Carlos Mencia, superstar/stand-up comedian, is undoubtedly one of today's most lauded entertainers and feared comics. Whether it is man-on-the-street interviews, studio comedy, commercial parodies, or nationwide sold-out tours, Mencia demonstrates an extraordinary ability to connect with a diverse audience.
Mencia was born in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, the 17th of 18 children. His parents sent him to the United States when he was about three months old, where he was raised in Maravilla Projects in Los Angeles, California by his aunt and uncle. In his early teens, Mencia moved back to Honduras because his family wanted him to avoid the destructive gang culture of East Los Angeles. When Mencia later returned to Los Angeles, he showed such educational prowess that he was immediately promoted to the tenth grade. Soon after, he successfully graduated from Garfield High School.
Mencia began his career doing stand-up on amateur night at the comedy club, Laugh Factory. He later showcased at The Comedy Store and became a regular, performing nightly. After he found success on the L.A comedy circuit, Mencia was named "International Comedy Grand Champion" from Buscando Estrellas (the Latino version of Star Search). This led to appearances on "In Living Color," "The Arsenio Hall Show," "Moesha" and "An Evening at the Improv." In 1994, he hosted the HBO comedy series "Loco Slam" and in 1998 he hosted "Funny is Funny!" on Galavision. Mencia released a comedy album in 2000 called "Take a Joke, America" that showcased his brand of confrontational humor.
Mencia continued his journey up the comedy ladder by headlining "The Three Amigos" tour with Freddy Soto and Pablo Francisco in 2002, which sold out in record time around the United States. He was also featured in the independent films, "Outta Time" and "29 Palms" and starred in guest spots on "The Shield" and "The Bernie Mac Show," among others. In 2002, he received a CableACE Award nomination for Best Stand-Up Comedy Special for his HBO special. That same year, Mencia was featured on "Comedy Central Presents." Mencia remained busy and after the success of his solo dvd, "Carlos Mencia: Not For The Easily Offended," "Mind of Mencia" went into development. The show was an instant hit and after the first season, Comedy Central signed Mencia back for his own original stand-up special, "Carlos Mencia: No Strings Attached." The special was the first Comedy Central Stand-up Special DVD to achieve Platinum sales status.
"Mind of Mencia" debuted on Comedy Central in early 2005. It became one of the strongest shows in the network's history, averaging about 1.5 million total viewers. "Mind of Mencia" was executive produced by Carlos Mencia and Robert Morton ("Late Night with David Letterman").
In the summer of 2007, Mencia starred opposite Ben Stiller and Michelle Monaghan in the Farrelly Brothers' hit feature film, THE HEARTBREAK KID (DreamWorks). In the fall of that year Mencia headlined a nationwide comedy tour titled "Carlos Mencia Live Presented by Bud Light." The highly anticipated tour brought Mencia face-to-face with his fans from September 2007 through December 2007. Shortly thereafter, Mencia taped a new comedy special for Comedy Central, "Carlos Mencia: Performance Enhanced," that aired in May 2008.
In July 2008, Mencia began his tour, "At Close Range" at Red Rock Amphitheatre in Colorado. The tour was sponsored by Bud Light and co-promoted by Icon Entertainment and Live Nation. Larger than all of his previous tours, Mencia performed in 80 cities across the country. In the summer of 2009, he kicked off a new nationwide comedy tour entitled "The Administration of Laughter" which currently brings him to excited audiences all around the country.
Since 2007, every holiday season Mencia has embarked on a USO Tour to the Persian Gulf to entertain the troops serving overseas. For his 2008 trip, Mencia visited Kuwait to host "Operation MySpace," an exclusive concert for American Troops in the Middle East alongside Jessica Simpson and The Pussycat Dolls. The special aired on FX in April 2008. Mencia's 2009 USO tour had stops in Turkey, Kirkuk, Baghdad, Qatar, Afghanistan, and many other countries.
Mencia filmed the FOX Searchlight comedy OUR FAMILY WEDDING in which he stars alongside America Ferrara and Forrest Whitaker. The film was released to theatres nationwide on March 12th, 2010. As evident by his many projects, Mencia's career is continually flourishing, making him one of Hollywood's most sought after talents to date!
Carlos Mencia presently lives in Los Angeles with his wife and their son.