Esther Ku is a comedian, actress and musician but mostly comedian because that’s what she told me to write first. I am her stenographer. (Not really, but she wants you to think she has a stenographer because she doesn’t want you to think she wrote her own bio.)
Ku was selected as the only female comedian from New York City to advance to the Las Vegas Semi-Finals in Season Six of NBC’s Last Comic Standing. In Vegas, she advanced to the house portion of the reality show to become a Last Comic Standing Season 6 Finalist where she annoyed the hell out of everybody with her laugh. (I told her not to laugh so loudly but she doesn’t listen to me I’m just her stenographer. I hate it when she treats me this way.) Six months later, she was selected by Howard Stern as a finalist in the Hottest Funniest Chick Contest on Sirius Satellite Radio. She has performed in the hit comedy Shear Madness, the longest-running non-musical play in American theatre history. She can currently be seen in a national Office Depot ad and an international Volkswagon television commercial.
Ku spends her days rewriting lyrics to her favorite oldies songs and is currently in the recording studio working on her first album to be released later this year. On her spare time, she manages to dedicate her energy to a serious and troublesome cause — to end tickling forever. “Tickling is forcing someone to laugh when you’re not being funny. Tickling is the opposite of comedy. If you’ve ever tickled anyone, you’re a fraud!” she warns. Ku’s muses include Harold from Harold and the Purple Crayon and Amelia Bedelia from the Amelia Bedelia Collection. (That italicizing will cost you extra little Ms. Ku. This is bullshit.)
Born and raised in Chicago, Ku officially began her stand-up career in Boston. For a hot second the team Ku and the Jew ruled the club — until they were fired by the bartender. She now resides in Brooklyn and travels the country entertaining audiences with her all-American bratty charm and infamous maniacal laugh. (She told me to write adorable but I secretly changed it to maniacal because it’s a more accurate description of that shrieking noise. Geez when did she get so delusional?)
** The following bios are solely to be used by bookers **
Depending on what type of show you are booking Ku for, please copy and paste the most appropriate bio.
Jewish/Temple/Bar Mitzvah :
At the tender age of four, Esther Ku was adopted by a nice Jewish couple - the Greensteinbergwitzes. She had a similar upbringing to her Asian counterparts except that everyone in her new family was louder. She recently married a cardiologist, Dr. Goldbloomfinkhaber, and they are currently planning their second honeymoon to Israel. She is recovering well from her second nose enlargement operation at Beth Israel Hospital. Her self-deprecating point of view is a hit at Bar Mitzvahs and Bat Mitzvahs all the way from Midtown to East 86th Street.
Urban/Black/Latino Show :
Esther Ku was born in Cook County Hospital to two poor immigrants from Korea. She and her family grew up on the south side of Chicago where the 5 Ku kids toured the Midwest as the “Yellow Jackson 5″ singing pop sensation. When she is not on the road, Ku enjoys cooking candied yams, fried chicken, and grape Tang for her half-black children and grandchildren. Her raucous act is a crowd favorite especially when there is a blunt being passed through the crowd.
Homosexual/Gay/Lesbian Show :
Esther Ku never realized she was gay until she went to college and lived in an all-female dormitory at Wellesley College. She had her first lesbian experience just ten minutes after attending an 80’s themed karaoke night dressed as Melissa Ethridge. She is currently raising a herd of cats each named after the Brady Bunch with her red-headed “roommate”/girlfriend Sophie. They are planning a trip to Cape Cod next summer where they will both return as a wife and with a wife. Her candid observations on being queer provide a unique point of view from her rainbow-colored glasses.
Asian/Pacific Islander Show :
Esther Ku is the best kind of Asian-American you will find - a combo platter of 1/4th Chinese, 1/4th Korean, 1/4th Japanese, and 1/4th Vietnamese. In addition, she has delivered food for several Thai, Chinese, and Indian restaurants and thus is fluent in Spanglish. She is the first Asian American to be placed on Academic Probation ever by an accredited university. When she is not being booked in attics and basements of Chinese restaurants, she freelances as a phone operator for several 24-hour oriental body wash massage joints.
Recognitions
- River Grove Mayor’s Award for Good Citizenship,
Later revoked.- Academic Probation, University of Illinois
- University Reprimand for Unauthorized Piñata Acquisition
University of Illinois- Dean’s List, University of Illinois
Abilities
- Piano, Guitar
- Loud guffawing
- Extremely accurate pointing
- Rollerblading
- Ruining the moment