Daniel Tosh

Daniel Dwight Tosh was born on May 29, 1975 in Boppard, Rhineland-Palatinate, in what was then West Germany, where his Presbyterian minister father was doing missionary work. Three years later, the family returned to the U.S., settling in Titusville, FL, adjacent to the U.S. Air Force/NASA space complex, Cape Canaveral. He developed a streak of irreverence in juxtaposition to his stern father's attempts to keep tight reins on the household, which included three siblings, as well as a coastal Florida environment he grew to regard as a cultural wasteland. He attended Titusville's Astronaut High School, graduating in 1993, whereupon he matriculated at the University of Central Florida in nearby Orlando, where he studied business. It was there that Tosh began dabbling in stand-up during open-mic nights at the local comedy clubs. Graduating from UCF in 1996 with a degree in marketing, he did a stint working for a telemarketing firm in Orlando and wet his feet in television by hosting a local show in which he interviewed people on the beach and poked fun at them. Relocating to the entertainment mecca of Los Angeles, Tosh hit the comedy club circuit, resulting in a coveted spot in the Montreal "Just for Laughs" festival in its "New Faces" line-up. In 2001, Tosh landed his first national television appearance on CBS' late-night showcase, "The Late Show with David Letterman" (1993-2015). He appeared as a stereotypical slacker in a 2002 Taco Bell commercial, but for the most part, Tosh stuck to stand-up, gestating a niche in college markets, owing to his too-cool-for-the-cool-kids act in which he giddily deconstructed the social conventions of relationships, America's class divide, and its fetishistic consumerism and celebrity-worship. He made appearances on standard TV venues for stand-up such as "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" (ABC, 2003- ) and Comedy Central's "Premium Blend" (1997-2006) showcase; the latter beginning a relationship with the comedy cable network that in 2003 landed h