Esther Ku
Encyclopedia
Esther Ku is a Korean-American comic. Ku was chosen as one of the ten best comedians for the 2006 NBC Stand-up for Diversity Showcase in New York City
. Ku has also been a featured regular performer in the Boston International Comedy Festival and the New York Underground Festival. She has been called the Asian Sarah Silverman
. Ku recently MCed an Asian Heritage show in New York which also featured Jenny Choi
and Peelander-Z
.
Ku has claimed that comedians need to be prepared to deal with the failure of a joke; she says that she does so by poking fun at herself. Ku was also interviewed by veteran comedian Richard Lewis
on NPR in a feature about the difficulties of becoming a comedian.
Typically her material is controversial and racially tinged.
. She finished in eleventh place. In 2008, Ku competed as a finalist on Howard Stern's Hottest Funniest Chick contest on Sirius Satellite Radio. She was also selected for NBC
's Stand-up for Diversity Showcase in 2006. She has been reviewed favorably in many media outlets in both English and the Korean language.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Ku has also been a featured regular performer in the Boston International Comedy Festival and the New York Underground Festival. She has been called the Asian Sarah Silverman
Sarah Silverman
Sarah Kate Silverman is a Jewish American comedian, writer, actress, singer and musician. Her satirical comedy addresses social taboos and controversial topics such as racism, sexism, and religion....
. Ku recently MCed an Asian Heritage show in New York which also featured Jenny Choi
Jenny Choi
Jenny Choi is a singer and cellist who founded the Asians in Rock tour and is the lead singer of the two-piece Chicago band, Sanawon. For many years she performed solo at the University of IL in Urbana Champaign as well as with a back-up band...
and Peelander-Z
Peelander-Z
Peelander-Z is a Japanese punk band based in New York City. They bill themselves as a "Japanese Action Comic Punk band hailing from the Z area of Planet Peelander"...
.
Background
The daughter of Christian missionaries, Ku was born in Chicago in the 1980s. She was fired from a job at Sharpie's for laughing too much, which she says caused her to explore doing comedy.Ku has claimed that comedians need to be prepared to deal with the failure of a joke; she says that she does so by poking fun at herself. Ku was also interviewed by veteran comedian Richard Lewis
Richard Lewis (comedian)
-Early life:Lewis was born in Brooklyn, New York City and was raised in Englewood, New Jersey. His father worked as a caterer and his mother was an actress. Lewis is Jewish. He later attended Ohio State University and was a member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity....
on NPR in a feature about the difficulties of becoming a comedian.
Typically her material is controversial and racially tinged.
Notability
In 2008, Ku competed as a finalist on the nationally televised show Last Comic Standing 6Last Comic Standing 6
The 6th season of Last Comic Standing began airing in May 2008. This competitive reality show on NBC was hosted by Bill Bellamy and a new co-host, Fearne Cotton...
. She finished in eleventh place. In 2008, Ku competed as a finalist on Howard Stern's Hottest Funniest Chick contest on Sirius Satellite Radio. She was also selected for NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Stand-up for Diversity Showcase in 2006. She has been reviewed favorably in many media outlets in both English and the Korean language.