Ed Hill is a Vancouver based Taiwanese Canadian comedian on his first national North American tour. We spoke about his early years in Canada, his connection to TAIWANfest and how his overachieving Asian tendencies came out when he first started doing comedy.
In 2021, Ed became the first comedian of Taiwanese-Canadian descent to release a full one-hour comedy special titled “Candy & Smiley.” The special was named “Top 15 Comedy Specials of 2021” by Paste Magazine and “Best of 2021” by NPR Radio. The special is currently streaming worldwide on Amazon Prime and Apple TV.
From March 30-April 2 Ed will be doing an off-Broadway show, “Stupid Ed” at the Tank in New York City.
Ed’s tweets have also been featured on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon”, Buzzfeed, and The Huffington Post.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women’s Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
- to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women’s dignity,
- to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
- to fully develop women’s potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
- to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
- to reach out and work with women’s organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- Ed’s connection to TAIWANfest
- Ed’s connection to Taiwan
- The discrimination he’s experienced and how it became a part of his standup routine
- How he got into doing standup comedy
- How he handles it when he bombs as a comedian in front of an audience
- How Ed’s training as a therapist informs his comedy
- Ed’s comedic influences
- Ed’s mentor the late comedian Louie Anderson
- Ed’s tweets that have ended up on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and how he comes up with them
- Ed’s first comedy special Candy and Smiley
- How Ed’s first comedy special Candy and Smiley was affected by the pandemic
- How Ed’s parents have reacted to his doing comedy
- Ed’s upcoming off-Broadway show, Stupid Ed
- Through his show Stupid Ed, Ed will be reflecting on his relationships with the female figures in his life
- What Ed wants to do with his comedy
- Ed’s story podcast, the Guide to Quarantine
- Ed’s advice to others interested in doing standup comedy
- What Ed gets out of doing standup comedy
Related Links:
Ed Hill’s website: http://kingedhill.com/
Ed Hill on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kingedhill
Ed Hill on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kingedhill/
Ed Hill on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kingedhill
Purchase tickets to Stupid Ed off-Broadway shows at The Tank in NYC (March 30-April 2): https://thetanknyc.org/calendar-1/2023/stupid-ed
Louie Anderson: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louie_Anderson
Mike Birbiglia: https://www.birbigs.com/
Drew Michael: https://drewmichael.com/
Ed Hill’s tweets (featured on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon): http://kingedhill.com/tweets
Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: https://www.nbc.com/the-tonight-show
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-Th83bH_thdKZDJCrn88g
Candy and Smiley: https://www.candyandsmiley.com/
Stupid Ed the show: https://stupided.com/the-show
Ed Hill’s TEDx Talk: Weirdo Whisperer | Ed Hill | TEDxYouth@Granville: https://youtu.be/TR-fnUEaiLI
Esther Chen Tries Her Fortune at Standup Comedy in Taiwan and the U.S. Ep 158