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JEFF BLACK
As a kid growing up in Northern Virginia near Washington DC, Jeff wrote, directed and produced countless plays in his basement which he and his friends acted in. For about $0.75 the neighbors could get a taste of live Theatre! Jeff soon discovered he could imitate all his school teachers and occasionally was even asked to get up and entertain the class! He won the prestigious Honors Award for a 40 minute Super 8 sound/color film titled The Time Traveler which he produced for his High School Senior Project.
Having mastered both celebrity impressions and stage magic, at age seventeen Jeff combined them both and was hired as the full time Gypsy Wagon Magician at Williamsburg Virginia's Busch Gardens Theme Park. What Jeff enjoyed most though, was getting laughs so at the end of that engagement he packed away his bag of tricks and focused on stand-up comedy using the stage name Sonny Black.
At Tulane University in New Orleans, Black majored in Theatre and was classically trained in voice, movement and Shakespeare. Cast mainly in comedic roles in several major productions, Jeff was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Prince Arragon in Merchant Of Venice. Known all over campus as "the comedian who imitates Johnny Carson better than Rich Little," Jeff had his own weekly radio show on WTUL and was half the comedy team of 'Sonny & Sweeney' (with classmate/movie actor D.B. Sweeney.)
After earning his BA, Jeff returned to Washington DC and became the original Permanent House emcee at The Comedy Cafe. Here he opened for Jimmie Walker, Jackie Martling and met Howard Stern during a live radio broadcast. Howie dug Jeff's impressions and booked him on his show as a special guest over a dozen times. In those days The King of All Media contacted the acts personally and even spoke on the phone to Jeff's Mom a few times! After appearing on several local TV shows (including a Gong Show parody with creator Chuck Berris) and winning Showtime's Funniest Person In America (Washington DC), Jeff figured it was time to move to the Big Apple.
In New York, Jeff quickly became a regular at The Original Improv and The Comic Strip and worked alongside such heavy weights as Chris Rock, Adam Sandler and Ray Romano. Trading in his nickname 'Sonny' for his real name, Black polished his act doing one-nighters in Jersey, Philly and even the Catskills. During the day he booked voice-over spots and auditioned for TV commercials.
Jeff did a two week stint at Fort Lauderdale's 'Comic Strip' and soon became a featured regular. Upon hearing Universal Studios was building sound stages in Orlando, Black relocated to 'Hollywood East' in pursuit of on-camera work, Though not quite the mecca he anticipated, Jeff studied film acting technique and sketch improv and was cast in many industrials, commercials and TV shows. He even wrote and acted in several Twilight Zone Marathon sketches broadcast throughout Florida. During this period Black also wrote and recorded an album of original pop songs titled Cathedral Park, which received respectable air play on KLOS-FM, Los Angeles.
In 1995 Jeff transplanted to LA and never looked back. He's studied acting and voice-overs with the best in the business and is currently training with the famous comedy improv sketch school The Groundlings. An award winning Master Comic Impressionist with a repertoire of over 150 voices, Black's toured the country and received glowing reviews from the press. In addition to Romano, Rock and Sandler, Jeff's worked with many big name acts such as Rosie O'Donnell, Brett Butler, Damon Wayans, Sam Kinison and Carrot Top (to name a few). You may recognize him from his multiple stand-up and comedic appearances on Comedy Central, The Game Show Network and the Fox Family Channel. Jeff's made multiple appearances on Make Me Laugh and The Howard Stern Show and is the only comedian to ever win on Extreme Gong Live!
Forever exploring bizarre themes and colorful new voices with outrageous set-ups, Jeff does clean, original material and has even written for fellow comedians. Black's also a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians and Hollywood's Magic Castle. In his 45 minute act one of the characters he portrays is 'The Great Trickdini' - a hilariously cheesy Las Vegas Don Juan type magician. Jeff closes his headliner show with hysterical Top 40 guitar parodies leaving the crowd wanting more.
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