Michael Kosta

Michael Kosta (September 27, 1979) is a Los Angeles-based stand-up comedian. He has also hosted The Comment Section for the E! Network with producer Joel McHale as well as co-hosting Fox Sports 1’s Crowd Goes Wild.

Early life

Kosta was born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan and went to Huron High School before attending the University of Illinois^[1]. After earning a bachelor's degree in Speech Communications in 2002, Kosta played tennis on the ITF and ATP tour ^[2] for two years before being hired as the Assistant Men's Tennis Coach^[3] for the University of Michigan. While he was the assistant coach, he began to explore his interest in stand-up comedy and performed at local comedy clubs on the side. In 2005, Kosta traded his racket for a microphone and full-time job as a stand-up comic based in Los Angeles.

Career

Stand-up comedy

Kosta has had major appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,^[4] Conan,^[5] Chelsea Lately^[6], and Late Night with Seth Meyers^[7] as well as a half-hour Comedy Central special called Comedy Central Presents: Michael Kosta,^[8] in January 2011. He has also made appearances on TruTV's World's Dumbest^[9], performed at the HBO Comedy Festival in Aspen,^[10] and at the Montreal Just for Laughs Festival.^[11] Kosta also shot a pilot with Comedy Central called Overloaded with Michael Kosta in fall 2011,^[12] but as of October 2012, it has not been broadcast. In 2013, Kosta filmed his own mini-sitcom for network TV under the auspices of FOX's Shortcom Comedy Hour^[13] with fellow comedians Neal Brennan, Dov Davidoff, Kevin Smith, and Ali Wong.

TV Hosting

Kosta has hosted several TV shows :

• Fox Sports Detroit show, "CCHA: All Access" won two Michigan Emmy's for Outstanding Host in a TV Series^[14] (2011)
• Backstage host of the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards “Backstage Live,”^[15] on Emmy.com’s (2011)
• Co-host of Attack of the Show leading interviews with Eric Andre (Eric Andre Talks About His Adult Swim Show ^[16]) and the Next Day TJ Miller (T.J Miller on Hosting Comedy Central's "Mash Up"^[17]) (2012)
• Featured comedian on E!’s spinoff of The Soup, entitled The Soup Investigates hosted by Joel McHale along with Sarah Tiana, and Eli Olsberg. Kosta led the segment Spoilers in the Streets^[18] of New York interviewing Jack Rico; Film Critic, ShowBizCafe.com (2013)
• Catch on NBC^[19] (2014)
• Co-host of Fox Sports 1 daytime talk show 'Crowd Goes Wild^[20]' with Regis Philbin, Katie Nolan, Georgie Thompson, Trevor Pryce, and Jason Gay. One of Kosta’s more notable segments was 'Questions Out of Left Field' where he interviewed celebrities including: Nas, Dana White, Mike Tyson, Mike Trout, Gina Carano, and John McEnroe. (2014)
• Co-producer and host of the Comment Section^[21] on The E! Network with Joel McHale. This 6 episode show featured interviews with Instagram celebrity Dan Bilzerian, Viner Brittany Furlan, Youtube star Kandee Johnson, as well as comedian/actor Joel McHale and actors Matt McGorry, and Candis Cayne. (2015)

Comedy albums

Comedy for Attractive People^[22] is Kosta's first comedy album which was recorded live at The Comedy Store La Jolla. (2014) It was released by Comedy Dynamics.

Podcast

On March 5, 2015, Kosta started the Worst Birthday Podcast with Michael Kosta^[23] where he interviews comedians as they share their worst birthday experiences. Some notable show guests include Esther Povitky, Brittany Furlan, Ben Gleib, and Tommy Johnagin. Since its inception, Kosta has produced and hosted more than 40 episodes all available on iTunes.^[24]

Tennis

Before comedy, Kosta played four years of collegiate tennis at the University of Illinois from 1998-2005 where he won four Big Ten Championships.^[25] After college, he went on to play professional tennis earning a career-high ATP Tour ranking of No. 864^[26] in singles and No. 336 in doubles. Kosta has also written a book on tennis called 101 Tips for Winning More Tennis Matches.^[27]

References

External links

• Michael Kosta Official Website