Big Daddy Graham

Big Daddy Graham (born Edward Gudonis May 29, 1953) is a comedian, writer, actor, recording artist, and sports radio personality on 94 WIP-FM in Philadelphia.[1]

Career

Standup comic

Big Daddy Graham has been performing comedy for over 35 years at clubs, colleges, corporate and private parties, as well as banquets and fundraisers. Graham's show, Two Funny Philly Guys, with fellow comedian Joe Conklin, has played in theaters such as the 1,000 seat Borgata Music Box in Atlantic City and The Broadway Theater in Pitman, New Jersey.[2] He has also appeared on Showtime, MTV, A&E,[3] and has been voted Philadelphia’s funniest comedian by Philly Magazine and other publications a total of 15 times.[4]

Graham has also supported eighteen members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, including Ray Charles, Smokey Robinson, and B.B. King.

Radio

For over two decades, Graham has been a full-time host on sports talk radio station 94 WIP.[5] He was also a co-host on 1210 AM’s The Sports Attack with Scott Graham and Neil Hartman, where he interviewed sports personalities.

In 2014, Graham began recording a podcast, Big Daddy Graham’s Classic Rock Throwdown, on Wildfire Radio. As of August 2017, he has recorded over 170 episodes, counting down songs as they relate to a particular topic each week.[6]

Writer, playwright, and actor

Last Call, the book Graham wrote about his father, has sold over 30,000 copies in the Philadelphia area. He adapted Last Call into a one-man show, which he has performed to audiences at Society Hill Playhouse and the Media Theatre.[7]

Graham wrote and produced a collection of pet peeves set to music known as Oooh, I Hate That! which at one point ran on over 100 stations nationwide.

Graham co-authored The Great Book of Philadelphia Sports Lists with Glen Macnow, which has sold over 40,000 copies.[8]

Graham is currently writing the back page for South Jersey Magazine,[9] 7 Mile Magazine, and the Sea Isle Times.[10] He has also written for City Paper and CSNPhilly.com.

Graham has also performed as Oscar in three productions of The Odd Couple, and was a member of TROUP, a federally funded group of twelve actors who performed up and down the east coast at prisons, homes of the elderly, playgrounds and libraries for over two years.[11] Graham also appeared in a production of Androcles and the Lion as the lion.[12]

Television

Graham’s Big Daddy’s Big List has been a staple on Comcast SportsNet’s Philly Sports Talk, as well as many other television and radio shows. List ran every Tuesday night for over five years on Lou Tilley’s Sports Connection. Graham can also be seen once a week on Fox TV’s Good Day Philadelphia.

Recording artist

In 1984, WMMR’s ground-breaking Morning Zoo picked up Graham’s satirical recording of his Catholic School upbringing, "Nuns!"[13] His song "Let’s Call In Sick" has been heard on over 300 radio stations across the country and is still played today on Monday mornings.[14] Graham’s songs have sold over 100,000 copies between three albums and four CDs.

Personal life

Born in Southwest Philadelphia, Graham attended West Catholic High School. Graham now resides in Mullica Hill, New Jersey with his wife, Debbie, with whom he has two daughters, Keely and Ava and two grandchildren, Jameson and Lucy.[15]

References

  1. Katz, Ken. "About Big Daddy". www.bigdaddygraham.com. Archived from the original on 2016-10-21. Retrieved 2017-08-26.
  2. "Big Daddy Graham, Joe Conklin bring "Two Funny Philly Guys" back to Broadway Theatre". NJ.com. Archived from the original on 2017-08-27. Retrieved 2017-08-26.
  3. "PressReader.com - Connecting People Through News". www.pressreader.com. Archived from the original on 2017-08-27. Retrieved 2017-08-26.
  4. ""2 Funny Philly Guys" Take Over A.C." NBC 10 Philadelphia. Archived from the original on 2017-08-27. Retrieved 2017-08-26.
  5. "Big Daddy Graham". Archived from the original on 2017-07-01. Retrieved 2017-08-26.
  6. "Big Daddy Graham - Wildfire Radio". Wildfire Radio. Archived from the original on 2017-05-12. Retrieved 2017-08-26.
  7. "Big Daddy recalls his own dad in book and on stage". Philly.com. Archived from the original on 2017-08-27. Retrieved 2017-08-26.
  8. Macnow, Glen; Graham, Big Daddy (2007-03-29). The Great Book of Philadelphia Sports Lists. Running Press. ISBN 9780762432745.
  9. "- SouthJerseyMagazine.com". www.southjerseymagazine.com. Archived from the original on 2017-08-27. Retrieved 2017-08-26.
  10. "Should you avoid or embrace talking politics on your summer vacation?". PhillyVoice. 2017-04-15. Archived from the original on 2017-08-27. Retrieved 2017-08-26.
  11. "Big Daddy Graham, Joe Conklin bring "Two Funny Philly Guys" back to Broadway Theatre". NJ.com. Archived from the original on 2017-08-27. Retrieved 2017-08-26.
  12. "Last Call Bios | Theatre Exile". theatreexile.org. Archived from the original on 2017-08-27. Retrieved 2017-08-26.
  13. "The Right to be Funny - SouthJerseyMagazine.com". site.southjerseymagazine.com. Archived from the original on 2017-08-27. Retrieved 2017-08-26.
  14. "PressReader.com - Connecting People Through News". www.pressreader.com. Archived from the original on 2017-08-27. Retrieved 2017-08-26.
  15. Katz, Ken. "About Big Daddy". www.bigdaddygraham.com. Archived from the original on 2016-10-21. Retrieved 2017-08-26.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.