- Dan Nainan
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Dan Nainan Birth name Daniel Nainan Born Disputed
Bloomington, Indiana, United StatesMedium stand-up, television, Radio Nationality American Years active 2002–present Genres Satire, Improvisational comedy, Observational comedy Subject(s) political, multiculturalism, Indian culture Notable works and roles Dan Nainan: Thou Shalt Laugh Website DanielNainan.com Dan Nainan is an American comedian of Indian and Japanese origin.
Contents
Early life
Nainan born in Bloomington, Indiana to a nuclear physicist from India and child psychologist from Japan.[1] Before becoming a comedian, he worked as a "demonstration engineer" and then as strategic relations manager with Intel.[2] Nainan graduated from Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in Bethesda, Maryland in 1979.[3]
Break into comedy
As a senior engineer for Intel, Nainan traveled the world with CEO Andy Grove, demonstrating the latest technology on stage at high-profile events. As the audiences grew in size, Nainan experienced tremendous stage fright. To get over the fear of public speaking, he first joined a Toastmasters group, then took a stand up comedy class in San Francisco.[4]
Comedy
Daniel Nainan recently opened the Bethesda Comedy Club, a 300 seat venue in the Washington, D.C. area. [5]
Selected performances
In August 2008, Nainan performed at the Democratic National Convention in Denver Colorado, as a guest of US congressman Mike Honda.[6] In November 2009, Nainan performed at the TED Conference in Mysore, India.[7]
Television
In 2003, Nainan appeared in the first season of NBC's Last Comic Standing, advancing as far as the West Coast Semifinals.[8]
Nainan appeared in a commercial for Apple computers. The commercial, entitled "PC Innovation Lab" was one in the "Get a Mac" series with Justin Long and John Hodgman. The commercial showed Nainan in a suit of bubble wrap.[9]
Feature film
In 2006, Nainan played a small role as a cello player in Paramount Pictures' film The Hoax starring Richard Gere. In 2009 Nainan played the role as a Fire Nation Warrior in the M. Night Shyamalan movie The Last Airbender.
References
- ^ "Dan Nainan". Indo American Arts Council. 2008-09-05. http://www.iaac.us/tsunami-perform-dan.htm.
- ^ "Thou Shalt Laugh". Web. 2008-04-05. http://tsl2.thoushaltlaugh.com/?section_id=comics&com_sel=5&video_id=5.
- ^ "Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School". 2010-06-05. http://highschoolalumni.netai.net/2010/04/bethesda-chevy-chase-high-school-bethesda-maryland.
- ^ Nainan, Dan (2008-03-14). "Comedian Goes Green". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/26/business/26flier.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=nainan&st=nyt&oref=slogin. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
- ^ "Opening Comedy club in Bethesda". Washington Post. 2008-05-08. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/19/AR2008061903004.html?nav=rss_print/style. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
- ^ "A funny Thing Happened On the way To the Convention--". Daily Brief. 2009-09-23. http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/daily-brief/2008/08/30/a-funny-thing-happened-on-the-way-to-the-convention/?tid=true.
- ^ "Inspiring Speakers From Across the Globe--". Tedindia. 2009-09-23. http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS167893+10-Sep-2009+PRN20090910.
- ^ "Filmography Lab". Internet Movie Database. 2009-09-23. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2813346/.
- ^ "PC Innovation Lab". YouTube. 2009-09-23. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrENCy1g7Q4.
External links
Articles written about Dan Nainan
Categories:- Living people
- American radio actors
- American stand-up comedians
- American people of Indian descent
- American people of Japanese descent
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