Arj Barker

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Arj Barker
Born Arjun Singh
April 18, 1971 (1971-04-18) (age 37)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
Occupation Actor
Comedian
Official website

Arj Barker (born April 18, 1971) is an American stand-up comedian from San Anselmo, California. He is relatively well-known among comedy fans in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, European countries, and many other parts of the world, continuing to tour venues in all these nations.[citation needed] He was born to an engineer father and artist mother, and is half-Indian, half-European[citation needed]. His real name is 'Arjun Singh'.[1]

Contents

[edit] Works

Arj Barker has appeared on several television comedy shows since his 1997 appearance on Premium Blend. Most of his appearances are late-night shows such as Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Glass House. He has had his own Comedy Central Presents episode on two occasions, first on 20th September, 2000 and again on 31st March, 2006. He also has appeared on the Australian show, Thank God You're Here on 18th October, 2006 and the 19th September, 2007 (the latter of which, he won).

Barker also co-wrote The Marijuana-Logues, an off-Broadway show currently showing in New York - the title is a parody of production The Vagina Monologues. Doug Benson and Tony Camin also wrote the play, and all three perform in it as the original cast.

NBC had given him the lead role for Nearly Nirvana, a sitcom originally scheduled for fall 2004. However, Barker was replaced in the lead role by the show's creator, Ajay Sahgal, and then the show never aired.[2]

Arj Barker also appears in the HBO sitcom Flight of the Conchords, as Dave, Bret and Jemaine's friend, whom they meet after moving to New York.[3]

[edit] Style

Arj Barker could probably be best classified as an observational comedian. Unlike many other observational comics such as Jerry Seinfeld, however, Arj Barker places the typical emphasis on an irrelevant portion of the joke. His actual punchlines are more akin to subtle or absurdist comedians, such as Mitch Hedberg.

[edit] Arj and Poopy

Arj also has his own Flash series, Arj and Poopy, based on some of his stand-up material, that stars him and his cat, Poopy, who talks by farting.[4] The series is animated by Bernard Derriman. The cat has acquired his own MySpace blog, which lists his hobbies as eating, watching TV, paper chains, star gazing, train spotting, golf caddying, bowling, fly fishing and chess.[5] The series has been syndicated to AtomFilms.[6]

The episode "Unlucky in Love" won the Annecy 2006 animated film festival Internet Selection.[7] The series also has a planned spin-off called Bouncy the Dog.

[edit] List of episodes

  1. "Experimentation"
  2. "Venetian Rowing Machine"
  3. "Philosopher"
  4. "Brutally Ambushed"
  5. "Long Distance Relationship"
  6. "Shpants"
  7. "Unlucky in Love"
  8. "Yoga"
  9. "Oh, Christmas tree"
  10. "Congo Windfall"

[edit] Arj and Last Comic Standing

Arj was recently featured as a contestant on the first episode of the fifth season of Last Comic Standing, where he most recently advanced to the Los Angeles semi-final round. He then failed to progress to the final 10 in the semi-final round.

[edit] Trivia

Arj Barker used to play World of Warcraft, stopping when his Blood Elf Hunter hit Level 32.[citation needed]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Real name and heritage
  2. ^ The Vine: NBC finds new 'Nirvana' lead
  3. ^ HBO: Arj Barker as Dave: Flight of the Conchords
  4. ^ Arj and Poopy
  5. ^ MySpace.com - Poopy - 101 - Garçon - San Francisco, CALIFORNIA - www.myspace.com/poopythecat
  6. ^ AtomFilms: Arj & Poopy series
  7. ^ "Unlucky in Love". Annecy 2006: Award Winning Films. Annecy.org. Retrieved on 2007-10-21.

[edit] External links