SARGE is an entertainer and musical savant who has performed worldwide to adoring audiences. His sidesplitting comedy, touching vocals and stunning display of dexterity as a pianist have amazed crowds for decades. However, his road to success has not been smoothly paved.

Born in Miami Beach, Florida during the Civil Rights Movement to a Jewish mother and black father, SARGE was given up for adoption soon after birth. Fortunately, he was quickly adopted by a couple who then raised him in Great Neck, Long Island. SARGE was brought up by his parents in a middle-to-upper -middle class environment, attending the best prep schools in the region. All the while, he lived with some sense of confusion as a result of being raised without much exposure to his black heritage. This led to some internal conflict as a child and young adult - feelings he tried to numb with alcohol, drugs and gambling.

SARGE spent part of his young adult life as a homeless man, severely addicted to several vices, and taking drugs at his hangout under the Manhattan Bridge in New York City. Wasting his wealth of talent, on December 26, 1990, he had an epiphany that would change his life forever. As strange as it may sound, on that day he made a decision to commit himself to sobriety - cold turkey - and never looked back. SARGE has been clean and sober since, and has dedicated himself to assisting others who are facing the same battle.

His artistic talents surfaced on his sixth birthday after his parents took him to see "The Sound of Music" on Broadway. When they returned home from the show, and without any prompting, SARGE sat down at the family piano and began to play songs from the show entirely by ear. He did this without ever having touched a piano before, and it was at this point that his parents knew his talents were truly special.

SARGE's childhood was also marked by his grandfather taking him to shows in the Catskill Mountains, which at the time was the live entertainment capital of New York. One night while Don Rickles was killing the crowd, SARGE watched the audience's reaction to the comedian's barbs and scathing monologue. Inspired, he set his sights on becoming a professional comedian one day. Ironically, today he is often compared to Rickles largely due to his rapid fire, off-the-cuff style of hilarious observational comedy. As has been proven hundreds of times, SARGE has the rare ability to create an uproarious and moving 90-minute comedic performance on the spot by just walking into a room.

SARGE graduated from the all-boys South Kent School in the spring of 1979 where he received an award for his musical talents while also lettering in football. He then attended Boston University's School of Public Communication where he graduated with a concentration in advertising and mass communication.

Following a short stint as a talent representative, the stage was calling and SARGE enrolled at

The Lee Strasberg Theater Institute. To make ends meet, SARGE wrote, produced and performed for FOX's wildly successful Best Damn Sports Show Period, as a nationally syndicated radio host for FOX Sports Radio, and worked extensively for ABC's Wide World of Sports and CBS Sports.

When NFL Today host Greg Gumbel encouraged him to “be a comedian, you're too funny, too creative and too bright not to go for a comedy career,” SARGE decided to go “all in” and moved to New York to embark on a career in stand-up comedy. Three years later, he found himself opening for some of the biggest names in music, including Natalie Cole, Aretha Franklin, Paul Anka, The Beach Boys, Donna Summer and Wayne Newton, just to name a few. These high profile gigs enabled SARGE's act to evolve from a comedy appearance to an entertainment performance because he learned to weave his own musical talents into his shows.

SARGE has worked on some of the biggest stages in show business. Performing in venues ranging from Radio City Music Hall to Major League Baseball's All-Star Game to entertaining our nation's troops in Iraq, SARGE's ability to improvise and tailor his show to specific audiences is unparalleled.

Not only a hysterical stand-up comedian, SARGE sings in his own voice and in a dozen others including Harry Connick Jr., Sammy Davis Jr., Lionel Richie and Stevie Wonder. Additionally, his dead-on impressions of Marv Albert, Mike Tyson, Kermit the Frog and Gilbert Gottfried leave audiences howling and clamoring for more. On a recent road trip, SARGE performed three different one-hour shows for three nights in a row in front of the same audience at a corporate conference. The crowd was amazed because his material was new for each show.

With a unique mix of comedy, singing and piano-playing talents, SARGE remains a legitimate triple threat and a rare find in show business today.

Topics

An Evening with SARGE

Comedians, Entertainers, Musical Performance, Bi-racial, Diversity & Inclusion, Black Heritage, College, high profile, Inspirational, Hot Campus Topics, For Diversity Events, Diversity Topics, Celebrity, Comedy, Culture