Jump to content

Russell Peters

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 24.141.58.16 (talk) at 22:28, 27 September 2007 (→‎His work). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Not to be confused with Russell Peterson or Peter Russell.
File:Russel Peters Comedian.jpg
Russell Peters - standup comic

Russell Dominic Peters[1] (born 1970) is an Indian-Canadian stand-up comic of Anglo-Indian[2] heritage.

Background

Russell's parents are from Kolkata in India.[3]. He was born in Toronto[4], Canada. His family moved to Brampton, Ontario. He presently lives in Los Angeles, United States of America.

His work

Peters began performing in Toronto in 1989[1]. He has since also performed in the UK, Australia, China, Singapore, Denmark, South Africa, the Caribbean, Vietnam, Malaysia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, India, UAE and the United States.

He has been nominated for four Gemini Awards,[5] the Canadian television awards. He has also been nominated for Best Male Comic at the Canadian Comedy Awards. [citation needed] Peters has been featured at such shows as Montreal's Just for Laughs Comedy Festival, the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, and the Edinburgh Festival. He hosted the Canada Day Comedy Festival 2006.

Peters' comedy focuses largely around his Indian upbringing and racial stereotypes, as he often parodies his parents and South Asian culture. Much of his material explores the cultural divides between many different ethnicities and upbringings in a way that includes many impressions. One reason for his popularity is that he engages the audience at his shows, by talking to individuals and making some sort of remark at or about them.

His most recent comedy special Russell Peters: Outsourced, aired on Comedy Central on August 26, 2006. Outsourced is also available on DVD and CD in stores from the August 29, 2006. The DVD version features his uncensored performance. The DVD has been popular, especially in Canada, selling over 80,000 copies. Outsourced is Russell's first DVD release.

Peters is currently working on a FOX sitcom with his brother, which will be partly based on their past experiences[citation needed].

Outsourced

Outsourced is a stage act dedicated to the memory of Russell's father. It showed lots of new material to his viewers. Topics ranged from different types of Asians, the English accent, terrorists, racists, Africans and his own adventures with the Chinese in KFC, Beijing. Some of these acts were criticized as being racist. But the show remained typical of his style. Two of his most popular catchphrases are "be a man" and "somebody gonna get a hurt real bad". During the encore for the show, before doing the famous line, he mentions that he would be retiring that joke/line after that show. Many viewers misunderstood this message and believed that Russell Peters was retiring his career as a comedian. The official reason is that his father recently passed away before the release of the DVD and many jokes were based on him. From then on, Peters would be focusing on different material.[citation needed]

Russell's comments about mixed relationships, beige kids and Indians following the British back to London were perceived by some as spot on. They typified his sharpness regarding observational comedy. Another favourite comment is, "Catherine and Vincent from the Bay area." This is especially amusing as Catherine and Vincent are clearly of Chinese descent; again showing how Peters incorporates the audience into the show.

His popularity extends to several other countries. In Dubai, his tickets are said to have been sold at a rate of one ticket in every two seconds[citation needed][who?].

In Canada, Russell became the first comedian to sell out at the Air Canada Centre[6]. More than 15,000 tickets in two days for that single show. He ended up selling over 30,000 tickets nationally over the two-day sales period. A total of over 50,000 tickets were sold across six cities. [citation needed]

Monsoon House

Main article: Monsoon House

Monsoon House is a radio play Peters performed for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 2006. It stars Russell Peters as Russell Page, a Hollywood producer. =)

Awards and recognitions

  • 2004 - Nomination for the Gemini Award in the category "Best Individual Performance in a Comedy Program or Series". This was for the TV-series Comedy Now (1997)[7]

Achievements

References

  1. ^ a b "Russell Peters IMDB profile". IMDB Profile.
  2. ^ "FAQ on russellpeters.com".
  3. ^ "Russell Peters Official Bio Press". Russell Peters Official Bio Press.
  4. ^ "Russell Peters Official FAQ". russellpeters.com - FAQ FAQ.
  5. ^ "http://www.helpms.ca/russellpeters.htm". {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  6. ^ "News Blaze: Russell Peters' Homecoming Tour SELLS OUT Across Canada!".
  7. ^ "Russell Peters IMDB profile - awards". IMDB Profile - Awards.
Wikiquote has quotations related to Russell Peters.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Russell_Peters&oldid=160791932"