck You DVD.
Sid Beaverman- Aspiring stand-up comic who continually gets Strassman's name wrong. Variations include: Mr Stinking Human, Mr Stresselman, Mr Stetzenhat and Mr Sicklehyer.
Kevin the Alien- Similar in appearance to Crazy Frog, Kevin is from outer space and has an unpronouncible name. He thinks he is wiser than humans and makes slip-ups that his race will take over the planet.
Strassman has recently released two more DVDs in conjunction with his recent touring. They are entitled "Strassman Live" and "Strassman Live: Vol. 2".
