ANT
Hyper, irreverent, and just downright fabulous, ANT (spelled in caps) is an actor, television host, writer, producer and he has steadily climbed the comedy hill to become one of the most successful comedians of our time. ANT is the only comedian to appear on all five seasons of NBC’s hit series “Last Comic Standing.” Currently he can be seen as the host of VH1’s juggernaut smash hit “Celebrity Fit Club,” now entering its seventh season.
Born on August 22, 1967 in Boston, Massachussets to parents, Lee and Marie, ANT attended Londonderry High School and briefly, the University of New Hampshire. In 1994, he got his first break starring in a Fox television pilot called, “Howe High.” From there he went on to a co-starring role on the WB series, “Unhappily Ever After” from creator Ron Leavitt (“Married with Children”).
His big opportunity came with NBC’s “Last Comic Standing,” a competition show for comedians to find the funniest person in America. Over 10,000 comedians tried out. ANT advanced all the way to the semi-finals in Las Vegas but did not make it into the house. The second season, he made it into the house but did not win. He was the 6th runner up. Then, NBC ordered a spin-off of sorts called “Last Comic Standing: Battle of the Best,” where Season 1 contestants did battle with Season 2 to see which comics were the funniest. ANT’s season beat it’s rivalry and he went on to win the competition. He then parlayed that forward momentum into a hosting job on the VH1 series, “Celebrity Fit Club.”
Last summer, ANT ventured out of his comfort zone, appearing in the VH1 series, “Celebracadabra,” a competition show featuring magic and celebrities. The show featured seven celebrities who each got the chance of a lifetime to learn some of the most eye-catching and jaw-dropping tricks from some of the most respected and noteworthy magicians in the world. ANT was eliminated 2nd when, dressed as a grocery store candy aisle, he was mauled by 2nd graders all vying for something sweet. There he also revealed a deep rooted fear of clowns.
Throughout his career, ANT has appeared on many series and specials including the remake of “To Tell The Truth,” “Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D List,” “The Jamie Foxx Show,” “For Your Love,” “Son of a Beach,” “Gene Simmons: Family Jewels,” “Sweet Valley High,” “Queer as Folk,” “Weekends at the DL,” “Nightstand,” “The Dennis Miller Show,” “But Can They Sing,” Steve Harvey’s Big Time,” “The Tyra Banks Show” and many others. In addition, he has appeared nine times on “The Tonight with Jay Leno,” six times on “The Howard Stern Show,” eighteen times on “The Tyra Banks Show,” and has had his own series bearing his name on MTV’s Logo Channel titled, “The US of ANT.”
In the feature world, ANT co-starred in Dirk Schaefer’s critically acclaimed feature “Circuit” in 2001; he also appeared in the critically acclaimed Sundance feature film “Twin Falls, Idaho,” “Angels Baby!,” “Another Gay Movie,” “National Lampoon’s Totally Baked,” “The Underground Movie,” and “Sister Mary.”
His hit stand-up DVD, “ANT: America’s Ready” and comedy CD “Follow My Ass!” have sold tens of thousands of copies and are available in stores nationwide and online at every CD/ DVD retailer including Amazon.com.
Entertainment Weekly proclaimed that ANT has become one of the most sought-after comics in Hollywood. He has been featured in Variety’s annual “10 Comics to Watch” special issue, Entertainment Tonight, Extra!, Genre Magazine, OUT and The Advocate. The Los Angeles Times raved, “Outrageous comedian ANT comes across with panache… Perky, plucky with a puckish wit.”
In January 2007, after an impressive 43 pound weight loss using the NutriSystem diet program, the company named ANT spokesman joining Tori Spelling and Jillian Barberi in a $20 million ad campaign for 2008-2009.
Thanks to his humor, compassion, and the dedication of his legions of fans worldwide, ANT’s career continues to skyrocket. His daily video blog, “The ANT Colony,” has taken the web by storm. Consistently rated as one of the top 10 celebrity blogs on MySpace and at its mirror site NBC.com/ANT, the ANT Colony garners over a million visitors per month. Visit http://www.antcomic.com/blog.
Contact: Stacey Pokluda
stacey@integrated-pr.com