Ned Arnel Mencía (born October 22, 1967), better known by his
stage nameA stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
Carlos Mencia, is a
comedianA comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain members of an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
, writer, and actor in the United States. His style of comedy is often political and involves issues of race,
cultureCulture is a term that has different meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
, and
social classSocial classes are the hierarchical arrangements of people in society as economic or cultural groups. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political economists and social historians...
, juxtaposing existing social issues with ethical convention. He was formerly the host of his own show on
Comedy CentralComedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries predominantly comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
,
Mind of MenciaMind of Mencia is an American television comedy series on the cable channel Comedy Central. It is hosted by Carlos Mencia.- History :...
.
Early life
Mencía was born the seventeenth of eighteen children in
San Pedro SulaSan Pedro Sula is a city in Honduras. It is located in the northwest corner of the country, in the Valle de Sula , about 60 km south of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean Sea...
,
HondurasHonduras is a republic in Central America. It was formerly known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras...
. At the time of his birth, his Mexican mother, Magdelena Mencía, was engaged in a
domestic disputeDomestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, child abuse or intimate partner violence , can be broadly defined a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, friends or cohabitation...
with his
HonduranHonduras is a republic in Central America. It was formerly known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras...
father, Roberto Holness, and declined to give her son his biological father's last name. The name appearing on his birth certificate is "Ned Arnel Mencía", although Mencia has said that out of respect for his biological father he went by the Holness name anyway, and was known as "Ned Holness" until he was 18 years old.
Mencia was raised in
East Los AngelesEast Los Angeles is the portion of the City of Los Angeles, California that lies east of the Los Angeles River and Downtown Los Angeles, west of the San Gabriel Valley and the unincorporated area of East Los Angeles, California and City Terrace, California, south of Cypress Park, and north of...
,
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
by his aunt Consuelo and uncle Pablo Mencia. By his own admission, staying out of trouble was difficult while growing up, but with the help of his family he excelled in school and stayed out of gangs. He majored in
electrical engineeringElectrical engineering, sometimes referred to as electrical and electronic engineering, is a field of engineering that deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after...
at
California State University, Los AngelesCalifornia State University, Los Angeles is a public university, part of the California State University system...
, but left early to pursue a career in
comedyComedy as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse generally intended to amuse, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in Ancient Greece...
after a successful performance at an open mic night at
The Laugh FactoryThe Laugh Factory is a comedy club on Sunset Boulevard.-Laugh Factory Comedy Club:The Laugh Factory opened in a tiny storefront on the Sunset Strip in 1979. The Laugh Factory's owner and founder, Jamie Masada, comes in almost every day and attends Tuesday Open Mic Nights to screen possible...
. He also has an older brother named
Joseph MenciaJoseph Mencia is the brother of comedian Carlos Mencia; he regularly appears on the show Mind of Mencia, and is known for his Honduran persona, and thick accent.Joseph was born in Honduras...
who often appears on
Mind of MenciaMind of Mencia is an American television comedy series on the cable channel Comedy Central. It is hosted by Carlos Mencia.- History :...
.
Mencia currently lives with his wife, Amy, in the Los Angeles area in
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
. They have one child, Lucas Pablo Mencia, who was born on December 14, 2006.
Career
Mencia was a quick success at such venerated LA stand-up venues as
The Comedy StoreThe Comedy Store is a comedy club located in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip.The Comedy Store was opened in April 1972 by comedians Sammy Shore and Rudy DeLuca...
and The L.A. Cabaret. This led to appearances on
The Arsenio Hall ShowThe Arsenio Hall Show is an Emmy Award winning variety/talk show that aired late weeknights in Broadcast syndication and aired from January 2, 1989 to May 27, 1994. The show was created and hosted by comedian/actor Arsenio Hall.- Background :...
and
Buscando Estrellas, where he attained the title "International Comedy Grand Champion." Then, in 1994, Mencia was chosen to host
HBO'sHBO is a premium television programming subsidiary of Time Warner, offers two 24/7 pay television services to over 38 million U.S...
latinoThe demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American or Spanish-speaking descent."* "A Latin American."...
comedy showcase
Loco Slam.
Mencia followed up
Loco Slam by hosting
Funny is Funny! on
GalavisionGalavisión is a Miami, Florida based Spanish language cable network owned by Univision Communications, Inc. The station is unrelated to the Mexican channel of the same name, other than sharing the Televisa-produced programming.-History:...
in 1998. He would continue to do
stand-upStand-up comedy is a style of comedy where a comedian performs for a live audience, usually speaking directly to them. It is usually performed by a single comedian with the aid of a microphone, either hand-held or mounted on a stand...
, including a very successful tour in 2001 with
Freddy SotoAlfred Soto, Jr. was an American comedian, writer and actor. His stand-up comedy act focused primarily on his upbringing in a Mexican American household. Soto's premature death at age 35 was attributed to a mixture of alcohol and drugs.-Life & career:He was born in El Paso, Texas to Mexican...
and
Pablo FranciscoPablo Ridson Francisco is a Latino stand-up comedian of Chilean origin. He is currently living in Redondo Beach, California. He started his career doing improv in Tempe, Arizona.-Career:...
, "The Three Amigos." Mencia also did two half-hour specials on HBO, the second of which won him a
CableACE AwardThe CableACE Award was an award that was given from 1978 to 1997 to honor excellence in American cable television programming...
for
Best Stand-Up Comedy Special. After the release of his first comedy album by Warner Records,
Take A Joke America, Mencia performed his break-out performance on
Comedy Central PresentsComedy Central Presents is a TV series featured on Comedy Central. Each episode features a 30-minute stand-up comedy set by a different comedian. The show first debuted on December 1 1998.-DVDs:...
in 2002.
By the time his career began to take off in the early 2000s, Mencia was also working as an actor doing guest appearances in the television shows
MoeshaMoesha is an American situation comedy/drama series that aired on the UPN network from January 23, 1996 to May 14, 2001. The series stars R&B singer Brandy Norwood as Moesha Mitchell, a high school student living with her family in Los Angeles.-Overview:...
and
The ShieldThe Shield is an American television drama series which aired on FX Networks in the United States and other networks internationally. Known for its controversial portrayal of corrupt police officers, it was originally advertised as "Rampart" in reference to the true life Rampart Division police...
, and starring in the film
Outta Time and the animated show
The Proud FamilyThe Proud Family is an American animated television series that aired on Disney Channel from September 15, 2001 to August 19, 2005.- Production :...
.
At the end of 2004,
Comedy CentralComedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries predominantly comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
began talks with Carlos Mencia for his own program shortly after their renewal of comedian
Dave ChappelleDavid Khari Webber "Dave" Chappelle is an American comedian, screenwriter, television/film producer, and actor. In 2003, he became widely known for his popular sketch comedy television series, Chappelle's Show. Comedy Central ranked him forty-third in the list of the 100 greatest stand-up...
's contract for
Chappelle's ShowChappelle's Show was an American comedy television series created by comedian Dave Chappelle and Neal Brennan, with Chappelle hosting the show as well as starring in various skits. Chappelle, Brennan and Michele Armour were the show's executive producers. The series premiered on January 22, 2003 on...
in March 2005, prior to Chappelle’s April 28, 2005 departure from the production of Chappelle’s Show and subsequent trip to Africa. In March 2005, Comedy Central announced Mencia's own half-hour comedy show,
Mind of MenciaMind of Mencia is an American television comedy series on the cable channel Comedy Central. It is hosted by Carlos Mencia.- History :...
. The show mixed Mencia's stand up comedy with
sketch comedySketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
, much like the highly popular
Chappelle's ShowChappelle's Show was an American comedy television series created by comedian Dave Chappelle and Neal Brennan, with Chappelle hosting the show as well as starring in various skits. Chappelle, Brennan and Michele Armour were the show's executive producers. The series premiered on January 22, 2003 on...
. The show achieved moderate success in its first season and was brought back for a second season in the spring of 2006, becoming Comedy Central’s second highest rated program behind
South ParkSouth Park is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become infamous for its crude, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
, and again for a third season that summer. It was eventually cancelled in 2008.
MaximMaxim is an international men's magazine based in the United Kingdom and known for its revealing pictorials featuring popular actresses, singers, and female models, none of whom are nude in the American version....
recently named Mencia as the 12th-worst comedian of all time, although television viewers themselves had voted him into 2nd place of the Top 25 stand-up comics in Comedy Central's 2006 "Stand Up Showdown."
In February 2009, Mencia was dropped from the
Krewe of OrpheusThe Krewe of Orpheus is a relatively recent New Orleans Mardi Gras super krewe which puts on one of the largest parades in the famous Carnival celebrations of New Orleans, Louisiana. The krewe was founded in 1993 by Harry Connick, Jr. & Sr...
' celebrity lineup for
New Orleans Mardi GrasMardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana, is one of the most famous Carnival celebrations in the world.The New Orleans Carnival season, with roots in preparing for the start of the Christian season of Lent, starts on Epiphany or Twelfth Night . It is a season of parades, balls , and king cake parties...
, citing inappropriate comments he made in the aftermath of
Hurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest hurricane, as well as one of the five deadliest, in the history of the United States...
. Mencia made this remark, “I’m glad Hurricane Katrina happened," he said during his standup. "It taught us an important lesson: Black people can’t swim.”
Other work
Mencia is sometimes a guest on the
Opie and AnthonyOpie and Anthony are the hosts of The Opie & Anthony Show, a talk radio program airing in The United States and Canada on XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio. It is co-hosted by stand up comedian Jim Norton...
radio show on
XM Satellite RadioXM Satellite Radio is one of two satellite radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Radio. It provides pay-for-service radio, analogous to cable television. Its service includes 73 different music channels, 39 news, sports, talk and entertainment channels, 21 regional...
and
CBS RadioCBS Radio Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, fourth behind main rival Clear Channel Communications , Cumulus Media and Citadel Broadcasting...
. He took part in the first Opie and Anthony's Traveling Virus Comedy Tour in 2006.
Mencia starred in a
Super Bowl XLISuper Bowl XLI was an American football game that featured the American Football Conference champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference champion Chicago Bears to decide the National Football League champion for the 2006 season...
commercial for Bud Light, which was the #1 most replayed commercial according to
TiVoTiVo is a pioneer of the digital video recorder . TiVo was introduced in the United States, and is now available in Canada, Mexico, Australia, Taiwan, and the UK...
.
Mind of Mencia is produced by Nedlos, a portmanteau of Mencia's birth name and stage name.
Accusations of plagiarism
Comedian
Joe RoganJoe Rogan is an American comedian, actor and longtime color commentator for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Rogan is also known for his role as Joe Garrelli in NewsRadio and as host on the TV game/reality program Fear Factor...
wrote a post on his website publicly accusing Mencia of being a
plagiaristPlagiarism, as defined in the 1995 Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary, is the "use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work." Within academia, plagiarism by students, professors, or researchers is considered...
, alleging that Mencia
stole jokesJoke thievery is the act of performing and taking credit for comic material written by another person without their consent. This is a form of plagiarism and sometimes can be copyright infringement....
from a number of comedians. Notably on February 10, 2007 Rogan confronted Mencia on stage at the Comedy Store on Sunset and continued his allegations of plagiarism. Rogan posted a video of the altercation with audio and video clips from other comedians including George Lopez,
Bobby LeeRobert "Bobby" Lee, Jr is an American comedian, notable for his membership in the recurring cast of comedians on the live comedy series MADtv. As an American of Korean ancestry, he is the show's first cast member of Asian descent, he has played Asian and Asian American celebrities and political...
and Ari Shaffir among others. Rogan has also posted audio and video clips of Mencia's interviews and joke routines being compared on his
blogA blog is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order...
.
George LopezGeorge Lopez is a Mexican American comedian and actor. He is known for starring in his self-produced ABC sitcom George Lopez. His stand-up comedy examines race relations and the Mexican culture within the United States....
has accused Mencia of plagiarizing his material. In an interview on
The Howard Stern Show, Lopez accused Mencia of plagiarizing 13 minutes of his material in Mencia's HBO special. He also claimed he had a physical altercation with Mencia over the alleged plagiarism. The only joke that Lopez has publicly specified was stolen and used on Mencia's HBO special was a
Taco BellTaco Bell is a restaurant chain based in Irvine, California. A subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., it specializes in Mexican-style food and quick service....
joke. Comedian Ted Sarnowski countered this claim, stating that the joke he performed on radio in 1988 was later taken and used without permission by Lopez, the radio station's resident comic. Sarnowski claims to have given Mencia permission to use the joke, yet Lopez later began referring to Mencia as a "thief" over the joke Lopez allegedly plagiarized.
Mencia has also been accused of stealing a routine from
Bill CosbyWilliam Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, The Bill Cosby Show,...
. In his special,
No Strings Attached, Mencia performs a bit about a father who spends years training his son for a career as a
footballAmerican football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, and often as Gridiron or Tackle football outside North America, is a competitive team sport known for combining strategy with physical play. The objective of the game is to score points by advancing the ball into the...
player, only to see the son say "I love you, Mom!" at his moment of televised victory. Cosby performed a very similar bit in his concert film
Bill Cosby: HimselfBill Cosby: Himself is a 1983 stand-up comedy film featuring the comedic routines of Bill Cosby. Filmed before a live audience at the Hamilton Place Theatre, in Hamilton, Ontario Cosby gives audiences his comedic views ranging from marriage and parenthood...
and wrote briefly on the subject in his book
FatherhoodFatherhood is a bestselling 1986 book attributed to Bill Cosby and published by Doubleday & Company, Inc. The book was ghostwritten by humorist Ralph Schoenstein.-History:...
. Mencia told the
Los Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California since 1881. It is distributed throughout the Western United States. It is the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States and the fourth-most widely distributed newspaper in the United States...
that he had never seen the film but regretted the similarities between his and Cosby's jokes.
Carlos Mencia's accused plagiarism was also the butt of a few jokes in an April 2009 episode of South Park entitled "
Fishsticks"Fishsticks" is the fifth episode of the thirteenth season of the animated television series South Park. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on April 8, 2009 and aired the Comedy Central UK channel on April 10, 2009. In the episode, Jimmy writes a joke that becomes a national...
" where Carlos Mencia takes credit for a joke that somebody else had written. When faced with the prospect of being assaulted he admits "I took credit for it because I'm not actually funny!.... I just take jokes and repackage them with a Mexican accent!" He is later killed in the episode by
Kanye WestKanye West is an American singer/rapper. He released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004, his second album Late Registration in 2005, his third album Graduation in 2007, and his fourth album 808s & Heartbreak in 2008. His first three albums have received numerous awards and critical acclaim...
.
Filmography
- In Living Color
In Living Color was an American sketch comedy television series, which originally ran on the Fox Network from April 15, 1990 to May 19, 1994. Brothers Keenen and Damon Wayans created, wrote, and starred in the program. The show was produced by Ivory Way Productions in association with 20th Century...
(TV), playing a Valet in episode six of season two, (1990)
- Moesha
Moesha is an American situation comedy/drama series that aired on the UPN network from January 23, 1996 to May 14, 2001. The series stars R&B singer Brandy Norwood as Moesha Mitchell, a high school student living with her family in Los Angeles.-Overview:...
(TV), playing Carlos in the episode "Life Imitating Art," (1999)
- The Proud Family
The Proud Family is an American animated television series that aired on Disney Channel from September 15, 2001 to August 19, 2005.- Production :...
(TV), starring as Felix (voice) (2001-2005)
- The Shield
The Shield is an American television drama series which aired on FX Networks in the United States and other networks internationally. Known for its controversial portrayal of corrupt police officers, it was originally advertised as "Rampart" in reference to the true life Rampart Division police...
(TV) playing Gabo in the episode "Two Days of Blood," (2002)
- Outta Time (2002), playing "Juancho"
- 29 Palms
29 Palms is a 2002 direct to video film directed by Leonardo Ricagni about a bag of money that affects the characters who possess it, and its varied contents, as it passes from one to another. It stars Jeremy Davies, Michael Lerner, Litefoot, Russell Means, Chris O'Donnell, Keith David, and Jon...
(2002), playing "The Comedian"
- Mind of Mencia
Mind of Mencia is an American television comedy series on the cable channel Comedy Central. It is hosted by Carlos Mencia.- History :...
(TV) Host (2005-2008)
- Drawn Together
Drawn Together is an American animated television series, which ran on Comedy Central from October 27, 2004 to November 14, 2007. The series was created by Dave Jeser and Matt Silverstein, and uses a sitcom format with a TV reality show setting...
(TV) playing the King of Mexico (voice) in the episode "Mexican't Buy Me Love", (2006)
- Farce of the Penguins
Farce of the Penguins is a 2007 direct-to-DVD parody film of the 2005 documentary March of the Penguins. The motion picture features Samuel L. Jackson as narrator, with the two main characters being voiced by Bob Saget, who also wrote and directed the movie, and Lewis Black...
(2007)
- The Heartbreak Kid
The Heartbreak Kid is a remake of the 1972 film of the same name starring Ben Stiller. The film was directed by Bobby and Peter Farrelly and also stars Malin Åkerman, Michelle Monaghan, Jerry Stiller, and Carlos Mencia...
(2007), playing Uncle Tito
- MADtv
MADtv is an American sketch comedy television series. It licenses the name and logo of Mad, but otherwise has no connection with the humor magazine outside of animated Spy vs. Spy and Don Martin cartoon shorts and images of Alfred E. Neuman that the show featured during the late 1990s. Its first TV...
(2007), playing himself
Not including his comedy specials for HBO and Comedy Central, Mencia has also appeared on
Comic Relief, and hosted
Loco Slam in 1994,
Latino Laugh Festival in 1997,
Funny is Funny! in 1998, and
Uncensored Comedy: That's Not Funny in 2003.
Albums and DVDs
- Not for the Easily Offended (2003)
- Down to the Nitty Gritty (2004)
- This is Carlos Mencia (2006)
- No Strings Attached (2006)
- The Best of Funny is Funny (2007)
- Performance Enhanced (2008)
- Mind of Mencia Season 1 (2006)
- Mind of Mencia Season 2 (2007)
- Mind of Mencia Season 3 (2007)
External links
- Official Website
- Mind Of Mencia at ComedyCentral.com
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries predominantly comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
- Carlos Mencia on MySpace
MySpace is a social networking website. Its headquarters are in Beverly Hills, California, USA, where it shares an office building with its immediate owner, Fox Interactive Media, which is owned by News Corporation. MySpace became the most popular social networking site in the United...