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ABOUT THE MEN
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Bruce Vilanch
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Bruce Vilanch is a two-faced fella: Bearded, he is one of the most sought-after comedy writers in Hollywood, winner of a bunch of Emmys and noted as the “ Hollywood Square” just to the left of Whoopi. Shaved, he spent two years as Edna Turnblad, Baltimore housewife and superstar, on tour and on Broadway in the smash musical adaptation of the John Waters film “Hairspray.”
Most recently in 2006 , Bruce was seen on VH1’s popular fitness and nutrition reality-series, “Celebrity Fit Club,” which just finished its third season. Participating in a type of extreme-makeover-body-edition, the Celebrity Fit Clubbers went through 100 days of Fit Club training. Along the way, they learned about fitness, diets and nutrition.
Who knows what Bruce will look like for his next performance? In addition to “Hairspray,” he has appeared in such legendary epics as “Ice Pirates,” “Mahogany” and “ The Morning After.” A frequent guest on talk shows, Bruce won his Emmys for co-writing back-to-back Oscar shows with Billy Crystal. He’s written 16 Oscar-casts so far, as well as a number of Tony, Grammy, and even Emmy shows, although he never got an Emmy for writing an Emmy–that would be award-show incest of the lowest order. His bizarre career was documented in the film “Get Bruce!,” released by Miramax and perpetually available on Buena Vista Home Video.
Bruce’s one-man show, “Almost Famous,” tickled Off-Broadway audiences for three months and has made a number of appearances around the country. He is frequently mistaken for Brad Pitt. |
Andre Kelley
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Taken from a crashed rocket ship in a Kansas cornfield, Andre was adopted and raised in a small town not far from his play-brother Clark Kent....
Actually, he's the corn-fed, beef-eating, milk-drinking, hay-bailing, thicker-than-Snicker, country-ass farm boy that Instinct magazine calls, ‘refreshingly defiant.’ And, he's the only Black comic in the entire country who’s never, ever, ever appeared on B.E.T.
Multi-hyphenate, comic-writer-actor, Andre is stand-up’s best-known gay farm boy. He’s appeared on Comedy Central’s Premium Blend, VH1’s Best Week Ever, LOGO’s Wisecrack and Si TV’s Latino Laugh Festival and Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.
A headlining act with Atlantis Cruises and a featured performer at legendary clubs the Laugh Factory, LA Improv and the Ice House, he's appeared at the Chicago Comedy Festival, Miami Light Project's Come Out Laughing and twice at Michigan’s Gay & Lesbian Comedy Fest. He's also opened shows for Bill Maher, Margaret Cho, Carrot Top, Sinbad, Mo’Nique and Bill Hicks.
Currently penning his comedy specials Cornfed, Chick Magnet and The New Black, he’s ardently riding what he calls the ‘Brokeback Effect.’ Having done more than 500 shows in 45 states, audiences nationwide are discovering his broad yet specific appeal.
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Eddie Sarfaty
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Comedian and writer Eddie Sarfaty has appeared on The Today Show, Nightline and on Comedy Central's Premium Blend. He is a regular at Caroline’s and Gotham Comedy Club in New York and has performed at Montreal’s Just for Laughs Comedy Festival, New York's Toyota Comedy Festival and at festivals in Columbus, Detroit, Miami, Phoenix and Washington, DC. Eddie has entertained on college campuses nationwide and at fundraisers for a variety of social and political organizations, including The National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, HRC and Lambda Legal. A favorite of crowds in Key West and Rehoboth, Eddie has also spent many summers in Provincetown, performing solo and as the newest member of the groundbreaking troupe Funny Gay Males. In addition he has been a featured performer for Atlantis Cruises, Aquafest Cruises, Romance Voyages and RSVP Vacations. Recently Eddie’s short story Second Guessing Grandma received critical acclaim when it appeared in the bestselling anthology When I Knew by Regan Books, a division of Harper Collins. Since 2003 he has been on the faculty of The Theatre Lab in Washington, DC, where he teaches workshops on comedy writing and performing. Eddie recently signed a book deal with Kensington Press and is also working on several projects as a writer/performer for Logo. |
Alec Mapa
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Alec Mapa is a GLAAD award-winning actor, activist, playwright and journalist. He can currently be seen on the ABC show Desperate Housewives, where he recurs as Eva Longoria's best gay pal "Vern." Alec recently completed four seasons on the UPN comedy Half and Half. Moviegoers know Alec from the cult favorite Connie and Carla, where he starred opposite Toni Collette and Nia Vardalos as the loveable drag queen "N' Cream." Alec had the distinction of playing network television's very first gay Asian series regular character on the CBS sitcom Some of My Best Friends. His Wisecrack! comedy special on the gay MTV network LOGO premiered in 2005 and has been a network favorite, playing in heavy rotation ever since.
For promoting visibility on behalf of gay causes and issues, Alec received the GLAAD award in 2005. Alec's career began on Broadway where he starred in the Tony Award winning play M. Butterfly. He played the role of "Song Liling," Chinese transvestite spy, opposite Tony Randall for nearly a year before starring in the National Touring Company production. Other Broadway credits include Timon of Athens and A Little Hotel on the Side, both with the National Actor’s Theater. Off Broadway Alec appeared in the New York Shakespeare Festival/ Public Theater productions of Jessica Hagedorn's Dogeaters, directed by Michael Greif, and Chay Yew's A Language of Their Own. Theatergoers in LA have enjoyed the Mark Taper Forum productions of three of Alec’s solo shows; I Remember Mapa, Drama! and Mapa Mia! I Remember Mapa won the LA Weekly award for Best Solo Performance and has since played to sold out houses in Seattle, New York, Toronto and San Francisco.
As an activist, Alec has worked tirelessly performing on behalf of the Human Rights Campaign, the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids, AIDS Project Los Angeles, Asian Pacific Aids Intervention Team, Gay and Lesbian Adolescent Social Services (GLASS), Lambda Legal, and the Matthew Shepard Foundation. For his community service, Alec received the award for continued excellence from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and the Rand Schrader award for Distinguished Achievement from the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center. Alec's column "Minority Retort" appears monthly in The Advocate, the national gay and lesbian news magazine. Alec is married to his partner of five years Jamison Hebert.
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Scott Kennedy
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The Hollywood Reporter calls Scott, "…one of the most successful gay stand-up comics to ever tour the world." Scott co-founded the Gay Comedy Jam, which toured to sold-out crowds in more than 150 cities across the US and Canada.
A native Texan, Scott is a favorite on CMT Countdown on Country Music Television and had his own half-hour special on Comedy Central Presents. He’s appeared on Premium Blend, NBC's Last Comic Standing, CBS's The Late Late Show and ABC’s Good Morning America.
2007 marks the 18th year of standup comedy for Scott. He headlines at clubs and colleges across the country and is a favorite on XM radio. He continues to be in demand at Harrah's in Las Vegas, performing to sold-out crowds up to five times a year, and Comedy Central lists him as one of the top 100 comics of all time.
On the road up to 260 days a year, Scott has entertained the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan five times, and joined the 2006 X-Mas USO tour to South America. The troops love him and he proudly supports them throughout the year.
Scott has performed at the Montreal Comedy Festival, Just for Laughs and HBO’s Aspen Comedy Festival. His latest CD, released in April 2006, Scott Kennedy...Really!?!?!, has received rave reviews. Really!?!?! is Scott's third CD, following Gay from Las Vegas and The Gay Comedy Jam Live.
Scott started doing standup comedy in his hometown of Lubbock, Texas, eventually moving to Los Angeles, where he is a favorite at The Improv and the Comedy Store.
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Bob Smith
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Born in Buffalo, Bob Smith has the distinction of being the first openly gay comedian to appear on The Tonight Show and also have his own HBO Comedy Half-hour. Other TV appearances include Politically Incorrect, The Late, Late Show, Entertainment Tonight, Tom Snyder and Comedy Central's Out There.
Bob's Lambda Literary Award-winning collection of essays, Openly Bob, was published to acclaim by Rob Weisbach Books/William Morrow and his most recent Lambda Literary Award-nominated book, Way to Go Smith!, was published by Rob Weisbach Books/HarperCollins.
He's written for Amblin Films, The MTV Video Awards, Dennis Miller, Roseanne and was a staff writer for Fox's MAD-TV. His sketch, The Zapruder Films was recently featured in The Best of MAD-TV. Bob's comic essays have appeared in 101 Damnations published by St. Martin's Press and the anthology America’s Best Contemporary Humorists: Mirth of a Nation. His most recent essay, "The Test," appears in When I Knew edited by Robert Trachtenberg for Harper Collins. Bob is a regular contributor to Out magazine, where he writes feature articles and the popular monthly list column. He recently appeared in HBO's documentary about the first gay and lesbian family cruise, All Aboard -- Rosie's Family Cruise.
In 2007, Bob will perform standup on Logo’s series Wisecracks. Bob is also extremely proud to announce that his first novel, Selfish and Perverse, will be published by Carroll & Graf in Sept 2007. His comedy about a gay man who goes to Alaska is already garnering praise from some of America’s best comic writers.
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