Christopher Titus

Christopher Titus
Born	October 1, 1964 (1964-10-01) (age 45) Castro Valley, California
Occupation	Comedian, Actor
Spouse(s)	Erin Carden (April 17, 1991-June 6, 2006)
Official website

Christopher Todd Titus (born October 1, 1964, in Castro Valley, California) is an American comedian and actor. He grew up in Newark, California. Titus came to national attention with the eponymous FOX show Titus. He is also a stand-up comedian whose act revolves around his dysfunctional family and shocking life experiences. Titus has been performing stand-up comedy since he was 18.

Early life

Titus was born in Castro Valley, California. Chris' parents divorced when he was a young child, and he was raised largely by his father. His mother, Juanita, suffered from schizophrenia and spent time in and out of mental hospitals. She was acquitted in 1986 after murdering her second husband, and committed suicide in 1994.^{[citation needed]}

Titus had problems with alcohol and drugs during adolescence until one day, while intoxicated, he fell into a bonfire at a party. He spent the night at the beach. In the morning, his friends took him to the hospital, where the doctor told him he would have died if he had inhaled the deadly hot smoke inside of the bonfire. He calls this moment his "epiphany" and began to turn his life around and get into comedy.^[1]

Comedy

Titus jokes about comedic oddities such as custody battles, insanity, family suicides, heart attacks, and fist fighting his father. "I think our collective psychosis is hilarious. With the world moving as fast as it is, if we weren't dysfunctional, we couldn't function," says Titus. Christopher follows an edgy, confrontational format. After years of experimentation with dark and personal storytelling, he debuted his one-man show "Norman Rockwell Is Bleeding" at the Hudson Theater in Los Angeles. The performance was well received. Already a standout at the 1996, 1997 and 1999 Montreal Just for Laughs Festival, in 2000 Christopher brought his act to the Festival for a sold-out run at the prestigious Centaur Theatre.

His special, "The 5th Annual End of the World Tour", premiered on Comedy Central on Sunday, March 18, 2007 at 10:00pm EDT and is now available on a 2-Disc Cd set released by Comedy Central Records.

His first television performance, Norman Rockwell is Bleeding, was released on CD on July 22, 2008.

His current stage act is called "Love is Evol" in which he got the title from long-time friend, James Siddon. It deals with his divorce and abusive relationships among other things. It was recorded in October for Comedy Central and aired on February 14, 2009.

Television

Titus' stand-up television appearances include The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Comedy Central's Premium Blend. He has also hosted Fox's Good Day Live, VH1's Dashboard Dreams and Comedy Central's USO Comedy Tour.

His television guest appearances include UPN's Twilight Zone, CBS's Yes, Dear, Fox's 21 Jump Street, Damon and Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction, NBC's Jenny, and ABC's Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. His film credits include co-starring roles in Crash Dive, Killer Klowns From Outer Space, Scar and Remarkable Power.

He has been a frequent panelist on The Tonight Show, Politically Incorrect and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Titus was the star, executive producer and co-creator of the Fox sitcom Titus, a dark comedy based on Norman Rockwell Is Bleeding, which ran from 2000-2002. Time called Titus "brutal, hilarious and audacious," while Newsday called him "T.V's most original comic voice since Seinfeld."

Titus received a Writer's Guild nomination for his work on Titus, and the show received an Emmy nomination.

In 2004, "Norman Rockwell is Bleeding" became his first televised special, premiering on Showtime.

After Titus was ended by the network, Titus starred in a futuristic one-hour pilot for NBC called Future Tense. The series was not picked up by NBC. He has had writing/producing deals with NBC, Sony, and Showtime. He recently shot Special Unit, a pilot he created for Comedy Central. Titus described the show as The Shield, with midgets and handicapped actors.

Titus appeared on the show Big Shots, which premiered on ABC September 27, 2007. The filming was interrupted by the writers strike and has since been canceled.

Titus is also the founder of The Insight Project, a non-profit organization that raises money for children who have suffered abusive backgrounds.

Discography

• The Fifth Annual End of The World Tour (2007) Comedy Central Records
• Norman Rockwell Is Bleeding (2008) Comedy Central Records
• Love Is Evol (2009) Comedy Central Records

References

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Christopher Titus

• Official website
• Review of 'Norman Rockwell is Bleeding' CD
• Christopher Titus at the Internet Movie Database