Sinbad Performs at the Van Wezel, 12/16

Sinbad's " hit'em in the face" style has kept audiences laughing for the past two decades. Sinbad tells stories, and boy does he tell stories! Ranked by Comedy Central as one of the top 100 standup comedians of all time, Sinbad has built a loyal following by taking day-to-day life situations and causing an uproar of comedic hysteria. Sinbad's not any kind of choirboy, but he is the son of a preacher man. He decided to keep his comedy clean after his father attended one of his early (less clean) performances, and says that he learned that night that "funny is funny," no need for profanity.

Sinbad is internationally known for his starring appearances in hit movies like Jingle All the Way, playing opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger;Houseguest, co-starring the late Phil Hartman, and let's not forget his film debutNecessary Roughness. He starred in the television sitcom A Different World as well as his own series, The Sinbad Show, and hosted UPN's first late night talk show, Vibe. Sinbad also appeared as a recurring guest star on the Showtime Original Series Resurrection Blvd, on the FX Television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and was seen in the third season of NBC's Celebrity Apprentice. His HBO highly-rated comedy specials; "Brain Damaged" (1991), "Afros & Bellbottoms" (1993), "Son of a Preacher Man" (1996), and "Nuthin But The Funk" (1998) have drawn legions of fans, and annual HBO music concert series (Oh! You didn't know he was musical?) "Sinbad's 70's Soul Music Festival" received the prestigious NAACP Image Award consecutively for two years as the "Most Outstanding Variety Series/Special". He has even written a self-help book entitled "Sinbad's Guide to Life: (Because I Know Everything)". A one-time basketball standout for the University of Denver, Sinbad agrees that everything he needed to know for comedy, he learned from playing basketball, including, "the competitive aspect that teaches you to never give up".

Ticket prices range from $10 to $50. For more information and to buy tickets, contact the Van Wezel Box office at (941)953-3368 or log onto www.vanwezel.org. 

Sponsored by Argosy University & part of the Herald-Tribune Media Group Comedy Series