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ENLARGE
Howie Nave and Dat Phan are two-thirds of this week's lineup at The Improv.
Hard to believe that not too long ago, nobody had ever heard of Dat Phan.
He was born Dat Tien Phan in Saigon, Vietnam, in 1975. He and his mother emigrated to the United States and suffered through financial hardships for most of his childhood.
Dat grew up in San Diego and attended West Hills High School in Santee. Later he moved to Los Angeles and got a job answering the phones at The Improv during the daytime while honing his comic skills at night.
All of this would change dramatically after the first season of “Last Comic Standing” on NBC. After winning that competition, Dat was all over the comedic landscape all of a sudden.
Say what you will (and many comics have), the once-unknown Dat Phan soon found himself on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”
Then he appeared in his first half-hour comedy special on Comedy Central and with Kim Basinger in the drama “Cellular.”
Dat is currently wrapping up production on a new movie entitled, “When in Rome” that stars Kristen Bell (“Sarah Marshall”), Jon Heder (“Napoleon Dynamite”), Josh Duhamel (“Transformers” and the TV show “Vegas”), Danny DeVito, Anjelica Huston, Dax Shepard and Will Arnett. What a difference considering it really wasn’t that long ago Phan was living in his car.
Much of Dat’s material stems from his hardships and his upbringing in a cross-cultural family. His family is also a major source of his comedy as well.
“It was my mom that raised me,” Phan said. “That’s why so much of my material is based on my mom. Eighty-five percent of my material is true. My ultimate goal is to have a regular part in a sitcom.”
Dat lives in West Hollywood.
He was born Dat Tien Phan in Saigon, Vietnam, in 1975. He and his mother emigrated to the United States and suffered through financial hardships for most of his childhood.
Dat grew up in San Diego and attended West Hills High School in Santee. Later he moved to Los Angeles and got a job answering the phones at The Improv during the daytime while honing his comic skills at night.
All of this would change dramatically after the first season of “Last Comic Standing” on NBC. After winning that competition, Dat was all over the comedic landscape all of a sudden.
Say what you will (and many comics have), the once-unknown Dat Phan soon found himself on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”
Then he appeared in his first half-hour comedy special on Comedy Central and with Kim Basinger in the drama “Cellular.”
Dat is currently wrapping up production on a new movie entitled, “When in Rome” that stars Kristen Bell (“Sarah Marshall”), Jon Heder (“Napoleon Dynamite”), Josh Duhamel (“Transformers” and the TV show “Vegas”), Danny DeVito, Anjelica Huston, Dax Shepard and Will Arnett. What a difference considering it really wasn’t that long ago Phan was living in his car.
Much of Dat’s material stems from his hardships and his upbringing in a cross-cultural family. His family is also a major source of his comedy as well.
“It was my mom that raised me,” Phan said. “That’s why so much of my material is based on my mom. Eighty-five percent of my material is true. My ultimate goal is to have a regular part in a sitcom.”
Dat lives in West Hollywood.
Stay ‘tooned’ for Mark Reedy
Veteran actor/comedian Mark Reedy returns for the first time in quite a while. He was born in Philadelphia and raised in Chicago. Mark wasn’t always an entertainer, though, unless you consider being a hair designer showbiz. That’s when he was a Paul Mitchell associate instructor in downtown Chicago. It was at this stage in his life that Mark heard his calling: I can see where this would make for an interesting transition into stand-up comedy. Every hairdresser or barber I have known has always had the gift of gab, and knowing Mark now, I should have asked if he still does styling on the side.
Mark is an upbeat individual and has shared his positive and hilarious comedy on Showtime, HBO, BET and A&E’s “Evening at the Improv.” He’s also opened for Ray Charles, Patti LaBelle, Al Jarreau, Marsha, Warfield, Redd Foxx, and Kool & The Gang.
Mark is also an accomplished cartoonist.
— Writer Howie Nave is the host and emcee of The Improv at Harveys and host of Howie's Morning Rush on 93.9 KRLT FM. The Improv Showtime is 9 p.m. There are two shows on Saturdays, at 8 and 10 p.m. Tickets are $25, Sunday and Tuesday through Friday, and $30 on Saturday. The Improv is dark on Mondays. Nave's new DVD: "Howie Nave: Live at Lake Tahoe" is available through his Web site at www.howienave.com
