Chad Daniels
American comedian
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chad Daniels is an American comedian.[2][3] His albums have reached the top 10 on the Billboard comedy charts three times: No. 2 for 2017's Footprints On The Moon, No. 6 for 2019's Dad Chaniels, and No. 7 for 2014's Natural Selection.[4] As of 2019, his albums have been streamed more than 700 million times.[5] Footprints on the Moon also reached No. 1 on the iTunes comedy chart.[6]
Chad Daniels | |
|---|---|
| |
| Born | March 2, 1975 Fergus Falls, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Children | 2 |
| Comedy career | |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Medium | Stand-up[1] |
| Website | chaddaniels |
In 2020, Vulture.com called him "one of the great unsung American comedians right now, who has some of the best stuff about being a dad out there."[7]
Early life
Daniels was born March 2, 1975, in Fergus Falls, Minnesota.[8][9] He graduated from Fergus Falls High School in 1993.[10][11]
Career
Stand-up comedy
Daniels' comedy is known for what Allmusic critic Mark Deming described as a "skewed, often dark view" on domestic family life.[8][12]
He started performing standup at an open mic night at ACME Comedy Company in Minneapolis in 1998. His performance earned him a job as house emcee at Grand Forks, North Dakota, comedy club Westward Ho, hosting six shows a week in 1998–1999.[8][13][14]
During the early 2000s, Chad was a favorite comedian at Hilarities comedy club inside of Pickwick and Frolic, in Cleveland, Ohio.
In 2003, Daniels was a finalist in Comedy Central’s Laugh Riots competition.[15]
In 2009, he was named Artist of the Year in comedy by Minneapolis alt-weekly City Pages, which said "Plenty of comics have jokes about marriage and children, but few speak about the experience with such uncompromising honesty."[16][17]
He has toured extensively in the U.S. and across the world.[5] In 2012, he won the $10,000 grand prize at the Gilda's LaughFest competition in Grand Rapids, Michigan.[18][19][20][8] He also performed at the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal in 2004 and 2012,[15] Limestone Comedy Festival, Akumal Comedy Festival,[21] World Comedy Festival,[11] and the Aspen Comedy Festival, where he won the Comic's Comic award.[17][8][22]
He hosts a weekly podcast, Middle of Somewhere, with fellow comedian Cy Amundson.[23][24]
He hosts another weekly podcast, Pretend Problems, with his fiance and fellow comedian Kelsey Cook.[25]
Television and film
Daniels' 2008 Comedy Central Presents half-hour special was named fifth-best all-time special by viewers in the network's 2010 Stand-Up Showdown.[26][9][27][28] He has also starred in two hour-long specials, 2012's As Is and 2019's Dad Chaniels.[29][9]
He is featured in J. Elvis Weinstein's documentary I Need You To Kill.[30][31]
He has also appeared on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien (one of only 13 comics to appear on that version of the show), O’Brien’s TBS talk show Conan,[20][32] The Late Late Show with both Craig Kilborn and Craig Ferguson,[15][9] Live at Gotham, The Bob and Tom Show, and Laugh Riots.[14][26]
Albums
Daniels has released seven albums: three with Stand Up! Records, three with 800 Pound Gorilla Records, and his self-produced debut.
Richard Lanoie of The Serious Comedy Site called Daniels "a smart, funny, surprising stand-up whose comedy will stand the test of time."[33] He and Brett Watson both named You’re The Best in the website's top 10 comedy albums of 2012; Lanoie called it "a superb, brilliant, smart, very funny, original album."[34][35][36] Lanoie called 2014's Natural Selection "funny and original".[37] Reviewing Natural Selection, Chris Spector of Midwest Record said "Daniels keeps the laughs coming (in) rapid-fire fashion without any misses."[38] Jake Austen of Roctober magazine, reviewing his early albums, was impressed that Daniel could deliver "domesticated, regular-guy" humor about families and airline food "yet manages not to lose his edge."[39]
Personal life
Daniels is divorced, and has a son and a daughter.[31][11][40][5] In March 2023, fellow comedian Kelsey Cook announced on SiriusXM's Jim and Sam Show that she and Daniels were dating. Cook also stated that the two had recently moved in together.[citation needed]
Discography
- Two Minutes for Stale Hacking (self-released)
- Busy Being Awesome (Stand Up! Records, 2009)
- You're the Best (Stand Up! Records, 2012)
- Natural Selection (Stand Up! Records, 2014)
- Footprints on the Moon (800 Pound Gorilla Records, 2017)
- Dad Chaniels (800 Pound Gorilla Records, 2019)
- Twelfth Night (800 Pound Gorilla Records, 2021)[8]
- Mixed Reviews (2023)
Filmography
Film
Television
- The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn
- Live at Gotham (2006)
- Comedy Central Presents (2008)
- The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (2009)
- The Bob and Tom Show (2010)
- Conan (2012, 2014, 2018)
- The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (2012)
- After Midnight (2023)