Paul Ogata
{{short description|American stand-up comedian and actor (born 1968)}}
{{Use mdy dates |date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox comedian
| name = Paul Ogata
| image = Paul Ogata performing in Sacramento, CA.jpg
| caption =
| pseudonym =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1968|11|6}}
| birth_place = Pearl City, Hawaii, U.S.
| medium = Stand-up comedy, television
| active =
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| subject =
| influences =
| influenced =
| spouse =
| notable_work =
| signature =
| website = {{URL|paulogata.com}}
}}
Paul Ogata is an American stand-up comedian and actor.
Early life and education
Ogata was born and raised in Pearl City, Hawaii, and moved to Los Angeles in 2006 to devote more time to performing stand-up comedy.[http://starbulletin.com/2005/12/16/features/story01.html Honolulu Star Bulletin feature, December 16, 2005]
Ogata graduated from the University of Hawaii. In college, he briefly studied electrical engineering, a field for which he showed some aptitude as a teen. (Ogata wrote a video game at the age of 13.)[http://www.timeout.com.hk/stage/features/23134/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-paul-ogata.html Time Out magazine "10 Things You Didn't Know About Paul Ogata"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716220146/http://www.timeout.com.hk/stage/features/23134/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-paul-ogata.html |date=2011-07-16 }}
Career
Ogata worked for years as a top-rated[http://archives.starbulletin.com/2004/05/06/features/index3.html "Paul Ogata a Superhero For Young Comedians May 6, 2004"]. morning radio personality in Honolulu on KDDB-FM.
He has appeared on several television shows, most notably Live at Gotham on Comedy Central, the syndicated Comics Unleashed and CBS's The Late Late Show.
As a comedian, in 2004, he was victorious in the TakeOut Comedy Competition, earning the title of "Funniest Asian-American Comedian in the U.S."[http://takeoutcomedy.com/SCMP.pdf South China Morning Post "Stand and Deliver" October, 2007]. In 2007, Ogata won the San Francisco International Comedy Competition,[http://www.sanfranciscocomedycompetition.com/Pages/2007Finals.html 2007 San Francisco International Comedy Competition] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725014456/http://www.sanfranciscocomedycompetition.com/Pages/2007Finals.html |date=2008-07-25 }} joining a list of previous winners which includes Dana Carvey, Sinbad and Jake Johannsen.
Ogata also appeared in the Damon Wayans 2006 drama film Behind the Smile, and starred in the short film Amazing Asian.[http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/May/21/en/en13a.html Honolulu Advertiser article, May 21, 2004]
In 2010, Ogata's debut stand-up comedy album, Paul Ogata Stands Up: Live in Hong Kong, was released on the New Wave Dynamics label.[https://music.apple.com/us/album/stands-up-live-in-hong-kong/353732051 iTunes Music>Comedy>Paul Ogata]. In November 2023, Ogata joined the cast of the Cirque du Soleil show Mad Apple at the New York-New York Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he appears regularly as the show's featured comedian several months a year.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLErHLLwPWg Comedian Paul Ogata joins 'Mad Apple' Cast, Fox5 Las Vegas, November 14, 2024]
Filmography
=Movies=
- [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1328912 Porndogs: The Adventures of Sadie] (2009) as Master Dong
- [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417477 Behind the Smile] (2006) as Karate Man
- [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0426399 Amazing Asian] (2004) as The Amazing Asian
=Television=
- Celebrity Family Feud, ABC (self)[https://www.wdtvpress.com/abc/pressrelease/emmy-award-winners-ray-romano-and-brad-garrett-kick-off-a-star-studded-night-on-abc-headlining-a-new-special-episode-of-abc-s-celebrity-family-feud-sunday-sept-20/ Emmy Award Winners Ray Romano And Brad Garrett Kick Off a Star-Studded Night on ABC, Headlining a New Special Episode of ABC's Celebrity Family Feud, Sunday, Sept 20]
- Comedy Central Stand Up, Asia!, Comedy Central Asia (featured comedian)[https://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/entertainment/2017/08/23/comedy-central-stand-up-asia Meet the stars of Comedy Central Stand Up, Asia!]
- Pacific Rim Comedy, Showtime (featured comedian)
- Comics Unleashed, syndicated (featured comedian)
- Live at Gotham, Comedy Central (featured comedian)
- The Late Late Show, CBS (featured comedian)
- Asia Street Comedy, AZN Television (featured comedian)
- New Year's Comedy Cure, TBS (featured comedian)
- Friday Night, NBC (featured comedian)
Discography
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{URL|paulogata.com}}, Ogata's official website
- {{IMDb name|1702753}}
- [http://www.comedycentral.com/comedians/browse/o/paul_ogata.jhtml Paul Ogata]'s page at Comedy Central's website
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ogata, Paul}}
Category:20th-century American comedians
Category:20th-century American male actors
Category:20th-century circus performers
Category:20th-century people from California
Category:20th-century people from Hawaii
Category:21st-century American comedians
Category:21st-century American male actors
Category:21st-century circus performers
Category:21st-century people from California
Category:American circus performers
Category:American male actors of Japanese descent
Category:American male comedians
Category:American male film actors
Category:American radio personalities
Category:American stand-up comedians
Category:Cirque du Soleil performers
Category:Comedians from Hawaii
Category:Male actors from Honolulu
Category:Male actors from Los Angeles
Category:Mass media people from Hawaii
Category:People from Pearl City, Hawaii