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Noe Gonzalez was born and raised in East Los Angeles, California.
He grew up working for his parents at their Mexican food restaurant
in Boyle Heights. I was born an employee, he explains. “I
was flipping tacos at 2, and there I was at 24 still flipping
tacos. That’s 12 years of taco experience.” Noe is
a first generation American and the eldest of four children.
He decided to pursue his dream of becoming a comic after grease
from a wet burrito jumped up and smacked him in his face. “This
wet burrito stuff is getting old Dad” he said. His father
replied. “Too
bad, I have taco scars too. Its just part of the business”.
So instead of going to college and securing a stable future,
Noe decided to pursue an unpredictable career and chase his
dream of becoming a Latino stand-up comic.
Initially
Noe didn’t
know how to go about becoming a comedian. He figured that comedy
could be learned in a school setting. So
at the age of 24, he enrolled himself in The Second City School
for Improvisational Comedy. This was the same school that comedic
actors Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, John Belushi and Mike Myers
attended in their formative years. After 2 years of
Improv, Noe knew that learning comedy in a classroom setting
was the wrong path for him. “You’re
born funny, No school can teach you to be funny”. So
he then decided to jump right into performing live
stand-up.
His father
quickly assured Noe that there was an apron waiting
with his name on it.
Noe soon
found his way to the Comedy Store in Hollywood and
decided
to give it a try.
Mitzi Shore, the comedy store owner, saw his performance
on stage that night and
immediately offered him a job! Doorman at the
club wasn't exactly the job Noe had hoped for but it did allow
him
to watch the seasoned Comedy Store comics
work their
craft
night
in
and night out. He was
now a part of comedy history. Working the same door Paul
Rodriguez and Eddie Griffin had worked early in their comedy
careers.
Soon, Noe
was working the road and performing in city’s
nationwide as well as in hometown of Los Angeles. He has appeared
on Si TV’s “Funny
is Funny”, Galavision’s “Que Loco’s”,
Ed McMahon’s” Next Big Star”, and BET’s “Comic
View” He has also stretched out his acting legs in “El
Matador” with Paul Rodriguez, Comedy Centrals Crank
Yankers movie, “Junk Yard Willy” where he played
the wacky Tic Tac.You can also catch him as “Don
the Rent-a-cop” in “Cellular” starring
Kim Basinger. Noe
also has the prestige of being one of the few chosen Latino
comics to perform his comedy act on Si TV’s “Latino
Laugh Festival half hour all-star comedy show”
His Father
waits patiently, flipping tacos as he watches his son on TV.
Nevertheless he assures Noe that “The Apron
is still waiting”. Keep Waiting Dad!
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2002-2005 LatinoComedy.com
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