Daniel Friedman (born 9 January 1981), known on stage as Deep Fried Man, is a South African musical comedian and writer based in Johannesburg. He describes what he does as "stand-up comedy with a guitar".[2] He adopted his stage name, a play on his real name, because "it went along with the kind of musical comedy I wanted to do, which was an unhealthy kind of comedy".[3]

Deep Fried Man
PseudonymDeep Fried Man
Birth nameDaniel Friedman
Born (1981-01-09) 9 January 1981 (age 43)
Johannesburg, South Africa
MediumStand-up, television
NationalitySouth African
Years active2010–present
GenresSatire, parody[1]
Subject(s)South Africa, Sexual intercourse, social media[1]

Early life

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Friedman is the son of political analyst and newspaper columnist Steven Friedman,[3][4][5] and is Jewish.[6][7][8][9]

From 1999 to 2002, he studied journalism, philosophy and drama at Rhodes University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He also completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) at Wits University in 2010.[3][10][11]

Career

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After university, Friedman worked in journalism and social media.[9][11]

He performed alternative folk music in Johannesurg prior to becoming a comedian.[3][12][13] He made the transition to professional comedy after being declared joint winner of the 2010 Comedy Showdown hosted by Joe Parker, as a result of which he got to perform in the 2010 UN Comedy Show alongside top local and international comedians.[14][15] He was voted Best Newcomer at the first Annual South African Comic's Choice Awards held at the Teatro, Montecasino, in January 2011.[16][17]

He has performed in various comedy shows including the Heavyweight Comedy Jam,[18] the Tshwane Comedy Fiesta, UJ Rag's One Night Stand, Loads of Laughs,[15] 46664's It's No Joke,[19] Jew Must Be Joking and Blacks Only.[20][21][22] He was the supporting act for Trevor Noah's one-man show Scratch That at The Fringe in the Joburg Theatre Complex in 2010,[1] and has performed in his own one-man shows Deeply Fried in 2011,[2][23] and the more satirical White Whine in 2012.[24][25][26][27] His debut one-man show Deeply Fried won a Standard Bank Ovation Award at the 2011 National Arts Festival in Grahamstown.[28][29]

He has appeared in various television shows including Mzansi Magic's Laugh Out Loud and Opening Guys,[30] M-Net's Tonight With Trevor Noah,[31] SABC 2's Morning Live, SABC 3's Last Say on Sunday and eNCA's weekly satirical news show Late Nite News with Loyiso Gola. He also played a cameo role in the 2012 South African comedy drama film Material.[32]

The BCCSA dismissed two complaints regarding a satirical song he performed about white South Africans which was aired on DStv's Comedy Central channel in 2011.[13][33][34]

He maintains a strong presence on social networking sites Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.[3][35][36] In 2010 Memeburn included him on a list of 10 South African comedians using the Facebook platform to market themselves, which noted he "makes the most of his Facebook audience, updating frequently with songs, events, jokes, and photos" and is a "great example of how to use Facebook".[37]

In 2012 he was named one of Mail & Guardian's 200 Young South Africans, in the Arts & Culture category.[38]

He also writes for the Daily Maverick and Memeburn.[35][39]

In 2020 old tweets made by Friedman which had previously resulted in a feud arising with Willem Petzer and complaints being laid against Friedman resurfaced bringing fresh life to the feud with Petzer, resulting in new complaints being laid with The Citizen. Friedman was suspended from his position as online editor while an internal investigation was conducted, in February 2020 the investigation was concluded and Friedman was found guilty of bringing The Citizen into ill repute and was dismissed from his position as online news editor.[40]

Awards

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  • 2010 Nando's Jozi Comedy Festival's Comedy Showdown – joint winner with Dillan Oliphant
  • 2011 Annual South African Comic's Choice Awards – Best Newcomer
  • 2011 Standard Bank Ovation Award

References

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  1. ^ a b c Nayika, Andile (20 September 2012). "Deep fried funny man". Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  2. ^ a b Herimbi, Helen (18 November 2011). "Master of mirth in solo gig". IOL. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d e de Waal, Mandy (22 November 2011). "Daniel Friedman debuts 'Deeply Fried'". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  4. ^ Chance, Katy (24 November 2011). "COMEDY: Deeply Fried". Business Day. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  5. ^ "He's bringing Jewish back". City Press. 26 November 2011. Archived from the original on 7 April 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  6. ^ Rawoot, Ilham (9 May 2009). "Band aid for Palestine". Mail & Guardian. Archived from the original on 12 May 2009. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
  7. ^ "Top class entertainment for Jewish Achiever Awards" (PDF). SA Jewish Report. 4 May 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2013.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ Deep Fried Man (11 July 2012). "This is not a column". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  9. ^ a b Herimbi, Helen (29 April 2011). "Comedy fries". The New Age. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2013. Deep Fried Man – a former journalist for publications such as the Mail and Guardian who then went into social media – is taking his comedy to a new stage.
  10. ^ "Old Rhodians in the Mail & Guardian Top 200 Young South Africans 2012". Rhodes University. 10 August 2012. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
  11. ^ a b "Daniel Friedman". LinkedIn. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
  12. ^ Friedman, Daniel (1 February 2009). "Watt the folk". Design Indaba. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  13. ^ a b Ngcobo, Siya (24 August 2012). "Cooking with Deep Fried Man". iafrica.com. Archived from the original on 27 August 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  14. ^ "Parker's to host open-mic comedy showdown at Nando's Jozi Comedy Festival". mediaupdate.co.za. 17 June 2010. Retrieved 3 April 2013. This year, the Comedy Showdown will again give aspiring comedians – and those already honing their trade on stage – the chance to test their skills in a series of heats (each Wednesday from 30 June to 21 July), with the winner of the final on 28 July getting to share the stage with the Jozi Comedy Festival's international heavyweights like Chile's impresario of impressions Pablo Francisco; all-action Mexican, Al Madrigal; Korean MADtv star, Bobby Lee; multi-talented Russian-American, Kira Soltanovich; and Grammy-winning New Yorker, Jonathan Arons on the closing night of the UN Comedy Show on 1 August.
  15. ^ a b "Loads of Laughs at The Globe". The Citizen. 30 March 2011. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013. Deep Fried Man was declared joint winner of the 2010 Parkers Comedy Showdown, which led to a performance at the United Nations Comedy Show with Pablo Francisco and many other top local and international comedians.
  16. ^ "The Annual SA Comic's Choice Awards: Winners 2011". Archived from the original on 7 March 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  17. ^ Herimbi, Helen (24 January 2011). "Comics' chance to shine". The New Age. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  18. ^ "The Heavyweight Comedy Jam". Artslink.co.za. 13 September 2010. Archived from the original on 9 March 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  19. ^ "It's No Joke – top comedians at Emperors Palace in support of 46664". 46664. 15 November 2011. Archived from the original on 23 February 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  20. ^ Herimbi, Helen (1 December 2011). "The comedy column – December 01, 2011". IOL. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  21. ^ Hlangani, Sandile (24 April 2012). "Blacks Only back at Emperors Palace". The New Age. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  22. ^ Komane, Tankiso (15 November 2012). "Cracker jokes this festive season". The New Age. Archived from the original on 29 March 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2013. A regular supporting act for the supremely talented Trevor Noah, Deep Fried Man's satirical take on what it's like to be a white person in South Africa has since earned him applause, accolades and a few BCCSA complaints. He became famous overnight with his satirical rendition of the national anthem, a collaboration with Durban comedian Gareth Woods.
  23. ^ Feldman, Peter (23 November 2011). "This Deep Fried Man Cooks". Artslink.co.za. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  24. ^ "Deep Fried Man is Whining in Sandton". Artslink.co.za. 29 August 2012. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  25. ^ Herimbi, Helen (18 September 2012). "White whine rolls out barrel of laughs". IOL. Retrieved 9 April 2013. The pun in the title is obvious and Deep Fried Man says, 'My first one-man show, Deeply Fried, was more quirky and weirder and more personal, but didn't have a theme as such. This new show is based on what's going on in South Africa.'
  26. ^ Stones, Lesley (25 September 2012). "Deep Fried Man: A fine whine – but still maturing". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  27. ^ Mothoagae, Keba (26 September 2012). "Controversial Deep Fried Man roasts the theatre". looklocal. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  28. ^ "Boykie with a bright future". Cue Online. 6 July 2011. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  29. ^ "Deep Fried Man in Sandton for two weeks". Artslink.co.za. 8 November 2011. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  30. ^ "Opening Guys: Deep Fried Man". M-Net. Retrieved 9 April 2013.[permanent dead link]
  31. ^ "Tonight With Trevor Noah: Deep Fried Man". M-Net. Archived from the original on 17 August 2010. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  32. ^ Material at IMDb  
  33. ^ "Case No – 01 – 2012 – Multichoice Channel 122 – Alleged derogatory remarks made against whites". BCCSA. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  34. ^ "BCCSA: Comedian complaint a joke". IOL. 7 March 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  35. ^ a b "Opinionistas". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  36. ^ Kavonic, Dayle (27 October 2011). "Helen Zille AKA Agony Aunt: Meet the guy behind the worldwide trending topic". Associated Media Publishing. Archived from the original on 4 March 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  37. ^ Fairweather, Alistair (20 September 2010). "How do SA's stand-up comics use Facebook?". Memeburn. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  38. ^ Botha, Nadine. "Mail & Guardian 200 Young South Africans 2012: Daniel Friedman". Mail & Guardian. Archived from the original on 9 February 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
  39. ^ "Deep Fried Man". Memeburn. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  40. ^ "Statement on Daniel Friedman's termination of employment". 19 February 2020.
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