Patrick Harlan
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Patrick Harlan (パトリック・ハーラン Patorikku Hāran?, b. November 14, 1970 in Colorado, United States) is a gaijin tarento, member of the comedy duo Pakkun Makkun, and one of the hosts of the late-night English television show Eigo de Shabera Night in Japan. Though not the first or only foreigner to do Manzai, a popular and traditional style of two-person stand up comedy, Harlan is the best known and most successful foreign practitioner or Manzaishi. He is often referred to by his stage name Pakkun.
A native of Colorado Springs, Colorado and a graduate of Harvard University with a degree in comparative religion, Harlan first came to Japan on a tour with the Harvard Glee Club in 1993. He moved to Fukui that fall to teach English and study Japanese. Having passed the highest level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test in 1995, he moved to Tokyo in 1996 to pursue an acting career.
In 1997 Harlan joined with Makoto Yoshida to form the comic duo Pakkun Makkun, with Harlan as the boke (funny guy) and Yoshida as the tsukkomi (straight guy). At the time, they were the first international pair on the Japanese comedy scene in decades. They quickly made a name for themselves, winning the Tokyo FM King of Comedy Tournament and making it to the finals of NHK's Shinjin Engei Taisho both in 1999. They were also finalists on NHK's Bakusho Onair Battle in 2000. Also in 2000, Harlan used his voice for the character of Ark Thompson in Resident Evil Survivor.
Pakkun Makkun became regular faces on Japanese television with a daily corner on the popular afternoon show Just on TBS for five and a half years. Their straightforward presentation of daily events and Patrick's informative and often humorous remarks became their trademark style.
After Just went off the air in 2004, Patrick became better known for his role on NHK's Eigo de Shabera Night.
[edit] Published works
- 爆笑問題・パックンの英語原論 (Bakusho Mondai and Pack'n Tackle English (full edition)), Gentosha, 2001
- 爆笑問題・パックンのニュースで英語を学ぶ本 (Bakusho Mondai and Pakkun Learn English from the News), Gentosha, 2002
- パックンマックンの笑われる英語 笑わせる英語 (Pakkun Makkun's English to Get Laughed At, English to Get A Laugh), Seishun Shuppan, 2002
- 小卒レベルのおれがラスベガスで英語で漫才ができた理由 (How I, With Grade School Level English, Came to Perform MANZAI in English in Las Vegas), Gentosha, 2004
- Pakkun's English Dictionary, Gakushu Kenkyusha, 2004
- 爆笑問題・パックンの読むだけで英語がわかる本 (Bakusho Mondai and Pakkun Tackle English (revised)), Gentosha, 2005
- パックンマックンの「使いこなせ! カタカナ語」ビジネス編 仕事で役立つ頻出300語マスター (Pakkun Makkun's Useful Katakana English for Business), Shogakukan, 2006
- パックンの英語絵本「トゥースフェアリーの大冒険」 (The Tooth Fairy's Big Adventure (picture book. text and illustration by Patrick Harlan)), Shogakukan, 2006
- パックンの中吊り英作文 (Pakkun's Headline English), CNN Publishing, 2006
