![]() He landed his first stand-up special on “Comedy Central Presents” in 2003 and did a stint on “Last Comic Standing” in 2006, where he was disqualified for sneaking in a cell phone - a touch ironic considering how badly he wanted to get away from cell phones with his past employment. Guest spots on the Nickelodeon kids’ show “All That” and regular stand-up dates helped, and Iglesias estimates it took about three years to reach the point where he was able to support himself as a comedian. “I said, ‘No, no, I’m really trying to make this comedy thing happen!’” A contractor he had met while selling phones set him up with a job digging ditches, and even offered to send him to school and put him on the track to being a contractor. He slept on his brother’s balcony and his sister’s couch or even in his car, but remained committed to comedy. When he finally quit, his roommate evicted him. I didn’t need much.”īut after he started comedy, Iglesias was desperate to give up his day job selling cell phones where, working on commission, he could make as much as $5,000 a month. “I just needed a few bucks to be able to go to Costco and get some food for the week. “My rent was $350 a month and a car note … we were stealing cable so I saved money there,” he recalls. It helped that at the start, he kept his overhead low and his goals simple. Though Iglesias may have gotten some positive reinforcement right off the bat, it wasn’t necessarily an easy journey to selling out stadiums. “From the very first time I saw him onstage, he knew how to capture his audience and command the stage.” Meloche was a promoter when he encountered Iglesias for the first time in 2003 they have been working together in some capacity since then. I couldn’t be prouder to have done my part in adding Gabriel Iglesias to that list.”Īsked how long this has been in the works and Iglesias’ manager, Joe Meloche of Arsonhouse, says, “As a team we have been collectively talking and strategizing about playing Dodger Stadium for a while now, but I think Gabriel has been preparing for this moment his whole career.” “The Beatles were first in 1966, then Elton John, Beyoncé, Billy Joel and many other iconic artists. “Before we confirmed the date, I looked up who has played there in the past,” says Blake, who has been working with the comic since 2003. Iglesias’ agent, Matt Blake of CAA, understands the significance. Once the show is over, I’m probably going to cry. “I think I’ve been disappointed too many times over my life where I don’t allow myself to get excited over things until they happen. “I still can’t believe it,” he says with a laugh. It’s a milestone that Iglesias has yet to wrap his mind around. Rawlings has made a baseball with his logo (an outline of Iglesias with a microphone hoisted in the air) and there are special Stadium Edition Funko Pops figurines of him in either a white or blue Dodgers jersey. His May 6 show sold out so fast, he actually added a second show on May 7, which sold out as well. Not content to simply sell out regular venues, Iglesias chose to become the first comedian to perform at Dodger Stadium with his “Fluffy on the Field” show, a part of Netflix Is a Joke: The Festival. Iglesias” and recently shot the NBC pilot “Heavy.” As an actor, he’s lent his voice to several distinctive projects, starred in the Netflix series “Mr. One of America’s top comedians, Iglesias’ YouTube videos count almost a billion views, with more than 25 million fans across social-media platforms. All of which were tools he felt he could utilize towards his one, simple goal as he began his career in comedy: “I just wanted to be funny enough that I could pay my rent.”Įven those who were clued into Iglesias’ natural talent early on probably couldn’t have predicted how high his career would climb over the next few years. He was always affable and good with people, something that he carries into his life today. ![]() I’d rather be the person who sits back and analyzes.” “I’m never trying to be the loudest person in the room,” he notes. He was never a class clown, but that’s because he was observing and listening to others. Growing up a latchkey kid in Southern California and the youngest of six children, Iglesias has lost track of how many times he watched the VHS tape of “Eddie Murphy’s Raw,” along with concert tapes of comics such as Robin Williams and Sam Kinison. ![]() But in many ways it also feels inevitable. It sounds like something out of “A Star Is Born,” almost too good to be true. So my second time on stage, I had a paying gig.” This was a Monday and he came up to me and said, ‘Hey, do you want to come back on Wednesday? I’ll pay you 20 bucks. “Then there was somebody in the crowd who put on a comedy show in that same room on Wednesdays. “That was the first little spark,” Iglesias says, even though he was just riffing off the top of his head.
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