Jim David
{{Short description|American stand-up comedian}}
{{for|the American football player|Jim David (American football)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Jim David
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date =
| birth_place = Asheville, North Carolina
| alma_mater = Furman University, Southern Methodist University
| occupation = Stand-up comedian, playwright, novelist
| known_for = South Pathetic
| years_active = 1986–present
| website = [http://www.comicjimdavid.com/ www.comicjimdavid.com]
}}
Jim David is an American comedian, actor and writer. He is originally from Asheville, North Carolina, and lives in New York City.
David has released five albums on Stand Up! Records, most recently 2021's Gay Jokes For Straight Cruisers, which reached No. 1 on the iTunes comedy chart.{{cite news |last= Mosher |first= Stephen |date= May 10, 2021 |title= BWW Interview: Jim David of Gay Jokes For Straight Cruisers |url= https://www.broadwayworld.com/cabaret/article/BWW-Interview-Jim-David-of-GAY-JOKES-FOR-STRAIGHT-CRUISERS-20210510 |work=BroadwayWorld |location=New York City |access-date=May 12, 2021 }}{{Cite tweet |author=Stand Up! Records |author-link= Stand Up! Records |user=StandUpRecords |number=1385121389649170435 |date=April 22, 2021 |title=For five whole days, @ActualJimDavid was #1 on the comedy chart at the @iTunes store. When that happens, your album shows as the representative 'face' of the genre. Mazal Tov, Jim! All this and a #cindyadams mention in the @nypost! |retweet= |access-date=May 10, 2021}}
Early life
David was born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina.{{cite news |last= Neal |first=Dale |date=June 10, 2016 |title= Laughs and equality: Comedian Jim David comes home to Asheville |url= https://www.citizen-times.com/story/life/2016/06/10/comedian-jim-david-comes-home-asheville-1-night-only/85592526/ |work=Asheville Citizen-Times |location=Asheville, North Carolina |access-date=April 28, 2021 }}{{cite news |last=Aber |first=Ian |date= September 4, 2013 |title= Comic Jim David primes his gay wit for Atlanta |url= https://www.projectq.us/comic-jim-david-primes-gay-wit-for-atlanta/ |work= Project Q Atlanta |location=Atlanta, Georgia |access-date=April 28, 2021 }} His parents were heavily involved in local theater, and as a youth David appeared in many shows at the Tanglewood Children's Theater and Asheville Community Theater, starting as a munchkin in The Wizard of Oz.{{cite news |last=Terrell |first=Bob |date=December 3, 1981 |title=What Is a Turkey? |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/201001000 |work=Asheville Citizen-Times |location=Asheville, North Carolina |access-date=April 28, 2021 }}{{cite news |last=Neal |first=Dale |date=June 12, 2016 |title=Yes, You Can Come Home Again: Comedian and Asheville native Jim David is back for a one-night benefit |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/192979112 |work=Asheville Citizen-Times |location=Asheville, North Carolina |access-date=April 28, 2021 }}{{cite news |last=Kiss |first=Tony |date= May 7, 2004 |title=Asheville comedian plays ACT |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/200630190 |work=Asheville Citizen-Times |location=Asheville, North Carolina |access-date=April 28, 2021 }} He graduated from Furman University in 1976 with a degree in drama.{{cite news |last= Moore |first=Vince |date=June 10, 2016 |title=Laughs and equality |url= https://news.furman.edu/2016/06/10/laughs-and-equality/ |work=Furman University News |location=Greenville, South Carolina |access-date=April 28, 2021 }} He began graduate school at Southern Methodist University, but left to pursue acting in New York City.{{cite news |last=Condran |first=Ed |date=February 13, 2004 |title=His craft is a many splendored thing |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/499817783 |work=The Record |location=Hackensack, New Jersey |access-date=April 28, 2021 }} Before turning to comedy full-time, David was a high school drama teacher in Long Island, sold office supplies, and, he told one interviewer, "I did singing telegrams dressed as a chicken or a pink gorilla."
Career
David began performing stand-up in 1986, after several years as an actor in mostly Off-Broadway shows in New York.
Describing David's comedy style, critic Richard Lanoie of The Serious Comedy Site said that his "forte is everyday observational comedy with a penchant for the absurd",{{cite web |url= https://theseriouscomedysite.com/comedy-cd-or-download/jim-david-live-from-jimville/ |title= Jim David – Live From Jimville |author= Richard Lanoie |date= April 9, 2018 |website=The Serious Comedy Site |access-date=April 30, 2021}} and praised him as "a bit of a chameleon" for his ability to create and inhabit different characters.{{cite web |url= https://theseriouscomedysite.com/comedy-cd-or-download/jim-david-eat-here-and-get-gas/ |title= Jim David – Eat Here and Get Gas |author= Richard Lanoie |date= April 9, 2018 |website=The Serious Comedy Site |access-date=April 30, 2021}} While his material is not heavily political, David does not avoid political topics, such as abortion, religious fundamentalism, and LGBT issues.{{cite news |last=Burke |first=David |date=January 12, 2006 |title= Being gay just another part of comic's act |url= https://qctimes.com/entertainment/being-gay-just-another-part-of-comic-s-act/article_9d8bf65b-3ef8-5a32-90d3-361d8613c778.html |work=Quad-City Times |location=Davenport, Iowa |access-date=April 28, 2021 }}{{cite news |last= Lancaster |first= Lindsay |date= March 9, 2007 |title= Jim David is laughing his way through life |url= https://www.blueridgenow.com/article/NC/20070309/News/606049043/HT |work= Hendersonville Times-News |location= Hendersonville, North Carolina |access-date= April 28, 2021 |archive-date= May 19, 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210519224012/https://www.blueridgenow.com/article/NC/20070309/News/606049043/HT |url-status= dead }}
=Television and film=
David came out onstage in the 1990s. In 2000, he became the first openly gay male comedian to have his own Comedy Central special, with his appearance on Comedy Central Presents, which aired December 10, 2000.{{cite news |date= April 22, 2021 |title= The 5: Jim David's Five Most Unforgettable Cruise Destinations |url= https://theinterrobang.com/the-5-jim-davids-five-most-unforgettable-cruise-destinations/ |work=The Interrobang |access-date=April 28, 2021 }}
From 2002 to 2004, he was a regular guest on Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn. He was a comedy consultant in 2004 on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. He has also appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The View, HLN's The Joy Behar Show, Star Search, A&E's Evening at the Improv, AXS TV's Gotham Comedy Live, BBC America's The World Stands Up, Bravo's Great Things About Being..., and on MTV, Showtime, and VH1.{{cite news |last=David |first=Jim |date=February 2, 2016 |title= Comedian Jim David on Gotham Comedy Live |url= https://www.huffpost.com/entry/comedian-jim-david-on-got_b_5676955 |work=HuffPost |access-date=April 28, 2021 }}{{cite news |url= https://www.prweb.com/releases/stand_up_against_domestic_violence_april_10_with_jim_david_mark_riccadonna_jason_salmon/prweb11699374.htm |title=Stand Up Against Domestic Violence April 10 with Jim David, Mark Riccadonna & Jason Salmon |date=March 27, 2014 |newspaper=Prweb |access-date=April 28, 2021}}
He appeared in the 1994 George Lucas-produced film Radioland Murders.{{cite book|author1=John Willis|author2=Barry Monush|title=Comprehensive Pictorial and Statistical Record of the 1994 Movie Season|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C7Qh8xVipgYC&pg=PP130|date=February 1, 2000|publisher=Hal Leonard|isbn=978-1-55783-233-7|pages=130–}}
=Stage=
David made his Broadway debut in the 1994 musical The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public as the Las Vegas emcee, listed in the credits as "Comedian."{{cite news |title= Jim David |url= https://www.playbill.com/person/jim-david-vault-0000087973 |work=Playbill |location=New York City |access-date=April 28, 2021 }} He appears on the Varèse Sarabande Original Cast Recording.{{Google books|7n5Uzk7fwo4C|Theatre World 1993-1994|page=66|keywords=|text=|plainurl=}} David wrote most of his own part, drawing on his stand-up experience.
In 2010, David wrote, produced and starred in the one-man show South Pathetic, about a doomed production of A Streetcar Named Desire at a small Southern community theater, in which David plays himself and 10 other characters. He has performed the show across the country, including the New York International Fringe Festival,{{cite news|url=http://theater.nytimes.com/2010/08/17/theater/reviews/south.html|title=A One-Man Show Rich With Southern Flavor, and Humidity|last=Webster|first=Andy|date=August 17, 2010|work=The New York Times|accessdate=October 5, 2011}} and the Provincetown Tennessee Williams Festival.{{cite news |last=Dolen |first=Christine |date=January 30, 2011 |title=Comic's solo show 'South Pathetic' is anything but |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/660755318 |work=Miami Herald |location=Miami, Florida |access-date=April 28, 2021 }}{{cite news |last=Archer |first=Greg |date= August 3, 2009 |title=The Darker Side of 'Desire' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/567286661 |work=San Francisco Examiner |location=San Francisco, California |access-date=April 28, 2021 }} The New York Times called the show "rich with Southern flavor" and David "a tirelessly gregarious trouper."
David won a Bistro Award in 1998, honoring his work as a cabaret and comedy performer.{{cite web |url= https://bistroawards.com/hall-of-fame/ |title=2019-1985 Recipients |website=Bistro Awards |access-date=April 28, 2021}} He is a three-time winner and nine-time nominee of the Manhattan Association of Cabarets' award for best stand-up comedian.{{cite web |url= https://macnyc.com/award-nominee/jim-david/ |title=Jim David |website=Manhattan Association of Cabarets |access-date=April 28, 2021}}
=Other work=
In 2012, he released a novel, You'll Be Swell (Trumbull Press), about a struggling actress who falls off a cruise ship, which begins a chain reaction that makes her famous.{{cite web |url=http://bleedingespresso.com/2013/03/youll-be-swell-by-jim-david.html |title=You'll Be Swell by Jim David |author= |date= March 2, 2013|website=Bleeding Espresso|access-date=May 12, 2021}}
He was a frequent contributor to the Huffington Post and The Advocate.{{cite news |title=Contributor Jim David |url= https://www.huffpost.com/author/jim-david |work=HuffPost |access-date=April 28, 2021}}
From 2011 to 2014, David hosted the podcast Jim David's Icons, a series of conversations with people from the worlds of theater, comedy and politics.{{cite web |url= https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/comicjimdavid |title=Jim David's Icons |website=Jim David's Icons |publisher=Podomatic |access-date=May 10, 2021}}
=Albums=
Gay Jokes was recorded in March 2020 on a tourist cruise ship to Spain. The Interrobang called it "intimate, international, irrepressible comedy [that] stands up for comedians' rights to say what they want." The Serious Comedy Site's Lanoie called it "an absolute blast".{{cite web |url= https://theseriouscomedysite.com/comedy-cd-or-download/gay-jokes-for-straight-cruisers-jim-david/ |title= Gay Jokes for Straight Cruisers – Jim David |author= Richard Lanoie |date= April 7, 2021 |website=The Serious Comedy Site |access-date=April 30, 2021}} Bobby Patrick of BroadwayWorld called it "a crazy quilt of hilarity" that showcased David's rapport with his audience.{{cite news |last=Patrick |first=Bobby |date=May 5, 2021 |title=BWW CD Review: Jim David, New York's GAYEST Comic, Emerges From The Pandemic & Moves Out To Sea On Board His New Album: GAY JOKES FOR STRAIGHT CRUISERS |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/cabaret/article/BWW-Review-Jim-David-New-Yorks-GAYEST-Comic-Emerges-From-The-Pandemic-Moves-Out-To-Sea-On-Board-His-New-Album-GAY-JOKES-FOR-STRAIGHT-CRUISERS-20210505?fbclid=IwAR3ydqyfsqjcPVkLaMiab15LLzAJvQBMyqrPVr8xMQxXXTQThU7lwtuO2lE |work=BroadwayWorld |location=New York City |access-date=May 10, 2021 }}
David has released four other albums on Stand Up!, including expanded versions of his self-released discs, Live From Jimville and Eat Here and Get Gas. Lanoie called Live From Jimville "very enjoyable" and reminiscent of Rodney Dangerfield. Jake Austen of Roctober magazine, reviewing his first three albums, was slightly less positive, calling David "a confident, veteran comic" but stating he found his material "charmingly lame".{{cite news|first=Jake|last=Austen|work=Roctober|location=Chicago|title=The Stand Up! Records Listener's Guide|date=August 2013}}
Personal life
David has been with his husband for more than 30 years. He lives in New York.
See also
Discography
- Jim David, Gay Jokes for Straight Cruisers (Stand Up! Records, 2021)
- Various Artists, Pride Parade Of Standup, Volume 1, (digital download, Virtual Comedy Network, 2020)
- Jim David, Hard to Swallow (Stand Up! Records, 2015)
- Jim David, Notorious F.A.G. (Stand Up! Records, 2010)
- Jim David, Live From Jimville (self-released 2003, re-released on Stand Up! Records, 2008)
- Jim David, Eat Here and Get Gas (self-released 2000, re-released on Stand Up! Records, 2007)
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://comicjimdavid.com/ Official Jim David website]
- [https://standuprecords.com/collections/jim-david Jim David at Stand Up! Records website]
- {{IMDb name|id=0202943|name=Jim David}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:David, Jim}}
Category:20th-century American comedians
Category:21st-century American comedians
Category:American LGBTQ comedians
Category:American male comedians
Category:American stand-up comedians
Category:Comedians from New York (state)
Category:Comedians from North Carolina
Category:Furman University alumni
Category:LGBTQ people from New York (state)
Category:LGBTQ people from North Carolina
Category:Southern Methodist University alumni