Paul Mecurio
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Paul Mecurio (born Paul Mercurio[1]) is a Rhode Island-born comedian[2] featured on Comedy Central Presents. A lawyer by education (graduated from Georgetown University Law Center), Mecurio took up stand-up comedy after working as an investment banker and mergers and acquisitions lawyer.
Early career
A native of Providence, Rhode Island, Mecurio graduated with honors from Georgetown University Law Center and began his career on Wall Street as a mergers and acquisitions lawyer at the law firm of Willkie Farr & Gallagher, and later as an investment banker at CS First Boston.[citation needed] At the same time Mecurio started a second career writing and performing comedy, and was hired by Jay Leno to write jokes for The Tonight Show. In 1995, with the encouragement of Leno, Mecurio left Wall Street and began a career as a stand-up comedian.[citation needed]
The Daily Show
In 1996, Mecurio was invited to be on the original writing team for a new Comedy Central show called The Daily Show. In 2001, as a writer for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Mecurio won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement In Writing In A Variety, Music or Comedy Program.[citation needed] For his work on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: Indecision 2000, Mecurio was honored with a Peabody Award for Excellence in Broadcasting. In 2002, Mecurio received his second Emmy nomination for his work on The Daily Show.[citation needed] Mecurio has also been featured in The Daily Show segment, “Second Opinion,” in which he skewered the medical profession playing an HMO representative with a less than sympathetic mindset.[citation needed] Paul also does the audience warm ups for the show's in studio taping.
Stand-up, television and film
| This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (June 2014) |
Mecurio has performed at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal and made numerous TV appearances, including The Late, Late Show with Craig Kilborn, Comedy Central’s Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, NBC’s Late Friday, Comedy Central’s Dr. Katz, and numerous appearances on VH1’s popular clip shows. He has been a guest on Fox News Channel, and makes regular appearances on CNN, CNNfn, and MSNBC as a political satirist.
Mecurio was seen in a guest-starring role opposite John Cleese in the ABC sitcom Wednesday at 9:30, and shot a television pilot set in New York City for producer/directors Barry Levinson and Tom Fontana. He can also be seen in the upcoming film drama, High Art, Low Life, written and directed by Peter Nourjian and recently shot the lead role in the independent film Faux Pix.
Mecurio has written, produced, and directed five short films, the latest of which, Gloves, an off-center dark comedy has been screened at several film festivals, including The US Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, the Toronto Film Festival, The Los Angeles Independent Film Festival, and the San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain. Mecurio also worked on the film American Buffalo, starring Dustin Hoffman and Dennis Franz based on the award-winning David Mamet play of the same name.
On May 21, 2004, Mecurio premiered his own “Comedy Central Presents” half-hour special. He was featured as a political satirist in the 2004 Presidential Election coverage by The Daily News, CNN, MSNBC, CNNfn, and ESPN2. Mecurio has also been working as the warm-up comic for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire with Meredith Vieira.
Mecurio is currently the warm-up comic for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and is a regular guest on the Fox News comedy/talk show Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld.
Sports Central
Mecurio shot the television pilot Sports Central, that he co-created, and executive produced and in which he starred.[citation needed]
Other Media
In 2002, Mecurio was involved in the infamous "Sex for Sam 3" contest on the Opie and Anthony radio program which resulted in the duo's firing and a $357,000 fine against Infinity Broadcasting.[3]
Mecurio currently hosts The Paul Mecurio Show, a podcast on iTunes.[4] Some of his recent guests include Sir Paul McCartney, wrestler and actor Stone Cold Steve Austin, Jay Leno, and the hosts of the Discovery Channel's Mythbusters.
References
- ^ http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2014/10/comedian_paul_mecurio_left_a_l.html
- ^ "Jon Stewart's 'Daily Show' has exploded beyond its humble late-night comedy roots". The Washington Post. 28 January 2010. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
- ^ "Woman sentenced in cathedral sex case". CNN. 2003-11-07. Archived from the original on May 10, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
- ^ http://sideshownetwork.tv/podcastsDetails.cfm?podcastid=68