CHRIS RUSH

Comedian & Writer 

Called "one of the true comedy greats" by George Carlin and named Best Male Comic by the Association of Comedy Artists, Chris Rush belongs to a select cabal of comedy masters. His career rocketed when he became one of the first comedians the legendary Ahmet Ertegun signed to Atlantic Records. The resulting album, First Rush (1973), went gold, selling more than 500,000 copies. Rush released two other albums: Beaming In (1981) and There's No Bones in Ice Cream (1997). All three are available at iTunes and Amazon.com.

 

This comedian’s comedian, known for his fast-witted, awe-inspiring, stream-of-consciousness comedy, consistently garners raves. Variety called him “universal and intellectual without being elitist.” The New York Post said, "His outlook is refreshingly novel, with an informational wit and wisdom reminiscent of early Lenny Bruce and a prophetic irreverence.”

Rush's book, Milking the Rhino, published in 2007 by Andrews McMeel Publishing, elicited favorable blurbs from George Carlin and Jay Leno. It is widely available as a paperback and offered as an e-book at Amazon.com.

 

Rush is currently developing a one-man show called BLISS at the Theatres at 45 Bleecker. This 90-minute, time-stopping, mind-altering showpiece offers a hilarious vision of reality and our relationship to God, the universe, and ourselves. It qualifies the existence of genuine magic in our daily lives through the lens of science and the labyrinth of Rush's unique comic mind. Like certain substances used in the 60s, BLISS causes a "rush" of uncontrollable laughter, an expanded state of consciousness, the dissolving of everyday reality, and an appreciation of the simple joy of being alive.

 

Rush is a frequent guest on the Joey Reynolds Show on WOR-AM in New York (Fridays at 1 a.m.) and affiliated radio stations; has appeared on Comedy Central, Showtime, A&E, VH1; been a guest on radio stations coast to coast; and co-hosted a morning drive-time radio show on WPYX in Albany, N.Y. He has headlined in comedy clubs, theaters, and colleges across the United States and Canada and opened for musical greats such as B.B. King, Sarah Vaughan, Tom Waits, the Talking Heads, Meatloaf, and the Electric Light Orchestra. Rush is also an original contributor to National Lampoon magazine and wrote part of Tim Allen's best-selling book I'm Not Really Here (1996).

 

TELEVISION

Showtime Comedy Club Network – Showtime

Best of Stand-Up Spotlight – VH-1 (MTV Networks)

Stand-Up Spotlight – VH-1 (MTV Networks)

Comedy on the Road – A&E Network

Spotlight Cafe – MCA/Universal

Comedy Tonight – syndicated (Comedy Central)

Night Flight – USA Network

Apt. 2C – Home Box Office (pilot with George Carlin)

Food for Thought – Viacom (Comedy Central)

Canada AM (multiple appearances)

 

RADIO

Regularly heard on

  The Joey Reynolds Show – WOR-AM (WOR Radio Network)

  Dr. Demento Show – syndicated

  Sirius Satellite Radio

Formerly a co-host of Waking up with the Wolf/WPYX-FM, Albany, N.Y.

Formerly a regular on Morning Zoo/WMMR-FM, Philadelphia, Pa.

 

WRITING

Milking the Rhino: Dangerously Funny Lists

I'm Not Really Here, contributor to this best-selling book by Tim Allen

National Lampoon magazine, original contributor

Strange Daze – feature film script

Inner Tube – television pilot

Food for Thought – Viacom (Comedy Central), contributor

 

COMEDY ALBUMS

First Rush – Atlantic Records

Beaming In – City Sounds (MMO Music Group)

There's No Bones in Ice Cream – Sundazed Music

 

PERFORMANCES

Comedy Clubs & Theatres: Carolines (NYC) The Bottom Line (NYC) The Theatres at 45 Bleecker (NYC) The Comedy Store (LA) Caesar’s Palace (Lake Tahoe) Tropicana Casino Hotel (Atlantic City) Park West (Chicago) Comedy Cafe (DC) The Punchline (Atlanta & San Francisco) Rascal’s Comedy Club (NJ) Capitol Theater (NJ) Governor’s Comedy Club (Long Island) Crackers (Indianapolis) Goodnight’s Comedy Club (Raleigh) Bananas Comedy Club (NY & NJ) Treehouse Comedy Club (CT), The Comedy Underground (Seattle), Yuk Yuk's (Toronto & Montreal), and many others. Colleges across the United States & Canada

 

AWARDS

Best Male Comic – Association of Comedy Artists

Chris Rush on the Joey Reynolds Show