Biography
Hannibal Buress started performing stand-up comedy in his native Chicago in 2002. Honing his skills on the circuit before becoming a regular on various chat shows, he made his TV debut on "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (CBS 2005-) in 2007 followed by "Larry King Live" (CNN 1985-2010) and "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (NBC 2009-2014). Moving to New York in 2008, his laconic deadpan humor obviously struck a chord as Buress was named "Best Male Comedian" by the Excellence in Comedy New York awards in 2009. He soon became part of the huge writing team behind the 35th season of "Saturday Night Live" (NBC 1975-) during 2009/2010, which saw Buress being nominated for "Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Series" award at the Primetime Emmys. Buress also appeared in a handful of sketches on the late-night staple and appeared twice in cult comedy series "Louie" (FX 2010-15) in 2010. His continued commitment to stand up and the release of his first comedy album "My Name is Hannibal" (Stand Up Records) saw him named by Variety in their "10 Comics to Watch in 2010" feature. He continued to write, including work on the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards and the critically-acclaimed sitcom "30 Rock" (NBC, 2006-2013) in 2011. Despite his success on television (including multiple roles in the aforementioned "30 Rock") Buress continued to focus on his stand-up, constantly touring and hosting his own night at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn. Rolling Stone name-checked Buress on their "The 10 Funniest People, Videos and Things of the Coming Year" countdown (Jan. 6, 2011). He continued appearing on late night talk shows, including one of the fastest rising comics working today" (Nov. 3, 2011),"The Late Show with David Letterman" (CBS 1993-) in 2011, "Conan" (TBS 2010-) in 2012, UK panel show "8 out of 10 Cats" (Channel 4 2005-) in 2012 and many more. His first full-length stand-up show "Hannibal Buress: Animal Furness" aired on Comedy Central in 2012, followed by his co-hosting role on the surreal talk show parody "The Eric Andre Show" (Cartoon Network, 2012-). A supporting role as affable dentist Lincoln Rice on the cult hit "Broad City" (Comedy Central 2014- ) introduced Buress to a wider audience, but his introduction to the mainstream came via a perplexing route. In 2014, a two-year-old joke about Bill Cosby's long-rumored history of sexual assault suddenly went viral on social media, eventually leading to the first high-profile investigations of the charges against the veteran comic. In the meantime, Buress' film career flourished with appearances in the romantic comedy "Sleepwalk With Me" (2012), coming of age indie "The Kings of Summer" (2013) and the Seth Rogen hit "Neighbors" (2014). Burress hosted his own series "Why? with Hannibal Buress" (Comedy Central 2015- ), followed by appearances in the Will Ferrell comedy "Daddy's Home" (2015) and the animated "Angry Birds" (2016).
