Eddie Pence

Eddie Pence
Birth name Edwin Pence
Born Virginia, United States
Medium Standup, film and television
Years active 1990s-present
Genres Improv, sketch comedy, stand-up, acting, directing and writing
Subject(s) Observational comedy, physical comedy
Influences Tim Conway, Gene Wilder, Three Stooges, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton
Notable works and roles Tastes Like Pennies
Website EddiePence.com

Eddie Pence is an American comedian, writer, actor, and radio show host based in Los Angeles, California. Pence became known around 2004 for both his improv and sketch comedy, and his stand-up routines regularly use observational and personal humor.[1] Austin Duerst of Isthmus Magazine has called Pence a "master" of physical comedy.[2] He currently co-hosts the LA Talk Radio show Wake Up Hollywood.[3]

In 2009 the TV series Rise and Fall of Tuck Johnson, featuring Pence as the title character,[4] was released with other actors such as Kate Flannery, Ed Begley Jr., Wendi McLendon-Covey, and Jack Plotnick.[5] The series was based on a mockumentary pilot written by Pence.[4]

He has appeared as an actor or guest comedian on shows such as Crossballs: The Debate Show, Live at Gotham, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Red Eye w/Greg Gutfeld, History of the Joke, Surviving the Holidays with Lewis Black, Gotham Comedy Live, The RAW After Show,[3] and How to Be a Grown Up. In 2015 he is meant to make an appearance as himself in the Adam Carolla film Road Hard.[2]

Early life

Edwin "Eddie" Pence was born in 1974[2] in Virginia.[6] Eager to be both a comedian and a filmmaker at a young age,[7] after graduating high school in Virginia at age eighteen,[2] he moved to Los Angeles, California to attend film school in 1992.[7] While in college he started performing standup at venues such as the Comedy Store in West Hollywood.[7]

Comedy career

2002-07: Early standup and film

In the 1990s Pence began touring as a standup comedian,[7] also gaining experience in improv comedy and comedy sketches.[1] In 2004 he performed at the Montreal Comedy Festival, where the Hollywood Reporter dubbed him one of the festival's "Top New Faces."[6] Pence's biography at the Comedy Central site states that in 2004, his "blend of physical, observational and personal stand-up comedy caught the attention of studio and television executives."[1] That year Pence began to act in a number of television shows and films, including spots for AOL Comedy Network and Sprint TV.[1] One of his first television gigs was playing various characters in Crossballs: The Debate Show on Comedy Central,[2] where he appeared in three episodes throughout 2004.[4]

External video
Eddie Pence "Streakers" stand-up on Live at Gotham (1:44) by Comedy Central (July 2006)

In 2006 he appeared as a character in the comedy film Idol by director Christopher Long,[4] which was followed by two stand-up stints on the Comedy Central TV series Live at Gotham.[2] Pence performed at the Montreal Comedy Festival again in 2006,[6] and in 2007 he performed standup at The Comedy Festival put on by HBO in Las Vegas.[6] He also appeared as himself and wrote a segment for the documentary film Accidentally Famous, which featured a number of Comedy Festival contestants.[4] Pence continued to appear as himself on television in 2007, appearing as a guest on both The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson[8] and Red Eye w/Greg Gutfeld on Fox News.[2]

2008-09: Tastes Like Pennies and Tuck Johnson

On March 31, 2008, he released the audio CD Tastes Like Pennies, a collection of his various standup routines.[9] He thenappeared as himself[4] in the TV movie History of the Joke, which aired on the History Channel.[3][6]

Around that time Pence began working on a pilot for Tuck Johnson Professional Porn Star, which he'd been writing on and off throughout 2008. Stated Pence, "I made these little two-minute shorts that I put on the internet; and I got a couple million hits, so I wrote a screenplay." In October 2008, they filmed much of the pilot with actors such as Ed Begley, Jr. and several cast members from Reno 911! and The Office."[10] In 2009 the TV series Rise and Fall of Tuck Johnson, directed by William Butler and produced by Transition Entertainment, was released with Pence playing the title character.[4] Other actors beside Pence included Jessie Pavelka as Peter Porker[11] and Kate Flannery of The Office as Nikki Strokums. Formatted as a mockumentary on the making of a porn film, other actors in the final cut included Ed Begley Jr, Wendi McLendon-Covey, and Jack Plotnick.[5] Pence then appeared as himself in the History Channel movie Surviving the Holidays with Lewis Black in late 2009.[3][4]

2010-12: Competitions and touring

In 2010 Pence was a Top Five finalist at the Seattle Comedy Competition held in Lakewood, Washington,[12] and he has also been a semi-finalist at the Boston Comedy Competition.[3] On September 28, 2011, GreenRoomRadio.net aired an episode featuring Pence,[7] and in 2012 he headlined venues such as The Comedy Club on State in Madison, Wisconsin.[13] By then was also "a favorite at the famous Improv Comedy Club" in Los Angeles, according to Isthmus Magazine,[2] and had appeared multiple times at other LA venues such as World Famous Improv.[6]

2013-15: Radio shows and film

External video
Eddie Pence on AXS TV's Gotham Comedy Live (Sept 2014)

In November 2013 he was featured on The Kira Soltanovich Show,[14] and he appeared on the Road Stories podcast with host Murray Valeriano on All Things Comedy, covering topics such as "things thrown at you onstage."[15] On April 7, 2014, The Network Studios featured both Pence and Stacy Brown Jr. in the first episode of Comedians Talking About Bigfoot.[16] In early 2014 he performed at the SLO Comedy Festival[17] and later that year he co-headlined several venues with comedian Sid Davis.[18]

Appearing as himself in an episode of Gotham Comedy Live on Comedy Central in 2014, he also acted in three episodes of the TV show Laughs and appeared as a frequent sketch performer in the TruTV series How to Be a Grown Up.[4] Other appearances include NBC's Last Comic Driving campaign,[6] and he recently had roles in two short films, both due out in 2015: "Out of the Bag"[4] and "The Thumb Wrestler."[4] As himself, he appeared in the comedy film Road Hard by Adam Carolla, also intended for a 2015 release.[4]

He and Nikhil Korula co-host the LA Talk Radio show Wake Up Hollywood,[3] and from 2013 to 2014 he was co-host of the TradioV show The Steel Chair Slamcast. In 2014 he was a guest on The RAW After Show on AfterBuzz TV.[3]

Style and influences

"Inspired by physical comedians like Tim Conway and Gene Wilder, Pence's standup combines stories about his personal life with material that edges into the more silly and abstract. Whether he's battling hordes of imaginary Chihuahuas on stage or reminiscing about the first time he was kicked in the crotch, Pence creates vivid pictures using his body."
— Isthmus Magazine in 2012[2]

Pence is known for both his improv and sketch comedy, and his stand-up routines regularly use observational, personal, and physical humor.[1] About his proclivity for physical comedy, often verging on self-injury, Pence has stated "I just grew up watching the Three Stooges and Charlie Chaplin, or old Buster Keaton films. I just always liked physical comedy and I wanted to do that."[10] Austin Duerst of Isthmus Magazine has called Pence a "master" of physical humor.[2] Further explained Pence, "I look in awe at comedians who can just stand there in front of a microphone and be successful. That takes a lot of talent. But I enjoy creating a space with my body. It helps me tell a story better."[2]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Nominated work Category Result
2010 Seattle International
Comedy Competition		 Eddie Pence Best Standup[12] Finalist
2012 Boston Comedy Competition Eddie Pence Best Standup Semi-finalist

Discography

Audio CDs by Eddie Pence
Year Title Contributors Release details
2008 Tastes Like Pennies Eddie Pence Audio CD: Spaghetti (Mar 31, 2008), Rooftop Comedy Productions (May 1, 2008 / Apr 10, 2008)
2013 Steel Chair Slamcast Pence, Jonny Loquasto, Jenn Sterger Audio CD

Filmography

Film and TV credits for Eddie Pence[4]
Yr Release title Artist(s) Appearance details
2004 Crossballs: The Debate Show TV series by Comedy Central Various characters (3 episodes)
2006 Idol Comedy film by Christopher Long Interviewer #1
Live at Gotham TV series on Comedy Central Performer (Ep 1.6/1.1)[8]
2007 Accidentally Famous TV movie for Comedy Arts Festival Segment writer, as himself as "comedy contestant"
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson TV series on CBS As himself[8] (Ep. 4.79)
Red Eye w/Greg Gutfeld TV series on Fox News As himself (Ep. Nov 28)
2008 History of the Joke TV movie on History Channel As himself
2009 Surviving the Holidays with Lewis Black TV movie on History Channel As himself
Rise and Fall of Tuck Johnson TV series by William Butler Tuck Johnson
2010 Man Up, Stand-Up TV series As himself (Ep. 2.2)
2013 The Stevie D. Show TV series As himself
2014 Gotham Comedy Live TV series on Comedy Central As himself (Season 3, Ep. 89)
"Out of the Bag" Short film Role as "Carl"
Laughs TV show Actor (Ep. 1.22/1.15/1.5)
How to Be a Grown Up TV series on TruTV Sketch performer (8 episodes)
2015 "The Thumb Wrestler" Short film Role as "Gary Henchman"[4]
Road Hard Comedy film by Adam Carolla As himself

Further reading

Interviews and articles
Credits

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Eddie Pence". Comedy Central Stand-Up. Retrieved 2015-01-12.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Duerst, Austin (August 2, 2012). "Eddie Pence is a master of physical humor". Isthmus Magazine. Retrieved 2015-01-12.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Wake Up Hollywood Radio Show Personnel". LA Talk Radio. Retrieved 2015-01-12.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Eddie Pence". IMDB. Retrieved 2015-01-12.
  5. 1 2 "Tuck Johnson". Transition Films. Retrieved 2015-01-12.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Biography". eddiepence.com. Retrieved 2015-01-12.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Green Room: Episode with Eddie Pence (Tuck sent me)". GreenRoomRadio.net. September 28, 2011. Retrieved 2015-01-12.
  8. 1 2 3 "Eddie Pence". TVGuide. Retrieved 2015-01-12.
  9. ↑ Pence, Eddie (March 31, 2008). "Tastes Like Pennies". Spaghetti. Retrieved 2015-01-12.
  10. 1 2 Campos, Dr. Nicolas (October 28, 2008). "Chinese Food and Coke: Interview with Comic Eddie Pence". DrNickCampos.com. Retrieved 2015-01-12.
  11. ↑ LA Muscle's Rob Riches interviews Jessie Pavelka
  12. 1 2 "Great American Casino - Lakewood". Seattle Comedy Competition. 2010. Retrieved 2015-01-12.
  13. ↑ "Headliner: Eddie Pence". The Comedy Club on State. Retrieved 2015-01-12.
  14. ↑ "Episode 25: Eddie Pence". The Kira Soltanovich Show. November 18, 2013. Retrieved 2015-01-12.
  15. ↑ "Patrick Keane, Eddie Pence: Road Stories". All Things Comedy. Retrieved 2015-01-12.
  16. ↑ "Ep1 of "Comedians Talking About Bigfoot" - Stacy Brown Jr. and Eddie Pence". the network studios. April 7, 2014. Retrieved 2015-01-12.
  17. ↑ "Eddie Pence". SLO Comedy Festival. February 27, 2014. Retrieved 2015-01-12.
  18. ↑ "Sid Davis & Eddie Pence". Tucson Weekly. Aug 8, 2014. Retrieved 2015-01-12.

External links

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