Arj Barker
{{Short description|American actor and comedian (born 1974)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox comedian
| name = Arj Barker
| image = Arj Barker @ Sir Stewart Bovell Park (7 1 12) (6693046301).jpg
| imagesize =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1974|8|12}}
| birth_place = San Francisco
| birth_name = Arjan Singh Aulakh
| spouse = Whitney Barker, née King
| death_date =
| death_place =
| medium = Stand-up, television
| genre = Observational, satire
| website = {{URL|www.arjbarker.com}}
| notable_work = Dave on Flight of the Conchords
}}
Arjan Singh Āulakh (born August 12, 1974),{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0054826/ |title=Arj Barker |publisher=IMDb |access-date=23 May 2016}} known by the stage name Arj Barker,{{cite web|url=http://current.com/items/88924508_a_conversation_with_arj_barker|title=A Conversation With Arj Barker|access-date=17 May 2010|date=29 April 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511160301/http://current.com/items/88924508_a_conversation_with_arj_barker|archive-date=11 May 2008|url-status=dead}} is an American comedian and actor from San Anselmo, California. He has toured in North America, Australia, New Zealand and Europe.{{cite web|url=http://www.chortle.co.uk/comics/a/624/arj_barker|title=Arj Barker's Biography: Chortle :The UK Comedy Guide|access-date=17 May 2010}} He was born to an engineer father and artist mother. His father is of Indian Punjabi Sikh descent and his mother is of European descent.
Career
{{quote box
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| quote = From an early age, I was trying to get laughs, but it wasn't a conscious thing. I think I was about six months old when I first realized I needed friends in life and making people laugh worked for me. By nine months, I came out of my shell.
| source = Daily Telegraph, 30 June 2012
| quoted = true
}}
Barker started his career in comedy after graduating from high school in 1989.{{cite web|url=https://legarage.melbourne/have-the-last-laugh-melbourne-international-comedy-festival/|title=Have the last laugh at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival - Le Garage|website=legarage.melbourne|access-date=7 June 2018}}{{cite web|url=http://www.marinij.com/article/zz/20090807/NEWS/908079971|title=LYAO with Arj Barker|website=marinij.com|date=10 March 2006 |access-date=7 June 2018}} His first gigs were at a café called Caffe Nuvo in downtown San Anselmo where he hosted stand-up night every Sunday throughout the early 1990s. Barker appeared on Premium Blend in 1997, followed by appearances on the shows Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Glass House. He twice hosted Comedy Central Presents, first on September 20, 2000, and again on March 31, 2006. Barker was featured in Comedy Central's animated series Shorties Watchin' Shorties. He appeared on the Australian show Thank God You're Here on October 18, 2006, September 19, 2007, and June 17, 2009.
Barker co-wrote and performed in The Marijuana-Logues, an Off-Broadway show in New York City, with Doug Benson and Tony Camin. The title of the show was a parody of The Vagina Monologues. NBC gave Barker the lead role for sitcom Nearly Nirvana, originally scheduled for 2004. However, Barker was replaced in the lead role by the show's creator, Ajay Sahgal, and the show never aired.{{cite web|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/television/brief_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000681766|title=The Vine: NBC finds new 'Nirvana' lead|author=Andreeva, Nellie|date=21 October 2004|access-date=17 May 2010|work=www.hollywoodreporter.com|publisher=The Hollywood Reporter}}
Barker appeared in the HBO sitcom Flight of the Conchords, playing Dave.{{cite web|url=http://www.hbo.com/conchords/cast/arj_barker.html|title=HBO: Arj Barker as Dave: Flight of the Conchords}}{{cite web|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/television/andrew-ryan/conchords-fly-back-for-one-last-tv-season/article1563810/|title=Conchords fly back for one last TV season|access-date=17 May 2010|author=Ryan, Andrew|date=10 May 2010|publisher=CTVglobemedia Publishing Inc| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100514123823/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/television/andrew-ryan/conchords-fly-back-for-one-last-tv-season/article1563810/| archive-date= 14 May 2010 | url-status= live}} Barker has been successful in Australia for a number of years since first appearing at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2000, and presently resides there.{{cite web|url=http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/12440525|title=The Joe Rogan Experience feat. Eddie Ifft; Podcast 77|access-date=3 February 2011|author=Rogan, Joe|date=February 2011|publisher=Ustream.tv}} At the ARIA Music Awards of 2019, he won Best Comedy Release for Organic.{{cite news | url = https://www.ariaawards.com.au/News/2019/2019-ARIA-Award-Winners-Announced | title = 2019 ARIA Award Winners Announced | publisher = Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) | date = 27 November 2019 | access-date = 29 November 2019 }}
During the 2024 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Barker attracted widespread media attention in Australia for, while on stage in front of a live audience, demanding a mother breastfeeding her 7-month-old baby to leave and have her ticket refunded. Barker claimed the baby was interrupting his train of thought.{{Cite web |last=Flux |first=Elizabeth |date=2024-04-22 |title=‘Focus is a delicate thing’: Arj Barker defends decision to boot mum with baby from show |url=https://www.theage.com.au/culture/comedy/arj-barker-asks-mum-with-baby-to-leave-his-show-20240422-p5flk0.html |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=The Age |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=2024-04-22 |title=Comedy figure says it should be 'a given' that babies aren't brought to gigs, after show ejection sparks debate |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-23/arj-barker-comedian-melbourne-comedy-mum-baby-ejected/103756182 |access-date=2024-04-24 |work=ABC News |language=en-AU}}
''Arj and Poopy''
Barker also has his own Flash series, Arj and Poopy, based on some of his stand-up material, that stars him and his cat, Poopy, who talks by farting.{{cite web|url=http://arjandpoopy.com|title=Arj and Poopy|work=arjandpoopy.com|access-date=23 May 2016}} The series was animated by Bernard Derriman, and has been syndicated to AtomFilms.[http://www.atomfilms.com/films/arj_poopy.jsp AtomFilms: Arj & Poopy series] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070614082556/http://www.atomfilms.com/films/arj_poopy.jsp |date=14 June 2007 }}
The episode "Unlucky in Love" won the Annecy International Animated Film Festival Internet Selection in 2006.{{cite web
| title = Unlucky in Love
| work = Annecy 2006: Award Winning Films
| publisher = Annecy.org
| url = http://www.annecy.org/home/index.php?Page_ID=1655&film_id=20065019&PHPSESSID=62f56e7b6285700e83cdb63eb8ae7cf0
| access-date =21 October 2007}}
=List of episodes=
- "Experimentation"
- "Venetian Rowing Machine"
- "Philosopher"
- "Brutally Ambushed"
- "Long Distance Relationship"
- "Shpants"
- "Unlucky in Love"
- "Yoga"
- "Oh, Christmas tree"
- "Congo Windfall"
- "Poetreet"
''Last Comic Standing''
Barker was featured as a contestant on the first episode of the fifth season of Last Comic Standing, where he advanced to the Los Angeles semi-final round. He then failed to progress to the final 10 in the semi-final round.
Discography
=Albums=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |
| rowspan="1"| Name
! rowspan="1"| Album details |
|---|
| scope="row" | Arj Barker: Issue Were Here
|
|
| scope="row" | The Marijuana-Logues {{small|(with Doug Benson & Tony Camin)}} |
|
| scope="row" | Live
|
|
| scope="row" | Forever
|
|
| scope="row" | Arj Barker: LYAO
|
|
| scope="row" | Joy Harvest
|
|
| scope="row" | Heavy
|
|
| scope="row" | Organic
|
|
=DVD releases=
Awards
=ARIA Music Awards=
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. Barker has won one award from four nominations.
{{awards table}}
! {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}
|-
| 2010
| Arj Barker Forever
| rowspan="4"| Best Comedy Release
| {{nom}}
|-
| 2012
| Joy Harvest
| {{nom}}
|-
| 2017
| Get In My Head
| {{nom}}
|-
| 2019
| Organic
| {{won}}
|-
{{end}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{commons category|Arj Barker}}
- [http://arjbarker.com Official website]
- {{IMDb name|0054826}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Edinburgh Comedy Award winners}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barker, Arj}}
Category:American stand-up comedians
Category:American male actors of Indian descent
Category:Male actors from San Francisco
Category:American male comedians
Category:People from San Anselmo, California
Category:Comedians from California
Category:20th-century American comedians