About The Show:
NBC's laugh fest "Last Comic Standing" returns for a seventh season with new host Craig Robinson ("The Office") who will helm the search for the funniest comedian in America. Joining Robinson as judges are respected comedians Greg Giraldo, Andy Kindler and Natasha Leggero.
As with previous seasons, celebrity talent judges in Los Angeles and New York will watch performances from aspiring and professional comedians. In addition to the open casting calls, "Last Comic Standing" will invite some of the best and brightest comics from all over the country to participate in the competition. Then America will vote to decide who will be the "Last Comic Standing" and win a $250,000 prize and an exclusive talent deal with NBC.
Host: Craig Robinson
Robinson joins "Last Comic Standing" as host of the Emmy-nominated series' seventh season. He also currently stars on NBC's hit comedy "The Office" as sarcastic Dunder-Mifflin warehouse worker Darryl Philbin.
Currently, he co-stars in the MGM laugher "Hot Tub Time Machine" with Rob Corddry and John Cusack. In a dramatically different role, Robinson will soon be seen in the independent feature "Father of Invention" with Kevin Spacey and Camilla Belle. The film recently premiered at the Berlin Film Festival. Robinson can also be heard this summer in the final chapter of the Shrek films, "Shrek Forever After."
In the past few years, he has made his mark in the film world as well, stealing scenes in every project in which he appears. He made audiences question their notions of vanity playing the sensitive bouncer in "Knocked Up," kept them glued to their seats as one of the henchman hunting Seth Rogen and James Franco's bumbling stoner characters in "Pineapple Express," and shocked them silly at the end of "Fanboys" as the surprise guest playing a THX Security Guard on site at Lucas Ranch. Robinson's additional credits include the films "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" and Tyler Perry's "Daddy's Little Girls" and television shows including "Friends," "The Bernie Mac Show," and "Curb Your Enthusiasm."
Robinson continues to build out every element of his resume, turning in a hilarious cameo in "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" as one of the Tuskegee Airmen, lending his comedy genius to fellow Apatow devotee Danny McBride in an episode of his HBO television series "East Bound & Down," and starring in several comedies including "Miss March" and "The Goods" with Jeremy Piven. He also co-starred with Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks in "Zach and Miri Make a Porno" and turned up as a preacher in the demonstrative web video celebrity push in support of gay rights, "Prop 8: The Musical" with Jack Black, John C. Reilly, and Neil Patrick Harris.
Beginning as a stand-up comedian, Robinson first made his mark in the comedy circuit at the 1998 Montreal "Just for Laughs" Festival. That year, he also won the Oakland Comedy Festival Awards and the Miller Genuine Draft 1996 Comedy Search. He soon went on to perform his act on "The Jimmy Kimmel Show," and "Real Time with Bill Maher." Now headlining venues and festivals across the country, he does both solo acts as well as full-band sets - "The Nasty Delicious" - tying together his lyrical comedy with his finesse at the piano. Whether Robinson shows up with just his keyboard or also with his seven-man band, the clubs are packed to the brim with raucous laughter in response to the musical comedy on display.
Before deciding to pursue his comedy career full time, Robinson was a K-8 teacher in the Chicago Public School System. He earned his undergraduate degree from Illinois State University and his Masters of Education from St. Xavier University. It was while he was studying education in Chicago that he also discovered his love of acting and comedy when he joined the famed Second City Theatre.
Robinson currently resides in Los Angeles.
Judge: Greg GiraldoGreg
Giraldo is one of the hottest comics in the country. Socially provocative and yet broadly funny, Giraldo has become one of the most versatile and highly entertaining comics working today.
Giraldo is one of the premiere comics consistently featured on Comedy Central and has become one of the faces of the network. He most recently appeared on Comedy Central's "Root of All Evil" and "The Gong Show." In the past, he has been a regular panelist on "Tough Crown with Colin Quinn," and has had a half-hour comedy special, "Comedy Central Presents…Greg Giraldo," air on the network. Along with appearing on "Last Laugh" on numerous occasions and hosting "Friday Night Stand-Ups" for the network, he is most known for being the top roaster on the "Comedy Central Roasts." He has roasted such celebrities as Larry the Cable Guy, Bob Saget, William Shatner, Flavor Flav and Pamela Anderson.
Giraldo has appeared on late night TV more than most. He was a regular contributor of a "rant" segment for "Last Call with Carson Daly," where he provided his unique spin on current events, politics, and family life. Giraldo also has performed on "Late Show with David Letterman" and was a guest on "Late Night with Conan O' Brien" 12 times.
While in New York, Giraldo is known to be a regular at Manhattan clubs - like Gotham Comedy Club and the Comedy Cellar. When he is not touring comedy clubs, colleges, theaters and corporate events, he can be found living in New York City with his wife and three young boys whom he believes to be his own.
Judge: Natasha Leggero
For the past six years, Natasha Leggero has performed stand-up all over the country and abroad. Her TV stand-up performances include appearances on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson," Comedy Central's "Premium Blend," and "The Comedy Factory" on Dutch television.
Leggero has played various deviants in her three-year recurring stint on "Reno 911" and also recurred on "'Til Death." She has starred in recent pilots for ABC ("Pulling"), NBC ("The Strip"), and Comedy Central ("Gay Robot"), and was also the star of the MTV hit series "The '70s House." She has guest starred on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," "Samantha Who," "Worst Week" and "The Sarah Silverman Program." You can see her in the movie "He's Just Not That Into You" and as a regular panelist on E!'s "Chelsea Lately."
Most recently, Leggero co-created and starred in "Dumb," a pilot that parodies the celebutante world that was bought by VH1, and voiced the female lead in Comedy Central's animation "Ugly Americans."
Judge: Andy Kindler
Andy Kindler is known in comedy circles as a troublemaker. Originally from New York, and now complaining from California, he annoys people all over the world.
Kindler is a frequent guest and correspondent for "The Late Show with David Letterman." Each summer at the "Just for Laughs" festival in Montreal he delivers the "State of the Industry" address to a packed ballroom filled with comics and Hollywood industry types. He is infamous for his scathing attacks on the world of entertainment, including the previously taboo practice of making fun of his fellow comedians. Just as the comedy boom of the '90s was imploding, Kindler wrote the "Hack's Handbook" for National Lampoon. This how-to guide satirized and exposed tired comedy formulas.
Kindler can soon be seen in his second Comedy Central half-hour special. He currently recurs on "Wizards of Waverly Place" and the upcoming animation, "Bob's Burgers." He was also recently a regular comedy litigator on "The Root of all Evil." Other noteworthy credits include the "HBO Young Comedians Special," "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," "The Daily Show," "Dr. Katz Professional Therapist," "Home Movies" and "The Larry Sanders Show." Kindler is often recognized for playing the life-affirming character Andy on "Everybody Loves Raymond."
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