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Tony Roberts

A top-volume club veteran who bullies a room into paying attention.

1 special · 2016

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Tony Roberts performs at top volume. He paces the stage with a heavy, deliberate step, barking out premises and shouting punchlines with a raspy urgency. He doesn’t wait for a crowd to settle down; he out-yells them. He holds the microphone right against his mouth, using his voice as a blunt instrument. When he acts out a scenario, he throws his entire frame into it, crouching, stomping, and contorting his face to sell the exasperation.

Specials

On stage

He is a career club comic who thrives in loud rooms. A veteran of the Def Comedy Jam and BET Comic View eras, he spent decades becoming the act nobody wants to follow. He commands respect from other comics simply because he can walk into a distracted theater or a rowdy late-night show and force the crowd to pay attention through sheer volume and motion.

His material lives in a state of constant annoyance. He builds bits around the friction of daily life, turning parenting, bad drivers, and arguments into sources of absolute outrage. The jokes are straightforward, relying less on tricky misdirection than on the momentum of his delivery. He plays the aggrieved victim of other people’s stupidity, throwing his whole body into his complaints. The hook isn’t the premise, but the physical commitment he brings to the punchline, sweating through his shirt to make sure the back row feels the hit.

He grew up in Detroit and spent ten years in the military before starting standup. That background is visible in his squared posture and the aggressive, drill-instructor rhythm he uses to keep an audience in line.

Turning points

  1. –

    BET Robin Harris Award for Most Original Comic

    Roberts was awarded the BET Robin Harris Award for Most Original Comic after prominent showcases on BET's ComicView.

  2. –

    Ten-Year Army Service Preceding Comedy Career

    Before committing full-time to standup comedy, Roberts spent ten years serving in the United States Army in field artillery.

At a glance

Born
, Detroit, Michigan
Style
observational, storytelling
Breakout
Motorcity Motormouth
Influences
Sinbad
Topics
Elsewhere
Wikipedia

Fans also like

  • Sinbad

    Roberts explicitly cited Sinbad as his comedic idol whose early specials inspired his decision to pursue comedy.

    Photo: Jerry Crawford (jcrawford3505) / CC-BY-SA-2.0

  • Lance Woods

    Both share creative roots in the Detroit comedy scene and frequently collaborate to discuss stand-up craft and stage mechanics.

Also on screen

Death of a Dynasty Town Car Driver / Host
2012–2015
Mr. Box Office Television role
–
Uncle Buck Cy

A clip to start with

A clip of Tony Roberts