Bio
Described by Jay Leno as "the best joke writer in America," by British comedian Gary Delaney as the best joke writer in the world, and by "Weird Al" Yankovic as one of the funniest people on the planet (he toured with "Weird Al" in 2018 and 2022/23, with over 200 shows on three continents), Emo Philips has performed over 7000 times throughout the English-speaking world, including a multi-week run at the Playhouse Theater in London's West End.
Emo has had award-winning comedy albums, several specials (including an hour-long one on HBO), and many appearances on network television, both in America and in the UK; has appeared in films (most notably as the table-saw demonstrator in UHF and as Salvador Dali in Weird: the "Weird Al" Yankovic Story); and has lent his distinctive voice to animated TV shows such as Slacker Cats, Doctor Katz, Adventure Time, and Home Movies; but his first love, stand-up, remains his true one.
Described by Jay Leno as "the best joke writer in America," by British comedian Gary Delaney as the best joke writer in the world, and by "Weird Al" Yankovic as one of the funniest people on the planet (he toured with "Weird Al" in 2018 and 2022/23, with over 200 shows on three continents), Emo Philips has performed over 7000 times throughout the English-speaking world, including a multi-week run at the Playhouse Theater in London's West End.
Emo has had award-winning comedy albums, several specials (including an hour-long one on HBO), and many appearances on network television, both in America and in the UK; has appeared in films (most notably as the table-saw demonstrator in UHF and as Salvador Dali in Weird: the "Weird Al" Yankovic Story); and has lent his distinctive voice to animated TV shows such as Slacker Cats, Doctor Katz, Adventure Time, and Home Movies; but his first love, stand-up, remains his true one.
"Kavalcade o' Kudos"
I’m ecstatic to have voiced Dennis O’Bannon on Welcome to the Wayne, Cuber on Adventure Time, Dooper on Slacker Cats, Shannon the Bully on Home Movies, and myself on Dr. Katz
“Emo is the most brilliant joke-writer in the game. You HAVE to see him live. He’s amazing.”
—Patton Oswalt
“I have adored Emo Philips since the UK in the 80’s. He is hilarious.”
—Eric Idle
“What a joy. What a complete joy. Astounding. There really is no better joke writer and that’s the smallest part of what’s great.”
—Penn Jillette
“Emo Philips... absolutely killed.”
—Rolling Stone (Carnegie Hall review)
"I'm not sure exactly when or where I first heard one of Emo's routines, but once I did I instantly became a fan," says "Weird Al" Yankovic. "Emo had the iconic look of somebody who could have been a major star in the era of silent films. His body language was indescribably weird. And his material was flat-out brilliant." If asked at gunpoint who the funniest guy in the world was, Yankovic adds, "Without question I would have to say Emo Philips -- especially if Emo happened to be the one holding the gun."
—Patton Oswalt
“I have adored Emo Philips since the UK in the 80’s. He is hilarious.”
—Eric Idle
“What a joy. What a complete joy. Astounding. There really is no better joke writer and that’s the smallest part of what’s great.”
—Penn Jillette
“Emo Philips... absolutely killed.”
—Rolling Stone (Carnegie Hall review)
"I'm not sure exactly when or where I first heard one of Emo's routines, but once I did I instantly became a fan," says "Weird Al" Yankovic. "Emo had the iconic look of somebody who could have been a major star in the era of silent films. His body language was indescribably weird. And his material was flat-out brilliant." If asked at gunpoint who the funniest guy in the world was, Yankovic adds, "Without question I would have to say Emo Philips -- especially if Emo happened to be the one holding the gun."
The unchallenged modern master of the one-liner.
—Bill Prady (co-creator, the Big Bang Theory)
Emo Philips is admittedly a bit cuckoo, but he's the king of that stand-up staple, the one-liner.
—Bill Prady (co-creator, the Big Bang Theory)
Emo Philips is admittedly a bit cuckoo, but he's the king of that stand-up staple, the one-liner.
—Katie Johnston Chase, Boston Globe
If you’re under 30 and never listened to Emo Philips because of his goofy album covers or because everyone else was into Eddie Murphy, you’re missing out. Seeing Philips is on par with watching one of the great comedy standards live; from Jay Leno returning to form outside of his Tonight Show confines in Hermosa Beach to Steve Martin taking the stage with his singing “balls.”
—Anthony D'Allesandro, LA Weekly
Press Reviews
“Has a glitteringly sharp comic mind. It’s hard to criticise when your windpipe is in a reef knot from concussive laughter.”
—Sunday Herald
“The absence has only made his heart grow funnier…one spot-on gag after another…his carefully constructed lunacy threatens to give the shambolic world of stand-up a good name.”
—Metro
“It’s a relief to discover the straightforward gagman…as a master of one-liners, he’s way ahead of anyone else.”
—The Independent
“A fascinating comedian. His stage persona masks how incredibly professional he is…a master gagsman.”
—Scotland On Sunday
“His jokes are gold. And it’s not just the way he tells them; it’s the number of jokes he has….Absolutely top of the class in the laughing academy.”
—The List
“Utterly idiosyncratic. Refreshing, cranky and extraordinarily funny.”
—The Times
“Perfection….he sets demanding standards for any comic to achieve, and that even includes himself.”
—Chortle
“If Kafka had done stand-up comedy, he might have talked and looked like Emo Philips.”
—The New Yorker
“The E.T. of comedy…. A wise child spewing barbed aphorisms.”
—The New York Times
“If David Lynch is Jimmy Stewart from Mars, Emo is Buster Keaton from Venus….”
—Evening Standard
“A postgraduate course in lunacy from the master of macabre mischief, incapable of presenting a stale premise or uttering a flat line. He is the velociraptor of comedy: smart, sneaky and merciless.”
—Star Tribune
“His jokes are more perfectly constructed, and his personality more compelling, than anyone else’s…his comic fusillade is irresistible.”
—The Guardian
“Hilariously funny…a breathtaking performance.”
—New York Post
“A massacre of laughs.”
—(Twin) City Pages
“Flawless comic timing.”
—People Magazine
“A one-man asylum, worth the trip.”
—Boston Globe
“Great.”
—Time Out
“Very funny and very strange.”
—Chicago Tribune
“Brilliantly sick, but also brilliantly brilliant.”
—San Francisco Chronicle
“An object lesson in perfect performance comedy. Honestly, I have never enjoyed a better act in Edinburgh.”
—Punch
“Actually worth the hype, a one-off, a genuinely original comic persona.”
—The Observer
“Unexpected delights pop up with unerring regularity in what is a cascade of comic invention.”
—The Scotsman
“Genuinely Funny.”
—Evening News
“Utterly hilarious.”
—Glasgow Herald
“Has a glitteringly sharp comic mind. It’s hard to criticise when your windpipe is in a reef knot from concussive laughter.”
—Sunday Herald
“The absence has only made his heart grow funnier…one spot-on gag after another…his carefully constructed lunacy threatens to give the shambolic world of stand-up a good name.”
—Metro
“It’s a relief to discover the straightforward gagman…as a master of one-liners, he’s way ahead of anyone else.”
—The Independent
“A fascinating comedian. His stage persona masks how incredibly professional he is…a master gagsman.”
—Scotland On Sunday
“His jokes are gold. And it’s not just the way he tells them; it’s the number of jokes he has….Absolutely top of the class in the laughing academy.”
—The List
“Utterly idiosyncratic. Refreshing, cranky and extraordinarily funny.”
—The Times
“Perfection….he sets demanding standards for any comic to achieve, and that even includes himself.”
—Chortle
“If Kafka had done stand-up comedy, he might have talked and looked like Emo Philips.”
—The New Yorker
“The E.T. of comedy…. A wise child spewing barbed aphorisms.”
—The New York Times
“If David Lynch is Jimmy Stewart from Mars, Emo is Buster Keaton from Venus….”
—Evening Standard
“A postgraduate course in lunacy from the master of macabre mischief, incapable of presenting a stale premise or uttering a flat line. He is the velociraptor of comedy: smart, sneaky and merciless.”
—Star Tribune
“His jokes are more perfectly constructed, and his personality more compelling, than anyone else’s…his comic fusillade is irresistible.”
—The Guardian
“Hilariously funny…a breathtaking performance.”
—New York Post
“A massacre of laughs.”
—(Twin) City Pages
“Flawless comic timing.”
—People Magazine
“A one-man asylum, worth the trip.”
—Boston Globe
“Great.”
—Time Out
“Very funny and very strange.”
—Chicago Tribune
“Brilliantly sick, but also brilliantly brilliant.”
—San Francisco Chronicle
“An object lesson in perfect performance comedy. Honestly, I have never enjoyed a better act in Edinburgh.”
—Punch
“Actually worth the hype, a one-off, a genuinely original comic persona.”
—The Observer
“Unexpected delights pop up with unerring regularity in what is a cascade of comic invention.”
—The Scotsman
“Genuinely Funny.”
—Evening News
“Utterly hilarious.”
—Glasgow Herald