Esther Ku

Esther Ku

Esther Ku in 2010
Medium Stand-up, television
Years active 2002 – present
Subject(s) Asian culture,
Website http://www.funnyku.com

Esther Ku is a Korean-American comic.[1] Ku was chosen as one of the ten best comedians for the 2006 NBC Stand-up for Diversity Showcase in New York City.[2] Ku has also been a featured regular performer in the Boston International Comedy Festival and the New York Underground Festival. She has been called the Asian Sarah Silverman.[3] Ku recently MCed an Asian Heritage show in New York which also featured Jenny Choi and Peelander-Z.[4]

Contents

Background

The daughter of Christian missionaries, Ku was born in Chicago in the 1980s. She was fired from a job at Sharpie's for laughing too much, which she says caused her to explore doing comedy.[5]

Ku has claimed that comedians need to be prepared to deal with the failure of a joke; she says that she does so by poking fun at herself.[6] Ku was also interviewed by veteran comedian Richard Lewis on NPR in a feature about the difficulties of becoming a comedian.[7]

Typically her material is controversial and racially tinged.[8]

Notability

In 2008, Ku competed as a finalist on the nationally televised show Last Comic Standing 6.[9] She finished in eleventh place. In 2008, Ku competed as a finalist on Howard Stern's Hottest Funniest Chick contest on Sirius Satellite Radio.[10] She was also selected for NBC's Stand-up for Diversity Showcase in 2006.[11] She has been reviewed favorably in many media outlets[12][13] in both English and the Korean language.[14]

References

  1. ^ Esther Ku at the Internet Movie Database
  2. ^ Esther Ku, Auburn Moon Agency
  3. ^ Meet Esther Ku, the Asian Sarah Silverman | Racialicious – the intersection of race and pop culture. Racialicious (2008-06-02). Retrieved on 2011-06-15.
  4. ^ East meets West at LaGuardia. Queensexaminer.com. Retrieved on 2011-06-15.
  5. ^ Saucy Esther Ku dishes on sex and the Beach Boys. MyCentralJersey.com (2009-01-30). Retrieved on 2011-06-15.
  6. ^ Trunk, Penelope. (2007-10-14) Making connections is key – The Boston Globe. Boston.com. Retrieved on 2011-06-15.
  7. ^ It Ain't Easy Getting to the Top. NPR. Retrieved on 2011-06-15.
  8. ^ Between the lines – The Boston Globe. Boston.com (2006-03-20). Retrieved on 2011-06-15.
  9. ^ Exclusive Interview: Esther Ku of 'Last Comic Standing'. Buddytv.com (2008-07-13). Retrieved on 2011-06-15.
  10. ^ The killer combo: hot and funny – The Howard Stern Show. Howardstern.com (2008-12-09). Retrieved on 2011-06-15.
  11. ^ Interview with Esther Ku from Last Comic Standing : RealityWanted.com: Reality TV, Game Show, Talk Show, News – All Things Unscripted Social Network Casting Community. RealityWanted.com (2008-07-20). Retrieved on 2011-06-15.
  12. ^ Roberts, Caroline. (2007-10-08) Boston Comedy Festival: Contest, Preliminary, Rounds 1 and 2. Bostonist. Retrieved on 2011-06-15.
  13. ^ Funny Asian. Asianweek.com. Retrieved on 2011-06-15.
  14. ^ [1]

External links