Joey Diaz

José Antonio Díaz was born in Havana, Cuba in 1963. He immigrated to the United States with his mother at age three, shortly after his father died. They lived on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York before moving to North Bergen, New Jersey, when he was 10, a town that he and his mother were the only Cuban American residents of at the time. Sacred Heart School for Boys in Kearny, New Jersey, from third to fifth grade, and then to McKinley School in North Bergen, where he was required to repeat seventh grade. and graduated from high school in 1982. His mother died when he was sixteen, Diaz having found her dead in their home. He was taken in by four families around North Bergen during his teenage years – he later credited about twenty people who helped him – but his reckless nature and tendency to get into trouble caused him to move from one home to another. During that time, he began doing drugs and committing crimes. In June 1985, Diaz left New Jersey and returned to Colorado to study economics at the University of Colorado Boulder. He did not enjoy his time there and quit before taking up work selling roofing, which earned him money but failed to make him any happier. During his time in prison, he would perform stand-up routines for his fellow inmates during the weekly film screening event whenever the projector broke. It took Diaz a further three years to try stand-up professionally despite being often told of his talent; he later called his entry into the line of work "the last resort", as he had had many other jobs since his release from prison. ==Career==

Stand-up comedy After seeing the 1988 film Punchline, Diaz responded to an advertisement in a Denver newspaper for a $37 stand-up comedy course, and developed a blue comedy act. Before he did his first standup routine, he worked as a doorman at Wit's End. Diaz performed his first routine on June 18, 1991, at Comedy Works in Denver, at a show headlined by Matt Woods. In April 1992, prior to his opening spot for Troy Baxley in Boulder, Colorado, Diaz took cocaine before going on stage and had a set that he described as "a disaster". He then ceased to take the substance before a performance. After developing his act, Diaz entered the Beck's Amateur Comedy Competition and won. He initially lost another competition until the winner was caught stealing jokes made famous by Jerry Seinfeld and Diaz was declared the winner. Diaz claimed Comedy Works manager Wende Curtis promised him a flight to Los Angeles for a showcase spot at The Comedy Store for owner Mitzi Shore, but never received either. In December 2016, Diaz put out his first one-hour comedy special, Sociably Unacceptable, through the on-demand subscription services Seeso and Comedy Dynamics. Originally the part had a mere three lines, but Diaz's tape got his part extended. In 2005, Diaz expressed his wish to continue as a character actor, saying: "It's like a dream come true for me. ... I got my call and I have to make the most of it". Around that time, Diaz prepared his one-man comedy show Larceny & Laughter, which featured stories about his time growing up in North Bergen. The podcast ended in November 2012 after 113 episodes. Diaz named it after a phrase which his former manager told him while he was working selling cars in Boulder. Episodes were released on various audio-only podcast platforms in addition to the audiovisual version on YouTube, where they garnered over half a million subscribers. On October 5, 2020, Diaz launched a new podcast series, ''Uncle Joey's Joint'' after moving back to New Jersey from California. Diaz's former producer and sidekick Lee Syatt has been a recurring guest on the relaunched podcast but is no longer the show's producer. ==Personal life==

Diaz has married twice. In 1991, he divorced his first wife, during which he lost his relationship with their daughter. ==Filmography==

Films Television Comedy specials Documentaries Video games Discography ==References==