| Craig Shoemaker | |
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Craig Shoemaker (2011) |
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| Born | November 15, 1958 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Medium | Stand-up, Television, Film, Books |
| Nationality | American |
| Years active | 1981-present |
| Genres | Observational comedy |
| Subject(s) | Impressions, everyday life, marriage, parenting |
| Spouse | Nancy Allen (1992-1998) Carolyn Clark (1998-2007) 2 children Mika Shoemaker (2008-Present) 1 child |
| Website | www.craigshoemaker.com |
Craig Shoemaker (born November 15, 1958) is an American comedian, writer, and voice actor. He is best known for his baritone voiced character, The Lovemaster, which he routinely portrays in his stand up act.
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Craig began his career in his hometown of Philadelphia, where he honed his comedy and characters, winning the “Best of Philly” Award while working as a bartender and attending Temple University. A natural storyteller with keen observational instincts, Shoemaker's performances are informed by the hilarious and often shocking twists and turns of his own life. His comedy stylings have earned him numerous awards throughout his extensive career, including Comedian of the Year at ABC's American Comedy Awards. He broadened his stage presence beyond traditional standup with the hilarious and touching one-man play Who's Your Daddy at the Coronet Theatre in Los Angeles, which he wrote and performed to great critical acclaim. Based on his own childhood with an absentee father and a household full of strong and quirky women, Who's Your Daddy chronicles the often heartwarming and always amusing struggles of raising his three sons with no male role model of one's own.
After bit parts on various television shows, he landed his first hosting duty on VH1's game show My Generation in 1998. In that same year, he played the sidekick to basketball legend Magic Johnson, on his late night talk show The Magic Hour. He has also voiced characters on many hit animated series such as Teamo Supremo, Cow and Chicken, and I Am Weasel. In 2006, he and Wayne Brady co-hosted Comic Relief in New Orleans, and was also a part of The Showtime All-Stars show with Tim Allen. Recently, his comedy special Craig Shoemaker: The Lovemaster... Unzipped, aired on Comedy Central. It was voted by viewers as one of the '"Top 20" stand-up specials of all time.
Craig has had his own nationally syndicated radio show, which after only ten months on the air, won the prestigious Communicator Award "Crystal" prize.
As an actor, his feature film credits include the box office hit Scream 2, co-starring opposite Patrick Stewart in Safe House, and had a featured role opposite Daryl Hannah as her love interest in Dark Honeymoon. As a scribe, he co-wrote and starred in the 1997 film The Lovemaster, based on his own personal stories and stand up routine. The film was voted number one at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival. In 2006, he co-wrote, produced, and starred in National Lampoon's Totally Baked: A Potumentary, a mockumentary which was conceived from his own son asking if his dad had ever smoked marijuana.
Inspired by his children, Craig has also published two hit children's books, now in their third printing, entitled "What You Have Now...What Your Daddy Had Then" and "What You Have Now... What Your Mommy Had Then."
Craig is happily married to his wife Mika and has three sons, Justin, Jared, and Jackson. He created a new forum called Laughter Heals in 2002, where he combines his two decades of stand up into an uplifting seminar and humanistic forum to help those battling and suffering from cancer and other life threatening diseases. Craig opened a comedy compound and retail outlet in 2004 called The Laughter Store. In June 2010, Shoemaker received an honorary doctorate in humanities from his alma mater, California University of Pennsylvania, recognizing the humanitarian work he has done over the last several years.