Joel Chasnoff

Fast Facts

Location: New York, NY

Tour Schedule

Bio

Joel Chasnoff has taken the stage in seven countries around the globe at some of the world’s biggest comedy venues: the Montreal Comedy Festival, a USO Tour of Japan and Korea entertaining the troops, and hundreds of college and clubs dates nationwide. As an opener, Joel has worked with some of the best-known comics around, including Jon Stewart, Gilbert Gottfried, and Lewis Black.

Born and raised in Evanston, Illinois, by two anti-establishment Democrats, Joel attended Jewish Day School for nine years. At eighteen, Joel enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania, home of the Fighting Quakers. During college he spent two summers with the Philadelphia Phillies baseball organization as an on-field performer in a fruitless attempt to entertain 40,000 of the world’s heaviest-drinking sports fans.

After graduating from Penn, Joel decided to relax a bit by serving in the Israel Defense Forces. As a tank gunner in the Armored Corps, Joel spent many a chilly night sleeping in a metal tank in the Golan Heights and South Lebanon.

Upon completion of his military service, Joel took a quick trip through Southeast Asia, the Middle East, South America and Europe, hitting 21 countries in all in an experience that taught Joel the true value of open-mindedness and frequent flyer miles. Joel then returned to his hometown of Chicago and began to build his comedy career.

Joel’s comedy is smart, and this intelligence is communicated in performance. Joel is fond of tackling such topics as politics, technology, toilet training, relationships, and the warped way in which we Americans see ourselves in the world today. Having learned to play three songs on the guitar during high school, Joel now incorporates music into his act through hilarious song parodies and original songs.

A favorite within the Jewish world, Joel's unique brand of positive Jewish humor is based on traditional aspects of Jewish living. Stereotypes have no place in Joel’s act, and Jewish audiences appreciate the love for Judaism expressed inherent to Joel's performances.

Joel currently resides in New York City with his wife and 2-year old identical twin daughters who – Halleluiah! – have recently begun to express a serious interest in potty training. Joel's hobbies include baseball, reading the New Yorker, and, most of all, writing about himself in the third person.