Comedian Nazareth

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Nazareth Rizkallah (born January 17, 1963), known professionally Comedian Nazareth, is a Kuwaiti-American Christian comedian. He migrated to America to build a better life. After earning an Accounting degree and starting his career, he eventually changed careers to become a popular stand-up comedian. In addition to worldwide performances, Nazareth provides free performances and charitable events to those in need and acts as a leader in nonprofit and ministry organizations.

Early life

Born Nazareth Rizkallah, and known only by his first name, was born into a non-devout Greek Orthodox family in Palestine. The youngest of three boys, he was raised in Kuwait where his father worked in construction. In 1984, his parents sent him to college in the United States, specifically to Toledo, Ohio, to study engineering and for an opportunity to create a better life. In 1986, he changed his educational focus and moved to California where he earned an Accounting Degree. In 1990, Nazareth realized he was unhappy with his career and knew that all he wanted to do with his life was make people laugh.

Career

Nazareth has been performing comedy for more than 25 years. In 1990, his career started when he signed up to perform at an Open Mic in a California Comedy Club. At his first performance, he was well received, to the point that his humor had people laughing so hard they fell off their chairs. From that moment on, he continued to perform in clubs around Hollywood. He quickly had daily performances booked throughout California, Arizona, and Washington. He performed at The Improv, The Comedy Store and UCLA and USC.

Even with all the success, Nazareth felt unfulfilled and resorted to drugs as an attempt to fill his void. In 1992, Nazareth met Yamo, a clean Japanese American comedian who did not use vulgarity, drugs, or alcohol. Yamo led Nazareth to church, where he renounced his way of life and started to create a cleaner life befitting of his newfound belief in God. He finished his existing shows in the clubs and started performing in churches. His new, cleaner humor was well accepted and he quickly grew a large following of fans that welcomed him to share his story and testimony through his comedy. Since the beginning, he has accomplished over 3,500 performances worldwide. In addition to performing in venues, Nazareth has also provided performances to Fortune 500 companies such as Coca Cola, Qualcomm, Bank of America, Hughes Aircraft, Budweiser, Foster Farms

Personal life

Nazareth is now a proud American citizen. He has visited over 200 prisons and death row facilities in the United States to share his story and message through comedy. He has also started Laughter for All, a charitable concert event that provides entertainment through comedy, gifts, and food boxes for under-resourced people.

Nazareth and his wife Maha have three children and reside in Southern California.

Philanthropy

In addition to his comedy performances, Nazareth is very philanthropic. He created Laughter for All, a charitable comedy concert. He serves as a Director for Christian Mission to Gaza, a ministry supporting Christians in the Gaza Strip and is the co-founder of Voices of Refugees, a ministry focused on the refugees in California fleeing Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and Iran. Nazareth has also helped raise thousands of dollars for Crisis Pregnancy Centers and other non-profits around the United States.

Laughter for All

Laughter for All are free concerts Nazareth hosts several times a year. The concerts, which have been as large as 5,000 attendees, are created to inspire and encourage the under-resourced and those in need. Motivation to host these concerts came from the desire of wanting to see people who could not otherwise afford to go to a movie or concert as a family experience the joy of community and clean laughter. At the end of the concerts, each person in need receives a gift and box of food.

Affiliations

President and Co-founder, Laughter for All
Director, Christian Mission to Gaza
Co-founder, Voices of Refugees
Former President, Christian Comedy Association

Multimedia

• 2013 - Book: You’re So Funny Daddy! Comedy Crusade / DerDiz Media
• 2013 – DVD: Sweet Laughter
• 2014– DVD: Laugh Your Fears Away
• 2012– DVD: East Meets West
• 2008 – DVD: Free To Laugh
• 2005 – Book: Can Anything Good Come Out of Nazareth, Again? Comedy Crusade
• 2005 – Live Recording: Bananas Comedy

Appearances

This is a list of notable appearances by Nazareth. Though extensive, this is not a complete listing

• 1990, 2014 - The Improv
• 1990 – 1992 - The Comedy Store
• 1991 – UCLA
• 1991 – USC
• 1991 – New Year’s Eve at the Strand with B.B. King
• 1992-2007 – Entertained thousands of youth with the Salvation Army
• 1996 – Appeared on NBC’s nightly News with Tom Brokaw
• 2000 – Tour with the Temptations
• 2001 – Tour with The Righteous Brothers
• 2005 – The Funny Bone
• 2007 – Tour with David Phelps
• 2009 – Hour of Power with Dr. Robert Schuler
• 2010 – Headlined the Livin’ It Stage at Celebrate Freedom with Luis Palau.
• 2010 - Guest Appearance on Praise the Lord, iTBN, December 8, 2010
• 2012- 2013 – Proud 2 B American Comedy Tour (Featuring Britt Nicole)
• 2014 - Guest Appearance on Praise the Lord, iTBN, March 8, 2014
• 2016 - Guest Appearance on Praise the Lord, iTBN, September 1, 2016
• 2016 – Free to Laugh tour had an audience of 40 million people worldwide.

References

Award-winning Comedian to Bring Healing to San Bernardino Following Terrorist Attack, Christian News Wire

External Links

• Nazareth: The American Funny Man at CBN
• Christian Comedian Mines Palestinian Heritage, October 5, 2006, Kentucky New Era
• 2008 - Jesters of Different Faiths Use Laughs to Bridge the Divide, May 31, 2007 New York Times
• Comedian Nazareth

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