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Josh Thomas (comedian)

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Josh Thomas
Birth nameJoshua Michael Thomas
Born (1987-05-26) 26 May 1987 (age 37)[1]
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
MediumStand-up, television, radio
NationalityAustralian
Years active2005–present
GenresComedian
WebsiteJoshThomas.com.au

Joshua Michael "Josh" Thomas (born 26 May 1987) is an Australian comedian. In 2005, at the age of 17, he became the youngest ever winner of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival's Raw Comedy Competition.[2] He currently appears as a regular and Generation Y team captain on Network Ten's Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation.[3] He has also written and stars in an ABC2 television series Please Like Me[4].

Early life

Thomas was born in Blackwater, Queensland. He lived in Chapel Hill and Westlake in Brisbane's western suburbs and attended Kenmore State High School, graduating in 2004.

Career

In 2005, at the age of just 17, Josh Thomas was the youngest ever winner of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival's RAW Comedy Award. He made the finals of So You Think You're Funny at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The following year, he was selected to perform in The Comedy Zone, a showcase of Australia's most promising up-and-coming comedians presented by the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.[5] In 2007 Thomas' first solo show, "Please Like Me" debuted at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, where it received the Melbourne Airport Award for Best Newcomer.[6] His live shows have toured both nationally and internationally, appearing in both Edinburgh and Montreal's comedy festivals.[7] In 2010, Josh toured his coming-out themed stand-up show 'Surprise', taking it to the Adelaide Fringe, Brisbane Comedy Festival and Melbourne International Comedy Festival.[8] 2011 saw Josh touring Everything Ever at the Melbourne Comedy Festival, among other locations.[9]

Podcast

Thomas has a podcast called Josh Thomas and Friend, available from iTunes, which features Josh and his comedian friends Melinda Buttle and Tom Ward. In November 2009 a second series of the podcast was released on iTunes, and the first series was deleted. The third series was released in 2011, and the second series was deleted as well.

Magazines

He has also written articles for popular teen girl magazine Girlfriend.[10]

Newspaper Op Ed

Thomas had an opinion piece published in The Age newspaper in 2010.[11]

Television

Thomas has made guest appearances on the Australian television shows The Sideshow, Stand Up Australia, Ready Steady Cook, Good News Week, Rove Live and The 7PM Project.[10]

In 2009, Thomas became a regular and Generation Y team captain on Network Ten's Talkin' 'bout Your Generation.[10] He also competed in Celebrity MasterChef Australia, but lost in the first heat to Kirk Pengilly of INXS.[12]

In March 2011, Thomas hosted the 2011 Melbourne International Comedy Festival Gala event, which is held annually in support of Oxfam.[13]

In February 2013 the television series Please Like Me, written by Thomas, debuted on ABC2. The initial six-part series is based on his stand-up comedy shows and stars Thomas as himself. [14]

Personal life

Thomas stated that he was an atheist on the 2009 season finale of Good News Week.[15]

In November 2009, Thomas confirmed via his podcast that he was in a relationship with Triple J radio presenter Tom Ballard. They separated in June 2010 after 16 months of dating, with Ballard posting on his Facebook fanpage: "Josh and I aren't going out anymore. It's all pretty complicated, but basically I just decided that I have to follow my heart and get married to Mitch Hewer, Zac Efron, Daniel Radcliffe and Eamon Sullivan. We are still great friends though and it is all okay."[16]

In 2010, Thomas was selected by readers of samesame.com.au as one of the 25 most influential gay Australians.[17]

Josh also has an older sister, Nikki, and an older brother named Drew, who appeared on an episode of Talkin 'Bout Your Generation on 15 August 2010.

References

  1. ^ Micallef, Shaun. "Talkin' 'Bout your Generation profile".
  2. ^ Stephens, Andrew (2007-04-08). "Did you hear the one about the comedian who broke even?". The Age. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
  3. ^ Talking Bout Your Generation – Josh Thomas. Ten.com.au (2009-04-06). Retrieved on 2011-08-20.
  4. ^ [1] ABC2 Homepage for 'Please Like Me' TV series
  5. ^ Slattery, Annette (2006-04-28). "Comedy Zone". The Groggy Squirrel. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
  6. ^ Ziffer, Daniel (2007-04-30). "Jokes aside, Kitson is the best". The Age. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
  7. ^ Slattery, Annette (2008-02-07). "Brisbane gets a dose of Festival Spirit". The Groggy Squirrel. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
  8. ^ Josh Thomas web page. joshthomas.com.au
  9. ^ Melbourne Comedy Festival webpage
  10. ^ a b c "Josh Thomas: Comedian/Writer". Token Artists. January 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
  11. ^ Template:Cite article
  12. ^ AAP (October 1, 2009). "INXS' Kirk Pengilly wins MasterChef heat". The Age. Fairfax. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
  13. ^ [2][dead link]
  14. ^ [3] ABC2 Homepage for 'Please Like Me' TV series
  15. ^ "Season Finale". Good News Week. 2009-11-23. Network Ten. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ Niet compatibele browser. Facebook (2010-11-22). Retrieved on 2011-08-20.
  17. ^ "Samesame 25". samesame. Retrieved 31 March 2011.

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