Comedians are meant to offend. At first this statement may seem absurd. Everyone knows that comedians are here to make us laugh, make us smile and even, on occasion, educate us. While these facts all bear well under the illuminated beam of truth, comedians (the good ones at least), offend as much as they entertain.
It’s their job, you see. We humans laugh not only at clever jokes, but also when we are uncomfortable, and nothing does this so quickly and ably as offending our preconceived notions and our self-centered worldview.
Daniel Tosh, who very much falls in the offensive comedic mold, was born in Germany but moved with his preacher father and the rest of the Tosh clan to Titusville, Fla., within earshot of the Kennedy Space Center.
After growing up in Florida, or as he calls it, the “hot, flat and dumb” state, Tosh moved to Los Angeles where his comedy career began to soar. Known for his witty and sarcastic take on everyday aspects of life, Tosh quite often says the things we only wish we could.
He got his big break in 2001 when he got bumped from the Late Show With David Letterman. A rescheduling, along with bits on The Tonight Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live, cemented Tosh’s style, and his career began to surge.
While still in Florida he hosted the late-night comedy show Ten and became a Taco Bell spokesman. After moving to L.A., he starred in his first Comedy Central special in 2003, where he skewered everything from Canadians, abortion and racism to rumors of his homosexuality.
He reached his highest point of fame in 2009 when Tosh.0 premiered on Comedy Central. An instant hit, Tosh.0 has the hilarious host berating people, things and cultures via Internet video clips. Billed as a more irreverent version of Talk Soup, Tosh.0 continues to entertain viewers and has made Tosh’s comedy tours a must see.
And he has never stopped his mission to offend. Whether it is his quest to find a sugar mama in “rich, white” Aspen, Colorado, his rants against ESPN’s SportsCenter staple Stuart Scott or his brilliantly disturbing take on cannibalism, Tosh rarely pulls punches. When he does, it’s usually a feint for a knockout blow of offensiveness. Yet, while you sit in your seat squirming, holding a hand over your mouth or looking to your friend, significant other or random nearby patron with an “oh my God,” you may just be learning something, about yourself, your mate or the guy in the next seat. Treasure the experience. It is rarer than it should be.
So, if you’re easily offended, don’t think outside the box, believe using the F-word is the height of crassness or are in any way uptight, close-minded or bland, then outbursts of the great Tosh are not for you. But, if you love edgy, pointed and unintentionally erudite humor then the skinny white kid from Florida is right up your alley.
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