Emo Philips

Emo Philips
Philips in 2018
Born	(1956-02-07) February 7, 1956 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Occupations	Actor stand-up comedian producer writer
Years active	1976–present
Comedy career
Medium	Stand-up
Genres	Black comedy Surreal humor wit word play
Website	emophilips.com

Emo Philips (born Philip Soltanec, February 7, 1956) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, writer, and producer. His stand-up comedy persona makes use of paraprosdokians spoken in a wandering falsetto tone of voice. The confused, childlike delivery of his material produces the intended comic timing in a manner invoking the "wisdom of children" or the idiot savant.

Career

The character of Emo Philips appears as a fidgety, possibly mentally disturbed, nervous but highly intelligent individual. Philips constantly moves throughout the routine, often shifting from sitting to standing positions, wandering from end to end on stage, playing with his hair or clothing, or going as far as to partially undress as he delivers punchlines. His comedy, which is largely self-deprecating and ironic, is often delivered in a modulated falsetto. His look (occasionally described as geeky, disco and vaudeville-inspired), particularly his hair—a 1970s-style bob with straight-lined front fringe—has been a signature part of his appearance and act for most of his career.

Philips has recorded three comedy albums. His album E=mo², recorded live at Caroline's in Manhattan, New York City won the 1985 New Music Award for best comedy album. It was later re-released along with his Live at the Hasty Pudding Theatre album on a single CD. He also released an album called Emo in 2001. A joke of his was voted funniest religious joke ever in a 2005 online poll. In 2006, he appeared at the Newbury Comedy Festival. He was included in the top 50 of E4's 100 Greatest Comedians, and also appeared number 54 on Channel 4's top 100 greatest standups.

Aside from Philips's long career as a standup comic, he has been featured in acting roles on television series such as Miami Vice and The Weird Al Show. In 2006, he appeared on British television, as a guest on the panel game 8 Out of 10 Cats. Philips has several voiceover credits, including work on the animated series Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist; Home Movies; Space Ghost Coast to Coast; Adventure Time as Cuber the mysterious storyteller; and the voice of Dooper in the animated series Slacker Cats. he has also appeared on four episodes of @midnight, in February 2015, April 8, 2016, a 1990s themed episode on September 26, 2016, and the finale episode on August 4, 2017.

He has appeared in feature films including 1989's UHF (as Joe Earley, a rather clumsy school shop teacher who accidentally saws his thumb off) and Desperation Boulevard in 1998. Additionally, he appeared in the original 1992 version of Meet the Parents (also executive producer) and was an associate producer of the 2000 remake.

Around 2001, Philips began to appear more often after a hiatus in the 1990s. His look was drastically altered, appearing more "new millennium" rather than his signature bob and 1970s casual disco look. Now embracing salt & pepper spiked up gray hair and dressed in black active sportswear, Philips delivered the same comedy routine but with a much more subdued persona. Though still fidgety, he no longer carried random props or undressed himself as he was used to doing. Like most of the Reagan era comedians, he felt the need to adapt to changing times and styles of the flourishing digital age in an effort to stay relevant to younger audiences, particularly later year Generation X and millennials who comprised the majority of college populations during the early part of the 2000s.

Philips only carried that appearance for a few years, retiring it in 2005 and emerging back on the comedy circuit around 2010 with his classic look and persona. He has experienced a considerable resurgence in popularity since then and has been a featured performer at many national comedy tours over the last several years, appearing at the Moontower Comedy Festival in Austin, Texas and appearing frequently on 24/7 Comedy.

"Weird Al" Yankovic and Philips toured together throughout the US in 2018, in Yankovic's Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour, and again in the 2022 iteration. On November 5, 2011, Emo married actress and screenwriter Kipleigh Brown.

Discography

• 1985: E=mo²
• 1987: Live at the Hasty Pudding Theatre
• 2001: Emo
• 2003: E=mo² plus the Entire Live at the Hasty Pudding Theatre

Filmography

Key

†	Denotes films that have not yet been released

Film

Emo Philips' film credits

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1988	Journey to the Center of the Earth	Nimrod	Film debut role
1989	UHF	Joe Earley
1992	Meet the Parents	Video Store Employee	Independent film Also executive producer and writer of title theme song
1992	The Can Man	The Can Man	Short film
1995	The Fan	—	Screenwriter Direct-to-video
1998	Desperation Boulevard	—
2000	Meet the Parents	—	Associate producer Remake of the 1992 film
2005	The Aristocrats	Himself	Documentary
2006	Relative Strangers	Guest at Hoedown
2008	The Seventh Python	Himself	Documentary
2014	Rise of the Kitchen Appliances	Blender	Voice role Short film
2015	American Dirtbags	Gundealer's Brother-in-Law
2017	Dying Laughing	Himself	Documentary
2020	Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe	Meeks Servant	Voice role
2022	Weird: The Al Yankovic Story	Salvador Dalí
TBA	Stalking Emo †	Himself	Post-Production
TBA	Under the Smogberry Trees †	Himself	Post-Production

Television

Emo Philips' television credits

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1984—89	Late Night with David Letterman	Himself	Episode: "Dated 25 September 1984"
1985	Miami Vice	Rat Race Contestant	Episode: "Phil the Shill"
1986	The Bob Monkhouse Show	Himself	Episode: "#3.6"
1987	Emo Philips Live! at the Hasty Pudding Theatre	Himself	Television special
1987	Stand-Up America	Himself	1 episode
1987	The Max Headroom Show	Himself	Episode: "#1.5"
1987	The Secret Policeman's Third Ball	Himself	Television special
1987	Showtime at the Apollo	Himself	Episode: "#1.7"
1988	Saturday Live (British TV programme)	Himself	Episode: "#3.5"
1988	Howard Stern's Negligeé and Underpants Party	Himself	Television film
1988	2nd Annual American Comedy Awards	Himself	Television special
1989	The Hippodrome Show	Himself	Episode: "#1.5"
1989—90	The Arsenio Hall Show	Himself	Episode: "9 February 1990"
1990	The Lowdown	Himself	Episode: "Making People Laugh"
1990	Emo Philips: Comedian and Mammal	Himself	Television special
1991	Molson Canadian Comedy Releaf	Himself	Television special
1991	Amnesty International's Big 30	Himself	Television special
1995—96	Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist	Emo	Voice role 2 episodes
1997	The Weird Al Show	Dr. Philips / The Slawmeister	2 episodes
1998	Space Ghost Coast to Coast	Himself	Episode: "Curses"
1999	Behind the Music	Himself	Episode: "Weird Al Yankovic"
1999—2004	Home Movies	Shannon	Voice role 3 episodes
2001	Late Show with David Letterman	Himself	Episode: "October 5, 2001"
2002	Late Friday	Himself	Episode: "#2.12"
2004	The World Stands Up	Himself	Episode: "#1.2"
2004—05	Late Night with Conan O'Brien	Himself	2 episodes
2005	Just for Laughs	Himself	2 episodes
2006	8 Out of 10 Cats	Himself	Episode: "#3.7"
2007	Scott Bateman Presents	Himself	Episode: "One"
2007	100 Greatest Stand-Ups	Himself	Television special
2007—09	Slacker Cats	Dooper	Voice role 10 episodes
2010	Iron Core Talk	Himself	1 episode
2012—16	Adventure Time	Cuber / Flour Demon	Voice role 6 episodes
2014	Review	Georgie	Episode: "Revenge; Getting Rich; Aching"
2014	TripTank	Karl	Voice role
2016	Funny as Hell	Himself	Episode: "#6.6"
2016—17	@midnight	Himself	3 episodes
2017	Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom	—	Writer Episode: "Welcome to Ben's Palace"
2017	SXSW Comedy with Natasha Leggero: Part 2	Himself	Television special
2017—19	Welcome to the Wayne	Dennis O'Bannon	Voice role 6 episodes
2018	Hunky Boys Go Ding-Dong	Cecil	Television film
2019	Le Lineup du Bordel	Himself	2 episodes
2019	Crashing	Himself	Episode: "The Viewing Party"
2019	Vendors	Len	Television film

Video games

Emo Philips' video game credits

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2015	Adventure Time: Finn & Jake Investigations	Cuber	Voice role

Music videos

Emo Philips' music video credits

Year	Song	Artist	Notes
1999	"It's All About the Pentiums"	'Weird Al' Yankovic	Directed by 'Weird Al' Yankovic

External links

• Emo Philips at IMDb
• 1988 KCRW radio interview "Bob Claster's Funny Stuff" with performance excerpts