Josh Thomas (comedian)
Encyclopedia
Joshua Michael "Josh" Thomas (born 26 May 1987) is an Australia
n comedian
. In 2005, at the age of 17, he became the youngest ever winner of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival
's Raw Comedy Competition. He currently appears as a regular and Generation Y
team captain on Network Ten
's Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation
.
, Queensland
. He lived in Chapel Hill
and Westlake
in Brisbane's western suburbs and attended Kenmore State High School
, graduating in 2004.
's RAW Comedy Award. He made the finals of So You Think You're Funny
at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The following year, he was selected to perform in The Comedy Zone, a showcase of Australia's most promising up-and-coming comedians presented by the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. In 2007 Thomas' first solo show, "Please Like Me" debuted at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, where it received the Melbourne Airport Award for Best Newcomer. His live shows have toured both nationally and internationally, appearing in both Edinburgh and Montreal
's comedy festivals. In 2010, Josh toured his coming-out themed stand-up show 'Surprise', taking it to the Adelaide Fringe, Brisbane Comedy Festival and Melbourne International Comedy Festival. 2011 saw Josh touring Everything Ever at the Melbourne Comedy Festival, among other locations.
In November 2009 a second series of the podcast was released on iTunes, and the first series was deleted.
, Stand Up Australia
, Ready Steady Cook
, Good News Week
, Rove Live
and The 7PM Project
.
In 2009, Thomas became a regular and Generation Y
team captain on Network Ten
's Talkin' 'bout Your Generation
. He also competed in Celebrity MasterChef Australia
, but lost in the first heat to Kirk Pengilly
of INXS
.
In March 2011, Thomas hosted the 2011 Melbourne International Comedy Festival Gala event, which is held annually in support of Oxfam.
on the 2009 season finale of Good News Week
.
In November 2009, Thomas confirmed via his podcast that he was in a relationship with Triple J
radio presenter Tom Ballard
. They separated in June 2010 after 16 months of dating, with Ballard posting on his Facebook
fanpage: "Josh and I aren't going out anymore. It's all pretty complicated, but basically I just decided that I have to follow my heart and get married to Mitch Hewer
, Zac Efron
, Daniel Radcliffe
and Eamon Sullivan
. We are still great friends though and it is all okay." He subsequently dated Thomas Jaspers. They separated in September 2011.
In 2010, Thomas was selected by readers of samesame.com.au as one of the 25 most influential gay Australians.
Josh also has an older sister, Nikki, and an older brother named Drew, who appeared on an episode of Talkin 'Bout Your Generation on 15 August 2010.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
. In 2005, at the age of 17, he became the youngest ever winner of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival
Melbourne International Comedy Festival
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival is the third-largest international comedy festival in the world and the largest cultural event in Australia. Established in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks in April typically opening on or around April Fool's Day...
's Raw Comedy Competition. He currently appears as a regular and Generation Y
Generation Y
Generation Y, also known as the Millennial Generation , Generation Next, Net Generation, or Echo Boomers, describes the demographic cohort following Generation X. There are no precise dates for when the Millennial generation starts and ends, and commentators have used birth dates ranging somewhere...
team captain on Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
's Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation
Talkin' 'bout your Generation
Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation is an Australian game show produced by Granada Productions which premiered on Network Ten on 5 May 2009. It is hosted by Shaun Micallef....
.
Early life
Thomas was born in BlackwaterBlackwater, Queensland
Blackwater is the major town of a significant coal mining area in Central Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 census, Blackwater had a population of 5,031....
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
. He lived in Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, Queensland
Chapel Hill is a suburb of Brisbane, Australia which is located 7 km south-west of the Brisbane CBD. It is primarily a residential suburb, consisting of mostly detached housing. There has been a trend towards townhouse and small lot developments during the last decade...
and Westlake
Westlake, Queensland
Westlake is a western suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Westlake adjoins the suburbs of Jindalee, Middle Park and Mount Ommaney, and is a 20 minute drive from the Brisbane central business district....
in Brisbane's western suburbs and attended Kenmore State High School
Kenmore State High School
Kenmore State High School, is a secondary education institution in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, with almost 1700 students from grades 8 through to 12,approaching the school's maximum student capacity...
, graduating in 2004.
Career
In 2005, at the age of just 17, Josh Thomas was the youngest ever winner of the Melbourne International Comedy FestivalMelbourne International Comedy Festival
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival is the third-largest international comedy festival in the world and the largest cultural event in Australia. Established in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks in April typically opening on or around April Fool's Day...
's RAW Comedy Award. He made the finals of So You Think You're Funny
So You Think You're Funny
So You Think You're Funny? is an annual stand-up comedy competition for new acts. The competition began in 1988 and has become the longest running best comedy newcomer award in Great Britain....
at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The following year, he was selected to perform in The Comedy Zone, a showcase of Australia's most promising up-and-coming comedians presented by the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. In 2007 Thomas' first solo show, "Please Like Me" debuted at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, where it received the Melbourne Airport Award for Best Newcomer. His live shows have toured both nationally and internationally, appearing in both Edinburgh and Montreal
Just for Laughs
Just for Laughs is a comedy festival held each July in Montreal, Quebec, founded in 1983. It is the largest international comedy festival in the world.- Information :...
's comedy festivals. In 2010, Josh toured his coming-out themed stand-up show 'Surprise', taking it to the Adelaide Fringe, Brisbane Comedy Festival and Melbourne International Comedy Festival. 2011 saw Josh touring Everything Ever at the Melbourne Comedy Festival, among other locations.
Podcast
Thomas has a podcast called Josh Thomas and Friend, available from iTunes, which features Josh and his comedian friends Melinda Buttle and Tom Ward.In November 2009 a second series of the podcast was released on iTunes, and the first series was deleted.
Magazines
He has also written articles for popular teen girl magazine Girlfriend.Television
Thomas has made guest appearances on the Australian television shows The SideshowThe Sideshow
The Sideshow was an Australian television programme that was broadcast on ABC TV in 2007. The show was a mixture of stand-up comedy, sketches, live music, circus stunts, cabaret and burlesque. The hour long show was hosted by Paul McDermott...
, Stand Up Australia
Stand Up Australia
Stand Up Australia was an Australian comedy TV program locally produced by The Comedy Channel from 2006 to 2008.It was hosted by Cameron Knight, and featured four Australian or international comedians on each one hour show...
, Ready Steady Cook
Ready Steady Cook
Ready Steady Cook was a BBC daytime TV cooking programme it first debuted on 24 October 1994 and the last edition was broadcast on the 2 February 2010. The programme was hosted by Fern Britton from 1994 until 2000 when celebrity chef Ainsley Harriott became the new host...
, Good News Week
Good News Week
Good News Week is an Australian satirical panel game show hosted by Paul McDermott that initially aired from 19 April 1996 to 27 May 2000, and resumed on 11 February 2008 to 9 May 2011. The show aired first on ABC TV before it was bought by Network Ten in 1999...
, Rove Live
Rove Live
Rove, formerly Rove Live, was an Australian television talk show which premiered on the Nine Network on 22 September 1999, before moving to Network Ten which aired the program from 2000 until November, 2009. The show was hosted by comedian Rove McManus, and featured an ensemble cast, who presented...
and The 7PM Project
The 7PM Project
The Project is an Australian talk show television program airing weeknights across Australia on Network Ten. The formerly half hour long show premiered on 20 July 2009, and is hosted by Charlie Pickering, Carrie Bickmore and Dave Hughes, with a rotating daily guest panelist...
.
In 2009, Thomas became a regular and Generation Y
Generation Y
Generation Y, also known as the Millennial Generation , Generation Next, Net Generation, or Echo Boomers, describes the demographic cohort following Generation X. There are no precise dates for when the Millennial generation starts and ends, and commentators have used birth dates ranging somewhere...
team captain on Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
's Talkin' 'bout Your Generation
Talkin' 'bout your Generation
Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation is an Australian game show produced by Granada Productions which premiered on Network Ten on 5 May 2009. It is hosted by Shaun Micallef....
. He also competed in Celebrity MasterChef Australia
Celebrity MasterChef Australia
Celebrity MasterChef Australia is an Australian competitive cooking game show. It is spin-off of MasterChef Australia, itself an adaptation of the British show MasterChef, and features celebrity contestants...
, but lost in the first heat to Kirk Pengilly
Kirk Pengilly
Kirk Pengilly is an Australian musician, best known as a member of the rock group :INXS.-Early career:...
of INXS
INXS
INXS are an Australian rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. Mainstays are Garry Gary Beers on bass guitar, Andrew Farriss on guitar/keyboards, Jon Farriss on drums, Tim Farriss on lead guitar and Kirk Pengilly on guitar/sax...
.
In March 2011, Thomas hosted the 2011 Melbourne International Comedy Festival Gala event, which is held annually in support of Oxfam.
Personal life
Thomas stated that he was an atheistAtheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
on the 2009 season finale of Good News Week
Good News Week
Good News Week is an Australian satirical panel game show hosted by Paul McDermott that initially aired from 19 April 1996 to 27 May 2000, and resumed on 11 February 2008 to 9 May 2011. The show aired first on ABC TV before it was bought by Network Ten in 1999...
.
In November 2009, Thomas confirmed via his podcast that he was in a relationship with Triple J
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
radio presenter Tom Ballard
Tom Ballard
Tom Ballard is a tall, blond, fast-talking, openly gay, Australian radio presenter and comedian.-Early life:Thomas Colin Ballard grew up in Warrnambool, Victoria and attended Brauer College Warrnambool, graduating in 2007 where he was dux with an ENTER of 99.80, and was consequently named as the...
. They separated in June 2010 after 16 months of dating, with Ballard posting on his Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
fanpage: "Josh and I aren't going out anymore. It's all pretty complicated, but basically I just decided that I have to follow my heart and get married to Mitch Hewer
Mitch Hewer
Mitchell Scott "Mitch" Hewer is an English actor, who is best known for his role of Maxxie Oliver in the E4 teen drama, Skins. He has also starred in Britannia High as the all around talent Danny Miller...
, Zac Efron
Zac Efron
Zachary David Alexander "Zac" Efron is an American actor. He began acting professionally in the early 2000s and became known with his lead roles in the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical, the WB series Summerland, and the 2007 film version of the Broadway musical Hairspray...
, Daniel Radcliffe
Daniel Radcliffe
Daniel Jacob Radcliffe is an English actor who rose to prominence playing the titular character in the Harry Potter film series....
and Eamon Sullivan
Eamon Sullivan
Eamon Wade Sullivan is an Australian sprint swimmer.-Career :In April 2002 at the Australian Age Championships, Sullivan won the 50 m freestyle and came second in 100 m in his age group, and swam for Australia at Trans Tasman series with no dramatic result.In April 2003 at Brisbane in the Fisher &...
. We are still great friends though and it is all okay." He subsequently dated Thomas Jaspers. They separated in September 2011.
In 2010, Thomas was selected by readers of samesame.com.au as one of the 25 most influential gay Australians.
Josh also has an older sister, Nikki, and an older brother named Drew, who appeared on an episode of Talkin 'Bout Your Generation on 15 August 2010.