Ikechukwu "Ike" Ufomadu is an American comedian, actor, and writer. In 2022, he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Short Form Series for his work on ''

Cake Cake is a flour confection usually made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elabor ...

''.

Career

Ufomadu studied drama at the

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic, and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, as the School of the Arts at New York University, Tisch ...

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

, where he graduated with a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...

in 2008. Ufomadu has performed comedy in shows throughout New York City. His

deadpan Deadpan, dry humour, or dry-wit humour is the deliberate display of emotional neutrality or no emotion, commonly as a form of Comedy, comedic delivery to contrast with the ridiculousness or absurdity of the subject matter. The delivery is meant t ...

style has been described as "so slow, so dry and so demanding of your attention". He often puts on, in his words, an "old-school entertainment type" persona harkening back to the mid-20th century. In 2015, he hosted ''Ike at Night'', a live-theater series in the style of talk shows like ''

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Johnny Carson, it aired from October 1, 1962 to May 22, 1992, replacing ''T ...

''. It featured a comedic opening monologue and guest interviews with an "emphasis on politics and multicultural issues". Later "Ike" shows included ''Nightcap by Ike'', ''Ike's Wonderful World of Leisure'', ''Ike by Chance'', and ''Ike for the Holidays'', several of which were staged at

Joe's Pub Joe's Pub, one of the six performance spaces within The Public Theater, is a music venue and restaurant that hosts live performances across genres and arts, ranging from cabaret to modern dance to world music. It is located at 425 Lafayette Str ...

in Manhattan. In 2018, Ufomadu acted in

Clare Barron Clare Barron is a playwright and actor from Wenatchee, Washington. She won the 2015 Obie Award, Obie Award for Playwriting for ''You Got Older''. She was a finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for ''Dance Nation.'' Early life In an ...

's off-Broadway play ''Dance Nation''; he was part of the original cast that received a

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...

for Outstanding Ensemble.

Ben Brantley Benjamin D. Brantley (born October 26, 1954) is an American theater critic, journalist, editor, publisher, and writer. He served as the chief theater critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1996 to 2017, and as co-chief theater critic from 2017 t ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' commended Ufomadu's "appealing, low-key presence" in the female-led play. ''Inspector Ike'', a low-budget detective comedy film inspired by ''

Columbo ''Columbo'' is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Columbo (character), Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originall ...

'', was released in 2020. ''

Paste Paste is a term for any very thick viscous fluid. It may refer to: Science and technology * Adhesive or paste ** Wallpaper paste ** Wheatpaste, a liquid adhesive made from vegetable starch and water * Paste (rheology), a substance that behaves as ...

'' magazine wrote that the title character was "skillfully played straight-faced" by Ufomadu, who co-wrote the film with director Graham Mason. Ufomadu voiced Dr. Ike Bloom on '' Tooning Out the News'', an animated satirical news show produced by

Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program ''The Colbert Report'' from 2005 to ...

, beginning in 2020. Ufomadu and Mason contributed the recurring segment "Words with Ike" to the fifth season of FXX's short-form comedy anthology ''

'' in 2021. ''

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to Nort ...

'' wrote that the vocabulary-exploring segment "drives home a feeling that Ufomadu loves comedy because he loves ''language''". For "Words with Ike", Ufomadu was nominated for a

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series. These awards, like the guest acting awards, are not presented at the Primetime Emmy Awards show, but rather at the Cre ...

at the

74th Primetime Emmy Awards The 74th Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in American prime time television programming from June 1, 2021, until May 31, 2022, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The awards ceremony was held live on September 12, 20 ...

. The comedian appeared on six episodes of

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

's talk show ''

Ziwe Ziwe may refer to: * Ziwe Fumudoh (Ziwerekoru Fumudoh, born 1993) American comedian and writer * ''Ziwe'' (talk show), a 2021–2022 American satirical show hosted by Ziwe Fumudoh See also * Zi Wei (disambiguation) * Ziwiyeh Castle The cast ...

'' in 2022. ''Vulture'' included Ufomadu on its list of 24 "Comedians You Should and Will Know in 2022".

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ufomadu, Ikechukwu Living people 21st-century American comedians American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors American male comedians Year of birth missing (living people) African-American male actors African-American male comedians African-American comedians