Tehran Von Ghasri, or simply Tehran Ghasri (, ), professionally known as Tehran formerly Tehran SoParvaz, is an American born international stand-up comedian, writer, actor, television, radio, and podcast personality, of

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

and

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

descent. Tehran was born and raised in

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

and surrounding

Washington Metropolitan Area The Washington metropolitan area, also referred to as the National Capital Region, Greater Washington, or locally as the DMV (short for Washington, D.C., District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia), is the metropolitan area comprising Washing ...

, beginning his career television hosting and curating exclusive events. Tehran is multilingual, performing stand-up comedy in primarily in English for US audiences but also

, conversational

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

, and French internationally.

Early life

Tehran Von Ghasri was born in Washington D.C. to an immigrant Iranian father and African-American mother, who met in college. Named after

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

, the capital of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, his parents chose the name "Tehran" as a reminder of his Persian roots. Being mixed Iranian and African-American, Tehran's background also includes Muslim and Zoroastrian paternal grandparents as well as a Christian maternal grandfather and Jewish maternal grandmother. Muslim, Zoroastrian, and Jewish roots and culture were prevalent in his upbringing having a large impact on him as a person. Because of his diverse and inclusive upbringing it became important to Tehran to create a platform to express how humanity is much more alike than different and to use comedy to celebrate those differences rather than attack one another. The name "Tehran" is unique to him due to his family lineage and history. The government of Iran's courts found the name counter to Islamic revolutionary law, sanctioning and banning the use of the name until recent. As such Tehran is the first and only person of Iranian heritage with the name "Tehran" with no cases of the name being used before 2020.

Career

In a television show launched by VOA Persian called ''Minutes with Max Amini'', he revealed his long-time friendship with

Max Amini Max Amini (born September 20, 1981) is an Iranian-American comedian, actor, producer and director. Max is known primarily as a world touring stand-up comedian, and has appeared on shows such as NBC's ''Heroes'', Netflix's ''Real Rob'' with Rob S ...

and said that Amini was his first motivator to be a comedian. followed by a performance by

Maz Jobrani Maziyar Jobrani (; born February 26, 1972), better known as Maz Jobrani, is an American comedian and actor who was part of the " Axis of Evil" comedy group. The group appeared on a comedy special on Comedy Central. Jobrani has also appeared in n ...

at George Washington University in 2012 with Maz encouraging him to move to Los Angeles and pursue comedy full time. Tehran has a J.D. degree and holds degrees in

International Politics International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

and

Communications Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...

with a concentration in Mid-East Conflict, as well as a Masters in Economics from

George Mason University George Mason University (GMU) is a Public university, public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., the university is named in honor of George Mason, a Founding Father ...

TEHRAN VON GHASRI PHOTO BY POURIA AFKHAMI AKA PIXOOS 04

Tehran has hosted his own radio and television shows on Rangarang and Tapesh satellite television, which are US-based Persian language television channels. Tehran rose to popularity in the Iranian diaspora after begin featured in the premiere episode of Parazit on

VOA Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American international ...

. After becoming very popular in the Iranian community and diaspora, Tehran has branched out and crossed over into the American and international markets. After being a guest, Tehran became a main host and daily contributor on ''Take Part Live'', the prime daily social commentary and political talk show on

Pivot Pivot may refer to: *Pivot, the point of rotation in a lever system *More generally, the center point of any rotational system *Pivot joint, a kind of joint between bones in the body *Pivot turn, a dance move Companies *Incitec Pivot, an Austra ...

. This led to a leading role on the Fox nationally televised panel show "So Me". Tehran has been in several TV and film projects including

Dane Cook Dane Jeffrey Cook (born March 18, 1972) is an American stand-up comedian and film actor. He is known for his use of observational comedy, observational, often blue comedy, vulgar, and sometimes black comedy, dark comedy. He released six comedy ...

's ''American Typecast'', the

Sean Stone Sean Christopher Stone (December 29, 1984) is an American actor, filmmaker, and television host. Stone hosted a show on the Russian state-funded network RT America until the network was shut down in 2022 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Bi ...

directed ''Fury of the Fist and the Golden Fleece'', and featured in

's project '' Jimmy Vestvood''. Tehran has also been a main host on the national Fox "So-Me" panel show, daily host on Pivot's flagship show ''Take Part Live'',

The Young Turks ''The Young Turks'' (''TYT'') is an American progressive and left-wing populist sociopolitical news and commentary program live streamed on social media platforms YouTube and Twitch, and additionally selected television channels. ''TYT'' se ...

, Indisputable with Dr. Rashad Richey, and regular on Fox Soul. Tehran has also hosted a variety of 'aftershows' including Fox's Empire, DC's Young Justice, Marvel's Agent's of S.H.I.E.L.D. and others. From 2015 - 2020, Tehran was a noted panelist on several episodes of '' AfterBuzz TV''

aftershow An aftershow or after-show is a genre of television talk show whose topic is another television program. An aftershow is typically broadcast immediately after a new episode of its corresponding program, to help retain the audience, and to provide a ...

podcast for the American television series ''

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ''Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' is an American television series created by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen for ABC based on the Marvel Comics organization S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, ...

'' as well a variety of popular comic book related shows. With insightful Tehran hosted San Diego 2018 and Los Angeles Comic Con 2021. Participating in Just For Laughs and Netflix is a Joke, Tehran performs stand-up comedy in venues all over the world, and is a Los Angeles

Laugh Factory Laugh Factory is a chain of comedy clubs in the United States. The chain is owned by Laugh Factory Inc., and the founder and current chief executive is Jamie Masada. Endurance record The Laugh Factory keeps track of an endurance record for ...

favorite. Tehran created and hosts Comedy Bazaar, the longest running Middle East and North African (

MENA The Middle East and North Africa (MENA), also referred to as West Asia and North Africa (WANA) or South West Asia and North Africa (SWANA), is a geographic region which comprises the Middle East (also called West Asia) and North Africa together ...

) themed comedy show, as well as the inclusive Tehran Thursday which he hosts weekly, the second longest running comedy show in Hollywood. Both are very popular tentpole shows at the Laugh Factory and the Hollywood comedy scene. During the Covid shutdown, Tehran hosted a daily variety comedy show alongside Craig Robinson. Tehran's comedy style has been compared to a "unique comedic blend of good friends

Dave Chappelle David Khari Webber Chappelle ( ; born August 24, 1973) is an American stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian and actor. He starred in and co-created the satirical comedy sketch series ''Chappelle's Show'' (2003–2006) before quitting in the middle ...

meets Maz Jobrani", whom he often collaborates and tours with. Known for social commentary, making hilarious but poignant points, and always having lots of new material, Tehran has produced and taken part in many shows focused on world peace, tolerance, love, understanding, and unity; most notably Comedy 4 Peace aimed at uniting the Middle East and North Africa with a current focus on peaceful Israel and Palestinian relations. Tehran is very socially active in regards to fighting injustice, oppression, and disenfranchisement globally. Tehran cites his personal journey and cultural connections as inspirations for his comedy seeking to unite people through laughter.

Filmography

Film

Television

Other work

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ghasri, Tehran 21st-century American comedians American stand-up comedians American comedians of Iranian descent American male television actors American male film actors George Mason University alumni Actors of Iranian descent Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century African-American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male comedians African-American male comedians African-American comedians Comedians from Washington, D.C.