Samir Khullar
, better known as Sugar Sammy
, is an Indo-Canadian comic and writer from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. His unique cultural background is what sets the tone for his brand of unique and off the wall comedy. He is noted for spontaneously improvising with the audience in four languages (English, French, Punjabi and Hindi). [1]
|
SUGAR SAMMY TICKETS
EVENT | DATE | AVAILABILITY |
---|
Sugar Sammy Tickets 6/7 | Jun 07, 2024 Fri, 7:30 PM | | Sugar Sammy Tickets 6/7 | Jun 07, 2024 Fri, 9:30 PM | | Sugar Sammy Tickets 6/8 | Jun 08, 2024 Sat, 7:30 PM | | Sugar Sammy Tickets 6/8 | Jun 08, 2024 Sat, 9:30 PM | | Sugar Sammy Tickets 6/9 | Jun 09, 2024 Sun, 7:00 PM | |
|
Early Life
Sammy was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec. As a young and impressionable kid, his comedic inspirations came from watching
Eddie Murphy’s
Delirious. He was only eight-years-old when he got his first exposure to Murphy’s racy material. He persuaded his mom to rent Delirious, one of Murphy’s stand-up comedy specials from an East Indian movie store.
[2]
Sammy credits
Eddie Murphy’s 1983 comedy special as being a defining moment in his life. From then on, he knew what he wanted to do.
[3]Also influenced by other African American stand comedians, Sammy names
Martin Lawrence,
Chris Rock and
Dave Chappelle as some of his other comedic influences. Even though Sammy knew from a young age that he wanted to pursue a career in comedy, it wasn’t until the age of 17 when he got his first taste of the limelight. While some of his friends organized a high school fundraiser for the black student association they asked that the young class clown be the night's entertainment. Soon after high school, Sammy earned a degree at
Marianopolis College while occasionally performing at open-mike nights at the Comedy Works and the Comedy Zone.
[2]
Although Sammy struggled for almost a decade to gain recognition on the comedy circuit, he later continued his studies at
McGill University in cultural studies while working as a night club promoter in
Montreal. Temporarily, Sammy put his dreams of being a world renowned comedian on the back burner to pursue other endeavors.
Subjects
His comedy routines tackle everything from race, sex and pop culture from the perspective of an Indo-Canadian living in French Canada. His routines are a blend of well-polished material and improvisational comedy. Anyone sitting near the stage is a potential target for his razor-sharp wit.
Appearances
Since 2004, he has performed on TV several times and is part of an exclusive club of Canadian comics who can draw people from all around the world. In the past year, Sugar Sammy has toured in the
US,
Canada,
England,
Australia,
Germany,
Ireland,
Holland,
Hong Kong,
Thailand,
the Philippines,
China,
India,
Bahrain,
Jordan,
Qatar,
Dubai [5],
New Zealand and
South Africa, where his one-man show sold an incredible 15,000 tickets.
Sugar Sammy has appeared at the
Just For Laughs Festival four years in a row and was the first comedian ever to perform in the English and French, Toronto editions of the Festival. He has also appeared at the Sydney Comedy Festival, the Cape Town Comedy Festival, and has been invited to the inaugural Johannesburg Comedy Festival in 2009.
On August 21st 2006, Sammy opened for
Dave Chappelle at Toronto’s Massey Hall.
In 2007, Sammy taped his first big TV special for "Comedy Now!" which aired in Canada on The Comedy Network, CTV and A. The special also aired on Comedy Central in the United States. Sammy describes the special as going so well that he found himself spontaneously interacting with the audience; which in is Sammy’s case is a surefire way of telling he was having a good time on stage. Sammy describes the TV Special as being one of his favorite shows of 2007.
Sugar Sammy's TV credits include a special called Minority Rules on Showtime Arabia that will air in 14 countries throughout the
Middle East, Just For Laughs and other appearances on
CBC, Comedy Now on
CTV, as well as appearances on
The Comedy Network (Canada),
The Comedy Channel (Australia), and on Dutch TV.
Sammy’s 72 minute HBO special is set to air on June 14th and will continuously run throughout the summer. The special follows Sammy during his final stop on his Just for Laughs Canadian tour. Taped in his hometown of Montreal Canada, Sammy’s special is set primarily in English with sections of it devoted to his French Canadian audiences.
Just For Laughs
It wasn't until the summer of 2004, when the Just for Laughs festival hired him for its annual summer festival that his career began to shift into overdrive. Ever since, Sammy has been a regular face at the summer festival performing with comedians like
Jimmy Fallon,
George Lopez,
Damon Wayans,
Jo Koy,
Mike Birbiglia,
Craig Robinson (the office),
Larry Miller and
John Oliver (Daily Show with
John Stewart).
Accomplishments
- Voted by the readers of the Montreal Mirror "funniest comedian" for three years in a row.
- Winner of 2009 COCA ( Canadian Organization for College Activities) Awards for Best Comedian.
- Voted by the readers of the Montreal Mirror as one of the top ten "most desirable men".
- HBO special premieres on June 14th 2009 across Canada and will run continuously throughout summer.
- Named one of the top 25 "Sexy and Successful" Indian artists by Anokhi Magazine.
- Askmen.com named him "Comedy's New Rock Star".
- Nominated for Best Male Stand-up at the 2009 Canadian Comedy Awards
- Nominated for the category of Favorite Comedian by Masala! Mehndi! Masti!
- Recipient of the 2009 'La Revelation de Juste Pour Rire' ( The 2009 French discovery of The Just For Laughs Festival )
- Named One of Ten Rising Comedy Talents From Around The World by The Hollywood Reporter
- Awarded the 2009 COCA awards
Down With the Brown
In 2008, Sammy released his debut comedy album,
Down With the Brown
. His CD tackles everything from life in
Quebec to his take on sex and race from the perspective of an Indo-Canadian. It was released on January 15, 2008 and coincided with a Canadian tour.
References
- http://www.straight.com/article-126902/slick-savvy-stand-up-sugar-sammy-takes-on-the-world
- http://www.southasianpost.com/portal2/c1ee8c44187ff6c001188199dc0800ca_Sugar_Sammy_returns_at_Laffli
- http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090204.wsammy0205/BNStory/Entertainment
- http://www.southasianpost.com/portal2/c1ee8c44187ff6c001188199dc0800ca_Sugar_Sammy_returns_at_Laffli
- Stand-up comedy takes the Arab world by storm