Anthony Steven Kalloniatis (born August 23, 1967) is an American stand-up comedian and actor, best known by his stage name Ant.

Career

Ant performed at comedy clubs across the US beginning in 1991. In 1995, he was a semi-regular cast member on the WB series ''

Unhappily Ever After ''Unhappily Ever After'' is an American sitcom television series that aired for 100 episodes on The WB from January 11, 1995, to May 23, 1999, for a total of five seasons. The series was produced by Touchstone Television. Synopsis The series fo ...

'', spending four seasons on the sitcom. Ant appeared as a contestant on ''

Last Comic Standing ''Last Comic Standing'' was an American reality television talent competition show on NBC that aired from June 1, 2003, to August 9, 2010, then again in 2014 and 2015. The goal of the program was to select a comedian from an initially large group ...

'', competing in seasons two and three. He was the host of VH1 reality series ''

Celebrity Fit Club ''Celebrity Fit Club'' is a reality television series that follows eight overweight celebrities as they try to lose weight for charity. Split into two competing teams of four, each week teams are given different physical challenges, and weighed t ...

'' and was a regular judge of talent on '' Steve Harvey's Big Time''. His television series '' U.S. of Ant'' premiered on MTV's gay-targeted

Logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wo ...

cable channel in the summer of 2006. Ant also frequently appeared as a commentator on shows such as VH1's ''

Best Week Ever ''Best Week Ever'' is an American comedy series created and executive produced by Fred Graver. The series originally aired from January 23, 2004, to June 12, 2009, on VH1.Harris, Scott"VH1 Cancels 'Best Week Ever'". ''Inside TV''. January 13, 2 ...

'' and CNBC's ''

Dennis Miller Dennis Michael Miller (born November 3, 1953) is an American talk show host, political commentator, sports commentator, actor, and comedian. He was a cast member of ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1985 to 1991, and he subsequently hosted a stri ...

'', and was a regular guest on ''

The Tyra Banks Show ''The Tyra Banks Show'', also known as and shortened to ''Tyra'' or ''The Tyra Show'', was an American talk show hosted by Tyra Banks that aired from 2005 to 2010. While Banks's show covered a variety of topics, there was a sensationalized focus ...

'', ''

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014. The fourth incarnation of the ...

'' as well as ''

The Howard Stern Show ''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The show has aired on Howard 100 a ...

''. In 2007, he appeared along with Snoop Dogg as a guest star on MTVs sketch comedy show ''

Short Circuitz ''Nick Cannon Presents: Short Circuitz'' is a sketch comedy show starring Nick Cannon on MTV that debuted April 5, 2007. The show was cancelled and pulled from MTV on April 30, 2007, due to low ratings. A month after the show's cancellation, the ...

''. Ant appeared as a regular celebrity guest on the game show '' To Tell the Truth'', alongside

Jackée Harry Jacqueline Yvonne Harry (born August 14, 1956) is an American actress, comedian, and television personality. She is known for her starring roles as Sandra Clark, the nemesis of Mary Jenkins (played by Marla Gibbs), on the NBC TV series ''227'' ...

Meshach Taylor Meshach Taylor (; April 11, 1947 – June 28, 2014) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as Anthony Bouvier on the CBS sitcom ''Designing Women'' (1986–93), for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstan ...

and

John O'Hurley John George O'Hurley Jr. (born October 9, 1954) is an American actor, comedian, singer, author, game show host and television personality. He is known for his portrayal of J. Peterman on the NBC sitcom ''Seinfeld'', and was the sixth host of the ...

. In 2008, he was a contestant on VH1's reality competition '' Celebracadabra'', where celebrities trained with established magicians, and competed in an elimination-format contest. Ant was eliminated in episode 2 and brought back in episode 4, but did not go on to win. On September 30, 2008, it was reported that Ant was suing British presenters

Ant & Dec Ant & Dec are a British television presenting duo, consisting of Anthony McPartlin (born 18 November 1975) and Declan Donnelly (born 25 September 1975), from Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Formed after their meeting as child actors on CBBC's ...

for using the name 'Ant' in the United States. The suit, among other things, alleges trademark infringement and fraud. The suit was dismissed in May 2010. Kalloniatis is a former host of the ''Second Chances'' podcast with comedian Greg Baldwin.

References

External links

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TV.com entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ant 1967 births Male actors from Boston American people of Greek descent American male comedians American male film actors American male television actors American stand-up comedians Last Comic Standing contestants American gay actors Gay comedians LGBT people from Massachusetts Living people 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians Comedians from Massachusetts 21st-century LGBT people