Anish Shah (born January 30, 1978) is an American stand-up comedian most known for his work with the "Kill a Mother" foundation.[1][2]

Anish Shah
Born (1978-01-30) January 30, 1978 (age 46)
Alma materUniversity of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Yale School of Management
OccupationComedian
Websitewww.anishcomedy.com

Career

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After getting an MBA from Yale Shah spent five years as a consultant for McKinsey & Company. He switched directions in 2010 and began pursuing a career in stand-up comedy, which he had previously pursued in college.[3]

In 2012, Shah relocated to New York City.[4] Later that year, he produced and headlined the "No Laughing Matter" tour, which raised funds for the Save a Mother Foundation.[5] He has since continued to perform live and on television, including in a television comedy special alongside Kunal Nayyar.[5]

He also launched the "B-School Made Me Funny" tour, a one-hour comedy act that specifically focuses on his experiences in business school and the corporate world. Since launching the "B-School tours," Anish has performed at number of colleges including his alma mater, Yale, Dartmouth and UCLA.[6]

After being named one of the "50 Coolest South Asians," by Desi Club[7] Shah produced and hosted his first show on Broadway, "International Incident" at Carolines in 2012.[8] It is now in its 4th year and has been selected multiple times for the New York Comedy Festival.

In 2016, Anish Shah was one of 6 people chosen from more than 1000 candidates to enter NBC's Late Night Writers Program.[9] That same year he was selected, from over 4000 applicants, to work on the CBS Diversity Showcase.[10]

Charity

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In 2012, Shah joined forces with the nonprofit organization Save a Mother to raise money to combat maternal mortality in India by launching a nationwide comedy tour called "No Laughing Matter", featuring fellow Indian comedians and celebrities like Azhar Usman, Melanie Kannokada and Outsourced star Parvesh Cheena.[11][12]

Shah has performed at America India Foundation Galas around the country that have collectively raised more than $5M.[13][14] In addition, he has worked with many other charities such as Pratham, Blue Horizon, and TiE.[15][16][17]

References

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  1. ^ "He Quit His Job to Make People Laugh for a Cause". India Abroad. August 3, 2012.
  2. ^ "Comedian Anish Shah has Clean Jokes for Your Mom and a Thank You to Ashton Kutcher". May 10, 2012. Archived from the original on August 31, 2012. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
  3. ^ "Ex-McKinsey consultant becomes stand-up comedian". Consultancy.UK. Consultancy.UK. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  4. ^ "In Conversation with Comedian Anish Shah". Social and Style. Social and Style. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  5. ^ a b Aberback, Brian. "Comedy fundraiser at bergenPAC to benefit Indian Cultural Initiative". North Jersey. USA Today. Archived from the original on 28 October 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  6. ^ Zlomek, Erin. "Funny Business: One Yale MBA's Route From McKinsey to Comedy". Bloomberg. Bloomberg. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  7. ^ Chinatomby, Alicia. "Anish Shah: From Business to Comedy, it all Comes Down to Making People Laugh". India.com. India.com.
  8. ^ ANGLIS, JACLYN. "Indian comic mines his culture for laughs". Daily News. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  9. ^ "Anish Shah | Writer | NBC TIPS". NBC Universal Tips. NBC Universal Tips. Archived from the original on 2016-10-28. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
  10. ^ Shah, Anish. "Anish Shah CBS". anishcomedy.com. Anish Shah. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  11. ^ "Anish to help raise funds to cut maternal mortality". The Indian Express. July 27, 2012.
  12. ^ "Save A Mother launches 'No Laughing Matter' – Comedy Tour". BollySpice. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
  13. ^ "American India Foundation raises more than $1.5 million at New York gala". The American Bazaar. The American Bazaar. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  14. ^ "AIF Raises $2.85 Million at New York City Gala". American India Foundation. American India Foundation. Archived from the original on 28 October 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  15. ^ ROHIT, PARIMAL. "Eradicating Illiteracy: Pratham-Los Angeles Holds Landmark Gala". India West. India West. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  16. ^ Garimella, Nirmala. "Lokvani Talks To Gaugarin Oliver, President TiE Boston". Lokvani. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  17. ^ "Blue Horizon Charitable Foundation hosted its third annual gala in New York City". PR Newswire. PR Newswire.