Earthquake (comedian)

For other uses, see Earthquake (disambiguation).
Earthquake
Birth name Nathaniel Martin Stroman
Born May 29, 1963
Washington, D.C., United States
Medium Stand-up, television, film
Nationality American
Years active 1980s - present
Genres Observational comedy, improvisational comedy, black comedy
Subject(s) African-American culture, racism, race relations, relationships
Spouse Robin Goings (2002-2005) (divorced) 1 child
Notable works and roles Uncle Mike on Everybody Hates Chris
Karl in The Longshots
Root in Barnyard
Root in Back at the Barnyard
Website http://www.myspace.com/quakeshouse2

Nathaniel Martin Stroman (born May 29, 1963), best known as "Earthquake", is an American actor, voice artist, and comedian. He currently hosts his own radio show on WBLS.

Earthquake performed a half-hour HBO special as part of the series One Night Stand, which first aired on August 26, 2005. He also had a small role in Kevin Smith's film Clerks II, and a supporting role in the film The Longshots. He had a recurring role as Chris' Uncle Mike, on Everybody Hates Chris. He voiced Root the Rooster in the 2006 CGI film, Barnyard and in the video game of the same title, and continues to do so on the TV series spinoff, Back at the Barnyard.

Military career

Earthquake was in the U.S. Air Force for nine years and had attained the rank of Sergeant. While stationed at Eglin Air Force Base in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida, Earthquake would take advantage of an Open Mic Night at the local bar, Top's and Blue's and discovered his comedic destiny on that stage. He refused to be a combatant in the Gulf War and was honorably discharged as a conscientious objector. He was demoted to Airman First Class before his discharge.[1][2]

Earthquake revealed on The Howard Stern Show that while he was in the U.S. Air Force, he once dropped a live nuclear missile when he was loading it into an aircraft. According to Earthquake, the incident caused much panic and was classified as a Broken Arrow, a situation that alerts a large portion of the military, including the President of the United States. He claimed that he dropped the missile because he was rushing to attend a 2 Live Crew concert.[3]

Early comedic career

In the early 1990s, Earthquake started off doing gigs in small clubs in Atlanta and other local areas. By 1993 he was able to book shows at the Uptown Comedy Corner in Atlanta's vibrant Buckhead entertainment district. Later he opened a club of his own, Earthquake's Comedy Corner II in Atlanta. In 1997, Earthquake got his national break when he was asked to join the Russell Simmons Def Comedy Jam Tour.[4] Later in 2005, Earthquake did his most memorable stand-up performance in About Got Damm Time and Jamie Foxx's Comedy Central special Laffapalooza.[5]

WBLS

Earthquake started off in radio contributing every Tuesday and Thursday on The Steve Harvey Morning Show and has been known to fill-in as a personality while Steve Harvey was on vacation. Since 2013, Quake has been part of 107.5 WBLS as a full-time radio personality weekdays from 3pm to 7pm with Déjà Vu.[6]

Recognition

In April 2013, he appeared on ABC’s The View in a special segment of stand-up comedians showcased by the cast of The View as their personal favorites.[7]

References

  1. Yarborough, Kenya M. (2003-02-28). "EARTHQUAKE:Comedian reminds us that there’s nothing funny about war.". EURweb.com. Retrieved 2007-02-07.
  2. Loeffler, William (2010-01-13). "Comedian Earthquake hopes to have them shaking in the aisles". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved 2012-05-13.
  3. Panasci, Thomas; Kaplan, Jason (2005-09-29). "Get Out the Richter Scale". HowardStern.com. Retrieved 2008-07-29.
  4. "Royal Comedy Tour".
  5. "Earthquake Laugh Stub".
  6. "WBLS".
  7. "Earthquake On The View".

External links

Portal iconBiography portal
Portal iconUnited States Air Force portal