Invitation
Aladdin
Vijai Nathan
Dan Nainan
Vidur Kapur
Sarita Choudhry
Aasif Mandvi
Photos
 
Inside Comedy: IAAC with At Vermilion - January 25, 2009
 

Dan Nainan

Dan Nainan Contact:
E-Mail: calrocker@hotmail.com

As a senior engineer with the Intel Corporation in the late 1990s, Dan Nainan designed and presented highly technical demonstrations on stage with Intel Chairman Andy Grove and other senior executives at high-profile events all over the world. Nainan took a comedy class to help get over the fear of public speaking at these events, at which the audiences numbered in the thousands or sometimes in the millions on television. His first comedy performance at the Punchline in San Francisco was a resounding success, and his coworkers, upon viewing the videotape, invited him to perform at a team dinner for 200 employees at the Comdex convention in Las Vegas. Upon seeing that performance, the organizers of Intel's annual sales conference asked Nainan to perform for 2,500 salespeople from around the world. His dead-on impressions of Andy Grove and Bill Clinton had the audience rolling in the aisles at 8 a.m. on a Monday morning. Many in the audience thought that Nainan had been hired as a professional comedian, in what was only his third comedy performance ever.

Over the next two years, Nainan performed at various Intel functions, including the company's holiday party, where he was introduced by Dr. Grove himself, whereupon he proceeded to mimic the Chairman's distinctive accent for 20 minutes. In 2000, Nainan was promoted to Strategic Relations Manager for the East Coast, enabling him to move from Silicon Valley to New York City. Restless in his stationary new job and anxious to use his creative talents, he left Intel in 2001 to pursue standup comedy full time as of January 2002.

In April of 2003, Nainan won an open mike contest at the Washington, DC Improv and the chance to open for the headliner of his choice. He chose noted comedian Robert Schimmel in November of 2003, and over that weekend he convinced Schimmel to let him perform at Schimmel's Hawaii shows. Nainan flew to Honolulu at his own expense, and Schimmel was impressed enough with Nainan's performance to invite the young comedian to tour with him as his feature act in 2004. As a result, Nainan was exposed to some of the country's top comedy clubs, and Schimmel took him under his wing to teach him about the finer points of the business.

In November 2004, Nainan was fortunate enough to be at the New York Improv when Canadian comic sensation Russell Peters was headlining, and after Peters' performance, there was extra time available, so Nainan begged to perform. Because of that one performance, Peters subsequently asked Nainan to tour with him in 2005. Beginning in January of 2005, Nainan and Peters toured both the USA and Canada, performing at theater shows for audiences averaging at least 1,000 per show. In April 2005, Nainan both produced and performed in Peters' show at the Apollo Theater in New York City, a show which was completely sold out.

Nainan continues to tour with Peters, and the exposure has allowed Nainan to headline his own shows. A 100% clean comedian, Nainan has performed at charity events, corporate functions, weddings, private parties, colleges and of course at the top comedy clubs in the country. He has performed for Hillary Clinton, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Howard Dean and other celebrities, and has performed with noted comedians such as Jerry Seinfeld, Bob Saget, Tim Conway and Garry Shandling. He has been seen on NBC's "Last Comic Standing", on A&E, Nickelodeon and on various television commercials. Nainan also does character voices on radio stations all over America, and is best known for his Bill Clinton impression. Most recently, he performed at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, as well as multiple shows in South Africa. He is attending the inauguration for President Obama in January and is performing at one of the major inaugural balls.

Nainan, the son of a South Asian nuclear physicist and an East Asian child psychologist, is an accomplished musician who started piano lessons at the age of two. He sings and plays guitar, bass, drums and cello, and plays the cello in "The Hoax", a 2007 movie with Richard Gere. A former touring musician and employee of Capitol Records, he is also working on an album of original music. A world traveler/adventurer, Nainan enjoys learning languages and extreme sports such as bungee jumping, scuba diving, skiing rollerblading and skydiving. He was recently profiled in the New York Times, and a major literary agent in New York saw the article and signed him to a book deal about the transition from Intel to stand up comedy. An early riser, Nainan eschews the bar scene, preferring to focus on creative and athletic pursuits. He prefers public transportation, does not own a television and does not drink coffee or alcohol, smoke, or do drugs.

   

  
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