Daniel Tosh has done the unthinkable, and has made an iconic name for himself even in an ultra-competitive standup scene. Tosh’s act is not only funny, but also wildly subversive, risqué, politically incorrect and downright bizarre at times. Imagine the social satire of Lenny Bruce or George Carlin crossed with the irreverence of David Letterman, and you’ll come something close to Tosh’s act–except that Tosh is definitely a comic of the new 2000 era.

The quaint young man, 36 years of age, has been entertaining his entire life, though he only recently found his way as a successful comedian. Being the son of a preacher man, Tosh likely used his humor as a defense, as an act of rebellion, and possibly even as a survival tool growing up in Florida, which he calls “flat, hot and dumb.” It is easy to observe his educational background from his literate style of comedy; Tosh graduated from Astronaut High School in 1993 and the University of Central Florida (with a marketing degree).

One of his first jobs was working as a telemarketer, which he approached with sarcastic embrace. (“Fifteen dollars an hour to annoy people!”) Tosh flailed in the “real world” but found an opportunity in standup comedy. His big break was appearing on The Late Show with David Letterman, as well as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Following his broadcasts, he lined up a number of comedy specials and developed his “shtick”, a cynical and often times dark-humored worldview that truly captured the essence of 2011 thinking.

His show Tosh .0 is considered edgy to say the least, and often features punch lines that could easily be misconstrued racist, sexist or homophobic. However, Tosh states that it’s all in good fun, and that humor sometimes comes from very dark places. Tosh is actually the unofficial king of the Comedy Central network, as his show often defeats both The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (as well as The Colbert Report), making it the highest rated show that’s not South Park or at least another South Park-inspired cartoon.

Here’s an example of Tosh’s bizarre and twisted sense of humor. He claims that come his 38th birthday, he will either commit suicide or “retire to the beach.” He has started an official countdown to this esoteric landmark, labeling it as when “Daniel’s Groundhog Day Ends.”

See Daniel Tosh in person! This is one comic that lives up to the hype!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 26th, 2011 at 3:42 pm and is filed under Comedy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.