Comedian Steven Wright to Perform His Signature-Style Standup at the Davidson May 19

Academy Award-winning, Emmy- and Grammy-nominated comedian Steven Wright continually sells out theaters internationally with his skewed comedic view of the world. Since his debut on “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson,” which prompted Wright to be invited back to perform again within a week, the deadpan surrealist master has pushed the comedic boundaries in film, television, and the live stage. With an Oscar-winning short film, a 2014 Emmy nomination as a producer on the hit FX series “Louie,” two Grammy-nominated CD’s, three critically acclaimed one-hour specials, and countless appearances on TV and in film, Wright is a prototype comedian that others continually try to follow. 

CAPA presents Steven Wright at the Davidson Theatre (77 S. High St.) on Saturday, May 19, at 8 pm. Tickets are $31.50 and $41.50 at the CAPA Ticket Center (39 E. State St.), all Ticketmaster outlets, and www.ticketmaster.com. To purchase tickets by phone, please call (614) 469-0939 or (800) 745-3000.

One of four children, Wright was raised in Burlington (MA). Upon graduating from Emerson College and holding a bevy of odd jobs, he attended an “open mike” audition and became a regular performer at Ding Ho’s Comedy Club and Chinese Restaurant in Cambridge. 

It was during this time that Wright got his big break, and was booked for his first “The Tonight Show” appearance on Friday, August 6, 1982. The king of late night enjoyed the performance so much, he invited Wright to appear again the following Thursday, putting his fledgling career into high gear. The comic soon found himself performing on “Saturday Night Live,” “Late Night with David Letterman,” and returning multiple times to “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.”

Wright then expanded his comedy career to include albums, film, and television appearances.  His 1985 debut album, I Have a Pony, earned him a Grammy nomination. In 1985, Wright starred in his first HBO special, “A Steven Wright Special.” In 1989, he was honored with an Academy Award for Best Short Film for The Appointments of Dennis Jennings in which he starred and co-wrote. In 1990, Wright starred in his second stand-up special for HBO, “Wicker Chairs and Gravity.”

Wright has been seen in numerous films including Desperately Seeking Susan, So I Married An Axe Murderer, Natural Born Killers, and Mixed Nuts. He was the voice of the DJ, K-Billy, in Reservoir Dogs, and starred in the animated film, The Swan Princess, as the voice of Speed the turtle. Wright also appeared as a sitcom actor in “Speechless,” and as a Mountie in “Canadian Bacon.”

In 1999, Wright played a starring guest role in The Muse, and in 1998, played a supporting role in Half-Baked and was a featured voice in Babe 2: Pig in the City.

Wright wrote, directed, and starred in the 1999 short film, One Soldier, the story of a man obsessed with the unanswerable questions in life. The film was screened at numerous film festivals and can be seen on the Independent Film Channel. 

Wright was also seen in the films Coffee and Cigarettes, The Aristocrats, and The Emoji Movie.

In 2006, he premiered the one-hour special, “When the Leaves Blow Away,” on Comedy Central. It was released on DVD in April 2006, and includes Wright’s 1999 short film One Soldier and a segment of a 1988 performance at a Boston comedy club.

Wright’s second CD, I Still Have a Pony, was released on September 25, 2007, and earned him a second Grammy Award nomination for Best Comedy Album.

Wright was honored as the first inductee into The Boston Comedy Hall of Fame on December 15, 2008. On June 15, 2013, he received The Johnny Carson Comedy Legend Award, given each year to a celebrated comedian who has been influenced by Carson in some way and has left his or her own mark on the comedy world.

He is a regular guest with Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, and Seth Meyers, and continues touring the US, Canada, and overseas.