Perry Kurtz was born (?) in 1951 in Philadelphia’s Children’s Hospital at 2:32am at an undisclosed weight. As a 10-year-old Cub Scout , he briefly entered the entertainment arena when he threw his voice into a sock and began giving puppet shows at local playgrounds. (Therapy was later provided to the children free of charge)
Graduating from High School in 1968, he attended an Art School in downtown Philly. In 1972 he began freelancing for national label companies producing art for Pepsi, Tab, Sprite, Levi Strauss, Gerber, and Polaroid, including the design of the Seven Up "bubble pattern" logo in ’74(for a measly 300 bucks. In 1976, he became the art director of a religious publishing house just outside of Northeast Philly.
After 2 years of high-pressure, a nervous breakdown from overwork, and people constantly asking, "What are you? A comedian?", he quit and entered a talent show in New Jersey, taking a $50 first prize for singing a parody of "Eleanor Rigby" as Jerry Lewis In 1979, with his last $500, a suitcase, electric guitar, and roller skates he equipped with headlights, he moved to San Francisco to become a “real” comedian.
Three months later he got his first paying "gig" was as the emcee and manager at the, now closed, Off Broadway Male Burlesque Club on Broadway in North Beach. A few weeks later, at the request of screaming female patrons (they were blind), he gave birth to his "Comic Strip Routine" parody.
In 1983, he left the "Broadway Scene" to pursue comedy in real comedy clubs on the road averaging 30 to 40 weeks a year headlining comedy clubs across North America and Canada. In 1989, he relocated to Los Angeles, where he became a paid regular at The Comedy Store in Hollywood, Dangerfields in New York City and in 1991, he met his wife on an online chat network.
Living in Downtown Los Angeles, he is "married with 4 children" (the youngest is 3 ½) and works as a corporate comedian, comedy producer, comedy consultant, humor motivator and instructor, a free-lance writer for The Tonight Show, and continues to appear in comedy clubs around the world.
He has still not appeared on Jerry Springer.
My 3 year old daughter Bella Improvs Her First Song
Good Time Cafe, A&E; The Love Connection, Syndicated; Extreme Gong, A&E; HBO Comedy Half Hour; Your Moment of Truth, NBC; America’s Funniest People, ABC; Partners in Crime, ABC
Films
Shakes The Clown, 1985
Albums
Perry Kurtz's Interests
General
Comedy, Live Blues, My wife and kids, playing the improv blues with live bands, traveling.
Music
Blues, Pink Floyd, Carlos Santana, Gary Moore
Movies
Spinal Tap
Television
Boston Legal, Smallville. Heroes, Journeyman. AND
Perry on Extreme Gong...
..
About me: Perry Kurtz is a Professional Comedian and Comedy Trainer of 30 years. Playing events and comedy clubs in Los Angeles and around the world. Perry offers comedy created on the spot to fit YOUR event. Perry also offers comedy training, humor motivation, material editing and punch-up, and "How to use Humor to Sell" Seminars.
"Perry Kurtz is VERY unusual. Before he speaks a word, there are four minutes of continuous laughter. He possesses the ..boy-next-door' quality, like Dana Carvey and Kevin Pollack, that makes you laugh at/with him. Every show is as unique as he is. Outrageous, strange, yet extremely likable, Perry Kurtz is a performer who MUST be seen to be believed. San Francisco Calendar Magazine
Perry Kurtz is an international multi-media comedy performance artist. He combines dance (his ..Comic-Strip Parody'), sound effects, video (his hysterical Love Connection appearance), traditional stand up, audience participation, improvisation, music, and much more to provide a rich, one-of-a-kind, always different, entertainment experience.
Perry has opened for Andrew Dice Clay, Sam Kinison, Whoopi Goldberg, Robin Williams, Milton Berle, The Blue Oyster Cult, The Allman Brothers, and has sung his "Narrational Improv Blues", based purely on what the audience is doing as it happens, with The Allman Brothers Band, The Tubes, Great White (before the fire), Huey Lewis and The News, WAR, Fleetwood Mac, and Sammy Hagar.
Stop by the website www.perrykurtz.com for more information and video demos.
By the way, whatever THAT means, I've entered my 1st contest in 30 years. It's on www.famecast.com. Go there and vote for me. If I win, I can afford new headshots. And that's better for everyone...
Please take a look at the new section on my site for The Real Million Marijuana March (TRM3) in Washington D.C. July 4, 2009. I'm California Representative.
Perry, I just listened to your Improv clip. Very funny. I, too, am a late stage new Daddy. My son is 8 and I'm 54. Congrats and isn't it great to know it all still works. Best to you and yours.
Upload videos, trailers and music to www.ComedyBlaze.tv for free and win cash prizes, get paid and discovered. If you have videos or music on MySpace or YouTube you should take a sec and upload to ComedyBlaze.tv. Blaze it like fire!
Well lemme see... since you came through we've had; Tess Drake & Nema Williams, both very funny. Then Matt Golightly & Chris Mata, they we're pretty funny. After that was Gary Bell & Jocko Alston also pretty funny.
And finally tomorrow night Tess Drake is back with her Funny Honeys tour
http://www.myspace.com/tessfunnyhoneys
i'll let you know how it goes but I got high expectations!
...of course no one is a funny as you Perry... er, i mean comedian wise hehe :P
