Mo Alexander (born November 7, 1970)[1] is an American stand-up comedian and actor originally from Memphis, Tennessee. He has been headlining in comedy clubs and festivals since the mid-1990s. He has released six comedy albums, including 2022's Mo' Possum Blues on Stand Up! Records.
Donnie Snow of the Memphis Commercial Appeal called him "as funny and fearless a stand-up as the Mid- South ever produced."[2]
Early life
Alexander was born in south Memphis, near Stax Records, and raised by his mother (a grade-school teacher) and his grandmother.[3][4][5][6][7] He grew up Catholic and attended Memphis Catholic Middle and High School; he later described himself as a "computer/theater nerd who also played sports", including performing as a cheerleader and school mascot.[5][3] He attended the University of Memphis as a physics major and theater minor.[5][3][4]
Katie Murawski of Yes! Weekly called Alexander "a legend amongst national touring comics."[10] The Memphis Flyer's annual Best of Memphis poll named Alexander one of the top comedians in the city four times.[11][12][13][14]
He performed at his first open mic in 1993, at age 22. He became a full-time professional touring comic in 1996 after his grandmother died, and he decided to leave Memphis and go on the road for six months.[15][16][5][4][17] In 1999, he was asked by Keenen Ivory Wayans to be his touring opener after impressing Wayans by roasting him in the green room.[18][15] He has also opened for Dave Chappelle, Brian Regan, Chris Rock, Dom Irrera, and Tommy Davidson.[19][20][5] In 2003 he was given his own Las Vegas show, "The Mo Funny Show", at the Casino Royale, which ran for six months.[9][21][22][23][15] He has appeared on the syndicated radio shows The Bob & Tom Show and Mancow's Morning Madhouse,[24] and has done comedy sets at both a furniture store and a nudist colony.[5]
He was a semifinalist in the San Francisco Comedy Competition in 2012,[25] and the Seattle International Comedy Competition in 2016.[26] He has also headlined at comedy festivals including the Asheville Comedy Fest,[18] Altercation Comedy Festival,[27] Hopkins Comedy Festival, Memphis Comedy Festival,[23] and North Carolina Comedy Festival.[10][24][9]
Recordings
Alexander has released six comedy albums.
In 2015, Alexander developed blood clots in his heart and was pronounced clinically dead twice; he claims that he had a near-death experience in which he heard the chorus to The Notorious B.I.G.'s "Big Poppa".[4] He spent 78 days in the hospital. The experience became the nucleus of his 2016 album Got Clots.[28]
After self-releasing his earlier albums, Alexander signed with Dan Schlissel's Stand Up! Records in 2019.[29] His 2022 album Mo' Possum Blues, his first for Stand Up!, was also the first comedy album ever recorded in Memphis' historic Sun Studios. The sessions were taped live in front of an audience of about 60 people.[30][5] The label also released a seven-inch single of Alexander's blues song "Possum Blues". The album debuted at No. 1 on the iTunes and Amazon comedy charts.[15][8]Mo' Possum Blues takes its title from Alexander's unusual pets—he has taken in several semidomesticated opossums that have been injured and can no longer safely live in the wild. One is featured on the album cover.[31][8]
He played both a shriner and the shriner's wife in the video for the Ray Stevens song "Shriner's Convention", which appeared in Stevens' 1995 movie Get Serious.[35]
Discography
Mo Files (2000)
Evolution (2006)
Nappy Headed Hoes and Other FCC Infractions (2008)
^ abcdefghijCatherine Sundt (March 30, 2020). "Episode 2: Mo Alexander". Memphis Famous Podcast (Podcast). OAM Network. Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
^Justin, Neal (2018-01-07). "The new comedy circuit: Podcasts and social media are driving a golden age for stand-up comics". Star Tribune. Minneapolis. p. E1.
^ abBarbazon, Angelle (2014-04-01). "Comedian who has opened for Chris Rock, Keenen Ivory Wayans coming to Elkhart". The Elkhart Truth. Elkhart, Indiana.
