Josh Blue

Josh Blue (born November 27, 1978) is an American comedian. He was voted the Last Comic Standing on NBC's reality show Last Comic Standing during its fourth season, which aired May–August 2006.[1] Blue has cerebral palsy, and much of his self-deprecating humor is centered on this.

Josh Blue
Blue in 2006
Born (1978-11-27) November 27, 1978
Cameroon
MediumStand-up, television, film
NationalityAmerican
Years active2000–present
GenresObservational comedy, blue comedy
Subject(s)Self-deprecation, physical disabilities, everyday life
Spouse
Yuko Blue
​
​
(m. 2007; div. 2014)​
Children2
Notable works and rolesLast Comic Standing season 4 winner
Websitejoshblue.com

Early life

Blue was born in Cameroon where his father, Walter Blue, was a professor of Romance languages at Hamline University teaching during a mission. Blue grew up in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and graduated from Como Park Senior High School in 1997. He began his career as a comedian while seeking a creative writing degree at The Evergreen State College.[2]

During college, he went back to Africa to volunteer as an intern at Parc de Hahn, a zoo in Senegal.[3] At one point for a joke on a busy weekend, Josh locked himself in an empty animal exhibit for eight hours. A bewildered crowd threw him bananas and peanuts anyway, to which Josh quips, "that was the best day I ate in Senegal!"[4]

Career

Blue got his start in comedy doing open mic sets while attending The Evergreen State College. Audiences reacted enthusiastically to his self-deprecating humor, and Blue started making a name for himself on the comedy circuit. In 2002, he won the prestigious Comedy Works New Faces contest. He has appeared several times on Comedy Central's Mind of Mencia.[2] Blue won $10,000 for finishing in first place at 2004 Las Vegas Comedy Festival's 2004 Royal Flush Comedy Competition.[2]

After winning the 2006 season of NBC's reality show Last Comic Standing,[1] he was the first comedian to do stand-up on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.[5] His other television credits include Live with Regis and Kelly, Comics Unleashed, plus numerous appearances on Fox, CBS, ABC, and MSNBC.[5]

He appeared in the 2009 low-budget horror film Feast III: The Happy Finish.[6]

Josh was voted the 13th best comedian by viewers in Comedy Central's Stand-up Comedy Showdown 2010.

Blue appeared in Boulder band Rose Hill Drive's music video "The Psychoanalyst".[7]

Blue at a USO-sponsored holiday concert, 2006

Blue was voted the 11th best comedian by viewers in Comedy Central's Stand-up Comedy Showdown 2011.

He appeared in Ron White's Las Vegas Salute to the Troops 2013 as part of the opening act.[8]

Blue also appeared in the sports based comedy 108 Stitches in 2014.[9]

In 2021, Blue auditioned for season sixteen of America's Got Talent, where he got four yeses from the judges and was able to advance through the live rounds.[10] Blue placed third in the season, behind aerialist Aidan Bryant and magician Dustin Tavella.[11]

In 2023, Blue appeared on America's Got Talent: All-Stars. In his round of the preliminaries, he placed third behind former winners Brandon Leake and Kodi Lee.

Personal life

Blue currently resides in Denver, Colorado,[2] with his two children: a son, Simon, and a daughter, Saika.

He also creates and sells sculptures and paintings.[12]

Blue has cerebral palsy,[1] specifically classified as spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy, and many of his jokes center on living with his disability, how he deals with it, and how other people view him.[2] Blue appeared on Last Comic Standing to "make people aware of the fact that people with disabilities can make an impact."[2] He coined the term "palsy punch" during his final set of the final round of the show, when he said that the palsy punch is effective in a fight because "first of all, they don't know where the punch is coming from, and second of all, neither do I." One of Blue's competitors said he has "an unreasonable amount of likability" while another of his competitors said "he is just a good guy".[5] Blue also joked that signing an autograph takes 45 minutes and that to write down his phone number he has to find a "big ol' stack of paper."

Blue has competed in Paralympic seven-a-side soccer; he was a part of the United States national team roster during the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, Greece.[13]

Works

Comedy specials
Year Title
2006 7 More Days in the Tank
2012 Sticky Change[14]
2016 Delete[15]
2020 Broccoli

Discography
Year Title
2008 Good Josh, Bad Arm[16]
2012 Hooligan Stew[17]

See also
  • Steady Eddy – (born Christopher Widdows 1968), Australian comedian with cerebral palsy
  • Lee Ridley – (born 1980), British comedian with cerebral palsy
  • Geri Jewell – (born 1956), American stand-up comedian and actress

References
  1. Mauro, Terri (August 11, 2006). "Josh Blue wins "Last Comic Standing"". About.com. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. Retrieved March 26, 2009.
  2. "Last Comic Standing biography". NBC. Retrieved March 26, 2009.
  3. "Reality Education: Comedian Josh Blue on Interning in Senegal — Mobility International USA – MIUSA". Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
  4. "44 – Josh Blue – Take Me Home Podcast". Take Me Home Podcast. Archived from the original on June 13, 2015. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  5. "Season 4 WINNER of NBC's "LAST COMIC STANDING"". Zanies Comedy Night Club. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved March 26, 2009.
  6. "Josh Blue". IMDb. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  7. Rose Hill Drive – Psychoanalyst featuring Josh Blue. YouTube. July 7, 2011. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  8. "Ron White's Vegas Salute to the Troops 2013". CMT.com. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
  9. Hicks, L. Wayne (October 9, 2013). "Meet Denver's Josh Blue, movie star". Denver Business Journal. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
  10. Blue, Josh (June 23, 2021). "Josh Blue AGT Audition Last Comic Standing". Entertainment Weekly.
  11. Cydney Henderson (September 16, 2021). "America's Got Talent finale: Magician Dustin Tavella wins Season 16 in star-studded finale". USA Today. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  12. "Josh Blue's Art Showing". Josh Blue. January 17, 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
  13. "Life of laughter for Paralympian Josh Blue". ESPN.com. April 17, 2012. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  14. "Sticky Change". iTunes.Apple.com. iTunes. May 21, 2013. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  15. "Delete". iTunes.Apple.com. iTunes. July 28, 2016. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  16. "Good Josh, Bad Arm". iTunes.Apple.com. iTunes. October 7, 2008. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  17. "Hooligan Stew". iTunes.Apple.com. iTunes. April 26, 2012. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
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