Daniel Dwight Tosh (born May 29, 1975) is an American comedian, writer, and producer. After graduating from the University of Central Florida with a degree in

marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

, Tosh moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

to pursue a career in comedy. His career accelerated in 2001 after a performance on the ''

Late Show with David Letterman ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...

''. He would go on to appear in other national shows, leading to his own 30-minute special on Comedy Central Presents two years later. From 2009 to 2020, Tosh was the host of

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

series '' Tosh.0'', a showcase of popular Internet video clips with the addition of Tosh's narrative comedic dialogue. Daniel Tosh also went on his own series of comedy tours from 2010 to 2015. In addition to ''Tosh.0'', he is known for his deliberately offensive and controversial style of

black comedy Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...

and as the star of

stand-up comedy Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage (theatre), stage and delivers humour, humorous and satire, satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical comedy, physical acts. These ...

tours and specials.

Early life

Born in Boppard,

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

to American parents, Tosh grew up in Titusville, Florida, the son of a Presbyterian minister. After graduating from Astronaut High School in 1993, Tosh attended the University of Central Florida, graduating in December 1996 with a degree in marketing. Among his first jobs was a telemarketer at Central Florida Research Park. He said later,

Hey, $15 an hour to annoy people! I really was not preparing myself for the future at all. I had interviews lined up. I sat through one real interview and I was like, 'I wouldn't hire me.' I left halfway through the orientation. That's the closest thing I ever got to a real job.

Tosh moved to Los Angeles, but attributes his decision to work in comedy to being raised in Florida, which he considers "flat, hot, and dumb."

Career

Tosh started touring the comedy club circuit almost immediately after graduating from college. He appeared as one of the "New Faces" at the 1998 Just for Laughs in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. His act was televised in 2000 in Montreal at the Théâtre Saint-Denis. Tosh's career break came in 2001 with a performance on the ''

''. He made appearances on programs such as '' The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'', '' Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', and

's '' Premium Blend''. He hosted a local late-night comedy show in Florida called ''Tens'', and served as a spokesman in

Taco Bell Taco Bell Corp. is an American multinational chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962 by Glen Bell (1923–2010) in Downey, California. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The restaurants serve a variety of Mexican-inspired ...

commercials. Tosh has been a regular guest on radio shows such as '' The Bob & Tom Show'', ''

Loveline ''Loveline'' is a radio syndication, syndicated radio Talk show, call-in program in North America that features medical and relationship advice, often with guest appearances by actors and musicians. For most of its original run until ending in ...

'', and '' Kevin and Bean''. In 2003, he performed in his own 30-minute special on '' Comedy Central Presents''. On June 17, 2007,

aired his stand-up special: '' Daniel Tosh: Completely Serious''. He hosted an episode of Comedy Central's '' Live at Gotham''. Tosh appeared in an episode of MTV's '' Punk'd ''as a criminal who broke into Mekhi Phifer's car. He played a fictional version of himself on "Elevator" produced by

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

's Runawaybox and had a small role as Cowboy Hat in the feature film '' The Love Guru'' starring Mike Myers. Of his own acting ability, Tosh says, "I'm not a good actor. I can play myself, and a much gayer version of myself. That's about my range." Tosh said he planned to end his career on his 38th birthday, May 29, 2013, if he had not by that time succeeded as a comedian. He said he would do this by committing suicide or retiring to the beach. He kept a countdown clock on his website that gave the number of days, minutes, and seconds until his 38th birthday which is when "Daniel's

Groundhog Day Groundhog Day (, , , ; Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia: Daks Day) is a tradition observed regionally in the United States and Canada on February 2 of every year. It derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if ...

Ends," a reference to the

Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian, known for his deadpan delivery in roles ranging from studio comedies to independent dramas. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Bill Murra ...

film. Tosh has described a comic's routine life on the road as "Groundhog Day". His special, '' Daniel Tosh: Happy Thoughts'', premiered on Comedy Central on March 6, 2011, with 3.25 million viewers and a 1.9/5 share. It was later released on DVD. Tosh was an executive producer of, and the voice of "Malloy" in, the

animated sitcom ''

Brickleberry ''Brickleberry'' is an American Adult animation, adult animated sitcom created by Waco O'Guin and Roger Black (actor), Roger Black for the basic cable network Comedy Central, which aired from September 25, 2012 to April 14, 2015. Executive produc ...

''. The show was cancelled after three seasons on January 7, 2015. In 2012, Tosh was criticized for an interaction with a female audience member during a set at a Hollywood comedy club. After telling a series of jokes about rape, an audience member remarked that "rape jokes are never funny". Tosh responded by saying it would be funny if the audience member herself were raped by “five guys.” The exchange prompted a lengthy debate over the appropriateness of jokes about rape. Tosh later apologized for the joke. In 2013, ''Forbes'' estimated Tosh's net worth at $11 million, tied for ninth place in its list of all top-earning comedians whose income is primarily from stage ticket sales.

''Tosh.0''

Tosh's Comedy Central television show '' Tosh.0'' premiered on June 5, 2009, based on showcasing Internet video clips. His mocking humor is described as "envelope pushing" and frequently features punchlines that are intentionally self-deprecating, racist, sexist, or homophobic. Tosh's explanation of his non-politically correct humor is "I'm not a misogynistic and racist person...But I do find those jokes funny, so I say them."

Tosh Show

In November 2023, Tosh started a podcast called ''Tosh Show'' on YouTube and Apple Podcasts. He uses a common podcast format, featuring guests in studio, with Eddie, his neighbour from Tahoe that also co-created ''Tosh.0,'' behind the camera that chimes in, and video clips from the internet. He announced the podcast on November 7, and the first episode came out on November 14, with new episodes every Tuesday.

Personal life

Tosh has one brother and two sisters. Tosh has stated that he has social anxiety and that he has disfavored public speaking. He married writer Carly Hallam on April 17, 2016 at a private ceremony in Malibu, California. They have two children. In 2018, Tosh lost his home in the Woolsey Fire.

Philanthropy

Tosh has participated in a show for the family of deceased comedian Greg Giraldo and for Alabama disaster relief. He has hosted an annual stand-up show called "Tosh Saves The World" which has featured comedians such as

Bo Burnham Robert Pickering Burnham (born August 21, 1990) is an American stand-up comedian, musician, actor, filmmaker, and YouTuber. Burnham's work combines elements of filmmaking with Comedy music, music, Sketch comedy, sketch, and stand-up comedy, co ...

, Chelsea Peretti, Hannibal Buress and Kumail Nanjiani, with the proceeds going to various charities."Portland Monthly Mag"
Tosh Saves the World Comedy Show
, November 2012

Reception

In 2011, ''Forbes'' reported that Tosh's 60-date nationwide stand-up tour was sold out. In 2014, he performed sold out shows at an average ticket price at $161.94, according to Forbes.

Discography

*''True Stories I Made Up'' (Compact Disc, 2005) *'' Completely Serious'' (DVD, 2007) *'' Happy Thoughts'' (CD/DVD, March 8, 2011) *''People Pleaser'' (April 19, 2016)

Tours

*"Tosh Tour Twenty Ten" (2010) *"Tosh Tour On Ice" (2011) *"Tosh Tour Twenty Twelve" (2012) *"Tosh Tour June Gloom" (2013) *"The Great Nor'easter Tour" (2015) *"Florida Trash" (2022) *"Daniel Tosh Live" (2025)

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tosh, Daniel 1975 births 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American screenwriters American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors American stand-up comedians American television writers Astronaut High School alumni Eastern Florida State College people Las Vegas shows Living people People from Titusville, Florida People from Boppard University of Central Florida alumni Television producers from Florida Television personalities from Florida American male comedians Comedians from Florida Male actors from Rhineland-Palatinate Comedians from Rhineland-Palatinate