Ralphie May

From OAPedia.com

== Official Bio ==

Soon Ralphie May will be a regular fixture on VH1 with THREE new reality shows. Currently, he is participating in "Celebrity Fit Club," in which eight celebrities have bravely stepped forward and acknowledged that they've been losing the battle of the bulge. Ralphie, along with celebrities Daniel Baldwin, Kim Coles, Joe Gannascoli ("The Sopranos"), Biz Markie, Judge Mablean Ephriam ("Divorce Court"), Mia Tyler and Wendy the Snapple Lady will endure a Fit Camp to face challenges ranging from belly dancing and ballet to synchronized swimming and limbo. Each week the celebrities must then face the loneliest walk on television. In addition, "The Ralphie & Lahna Show" will debut this year in which he will star with his girlfriend. It can only be described as "Newlyweds" meets "The Osbornes." Lastly, Ralphie will also be the host of a new game show called "Baggin'," in which contestants perform in front of an audience, which determines the winner, with May, well known for his baggin' abilities, cranking up the heat during the face-offs.

Ralphie's popularity exploded after the success of the first season of NBC's hit reality series, "Last Comic Standing," when America thought he was robbed of the winner's title. But, coming in second place has not stopped him from becoming one of the most popular comedians in the country. His first CD and DVD, appropriately titled "Just Correct," have recently gone PLATINUM! Released on February 10th of last year by Melee Entertainment, a division of Dreamworks, the collection has been described as "fresh and very, very funny." The DVD also includes footage of his USO Tour to Iraq where he could be seen swimming in Saddam Hussein's pool.

Known for his hip-hop brand of comedy, Ralphie has his ebonics and quick wit down pat, which has earned him roles in such films as FOR DA LOVE OF MONEY for Urban World Films and GAS for Hat to the Back Productions. Ralphie has worked as an actor, writer and producer on ESPN's Mohr Sports starring Jay Mohr and had four appearances on CBS's The Late Late Show w/ Craig Kilborn as well as eleven appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live. He has been seen on The Man Show and MTV's Bash as well as in guest-starring roles on numerous television shows including NBC's Whoopie. And if that's not enough…. he recently made his first appearance on The Tonight Show w/ Jay Leno in which he received a standing ovation, the first comedian in 10 years to receive this honor.

The New York Times raves, "Ralphie is phenomenal…" The Washington Post describes his comedy style as a "Tour de Force." At the age of seventeen, Ralphie entered a talent show, to which the winner would get to open for Sam Kinison. A dream came true... Ralphie won the contest and after the show, Sam turned to Ralphie and said, "That was the funniest thing I've ever seen in my life."

Weighing in at over 400 pounds, Ralphie doesn't do fat jokes. He isn't a fat comic; he's a comic that happens to be fat. "The best thing that anybody ever said to me after a show was this fat guy who said, 'I was so happy you didn't make fun of us. You made us feel good about ourselves.' I could do a whole hour of fat jokes easy. The challenge is coming up with material anybody could use," he said.

Ralphie rails about the Hollywood bias against overweight people, "It isn't a fat joke… it's a prejudice joke." In his act, he talks about the time he auditioned for the role of a fat person, only to be told he was too overweight. "Too fat to play fat?" And he describes the time he did a showcase for one of the late-night talk shows and they told him he was the best comic of the bunch, but that because of his size he'd never get booked. "Comedy is not about appearance, it's about rockin' a mic," he says. "Are they laughing? That's the only test."

He also apparently saved the b-b-boys jobs during the "Show we can't talk about".