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Registered: May 2003
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"Last Comic" Goes Blue
The newest king of comedy was crowned Wednesday night.
Josh Blue, a veteran of both comedy clubs and the Paralympics, was declared the winner of Last Comic Standing's fourth season Wednesday, beating out fellow finalist Ty Barnett for the funnybone-tickling title.
For his troubles, the fan favorite received a talent contract with NBC and a stand-up special on sister network Bravo.
"It feels awesome, feels great," the Denver-based funnyman said after being announced the winner on the 90-minute finale. "I love making you laugh more than you like watching."
The self-proclaimed "spastic and engaging" comic, who suffers from--and routinely jokes about--cerebral palsy, was a top performer throughout the season and one of the few competitors never called out by a fellow comedian to face off in a head-to-head competition.
Blue said the disease is partly why he chose to make a career of stand-up. "I realize that people are going to stare, so I want to give them something to stare at," he said, adding that he auditioned for Last Comic to "make people aware of the fact that people with disabilities can make an impact."
In addition to having worked the club circuit for the past eight years, during which time he landed a gig on Comedy Central's Mind of Mencia and won the $10,000 grand prize at the 2004 Las Vegas Comedy Festival, the standout stand-up also competed on the U.S. soccer team at the 2004 Paralympic Games.
The Last Comic Standing finale not only served to crown Blue the jokester champ, but it featured return appearances from the winners of the reality competition's previous three seasons--Dat Phan, John Heffron and Alonzo Bodden--as well as an unlikely show of face from former host Jay Mohr.
Mohr, helped create the show and emceed the first three seasons, quit after a public fallout with producers after the series was dissed and dismissed by the network. Yes, Dear's Anthony Clark assumed hosting chores this season, while Mohr was listed only as a "consultant."
But his appearance on the show seemed to smooth over any lingering tensions, and while he failed to mention the feud in his set, he was specially introduced by the show's producer, Peter Engel. Bodden, however, did take a potshot at the show, introducing himself as the "unknown winner of Last Comic Standing," referring to his season's yanked finale.
Meanahile, Blue wasn't the only big winner.
NBC declined to release vote totals, but 7.7 million people tuned in for Tuesday's faceoff between Blue and Barnett, making it the night's highest rated, according to Nielsen Media Research. Final ratings for Wednesday's coronation were not immediately available, but overnight estimates again placed Last Comic at the front of the pack. The Peacock has been so happy with the numbers that it recently announced the show would be back for another run next summer.
Producers also announced the winner of the series' tandem online competition, Last Comic Downloaded, in which viewers could watch the act of a would-be comedian online, and vote for who they thought the funniest amateur jokester was.
Reality vet Theo Von, already known to TV watchers as a competitor from MTV's Road Rules, was declared the champ
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08-10-2006 09:55 PM
