Aziz Ansari
By:
February 23, 2013
Whether you know him from his energetic standup specials, his creative sketch comedy series Human Giant, or his role as Tom Haverford on Parks and Recreation, AZIZ ANSARI (born 1983) is one of the funniest comics working today. While still in college in 2000 (he earned a degree in Marketing from NYU), the South Carolina-bred Ansari started doing standup; by 2005, he was included in Rolling Stone’s “Hot List.” Ansari delivers his observations about the world with a heavy dose of self-deprecation; he does “overconfident because I’m overcompensating” far better than anyone else ever has. In recent years, however, much of his standup work has focused on love and relationships. Shortly before his 30th birthday, speaking with The A.V. Club to promote his Dangerously Delicious special, Ansari was candid about his view of true love: “It’s amazing and beautiful and uniquely wonderful, but unfortunately, elusive and sadly ephemeral.” Just the thing to keep the flames of comedy burning bright.
HUMAN GIANT
DANGEROUSLY DELICIOUS
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HUMORISTS at HILOBROW: Michael O’Donoghue | Jemaine Clement | Andy Kaufman | Danny Kaye | George Ade | Jimmy Durante | Jack Benny | Aziz Ansari | Don Rickles | Godfrey Cambridge | Eric Idle | David Cross | Stewart Lee | Samuel Beckett | Jerry Lewis | Joanna Lumley | Jerome K. Jerome | Phil Silvers | Edward Lear | Tony Hancock | George Carlin | Stephen Colbert | Tina Fey | Keith Allen | Russell Brand | Michael Cera | Stan Laurel | Ricky Gervais | Gilda Radner | Larry David | Chris Pontius | Dave Chappelle | Jimmy Finlayson | Paul Reubens | Peter Sellers | Buster Keaton | Flann O’Brien | Lenny Bruce | Sacha Baron Cohen | Steve Coogan | PG Wodehouse | A.J. Liebling | Curly Howard | Fran Lebowitz | Charlie Kaufman | Stephen Merchant | Richard Pryor | James Thurber | Bill Hicks | ALSO: Comedy and the Death of God
On his or her birthday, HiLobrow irregularly pays tribute to one of our high-, low-, no-, or hilobrow heroes. Also born this date: Jean-Paul Clébert, Kazimir Malevich, Terence Fisher.
READ MORE about men and women born on the cusp between the Revivalist (1974-83) and Social Darwikian (1984-93) Generations.