Last Comic Standing 4
Encyclopedia
On May 30, 2006, competitive reality show Last Comic Standing
began airing its fourth season on NBC
with a 2 hour special and a new host, Anthony Clark
.
Numerous established comedians auditioned for Last Comic Standing this season. They included:
Some of the finalists have also appeared elsewhere:
where they would be staying for the remainder of the competition.
at all saying it was common courtesy. The winner for performing was Chris Porter and the winner for heckling was Roz.
The pairs for this challenge are as follows:
's radio show. They each randomly selected an envelope with a magazine inside. Adam then informed them that they would do a one minute improv routine on the subject of their magazine on his morning radio show. Some of the magazines were Weapons of Death, Modern Knitting, Farming Journal, and Latina Wedding. Rebecca Corry won the challenge for her routine about Beefcake magazine. She was rewarded with immunity, which she referred to as immunization
.
Because there were four comedians in the head to head, two would go home and two would stay. After the four comedians performed and the audience voted for their favorite, it was revealed that Bil Dwyer got the lowest percentage of the votes. Chris Porter won the Capital One Audience Pick, with the highest percentage of the votes. Joey Gay was also eliminated, and Michele Balan survived her second head to head in a row to stay in the competition.
of Beverly Hills. Gabriel Iglesias
received the most votes. The judges at the roast were Gilbert Gottfried
, Phyllis Diller
, and the winner of Last Comic Standing Season 3, Alonzo Bodden
. At the roast, Kristen Key was arguably the worst, with her jokes about Gabriel getting complete silence. Chris Porter won the challenge, but did not receive immunity because that would have automatically put him into the final five. He instead was rewarded with a one year membership to the Friars of Beverly Hills.
using a BlackBerry
, a violation of house rules according to the contract all contestants had signed. Producer Peter Engel
was forced to dismiss Gabriel from the show even though he claimed to have only been using it to contact his friends and family.
from season two performed. Michele Balan and Roz were announced as the bottom two from last week, then Roz was eliminated. The remaining contestants performed another stand-up routine for five minutes. After the phone lines opened, Anthony Clark explained that on the previous week's show, there were some problems that resulted in half the country not seeing who was were the bottom two. There were no technical difficulties this time, as the screen showed that Michele Balan and Chris Porter were in the bottom two so far.
from seasons two and three appeared on stage and gave a performance. Next, Caroline Rhea
, host of NBC's The Biggest Loser performed. Then, Josh, Chris, and Ty performed their acts, but early results were not shown to the audience.
performed their acts in trying to become the "Last Comic Downloaded." Next, Paul Rodriguez
made a guest performance. Afterward, Chris Porter was eliminated from the competition as he received the fewest votes. Josh and Ty performed their acts in anticipation of the following week's final episode.
, John Heffron
, and Alonzo Bodden
performed next. The host of the past seasons of Last Comic Standing, Jay Mohr
, also made an appearance. The remaining finalists, Ty Barnett and Josh Blue, performed their acts for the audience one last time, and at the end of the show Josh Blue was declared the winner of Last Comic Standing season 4.
Last Comic Standing
Last Comic Standing is an American reality television talent show that has aired from 2003 through 2010.The goal of the program is to select a comedian from a group, who will receive a development contract with the NBC network, and a television special first to air on the cable-TV network Comedy...
began airing its fourth season on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
with a 2 hour special and a new host, Anthony Clark
Anthony Clark (actor)
Anthony Higgins Clark , is an American actor and comedian who starred in the television series Yes, Dear, in which he played the character Greg Warner.-Early life:...
.
Auditions
In the opening rounds, Buck Star once again showed up to audition in each city only to be turned down repeatedly. As in season two, he was finally given an opportunity to perform in the last city, where he didn't impress the audience and was cut.Numerous established comedians auditioned for Last Comic Standing this season. They included:
- Doug BensonDoug BensonDouglas Steven "Doug" Benson is an American stand-up comedian and actor who has appeared on Comedy Central Presents, Best Week Ever and was a contestant on Last Comic Standing in the show's fifth season....
(Best Week EverBest Week EverBest Week Ever is a weekly television program on the United States cable/satellite network VH1. It started airing in 2004 and was put on hiatus in the summer of 2009...
) - Marc PriceMarc PriceMarc Price is a television actor primarily known for his role as Erwin "Skippy" Handelman on Family Ties.-Biography:Price also hosted the children's game show Teen Win, Lose or Draw on The Disney Channel from 1989 to 1992....
(Family TiesFamily TiesFamily Ties is an American sitcom that aired on NBC for seven seasons, from 1982 to 1989. The sitcom reflected the move in the United States from the cultural liberalism of the 1960s and 1970s to the conservatism of the 1980s. This was particularly expressed through the relationship between young...
) - Larry ReebLarry ReebLarry Reeb is a Chicago comedian who is also a frequent guest on The Bob & Tom Show. He tried out for the fourth season of Last Comic Standing but only made it to the second part of the quarterfinals.-External links:* http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1252972/*...
(Bob & Tom ShowThe Bob & Tom ShowThe Bob & Tom Show is a syndicated US radio program established by Bob Kevoian and Tom Griswold at radio station WFBQ in Indianapolis, Indiana, March 7, 1983, and syndicated nationally since January 6, 1995....
), - Jimmy PardoJimmy PardoJimmy Pardo is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and host of the popular comedy podcast Never Not Funny.He is married to fellow comedian Danielle Koenig. They live in Los Angeles with their son Oliver...
- Nikki PayneNikki PayneNikki Payne , is a Canadian comedian and actress, from Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia, Canada. Born with a cleft palate, she is well known for incorporating her lisp into her comedy act. She has won three Canadian Comedy Awards for Best Stand-up Newcomer and Best Female Stand-up...
(Muchmusic's Video On TrialVideo On TrialVideo on Trial is a Canadian comedy television program that airs on Canadian television network MuchMusic. The show consists of a panel of musicians, comedians, and entertainment columnists critiquing five different music videos in a courtroom-esque manner. The panel acts as the jurors, poking fun...
and Comedy Network's BuzzBuzz-People:*Buzz Aldrin , American pilot and astronaut, second person to set foot on the Moon*George Beurling , Canadian World War II fighter pilot*Buzz Hargrove , National President of the Canadian Auto Workers trade union...
) - Kyle CeaseKyle CeaseKyle Cease is an American actor and comedian.While still keeping residence in Bothell, Washington, his hometown, he was cast as Bogey Lowenstein in the 1999 movie 10 Things I Hate About You. Right after the film, he moved to Los Angeles. Two years later he was featured in Not Another Teen Movie,...
(Comedy Central PresentsComedy Central PresentsComedy Central Presents is a half-hour long stand-up show that features various stand-up comedians in each episode.-DVDs:Starting in 2008, Comedy Central started releasing "Best of" compilation DVDs, with uncensored audio...
) - Tig NotaroTig NotaroTig Notaro, born Carl Notaro, is an American stand-up comic."Tig" is a nickname, bestowed upon her by her brother when both were children. Her great-great-grandfather was the mayor of New Orleans....
(Comedy Central PresentsComedy Central PresentsComedy Central Presents is a half-hour long stand-up show that features various stand-up comedians in each episode.-DVDs:Starting in 2008, Comedy Central started releasing "Best of" compilation DVDs, with uncensored audio...
)
Some of the finalists have also appeared elsewhere:
- Gabriel IglesiasGabriel IglesiasGabriel J. Iglecias , known professionally as Gabriel Iglesias, is an American standup comedian and actor, known for his shows I’m Not Fat… I’m Fluffy and Hot & Fluffy.-Early life:...
(All ThatAll ThatAll That is an American live-action, sketch comedy-variety show that aired on the Nickelodeon cable television network featuring short comedic sketches and weekly musical guests. The theme song for All That was performed by TLC...
and Comedy Central PresentsComedy Central PresentsComedy Central Presents is a half-hour long stand-up show that features various stand-up comedians in each episode.-DVDs:Starting in 2008, Comedy Central started releasing "Best of" compilation DVDs, with uncensored audio...
) - Bil DwyerBil DwyerWilliam Michael "Bil" Dwyer is an American stand-up comedian and game show host. Television shows he has hosted include GSN's Extreme Dodgeball, I've Got A Secret and The 50 Greatest Game Shows of All Time, the PAX TV game show Dirty Rotten Cheater, and the FSN game show, Ultimate Fan...
(BattlebotsBattleBotsBattleBots is an American company that hosts robot competitions. BattleBots is also the name of the television show created from the competition footage. BattleBots Inc...
, I've Got a SecretI've Got a SecretI've Got a Secret is a panel game show produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman for CBS television. Created by comedy writers Allan Sherman and Howard Merrill, it was a derivative of Goodson-Todman's own panel show What's My Line?...
,Extreme DodgeballExtreme DodgeballExtreme Dodgeball is an American Sports Entertainment television show that debuted on Game Show Network in 2004. It has also been shown in the UK on Challenge.-Standard rules:...
) - Josh BlueJosh BlueJosh Blue is an American comedian. He was voted the Last Comic Standing on NBC's reality show Last Comic Standing during its fourth season, which aired May–August 2006...
(Mind of MenciaMind of MenciaMind of Mencia is an American television comedy series on the cable channel Comedy Central. Hosted by Carlos Mencia, it aired from 2005 to 2008.- History :...
)
Last Comic Downloaded
In a new web tie-in this season, NBC is allowing viewers to vote online to give with the two comics a chance to perform on the live finale in a head-to-head competition. Each week, five comedians are featured online.http://www.nbc.com/Last_Comic_Standing/voting The competitors will be narrowed down to the two finalists in later rounds.| Week | Winning Comic | Catch phrase |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Kaitlin Colombo Kaitlin Colombo Kaitlin Colombo is an American stand-up comedian, television personality, writer, and actress. She is perhaps best known for her brief but noteworthy audition for the fourth season of NBC's reality series Last Comic Standing, and for her stand-up comedy work in the field of gay rights activism.-... |
Ever wonder what kind of comedy a gay man's 19-year-old daughter would perform? |
| Week 2 | Willy Parsons Willy parsons Willy Parsons is also known as Wild Willy Parsons. A stand-up comedian and an actor. He has been in several movies including "The Guardian" directed by William Friedkin and "Nothing to Lose" directed by Steve Oedekerk. Willy has also received an Emmy Award in 1985 for his writing on "Technical... |
Don't worry, he's only been in jail once. |
| Week 3 | Nikki Payne Nikki Payne Nikki Payne , is a Canadian comedian and actress, from Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia, Canada. Born with a cleft palate, she is well known for incorporating her lisp into her comedy act. She has won three Canadian Comedy Awards for Best Stand-up Newcomer and Best Female Stand-up... |
Duct-taping her problems away. |
| Week 4 | Josh Wolf | Your guide to dispelling marital myths. |
| Week 5 | Theo Von Theo Vonkurnatowski Theo Vonkurnatowski aka Theo Von, is an American stand-up comedian. He currently lives in Santa Monica, California.Vonkurnatowski was born in Louisiana. He first became known as a contestant on MTV's Road Rules, and competed on several seasons of its spin-off show, Real World/Road Rules Challenge... |
His father was 70 when he was born. |
Season 4 Results
| Comics | |Head-to-head | |Public elimination | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ep 5 | Ep 6 | Ep 7 | Ep 8 | Ep 9 | Ep 10 | Ep 11 | |
| Josh Blue Josh Blue Josh Blue is an American comedian. He was voted the Last Comic Standing on NBC's reality show Last Comic Standing during its fourth season, which aired May–August 2006... |
IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | LCS |
| Ty Barnett Ty Barnett Tyrone Barnett is an African-American comedian, actor and writer. Primarily a stand-up comic, he first began performing in high school. He made his first television appearance in 2003 on CBS's Star Search and is now a regular on CBS's The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Professionally he is... |
IN | IN | WIN | IN | IN | IN | OUT |
| Chris Porter Chris Porter (comedian) Chris Porter is an American comedian and finalist on season 4 of Last Comic Standing. He has also appeared on The Bob & Tom Show, Comedy Central's Live Tour, and appeared on Live at Gotham in Summer 2006... |
SAFE | WIN | IN | IN | LOW | OUT | |
| Michele Balan | WIN | WIN | IN | LOW | OUT | ||
| Roz | SAFE | IN | IN | OUT | |||
| Rebecca Corry Rebecca Corry Rebecca Corry is an American stand-up comedienne. She has her own Comedy Central Presents show. She is 4'11" tall.-Filmography:* "Yes Man"... |
IN | SAFE | OUT | ||||
| Kristin Key Kristin Key Kristin Key is an American comedian who has appeared at The Improv and on Last Comic Standing. The daughter of a Christian minister, she favors a self-deprecating style of blue humor in her act.... |
IN | IN | OUT | ||||
| Gabriel Iglesias Gabriel Iglesias Gabriel J. Iglecias , known professionally as Gabriel Iglesias, is an American standup comedian and actor, known for his shows I’m Not Fat… I’m Fluffy and Hot & Fluffy.-Early life:... |
IN | IN | DQ | ||||
| Bil Dwyer Bil Dwyer William Michael "Bil" Dwyer is an American stand-up comedian and game show host. Television shows he has hosted include GSN's Extreme Dodgeball, I've Got A Secret and The 50 Greatest Game Shows of All Time, the PAX TV game show Dirty Rotten Cheater, and the FSN game show, Ultimate Fan... |
IN | OUT | |||||
| Joey Gay Joey Gay Joseph Vincent "Joey" Gay is an actor/comedian who appeared in Last Comic Standing 4 but he lost and was voted off. He has had numerous appearances in Law & Order, and appeared on Live at Gotham.-External links:*... |
IN | OUT | |||||
| April Macie April Macie April Macie is an American stand-up comedian, television personality, writer, and actress. She is perhaps best known for winning Howard Stern's "Funniest, Hottest Comedienne" contest and her appearance for the fourth season of NBC's reality series Last Comic Standing. - Television appearances... |
OUT | ||||||
| Stella Stopler | OUT | ||||||
- LCS means the comic was the last comic standing
- SAFE means the comic won the immunityImmunity (reality television)Immunity in reality television is a concept that is widely used in weekly elimination-type reality television shows by which a contestant participating in such a show may not be "kicked off" or eliminated from competition in a particular time period...
challenge - WIN means the comic participated and won the head-to-head showdown
- LOW means the comic was shown as receiving the second-lowest viewer vote total
- OUT means the comic lost in the head-to-head showdown or by viewer voting and was eliminated
- DQ means the comic was disqualified for breaking the show's rules
Episodes 1-4
Episodes 1-4 consisted of the early auditions and the selection of the finalists.Episode 5
The contestants moved into the Queen Mary HotelRMS Queen Mary
RMS Queen Mary is a retired ocean liner that sailed primarily in the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967 for the Cunard Line...
where they would be staying for the remainder of the competition.
Immunity challenge: Heckling
The contestants were paired up. One performed on stage while the other sat in the audience heckling them about their jokes. They then switched roles. The best heckler and the best performer would be rewarded with immunity. Contestant Joey Gay didn't heckle fellow comic April MacieApril Macie
April Macie is an American stand-up comedian, television personality, writer, and actress. She is perhaps best known for winning Howard Stern's "Funniest, Hottest Comedienne" contest and her appearance for the fourth season of NBC's reality series Last Comic Standing. - Television appearances...
at all saying it was common courtesy. The winner for performing was Chris Porter and the winner for heckling was Roz.
The pairs for this challenge are as follows:
- Chris Porter and Josh Blue
- Kristin Key and Michele Balan
- Bil Dwyer and Gabriel Iglesias
- Ty Barnett and Stella Stopler
- Rebecca Corry and Roz
- Joey Gay and April Macie
Head to Head
Stella and Michele tied in vote count. They were allowed to discuss who they should face in the head to head. They chose April Macie. After the performances, Michele Balan received 83% of the vote, eliminating Stella and April from the competition.Immunity challenge: Magazine topic
The comics were woken up at 3:00 AM to drive in their minibus to Adam CarollaAdam Carolla
Adam Carolla is an American radio personality, television host, comedian, and actor. He currently hosts The Adam Carolla Show, a talk show distributed as a podcast on the ACE Broadcasting Network...
's radio show. They each randomly selected an envelope with a magazine inside. Adam then informed them that they would do a one minute improv routine on the subject of their magazine on his morning radio show. Some of the magazines were Weapons of Death, Modern Knitting, Farming Journal, and Latina Wedding. Rebecca Corry won the challenge for her routine about Beefcake magazine. She was rewarded with immunity, which she referred to as immunization
Immunization
Immunization, or immunisation, is the process by which an individual's immune system becomes fortified against an agent ....
.
Head to Head
This episode's head to head voting was the first four way tie on Last Comic Standing. The tie was between Joey Gay, Michele Balan, Bil Dwyer, and Chris Porter. Each of them was forced to perform after receiving 2 votes (one of Porter's votes was from Gabriel Iglesias, whose strategy is to pick names out of a hat). Kristin Key and Iglesias received one vote each.Because there were four comedians in the head to head, two would go home and two would stay. After the four comedians performed and the audience voted for their favorite, it was revealed that Bil Dwyer got the lowest percentage of the votes. Chris Porter won the Capital One Audience Pick, with the highest percentage of the votes. Joey Gay was also eliminated, and Michele Balan survived her second head to head in a row to stay in the competition.
Challenge: Roast
The contestants each got to vote on which comic to roast at the Friars Club of Beverly HillsFriars Club of Beverly Hills
The Friars Club of Beverly Hills was a private show business club started in 1947 by comedian/actor Milton Berle, among other celebrities who had moved from New York. It was forced to change its name in 2007 after losing a lawsuit with the New York Friars' Club, and later closed...
of Beverly Hills. Gabriel Iglesias
Gabriel Iglesias
Gabriel J. Iglecias , known professionally as Gabriel Iglesias, is an American standup comedian and actor, known for his shows I’m Not Fat… I’m Fluffy and Hot & Fluffy.-Early life:...
received the most votes. The judges at the roast were Gilbert Gottfried
Gilbert Gottfried
Gilbert Gottfried is an American actor, voice actor and stand-up comedian, best known for his trademark comedic persona of speaking in a loud, grating tone of voice. He has played numerous roles in film and television, perhaps most notably voicing the parrot Iago in Disney's Aladdin , and...
, Phyllis Diller
Phyllis Diller
Phyllis Diller is an American actress and comedian. She created a stage persona of a wild-haired, eccentrically dressed housewife who makes jokes about a husband named "Fang" while pretending to smoke from a long cigarette holder...
, and the winner of Last Comic Standing Season 3, Alonzo Bodden
Alonzo Bodden
Alonzo Bodden is an American comedian and actor known for winning the grand prize in the third season of the reality-television series Last Comic Standing. He had been the runner-up in the previous season....
. At the roast, Kristen Key was arguably the worst, with her jokes about Gabriel getting complete silence. Chris Porter won the challenge, but did not receive immunity because that would have automatically put him into the final five. He instead was rewarded with a one year membership to the Friars of Beverly Hills.
Post-challenge drama
After the challenge, a producer caught Gabriel IglesiasGabriel Iglesias
Gabriel J. Iglecias , known professionally as Gabriel Iglesias, is an American standup comedian and actor, known for his shows I’m Not Fat… I’m Fluffy and Hot & Fluffy.-Early life:...
using a BlackBerry
BlackBerry
BlackBerry is a line of mobile email and smartphone devices developed and designed by Canadian company Research In Motion since 1999.BlackBerry devices are smartphones, designed to function as personal digital assistants, portable media players, internet browsers, gaming devices, and much more...
, a violation of house rules according to the contract all contestants had signed. Producer Peter Engel
Peter Engel (TV producer)
Peter Engel is a television producer who is best known for his teenage sitcoms which appeared on TNBC, a former Saturday morning block on NBC which featured all teenage-oriented programs for educational purposes...
was forced to dismiss Gabriel from the show even though he claimed to have only been using it to contact his friends and family.
Head to Head
Rebecca Corry, Ty Barnett, and Kristen Key were chosen to compete in the head to head after having each received two votes. After their performances in the Last Comic Theatre, it was revealed that Rebecca Corry received the lowest amount of votes and would be eliminated from the competition. Kristen Key received the second lowest amount of votes and was also eliminated. With 69 percent of the votes, Ty Barnett became the final person in the final five comics along with remaining comedians Josh Blue, Roz, Chris Porter, and Michele Balan.Episode 8
The final five performed in front of a live audience for five minutes each. After all five had performed, the phone lines opened to let home viewers vote for their favorite comic. The one with the lowest amount of votes would be eliminated. Each comic had a short bio before their performance. After the phone lines opened, the current lowest two vote-getters, Roz and Josh Blue, were displayed on the screen, albeit to only half of the audience.Episode 9
Gary GulmanGary Gulman
Gary Lewis Gulman is a stand-up comedian. He was a finalist on the NBC reality-talent show Last Comic Standing . In season 2, he finished in third place behind John Heffron and Alonzo Bodden...
from season two performed. Michele Balan and Roz were announced as the bottom two from last week, then Roz was eliminated. The remaining contestants performed another stand-up routine for five minutes. After the phone lines opened, Anthony Clark explained that on the previous week's show, there were some problems that resulted in half the country not seeing who was were the bottom two. There were no technical difficulties this time, as the screen showed that Michele Balan and Chris Porter were in the bottom two so far.
Episode 10
Michele received the lowest amount of votes and was subsequently the first of the final four to leave the competition. Jay LondonJay London
Jay London is an American stand-up comic, whose one-liner jokes made him a favorite on NBC's Last Comic Standing. Although he did not win either of the two seasons in which he appeared , his humble personality and clean comedy made him a favorite among the show's fans.London was born in The Bronx,...
from seasons two and three appeared on stage and gave a performance. Next, Caroline Rhea
Caroline Rhea
Caroline Gilchrist Rhea is a Canadian stand-up comedian and actress who was the original host of the reality television show The Biggest Loser on NBC until she was replaced by Alison Sweeney after the end of the third season...
, host of NBC's The Biggest Loser performed. Then, Josh, Chris, and Ty performed their acts, but early results were not shown to the audience.
Episode 11
Josh Wolf and Theo VonTheo Vonkurnatowski
Theo Vonkurnatowski aka Theo Von, is an American stand-up comedian. He currently lives in Santa Monica, California.Vonkurnatowski was born in Louisiana. He first became known as a contestant on MTV's Road Rules, and competed on several seasons of its spin-off show, Real World/Road Rules Challenge...
performed their acts in trying to become the "Last Comic Downloaded." Next, Paul Rodriguez
Paul Rodríguez
Paul Rodriguez is a Mexican-American stand-up comedian and actor.-Personal life:Rodriguez was born in Culiacán, Sinaloa, México to Mexican agriculture ranchers.. His family migrated to East Los Angeles, where he enlisted in the military; he was stationed in Iceland and Duluth, Minnesota...
made a guest performance. Afterward, Chris Porter was eliminated from the competition as he received the fewest votes. Josh and Ty performed their acts in anticipation of the following week's final episode.
Episode 12
Theo Von won the majority of votes to become the "Last Comic Downloaded." Previous Last Comic Standing winners Dat PhanDat Phan
Dat Phan , is a Vietnamese American stand-up comedian.-Early life:When he was a child, he, his mother, and nine of his siblings emigrated from South Vietnam to the United States. They suffered financial hardships throughout his childhood...
, John Heffron
John Heffron
John Heffron is an American stand-up comic. Born in Detroit, he was raised in South Lyon, Michigan. He graduated from South Lyon High School and Eastern Michigan University....
, and Alonzo Bodden
Alonzo Bodden
Alonzo Bodden is an American comedian and actor known for winning the grand prize in the third season of the reality-television series Last Comic Standing. He had been the runner-up in the previous season....
performed next. The host of the past seasons of Last Comic Standing, Jay Mohr
Jay Mohr
Jay Mohr is an American actor and stand up comedian. He is known for his role as Professor Rick Payne in the TV series Ghost Whisperer, the title role in the CBS sitcom Gary Unmarried, which ran from 2008 to 2010, and the back-stabbing sports agent Bob Sugar in Jerry Maguire.-Early life:Mohr was...
, also made an appearance. The remaining finalists, Ty Barnett and Josh Blue, performed their acts for the audience one last time, and at the end of the show Josh Blue was declared the winner of Last Comic Standing season 4.