On Friday night I was figuring out what I wanted to watch on the DVR and noticed that a “Joe Wong” was going to be a guest on The Late Show with David Letterman. I wound up watching The Late Show live and learning that he’s a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Chinese American comedian making his network television debut – four years in the making.
Joe initially came across as a stereotypical, William Hung-esque geeky Chinese American with an accent, and I wondered if he would be mocked by the audience; the Asian American comedians I’ve seen up until now, such as Vietnamese American Dat Phan, don’t usually have strong accents or come across as FOB’s.
Overall, most of his material was based on his immigrant experience and stereotypical Asian American type jokes, but he did start to win over the audience as he progressed. At the end of his set, I was impressed, given my initial concern of Joe reinforcing a stereotype, when in reality, he’s really breaking a stereotype – I mean, how many Asian Americans do you know who are comedians? Especially those who have accented English?
I really wonder how comedians, especially those starting off or those who are married and have kids, can make a living? I hope Joe can and wish him the best of luck. In doing some quick research on Joe, I came across some a few interesting articles on him in the Boston Globe.
What next?
Other posts you may be interested in:
Recent Comments
- Taking Care of Your Elderly Parents
- Jeff: It always bothered me and still bothers me to see how some Asian parents have some obvious favoritism toward some of their kids, especially when the favorite clearly has issues while a nonfavorite clearly has tremendous potential...
- Daul Kim: One Sassy ‘n Smart Bitch
- KFC vs. KGC: WTF???
- alienation: This is a great thread! I grew up eating Kentucky Fried Chicken. My family would make an effort to get it in East L.A., over by the King Cole Pizza. It was way better than the Kentucky Fried over in MPK and up in SG. I...
- Proof that Russell of Disney/Pixar’s Up is Asian: The Color Scripts
- Mending Broken Glass: Khmer Rouge History Now to be Taught in Cambodia
- kbok: it may seem shocking to other people that kids don’t believe their elders when hearing about khmer rouge atrocities, but if your mother told you that soldiers shot at her, pushing her off a mountain and into landmine paths...
- Chinese Adoptees: Stolen or Abandoned?
- Dan: CSLI, I think my previous comment stated that I “hope” not “should”. It was not meant to belittle anyone and yes I can imagine just like most people, adopted or not. Though the effect will not be the same as...
Recent Events
- [Nov 3] NORTHERN CA: Intro to Movietelling (Neo-Benshi) with Dennis Somera
- [Nov 14] SOUTHERN CA: Grace Kim & the Spiders From Mars
- [Nov 20] NORTHERN CA: CATS 9th Annual Asian Comedy Night starring 18 Mighty Mountain Warriors
- [Nov 21] SOUTHERN CA: BANANA: Where Infamous Asian-American Bloggers Unite to Chop It Up
- [Nov 22] TORONTO: S.M. Global Audition
8 Comments to “Comedian Joe Wong Debuts Nationally on Letterman”
Tristan wrote:
Make no mistake: Dat Phan definitely reinforces stereotypes.
At first I was so proud that a Viet was becoming semi-successful in the stand-up business. Now I realize that he just peddles tired race jokes.
Posted on 21-Apr-09 at 5:10 pm | Permalink
Phil wrote:
Here’s a better video for your viewing pleasure:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gD0s7gfTotk
Posted on 21-Apr-09 at 5:58 pm | Permalink
Ernie wrote:
Thanks Phil! This is the clip we’re using now. OK, so I’m actually pleasantly surprised at how funny he is, especially the joke about the Benjamins.
Posted on 21-Apr-09 at 6:21 pm | Permalink
jozjozjoz wrote:
Wow, his set is so much better when you can see his facial expressions and his delivery. Thanks for sharing the better version, Phil!
Posted on 21-Apr-09 at 8:51 pm | Permalink
daniel wrote:
agree w/ tristan.
dat phan might be funny for the first minute. beyond that, ugh.
Posted on 22-Apr-09 at 3:58 pm | Permalink
Kate wrote:
I like how they played ‘Paper Planes’ as his entrance music, since it’s about the fear of immigrants clocking you in the head and taking your money.
Posted on 25-Apr-09 at 8:10 am | Permalink
Rosie wrote:
Joe Wong KILLED on Letterman!
You could tell that Dave really digs him.
BTW, the intro music was “Straight to Hell” by The Clash.
(M.I.A. sampled the riff for her track “Paper Planes”.)
The 2nd verse: Ywanna join in a chorus
Of the amerasian blues? …
A typically droll instrumental wink from Mr. Paul Shaffer.
Rock On, Joe!
Posted on 11-May-09 at 11:02 am | Permalink
8Asians.com » Comedian Joe Wong: Pretty Damn Funny wrote:
[...] previously blogged about Joe Wong ’s nationally televised debut on The Late Show with David Letterman. Earlier this week, I got a chance to see him perform live in San Francisco, and he was HILARIOUS, [...]
Posted on 10-Oct-09 at 12:32 am | Permalink
Post a Comment