Daniel Tosh

Daniel Tosh
Tosh at Boston University in September 2008.
Birth name	Daniel Dwight Tosh[1]
Born	(1975-05-29) May 29, 1975 Boppard, Rhineland-Palatinate, West Germany[2]
Medium	Stand-up, television
Years active	1997–present
Genres	Black comedy, observational comedy, satire, sarcasm
Notable works and roles	Tosh.0, Brickleberry
Website	www.danieltosh.com

Daniel Dwight Tosh (born May 29, 1975)^[3] is a German-born, American stand-up comedian, television host, actor, voice actor, writer, and executive producer. He hosts the Comedy Central television show Tosh.0.^[4]

Tosh grew up in Florida. He lives in Los Angeles.

Early life

Born in Boppard, Rhineland-Palatinate, West Germany,^[5] Tosh grew up in Titusville, Florida, the son of a preacher. After graduating from Astronaut High School in 1993, Tosh attended the University of Central Florida, graduating in December 1996 with a degree in marketing.^[6] Among his first jobs was a telemarketer at Central Florida Research Park. He said later, "Hey, $15 an hour to annoy people! I really was not preparing myself for the future at all. I had interviews lined up. I sat through one real interview and I was like, 'I wouldn't hire me.' I left halfway through the orientation. That's the closest thing I ever got to a real job."^[7] Tosh moved to Los Angeles, but attributes his decision to work in comedy to being raised in Florida, which he considers "flat, hot, and dumb."^[8]

Career

He started touring the comedy club circuit almost immediately after graduating from college. He appeared as one of the "New Faces" at the 1998 Just for Laughs in Montreal. His act was televised in 2000 in Montreal at the Théâtre Saint-Denis.^[9] Tosh's first big career break came in 2001 with a performance on the Late Show with David Letterman. He also made appearances on programs such as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Comedy Central's Premium Blend.^[10] He hosted a local late-night comedy show in Florida called Tens,^[11][12] and served as a spokesman in Taco Bell commercials.^[13] Tosh has also been a regular guest on radio shows such as The Bob & Tom Show, Loveline and Kevin and Bean.

In 2003, he performed in his own 30-minute special on Comedy Central Presents. On June 17, 2007, Comedy Central aired his stand-up special: Daniel Tosh: Completely Serious. He also hosted an episode of Comedy Central's Live at Gotham.

Tosh appeared in an episode of MTV's Punk'd as a criminal who broke into Mekhi Phifer's car.^[14] He also played a fictional version of himself on Elevator produced by HBO's Runawaybox^[15] and had a small role as Cowboy Hat in the feature film The Love Guru starring Mike Myers.

Tosh had said he planned to end his career on his 38th, May 29, 2013, if he had not by that time succeeded as a comedian. He said he would do this by committing suicide or retiring to the beach.^[16][17] He kept a countdown clock on his website, DanielTosh.com, that gave the number of days, minutes, and seconds until his 38th birthday which is when "Daniel's Groundhog Day Ends," a reference to the Bill Murray film. Tosh has described a comic's routine life on the road as "Groundhog Day."^[17] On his 38th birthday Tosh's fans overwhelmingly voted that Tosh had "made it" as a star and therefore should continue his life and career.

His latest special, Happy Thoughts, premiered on Comedy Central on March 6, 2011, with 3.25 million viewers and a 1.9/5 share.^[18] It was later released on DVD as well.

Tosh is the voice of Malloy in the Comedy Central animated sitcom Brickleberry, and is also one of the show’s executive producers.

Tosh.0

Tosh's Comedy Central television show Tosh.0, which showcases Internet video clips,^[19] premiered on June 5, 2009. His mocking humor is described as "envelope pushing" and frequently features punchlines which are intentionally racist, sexist or homophobic. Tosh's explanation of his non-politically correct humor is “I’m not a misogynistic and racist person...But I do find those jokes funny, so I say them.”^[20]

Controversy

On July 10, 2012, a blog titled Cookies for Breakfast published an account by an unnamed woman in which Tosh made a series of jokes about rape at the Laugh Factory. According to the blogger, after she called out, "Actually, rape jokes are never funny!" Tosh responded, "Wouldn't it be funny if that girl got raped by, like, five guys right now?"^[21][22] Later that day, Tosh claimed the blog post was inaccurate and that he was misquoted, but apologized on Twitter for what he had said.^[23] The owner of the comedy club, who was present during Tosh's set, stated that the blog's account of the incident was inaccurate, and that Tosh had rather speculated the woman had "been raped by, like, five guys."^[24] The event received a mild degree of media coverage, including anti-sexual assault groups arguing that his actions normalize sexual violence,^[25] others indicating that Tosh had used similar offensive material in his comedy for a long time before the incident without backlash,^[26] and many comedians such as Dane Cook, Jim Norton, Stevie Ryan, Patton Oswalt, Chris Rock, Anthony Jeselnik, Doug Stanhope, and Gilbert Gottfried defending his right to speak uncensored.^[27][28]

Personal life

Tosh has one brother and two sisters.^[29] Tosh has stated that he suffers from social anxiety.^[30][31]

Philanthropy

Tosh has participated in a show for the family of deceased comedian Greg Giraldo and for Alabama disaster relief.^[32][33]

Discography

• True Stories I Made Up (Compact Disc, 2005)
• Completely Serious (DVD, 2007)
• Happy Thoughts (CD/DVD, March 8, 2011)

Stand-up specials

• Comedy Central Presents: Daniel Tosh (2003)
• Daniel Tosh: Completely Serious (2007)
• Daniel Tosh: Happy Thoughts (2011)

Tours

• "Tosh Tour Twenty Ten" (2010)
• "Tosh Tour On Ice" (2011)
• "Tosh Tour Twenty Twelve" (2012)
• "Tosh Tour June Gloom" (2013)

Filmography

Television

Film

References

External links

• Official website
• Daniel Tosh at the Internet Movie Database