Here is the biography of Tom Rhodes:
Tom Rhodes is a stand-up comedian who has been performing since he was 17 years old. His journey in comedy began when his father, a decorated Vietnam war hero, took him to see his uncle Bob perform at a comedy show. The experience left a lasting impression on Tom, and he spent the next few years filling notebooks with joke ideas, dreaming of the day he would get on stage.
Growing up, Tom was exposed to classic comedy albums and studied the greats, including Richard Pryor, Bob Newhart, Bill Cosby, and Rodney Dangerfield. He attended Oviedo High School, where he was encouraged by his drama and speech teacher to explore his natural talents. Tom would often talk about world events, school happenings, and joke ideas during his classroom rants, which became popular among his classmates.
At 17, Tom took a fake ID and auditioned at the only comedy club in Orlando, The Funny Farm, where he became a regular performer. He continued to perform throughout his junior and senior years of high school and branched out to one-niter's all over the state of Florida. After graduating in 1985, Tom went on the road to play comedy circuits all over the Southern United States and up and down the Eastern seaboard.
At 19, Tom won "The Funniest Person in Central Florida" contest, which led to his first opportunity to perform at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles. He moved to New York City, where he struggled to make a name for himself, living in the Washington Heights neighborhood and performing at one-niter's in New Jersey and Long Island.
Back in Florida, Tom's comedy became stronger, and he started branching out to better comedy clubs across the United States. His first quality club to headline him was the Atlanta Punchline, followed by other quality clubs. At 22, Tom moved to San Francisco, where he became friends with comedians like Margaret Cho, Marc Maron, Patton Oswalt, and Greg Proops.
Tom quickly became a regular at the comedy giants of the city, including The Punchline, The Improv, and Cobbs. He got to open concerts for James Brown and the Everly Brothers and began appearing on shows like An Evening at The Improv, Comic Strip Live, Caroline's Comedy Hour, and MTV's Comedy Half Hour.
Tom's television success began with an appearance on Comedy Central's "_Two Drink Minimum (1994)_," which led to his one-hour special "Viva Vietnam" and a series of interludes on the network. He was the first comedian to sign a one-year development deal with Comedy Central and went on to create his own sitcom, "Mr. Rhodes," which aired on NBC from 1996 to 1997.
After the sitcom ended, Tom returned to stand-up comedy and began performing multiple sets nightly across New York City. He got to fulfill his promise to himself to live in New York City with style and performed at the Montreal International Comedy Festival and Just for Laughs.
Tom's international career began to take off when he started breaking into the London comedy scene at the Comedy Store. He began to tour the world, performing in Australia, Paris, Dublin, Berlin, Hong Kong, Beijing, and Bangkok. In 2001, he released his first live CD, "How Sweet Ass," and his first half-hour comedy special, "_Comedy Central Presents...(2001)_."
In 2002, Tom moved to the Netherlands, where he became a presenter on the popular travel program "Yorin Travel" and later on the late-night talk show "Kevin Masters Show starring Tom Rhodes." He went back to the United States in 2004 and continued to tour the world, performing in South America, Europe, and Asia.
In 2006, Tom released his second CD, "Live in Paris," and appeared on the Australian "Rove Live" and "The Side Show." He released his first self-produced DVD, "Holy Temple of the HAHA," in 2007 and began to focus on making YouTube clips.
In 2009, Tom released his second "_Comedy CentralPresents...(2009)_," and his third Montreal International Comedy Festival, Just for Laughs, with Whoopi Goldberg as the host. He continued to tour the world, performing in Amsterdam, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Belfast, Dublin, Galway, Rome, London, Geneva, Zurich, Munich, and Stockholm.
In 2010, Tom performed at the Galway Comedy Festival with Jim Jefferies, Phil Nichols, Phill Jupitus, Jimeoin, and Rich Hall. He returned to Asia, performing in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur. In 2011, Tom married Dutch photographer Ashna Rodjan and went on an epic Honeymoon World Tour, performing in Cork, Galway, Dublin, Bali, Bangkok, Jakarta, Perth, Sydney, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur.
In 2012, Tom released his third CD and DVD, "Col
