Mo Alexander

Mo Alexander (born November 7, 1970)[1] is an American stand-up comedian and actor from Memphis, Tennessee. He has been headlining in comedy clubs and festivals since the mid-1990s. He has released six comedy albums, including 2022's Mo' Possum Blues on Stand Up! Records.

Mo Alexander
Alexander in 2019
Born (1970-11-07) November 7, 1970
Memphis, Tennessee
Occupation(s)Stand-up comic, actor
Years active1996-present

Donnie Snow of the Memphis Commercial Appeal called him "as funny and fearless a stand-up as the Mid- South ever produced."[2]

Early life

Alexander was born in south Memphis, near Stax Records, and raised by his mother (a grade-school teacher) and his grandmother.[3][4][5][6][7] He grew up Catholic and attended Memphis Catholic Middle and High School; he later described himself as a "computer/theater nerd who also played sports", including performing as a cheerleader and school mascot.[5][3] He attended the University of Memphis as a physics major and theater minor.[5][3][4]

Career

Alexander is known for his dark comedy, which often takes on issues of racism and American politics.[8] His influences include Sinbad, George Carlin, Bill Cosby, Dick Gregory, Richard Pryor, Paul Mooney, and Laurie Kilmartin; he has credited Bill Hicks' brutal honesty as a particular influence.[3][5][9]

Katie Murawski of Yes! Weekly called Alexander "a legend amongst national touring comics."[10] The Memphis Flyer's annual Best of Memphis poll named Alexander one of the top comedians in the city four times.[11][12][13][14]

He performed at his first open mic in 1993, at age 22. He became a full-time professional touring comic in 1996 after his grandmother died, and he decided to leave Memphis and go on the road for six months.[15][16][5][4][17] In 1999, he was asked by Keenen Ivory Wayans to be his touring opener after impressing Wayans by roasting him on stage.[18][15] He has also opened for Dave Chappelle, Brian Regan, Chris Rock, Dom Irrera, and Tommy Davidson.[19][20][5] In 2003 he was given his own Las Vegas show, "The Mo Funny Show", at the Casino Royale, which ran for six months.[9][21][22][23][15] He has appeared on the syndicated radio shows The Bob & Tom Show and Mancow's Morning Madhouse,[24] and has done comedy sets at both a furniture store and a nudist colony.[5]

He was a semifinalist in the San Francisco Comedy Competition in 2012,[25] and the Seattle International Comedy Competition in 2016.[26] He has also headlined at comedy festivals including the Asheville Comedy Fest,[18] Altercation Comedy Festival,[27] Hopkins Comedy Festival, Memphis Comedy Festival,[23] and North Carolina Comedy Festival.[10][24][9]

Recordings

Alexander has released six comedy albums.

In 2015, Alexander developed blood clots in his heart and was pronounced clinically dead twice; he claims that he had a near-death experience in which he heard the chorus to The Notorious B.I.G.'s "Big Poppa".[4] He spent 78 days in the hospital. The experience became the nucleus of his 2016 album Got Clots.[28]

After self-releasing his earlier albums, Alexander signed with Dan Schlissel's Stand Up! Records in 2019.[29] His 2022 album Mo' Possum Blues, his first for Stand Up!, was also the first comedy album ever recorded in Memphis' historic Sun Studios. The sessions were taped live in front of an audience of about 60 people.[30][5] The label also released a seven-inch single of Alexander's blues song "Possum Blues". The album debuted at No. 1 on the iTunes and Amazon comedy charts.[15][8] Mo' Possum Blues takes its title from Alexander's unusual pets—he has taken in several semidomesticated opossums that have been injured and can no longer safely live in the wild. One is featured on the album cover.[31][8]

Film and television

Alexander was featured in the Memphis episode of the Comedy Central stand-up series Kevin Hart Presents: Hart of the City in 2017.[17][32][33][4][15] He has also appeared on ABC's Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, Comedy Central's Laugh Riot, BET's ComicView,[19][34][22] and the 2020 Amazon Prime series Punching Below the Bible Belt.[30]

He played a prison librarian in the 1998 psychological thriller A Letter from Death Row, written, directed and starring Poison frontman Bret Michaels.[5]

He played both a shriner and the shriner's wife in the video for the Ray Stevens song "Shriner's Convention", which appeared in Stevens' 1995 movie Get Serious.[35]

Discography
  • Mo Files (2000)
  • Evolution (2006)
  • Nappy Headed Hoes and Other FCC Infractions (2008)
  • Just in Case the Mayans are Right (2012)
  • Got Clots (2016)
  • Possum Blues (original mix) 7" single (Stand Up! Records, 2022)
  • Mo’ Possum Blues (Stand Up! Records, 2022)

Filmography

Film

Television

Selected podcast appearances
  • Big Time Podcast (October 17, 2017)[3]
  • Gender Fluids, "Mo Alexander: An Old School Kinky Dude" (October 3, 2018)[27]
  • The Orbit Spaceman Show (June 6, 2019)[17]
  • Memphis Famous Podcast, Episode 2 (March 30, 2020)[5]
  • Learning to Fail, Episode 40 (May 5, 2020)[30]
  • Alert Spoilers, Episode 9 (June 29, 2020)[35]
  • Jon D. Podcast, Episode 16 (September 8, 2020)[29] and Episode 45 (September 13, 2022)[8]
  • The Dork Forest, Episode 686 (August 16, 2022)[31]
  • Behind the Bits Podcast, Episode 122 (September 7, 2022)[24]

References
  1. "Seestandup.com interviews Mo Alexander". SeeStandup.com (Podcast). Stritcher. March 10, 2023. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  2. Snow, Donnie (2003-12-19). "After Seven Years, Bally's Closing Doors to Bonkerz". The Commercial Appeal. Memphis, Tennessee. p. G21.
  3. James Hodge, Ryan Davis (2017-10-17). "10-17-17 with Mo Alexander and Charley McMullen". Big Time Podcast (archive.org) (Podcast). Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  4. "Great Day Live!: Life after death with comedian Mo Alexander". WHAS-TV. Louisville, Kentucky. 2019-01-25. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  5. Catherine Sundt (March 30, 2020). "Episode 2: Mo Alexander". Memphis Famous Podcast (Podcast). OAM Network. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  6. Kaz, Ed (2007-12-28). "Get the w00t out of here!". Asbury Park Press. Asbury Park, New Jersey. p. G13.
  7. Owen, Brent (2020-03-11). "Comedian Mo Alexander: 'I got that dude fired'". Louisville Eccentric Observer. Louisville, Kentucky. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  8. Jon D. Miller (2022-09-13). "Ep. 45 w/ Mo Alexander". Jon D. Podcast (Podcast). Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  9. Wild, Stephi (April 18, 2023). "Mo Alexander Comes to Comedy Works Landmark This Week". Broadway World. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  10. Murawski, Katie (February 14, 2018). "Spotlight: The Idiot Box Presents the North Carolina Comedy Festival". Yes! Weekly. Greensboro, North Carolina. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  11. "Best of Memphis 2019 Arts & Entertainment". Memphis Flyer. Memphis, Tennessee. 2019-09-26. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  12. "Best of Memphis 2018: Arts & Entertainment". Memphis Flyer. Memphis, Tennessee. 2018-09-27. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  13. "Best of Memphis 2017: Arts & Entertainment". Memphis Flyer. Memphis, Tennessee. 2017-09-28. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  14. "Best of Memphis 2015: Nightlife". Memphis Flyer. Memphis, Tennessee. 2015-10-01. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  15. "Check Out Mo Alexander's Story". Memphis Voyager, Voyage Group of Magazines. Memphis, Tennessee. 2022-09-27. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  16. Justin, Neal (2018-01-07). "The new comedy circuit: Podcasts and social media are driving a golden age for stand-up comics". Star Tribune. Minneapolis. p. E1.
  17. "Comedy King Mo Alexander". The Orbit Spaceman Show (Podcast). June 6, 2019. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  18. Arnaudin, Edwin (February 14, 2018). "Smart Bets: Mo Alexander". Mountain Xpress. Asheville, North Carolina. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  19. Barbazon, Angelle (2014-04-01). "Comedian who has opened for Chris Rock, Keenen Ivory Wayans coming to Elkhart". The Elkhart Truth. Elkhart, Indiana.
  20. "All aboard the comedy bus". The Daily Advertiser (Lafayette, Louisiana). Lafayette, Louisiana. 2019-03-07. p. A1.
  21. Snow, Donnie (2003-12-05). "Mo Alexander Bringing His Brand of Edgy Comedy to Bally's Bonkerz". The Commercial Appeal. Memphis, Tennessee. p. G18.
  22. Graves, Lori (March 3, 2022). "Matters of Graves Importance: Lori Graves returns to the columnist spotlight". Chillicothe Gazette. Chillicothe, Ohio. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  23. Davis, Chris (2016-03-31). "Memphis Is Funny". Memphis Flyer. Memphis, Tennessee. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  24. Scott Curtis (September 7, 2022). "Episode 122: Mo Alexander". Behind the Bits Podcast (Podcast). Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  25. Heuston, Laurie (2012-09-28). "Who's the biggest hoot of them all?". Mail Tribune. Medford, Oregon.
  26. "2016 Seattle International Comedy Competition". Seattle International Comedy Competition. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
  27. Ava Smartt and Arielle Isaac Norman (October 3, 2018). "Mo Alexander: An Old School Kinky Dude". Gender Fluids (Podcast). Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  28. Davis, Chris (2016-03-31). "Resurrection Man: Memphis Comic Mo Alexander releases his new CD, "Got Clots"". Memphis Flyer. Memphis, Tennessee. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  29. Jon D. Miller (2022-09-13). "Ep. 16 w/ Mo Alexander". Jon D. Podcast (Podcast). Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  30. Jason Scholder (May 5, 2020). "Episode 40 — Mo Alexander — Back From the Dead… and Still Killing!". Learning to Fail Podcast (Podcast). Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  31. Jackie Kashian (2022-08-16). "Episode 686: Mo Alexander, GI Joe, DC and Possums". The Dork Forest (Podcast). Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  32. Tate, Sarah (July 1, 2021). "Famous Comedians You Didn't Know Were From Tennessee". iHeart Media. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  33. Horgen, Tom (2017-12-07). "Kevin Hart shines spotlight on minority stand-up comics in Twin Cities". Star Tribune. Minneapolis. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  34. "Mo Alexander performing at Comedy Catch". Chattanooga Times Free Press. Chattanooga, Tennessee. June 6, 2018. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  35. "E9: Worst Comedy Movies". Alert Spoilers (Podcast). The Howling Monkey Radio Network. June 29, 2020. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
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