Mohammed Amer

Mohammed "Mo" Mustafa Amer (Arabic: محمد عامر‎; born July 24, 1981) is an American stand-up comedian and writer of Palestinian descent. He is best known for his Netflix comedy special, Mo Amer: The Vagabond, and his role as one third of the comedy trio Allah Made Me Funny. He also starred for two seasons, alongside comedian Ramy Youssef, in the Hulu sitcom Ramy as Ramy's Muslim cousin Mo, who owns a diner.

Mohammed Amer
Amer at a comedy show in Ramallah, Palestine in August 2016
PseudonymMo Amer, Mohammed Najjar
Born (1981-07-24) July 24, 1981
Kuwait
MediumStand-up, Television, Film
NationalityAmerican
Years active1999–present
GenresObservational comedy, Satire, Self-deprecation, Storytelling, Improvisational comedy, Character comedy
Subject(s)Islamic humour, Islamophobia, Political satire, Family, Marriage, Racism, American immigration, Geopolitics, Refugees, Arab culture, Popular culture
Websitewww.moamer.com

Early life

Amer is of Palestinian descent, and the youngest of six children.[1] Amer's father worked as an engineer for the Kuwait Oil Company.[2] In October 1990, at the age of nine, Amer, his sister, Haifa, his brother, and mother fled his birth country of Kuwait during the Gulf War. They emigrated to the United States and settled in Houston, Texas.[3][4]

Two years later; in 1992, Amer's father, a telecom engineer, joined them in the United States. He attended private school at Piney Point Elementary while his older brothers studied overseas.[3][4] His brother Omar is a pilot; another brother, Amer (who later changed the family name to Najjar), has a PhD in biochemistry.[5] In 1995, when Amer was 14 years old, his father died.[3]

Career

Amer's elder brother took him to see Bill Cosby perform at the Houston Astrodome when he was 10 years old.[2] At the age of 14, Amer discovered stand-up comedy at a Texas rodeo.[6][7]

After the death of his father, Amer started playing truant and taking unsanctioned trips to Mexico with his friends.[2] An English teacher made a deal with Amer that if he performed a monologue from William Shakespeare in front of her class, she would reinstate his grade before his truancy began and allow him to try comedy in front of the class every Friday. Amer graduated and focused on his passion.[2] He then participated in and had leading roles in high school theatre, and started performing stand-up comedy[8][9] by impersonating family members[10] and developed it over a few years in the comedy club scene.[11] Amer performed at Houston's comedy clubs as often as possible to refine his act while working a day job at a flag manufacturing company owned by a family friend.[2]

In June 1999,[4] Amer entered Houston's Funniest Person Contest and made the finals. There another comedian directed him to The Comedy Showcase as the best guided comedy room. The owner of The Comedy Showcase, Danny Martinez, mentored and taught him about stand-up.[12] At the age of 19, he was being flown out to play to US troops stationed abroad.[3] becoming the first and only Arab-American refugee comic to perform for US and coalition troops overseas.[13]

Amer has performed tours in over 27 countries on five continents, including Germany, Italy, Sicily, Japan, Korea and Bahrain, as well as with other Muslim comedians Preacher Moss and Azhar Usman in the Allah Made Me Funny comedy tour since 2006.[14]

In 2004, he performed at The Comedy Festival in Las Vegas, Nevada.[8][10]

In April 2007, he performed at the Islamic Relief Evening of Inspiration event[15] at the Royal Albert Hall organised by Islamic Relief.[16]

In July 2008, he performed at the Islam Expo in Olympia, London.[17] In October 2008, he performed at the Global Peace and Unity Event in the ExCeL Exhibition Centre in London organised by Islam Channel.[11][18]

As well as with Allah Made Me Funny, Amer has performed at sold-out shows worldwide, including Royal Albert Hall and Hammersmith Apollo (London), Acer Arena (Sydney), Nelson Mandela Theatre (Johannesburg), Shrine Auditorium (Los Angeles), as well as the Malmö Arts Festival (Sweden), the Amman Stand-up Comedy Festival (Jordan), and the World's Funniest Island Festival (Australia).[13]

Amer has been interviewed on television and radio, including on NPR, BBC, and CNN.[13] He has appeared on television, starred in an independent films, and has been interviewed by over 100 major world media outlets, including The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and The Guardian. He was also featured on Al-Bernameg with Bassem Youssef (The Daily Show of Egypt) as the only Arab-American comedian to appear on the show.[19]

In June 2013, Amer featured on an interfaith special, What's So Funny About Religion?, which was broadcast on the CBS Television Network.[20]

Amer developed his first solo feature-length documentary-comedy special, working with long-time standup collaborator Azhar Usman, co-produced through their jointly owned production entity, Kalijaga Media LLC.[13][19][21] On May 3, 2015, Amer recorded his one-hour special, Legally Homeless, at the Warner Theatre[2] presented by Live Nation Comedy.[22] He became the first Arab-American to star in his own nationally televised one-hour stand-up special.[6][7][23] The show's title is derived from the fact that Amer has traveled to more than 20 countries without a passport, and straddled multiple cultures while growing up in the U.S. Legally Homeless includes appearances by Azhar Usman, Bassem Youssef, Hasan Minhaj, Ramy Youssef, and independent rapper Brother Ali.[21]

From August 10–13, 2015, Amer joined Bob Alper and Ahmed Ahmed for four nights of comedy in Ramallah, West Bank.[24]

Amer also has co-written an original feature screenplay with award-winning filmmaker Iman Zawahry and longtime stand-up collaborator Azhar Usman.[13][19]

In October 2015, Amer began touring with and opening for Dave Chappelle regularly across the U.S.[25]

In March 2017, Amer made his U.S. network television debut on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.[26]

In 2018, Amer joined the cast of the Hulu show Ramy, starring Ramy Youssef, where he plays Ramy's cousin Mo, who owns and operates a diner, where many of the show's characters congregate. Amer is currently in the second season of Ramy.

Amer filmed his first Netflix comedy special on June 27, 2018 at Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas.[27] It was released as Mo Amer: The Vagabond on Netflix in 2018.[28]

Comedy style

Amer's work promotes art and understanding between the diverse cultures of the world, and his ethnic and family background situates him to speak about the problems of religion, terror, and current politics of—through the lens of personal stories about his family and himself.[13] He talks about his Palestinian background,[29] family histories and growing up American.[30]

Personal life

Amer lives in Los Angeles, California with his Mexican American wife, and step-daughter.[31]

In 2009, Amer became a U.S. citizen which enabled him to travel to Amman, Jordan and visit family he had not seen for almost 20 years.[4] He also returned to Kuwait and Baghdad for the first time since his family fled.[3]

gollark: Most of the planes I've been on have only had "normal" seating as far as I could tell. Those have mostly been shortish journeys around Europe, so that might be why.
gollark: BTW I use ArchThe AUR is very nice, it still seems to have lots of available binary packages, and it's pretty lightweight.
gollark: Lunar colonization!
gollark: No, that just means it's physically connected so your computer can exchange data with it.
gollark: Virtual use. Basically, attaching its contents to your filesystem.

See also

References
  1. Donadoni, Serena (2008). "Comedy With a Mission". Dispatches. The Cinema Girl. Archived from the original on August 30, 2011. Retrieved September 25, 2011.
  2. Althoff, Eric (April 29, 2015). "Arab-American comedian breaks down stereotypes". The Washington Times. Washington. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  3. Khan, Yasmeen (March 27, 2009). "Mo Amer: an Arab-American standup in Texas". The Guardian. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
  4. Bahmani, Al (December 31, 2012). "Mo Amer: Comic Ambassador". Houston: Comedy Scene in Houston. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  5. Judell, Brandon (October 4, 2008). "Getting Jocular with Muslims". Spiritual Practice. Archived from the original on June 22, 2018. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  6. Dahler, Don; Zingaro, Dina; Banerji, Suvro (August 1, 2015). "Arab-American comedian breaks down stereotypes". CBS News. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  7. "Arab-American comedian breaks down stereotypes". Observer Chronicle. August 2, 2015. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  8. "Biography". Legally Homeless :: Trials of a Refugee. Retrieved September 9, 2011.
  9. "Comedian-Mo-Amer". Neon Entertainment. Archived from the original on July 18, 2016. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
  10. "Mo Amer". Rooftop Comedy. Archived from the original on March 22, 2014. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
  11. "Performers". Global Peace and Unity Event 2008. October 2008. Archived from the original on September 14, 2010. Retrieved September 28, 2011. Mo Amer
  12. "Mo Amer". Campus Activities Magazine. April 2012. Retrieved January 1, 2012.
  13. "Biography". MuslimFest. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
  14. "Performers". Allah Made Me Funny. Archived from the original on September 30, 2011. Retrieved August 28, 2011. Mo Amer
  15. "Evening of Inspiration 2007 Flyer". Islamic Relief. February 26, 2007. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  16. "News Concert Schedule 2006–07". Awakening Entertainment. Archived from the original on March 27, 2012. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  17. "Attractions – IslamExpo – 11–14 July 2008 – Olympia, London". IslamExpo. July 2007. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2013. Mo Amer
  18. "Biography". Mo Amer's Official Website. Retrieved August 28, 2011.
  19. "MOCAfest Alumni Spotlight: Comedian Mo Amer". Aquila Style. July 21, 2015. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  20. "CBS Airs What's So Funny About Religion?". Muslim Entertainment. July 1, 2013. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  21. "Palestinian-American Comic Mo Amer to Bring LEGALLY HOMELESS to D.C., 5/3". Broadway World. April 3, 2015. p. 2. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  22. "Palestinian-American Comic Mo Amer to Bring LEGALLY HOMELESS to D.C., 5/3". Broadway World. April 3, 2015. p. 1. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  23. "US Comedian: Prophet Had Great Sense of Humor". OnIslam. August 2, 2015. Archived from the original on October 10, 2015. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  24. Johnson, Richard (July 24, 2015). "Jews and Arabs laugh together". New York: Page Six. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  25. Barnes, Steve (October 4, 2015). "Review: Dave Chappelle @ Palace Theatre, 10/4/15". Times Union. Albany, New York. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  26. "UPCOMING GUESTS ON "THE LATE SHOW with STEPHEN COLBERT," 3/3-3/10". CBS Press Express. March 3, 2017. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  27. "MO AMER on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
  28. "Mo Amer: The Vagabond". Netflix Official Site. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  29. Brussat, Frederic; Brussat, Mary Ann. "Film Review: Allah Made Me Funny: Live in Concert". Spiritual Practice. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  30. Fry, Ted (October 3, 2008). ""Allah Made Me Funny": Stand-ups riff on being Muslim in America". The Seattle Times. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  31. "Mohammed "Mo" Amer @ Laff spot". Mohammed Amer. March 25, 2010. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
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