Dan Willis (comedian)

Dan Willis (born Dan Hull; 11 March 1973) is an Australia-based English comedian, originally studying and then working in information technology for over 12 years before moving into live stand-up comedy after the IT crash of 2002.[1] Since then, Willis has performed over 2,000 times at comedy venues and festivals throughout the world, as well as live stand-up. He also performs 2 specialist computer comedy shows "Control-Alt-Delete" and "PC Mac and me".[2]

Dan Willis
Dan Willis (Comedian) in a publicity shot for the comedy show "Control Alt Delete: The Funny Side Of Computers".
Birth nameDan Hull
Born (1973-03-11) 11 March 1973
York, Yorkshire, England
MediumComedian, Actor, Computer Programmer, Presenter
GenresComedy, Information Technology
WebsiteDanWillis.net

Early life

Willis was born Dan Hull in York, Yorkshire in 1973, he took the stage name "Dan Willis" as a homage to the show Diff'rent Strokes. At the age of 3 his parents divorced and he moved to Newcastle Upon Tyne where he attended St Catherines First School, Gosforth Central Middle and Gosforth High School.[3] Willis then studied at Liverpool University where he gained degrees in Computer Sciences and American History.

Information technology career

Gaining an initial love of computers after being bought a ZX Spectrum 48k at the age of 9,[4] Willis chose to study Computer Sciences as part of his degree at Liverpool University. After graduating he first worked as a computer support technician at the head office of Meyer cookware in Liverpool. He then switched to computer programming for FI group, Eagle Star Insurance, Unisys, Coutts & Co and Alchemy Data Migration.[5]

Initially starting as a Visual Basic programmer, he quickly retrained in COBOL, PL1, Easytrieve and DB2 in order to work on Y2K projects. After Y2K he retrained in ETL tools ACTA, Informatica and Ab Initio, working for 2 years at Alchemy Data Migration prior to the IT crash of 2002.[6]

Comedy career

Whilst still a programmer Willis won the Time Out Comedy Awards to be a punters representative on the Perrier Panel.[7] Watching over 80 shows at the 2001 Edinburgh Festival inspired him to become a comedian.

Starting out in 2002, Willis made his Edinburgh Debut with The Amused Moose Hot Starlets (in a line up with Nina Conti, Greg Davies, Rhod Gilbert and Patrick Monahan).[8] From there he has now performed at over 90 international comedy festivals, specializing in solo shows about specific subject matters.

Specialized solo shows

Information technology (computer) comedy shows

"Control-Alt-Delete: The Funny Side Of Computers". Performed at Melbourne Comedy Festival,[9] Edinburgh Festival,[10] Adelaide Fringe,[11] Melbourne Fringe[12] and Perth Fringe World.[13]

"PC MAC and Me" has been performed at the Edinburgh Festival[14] and was also featured on BBC Click on 7 September 2013, with Dan discussing iPhones, Mac Books, PC's, ZX Spectrum's, Commodore 64's and the humour inherent within them.[15][16]

As well as performing on the international stand-up circuit, Willis also performs specialized shows at corporate events. His shows “PC Mac and Me” and "Control Alt Delete" have been performed for companies such as Hewlett Packard and Microsoft.[17]

Ferris Bueller's Way Of...

Ferris Bueller's Day Off Love the movie, live the life. Dan Willis looks for life answers in a 1986 feel good movie.[18] Performed at Edinburgh Festival,[19] Adelaide Fringe,[20] Melbourne Fringe, New Zealand Comedy Festival[21] and Melbourne Comedy Festival[22]

The Walking Dead

The Beginners Guide To Surviving a Zombie Apocalypse. Based on The Walking Dead TV series. Performed at Melbourne Comedy Festival,[23] Edinburgh Festival,[24] Adelaide Fringe,[25] New Zealand Comedy Festival,[26] Melbourne Fringe[27] and Perth Fringe World.[28]

Radiohead

A comedic journey into feel-good music. Performed at Leicester Comedy Festival, Edinburgh Festival,[29] Melbourne Comedy Festival and Adelaide Fringe.[30]

Australia: A Whinging Poms Guide

The funny side of Australia. "Dan Willis moved to Australia six years ago. Now he’s got a bag of jokes, experiences and hangovers to share".[31] Performed at Adelaide Fringe.[32]

Comedy world record holder

In August 2012, Willis became the first comedian in history to perform six shows a day at the Edinburgh Festival,[33] each show being an hour long and performed without repeating material.[34]

References
  1. Brinker, Jay. "Geek Laughs: Control alt Delete". The Conversation .com. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  2. "Music Theatre Australia". MTA.com. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  3. Fidele, Crisci. "Sit Down Comedy Biog". The Sit Down Comedy club. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  4. "The Journal Newspaper". The Journal. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  5. Erin, Melville. "Dan Willis Official Biography". DanWillis.net. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  6. Melville, Erin. "Dan Willis Official Biog". danwillis.net. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  7. Bennet, Steven. "Chortle Biography". Chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  8. Melville, Erin. "Dan Willis Official Biog". danwillis.net. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  9. Flaherty, Colin. "Dan Willis- Control Alt Delete". Squirrel Comedy. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  10. Pulsford, Emily. "Three Weeks review- Control alt delete". Three Weeks. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  11. McNaughton, Brad. "The Fix: Review Control alt Delete" (PDF). Page 24- The Fix. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  12. Brinker, Jay. "Geek Laughs: Control Alt Delete". The Conversation.com. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  13. ADM4malti. "Perth Fringe Picks". Malti Media. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  14. Lunn, Rebecca. "PC Mac and Me Review". Three Weeks. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  15. "Comedians Turn To Technology for Laughs". BBC World News. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  16. "BBC Click - Full Episode". youtube. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  17. Smith, Paul. "Australian Financial Review". AFR Weekend. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  18. "Ferris Description". Live Guide. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  19. Stubbs, Jamie. "Gigglebeats Ferris Review". Giggle Beats. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  20. Batsford, Rich. "Rich Batsford Blog". Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  21. "NZ Ferris Buellers Review". Keeping up With NZ. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  22. Hudson, Sarah. "Herald Sun review". Herald Sun. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  23. Richards, Tim. "The Age- The Walking Dead". The Age. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  24. Alice, Taylor. "Three Weeks Edinburgh". Three Weeks. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  25. Trista, Coulter. "Dan Willis: Adelaide Fringe". Adelaide independent News. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  26. Wong, Faith-Ashleigh. "NCICF Review- Dan Willis". Appetite for the arts. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  27. Harris, Narelle. "Melbourne Fringe Recommendations". Mortal Words. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  28. Young, Emma. "Top Ten Picks- Perth Fringe World". Western Australia Today. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  29. Johnston, Gordon. "RadiHead Review". Broadway Baby. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  30. Russo, Nicole. "Radiohead Review- Adelaide". The Barefoot Review. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  31. "Whinging Pom Show Description". Dan Willis Official Site. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  32. Louise Kelly, Teri. "IN DAILY Review- Adelaide". IN DAILY. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  33. Walker, Martin. "Three Minute Interview". Broadway Baby. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  34. Fleming, John. "The Hardest Working Comedian". The John Fleming Blog. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
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