df_m_podcasters_2_para: 52
This data as json
| rowid | first_name | last_name | gender | career_sec | personal_sec | info | seed_first_name | seed_last_name | occupation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 52 | Cyd | Farmiga | f | In June 1985, Diaz left New Jersey for good and returned to Colorado to study economics at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He did not enjoy his time there, and quit before taking up work selling roofing which earned him money, but he remained unhappy. Following his arrest for kidnapping and aggravated robbery, he was sent to prison in 1988, serving 16 months of a four-year sentence. During his time in prison, Diaz would perform stand-up routines for his fellow inmates during the weekly film screening event when the projector broke. It took Diaz a further three years to try stand-up, despite being often told of his talent, and later called his entry into the line of work as "the last resort" as he had many other jobs in the past. After seeing the 1988 film Punchline, Diaz responded to an advertisement for a $37 stand-up comedy course in the Rocky Mountain Post, and developed a blue comedy act. Before he did his first standup routine, he worked as a doorman at Wit's End. Diaz performed his first routine on June 18, 1991 at the Comedy Works in Denver at a show headlined by Matt Woods. In April 1992, prior to his opening spot for Troy Baxley in Boulder, Colorado, Diaz took cocaine before going on stage and had a set that he described as "a disaster". He then ceased to take the substance before a performance. After developing his act, Diaz entered the Beck's Amateur Comedy Competition and won. He initially lost another competition until the winner was caught stealing jokes made famous by Jerry Seinfeld and Diaz was declared the winner. Diaz claimed Comedy Works manager Wende Curtis promised him a flight to Los Angeles for a showcase spot at The Comedy Store for owner Mitzi Shore, but never received either. Diaz went on to participate in a similar contest in Seattle, Washington, and finished sixth out of 40. In 1994, Diaz returned to the Comedy Works and found Curtis had started a developmental program for comics which he joined. The process involved group writing sessions at Wood's home followed by sets in the club the same evening. At one point, Curtis banned Diaz from the Comedy Works before it was lifted after they met years later. In 1995, Diaz left Colorado for Los Angeles, California to try and make it as a successful stand-up comic. He used his divorce from his first wife, and the loss of contact with their daughter in the process, as a motivation so he "could come back and make her proud". On November 4, 2007, Diaz appeared in North Bergen to help raise money for North Bergen High School's basketball team uniforms. In April 2012, Diaz supported his Where I Got My Balls From documentary with the release of his stand-up special, It's Either You or the Priest. It went to number one on the Billboard comedy charts in the UK and Canada, and number one on iTunes. In December 2016, Diaz put out his first one-hour comedy special, Sociably Unacceptable, through the on-demand subscription services Seeso and Comedy Dynamics. In 1998, Diaz received a contract to star in a television pilot, playing a bartender in a series titled Bronx County, after a talent scout at CBS saw him perform comedy in Seattle. The offer was a total surprise to Diaz, who initially did not believe him until he saw the talent scout possess tickets to have him fly to Los Angeles for the shoot. The series was not picked up, but the opportunity led to more work for Diaz, including an offer in his first feature film, a referee in BASEketball (1998), and a part in the television series NYPD Blue. In 2000, Diaz was featured in You Got Nothin' (2003), an independent film. Parts of Analyze That (2002), which starred Diaz, were filmed in Hudson County, New Jersey. He said, "That was big for me, able to come home to film". Diaz's profile increased with subsequent roles in Law & Order and his first major feature films, Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Taxi (2004). After, Diaz acted as an unlawful union organizer in The Longest Yard (2005). Diaz secured the role when he learned a remake of the original was in production, and had lunch with Chris Rock and Adam Sandler, during which Rock said he could land Diaz an audition. Diaz proceeded to assemble an audition tape: "I went out and got a football jersey two sizes too small, pants two sizes too small with my butt hanging out. I got kids' football shoulder pads and ran around the field with a cigar in my mouth". Three days after submitting the tape, Diaz landed the role; the producers liked the name Big Tony Tedesco, which Diaz named himself on the tape, and wrote it into the script. Originally the part had a mere three lines, but Diaz' tape got his part extended. In 2005, Diaz expressed his wish to continue as a character actor, saying: "It's like a dream come true for me. ... I got my call and I have to make the most of it". Around this time, Diaz prepared his one-man comedy show Larceny & Laughter, which featured stories about his time growing up in North Bergen. In 2007, Diaz appeared in four episodes of the television series My Name is Earl as Joey the Candy Bar Criminal. The show's producers wished to hire actors to play prisoners, and called Diaz after they saw him in The Longest Yard. That year, he hosted a series of humorous promotions for the Ultimate Fighting Championship as Joey Karate, giving karate instructions and comical predictions for upcoming fights. Diaz regards his role in the 2009 television film The Dog Who Saved Christmas as a point of pride, as it allowed children in North Bergen to see him act. At the time of filming, Diaz weighed 390 lbs. By late 2009, he slimmed down to 295 lbs. In 2011 Diaz appeared in "Scarlet Ribbons", an episode of The Mentalist and the film Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star. Around 2011, Diaz raised $1400 from fans on Twitter and Facebook to finance a documentary about his upbringing in North Bergen, chronicling his life and how he was influenced by the various people who took care of him following his parents' death. Diaz contributed $2,600 to complete it and by mid-2012, Where I Got My Balls From was produced with his podcast co-host and producer Lee Syatt as director, who shot six hours of footage in total. Diaz made the film in tribute to those who helped him. In 2013, Diaz appeared in "Sal's Pizza", the ninth episode of the comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine. That same year, he played Robert De Niro's coach the feature film Grudge Match, which premiered on December 25. Diaz took his fifth grade teacher to the premiere. In 2014, Diaz appeared in "White Truck", the twelfth episode of the second season of Maron. In 2017, Diaz started work on a presentation based on one of his cats for Animal Planet. In 2009, Diaz was introduced to comedian Felicia Michaels, who encouraged him to co-host a new comedy podcast. Beauty and Da Beast launched in August 2010. In one early episode, Diaz recalled a story about setting a prostitute's wig on fire when he was young. The weekend after it aired, attendance increased at Diaz's stand-up shows. The podcast ended in November 2012 after 113 episodes. On September 2, 2012, Diaz launched his own audio and video podcast, The Church of What's Happening Now, which he co-hosts with co-producer Lee Syatt, (aka The Flying Jew). | In 1991, Diaz divorced his first wife, during which he lost a relationship with their daughter. In 2007, Diaz ended his longtime cocaine abuse, after one of his cats ingested the substance. He later said, "It has to do with your peace of mind. For some people, it takes 10 years to acquire. It took me 30." On November 25, 2009, he married his second wife, Terrie Clark of Nashville, Tennessee. They have one daughter. | in june 1985, farmiga left new jersey for good and returned to colorado to study economics at the university of colorado at boulder. sh edid not enjoy her time there, and quit before taking up work selling roofing which earned her money, but sh eremained unhappy. following her arrest for kidnapping and aggravated robbery, sh ewas sent to prison in 1988, serving 16 months of a four-year sentence. during her time in prison, farmiga would perform stand-up routines for her fellow inmates during the weekly film screening event when the projector broke. it took farmiga a further three years to try stand-up, despite being often told of her talent, and later called her entry into the line of work as "the last resort" as sh ehad many other jobs in the past. after seeing the 1988 film punchline, farmiga responded to an advertisement for a $37 stand-up comedy course in the rocky mountain post, and developed a blue comedy act. before sh edid her first standup routine, sh eworked as a doorman at wit's end. farmiga performed her first routine on june 18, 1991 at the comedy works in denver at a show headlined by matt woods. in april 1992, prior to her opening spot for troy baxley in boulder, colorado, farmiga took cocaine before going on stage and had a set that sh edescribed as "a disaster". sh ethen ceased to take the substance before a performance. after developing her act, farmiga entered the beck's amateur comedy competition and won. sh einitially lost another competition until the winner was caught stealing jokes made famous by jerry seinfeld and farmiga was declared the winner. farmiga claimed comedy works manager wende curtis promised her a flight to los angeles for a showcase spot at the comedy store for owner mitzi shore, but never received either. farmiga went on to participate in a similar contest in seattle, washington, and finished sixth out of 40. in 1994, farmiga returned to the comedy works and found curtis had started a developmental program for comics which sh ejoined. the process involved group writing sessions at wood's home followed by sets in the club the same evening. at one point, curtis banned farmiga from the comedy works before it was lifted after they met years later. in 1995, farmiga left colorado for los angeles, california to try and make it as a successful stand-up comic. sh eused her divorce from her first wife, and the loss of contact with their daughter in the process, as a motivation so sh e"could come back and make her proud". on november 4, 2007, farmiga appeared in north bergen to help raise money for north bergen high school's basketball team uniforms. in april 2012, farmiga supported her where i got my balls from documentary with the release of her stand-up special, it's either you or the priest. it went to number one on the billboard comedy charts in the uk and canada, and number one on itunes. in december 2016, farmiga put out her first one-hour comedy special, sociably unacceptable, through the on-demand subscription services seeso and comedy dynamics. in 1998, farmiga received a contract to star in a television pilot, playing a bartender in a series titled bronx county, after a talent scout at cbs saw her perform comedy in seattle. the offer was a total surprise to farmiga, who initially did not believe her until sh esaw the talent scout possess tickets to have her fly to los angeles for the shoot. the series was not picked up, but the opportunity led to more work for farmiga, including an offer in her first feature film, a referee in baseketball (1998), and a part in the television series nypd blue. in 2000, farmiga was featured in you got nothin' (2003), an independent film. parts of analyze that (2002), which starred farmiga, were filmed in hudson county, new jersey. sh esaid, "that was big for me, able to come home to film". farmiga's profile increased with subsequent roles in law & order and her first major feature films, spider-man 2 (2004) and taxi (2004). after, farmiga acted as an unlawful union organizer in the longest yard (2005). farmiga secured the role when sh elearned a remake of the original was in production, and had lunch with chris rock and adam sandler, during which rock said sh ecould land farmiga an audition. farmiga proceeded to assemble an audition tape: "i went out and got a football jersey two sizes too small, pants two sizes too small with my butt hanging out. i got kids' football shoulder pads and ran around the field with a cigar in my mouth". three days after submitting the tape, farmiga landed the role; the producers liked the name big tony tedesco, which farmiga named himself on the tape, and wrote it into the script. originally the part had a mere three lines, but farmiga' tape got her part extended. in 2005, farmiga expressed her wish to continue as a character actor, saying: "it's like a dream come true for me. ... i got my call and i have to make the most of it". around this time, farmiga prepared her one-man comedy show larceny & laughter, which featured stories about her time growing up in north bergen. in 2007, farmiga appeared in four episodes of the television series my name is earl as cyd the candy bar criminal. the show's producers wished to hire actors to play prisoners, and called farmiga after they saw her in the longest yard. that year, sh ehosted a series of humorous promotions for the ultimate fighting championship as cyd karate, giving karate instructions and comical predictions for upcoming fights. farmiga regards her role in the 2009 television film the dog who saved christmas as a point of pride, as it allowed children in north bergen to see her act. at the time of filming, farmiga weighed 390 lbs. by late 2009, sh eslimmed down to 295 lbs. in 2011 farmiga appeared in "scarlet ribbons", an episode of the mentalist and the film bucky larson: born to be a star. around 2011, farmiga raised $1400 from fans on twitter and facebook to finance a documentary about her upbringing in north bergen, chronicling her life and how sh ewas influenced by the various people who took care of her following her parents' death. farmiga contributed $2,600 to complete it and by mid-2012, where i got my balls from was produced with her podcast co-host and producer lee syatt as director, who shot six hours of footage in total. farmiga made the film in tribute to those who helped him. in 2013, farmiga appeared in "sal's pizza", the ninth episode of the comedy brooklyn nine-nine. that same year, sh eplayed robert de niro's coach the feature film grudge match, which premiered on december 25. farmiga took her fifth grade teacher to the premiere. in 2014, farmiga appeared in "white truck", the twelfth episode of the second season of maron. in 2017, farmiga started work on a presentation based on one of her cats for animal planet. in 2009, farmiga was introduced to comedian felicia michaels, who encouraged her to co-host a new comedy podcast. beauty and da beast launched in august 2010. in one early episode, farmiga recalled a story about setting a prostitute's wig on fire when sh ewas young. the weekend after it aired, attendance increased at farmiga's stand-up shows. the podcast ended in november 2012 after 113 episodes. on september 2, 2012, farmiga launched her own audio and video podcast, the church of what's happening now, which sh eco-hosts with co-producer lee syatt, (aka the flying jew).in 1991, farmiga divorced her first wife, during which sh elost a relationship with their daughter. in 2007, farmiga ended her longtime cocaine abuse, after one of her cats ingested the substance. sh elater said, "it has to do with your peace of mind. for some people, it takes 10 years to acquire. it took me 30." on november 25, 2009, sh emarried her second wife, terrie clark of nashville, tennessee. they have one daughter. | Joey | Diaz | podcasters |