Gabriel Iglesias

Gabriel Iglesias

Iglesias in June 2008
Birth name Gabriel J. Iglecias
Born (1976-07-15) July 15, 1976
San Diego, California, U.S.
Medium Stand-up, television
Nationality American
Years active 1997–present
Genres Observational comedy, Impressionist, Documentary, satire
Subject(s) Mexican American culture, race relations, obesity jokes, everyday life
Influences Paul Rodriguez, Eddie Murphy, Robin Williams, Bill Cosby[1]
Website Official website

Gabriel J. Iglecias (born July 15, 1976), known professionally as Gabriel Iglesias and comically as Fluffy, is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer and voice actor. He is known for his shows I'm Not Fat… I'm Fluffy and Hot & Fluffy. He employs storytelling, affected voices and sound effects in his act, whose other trademarks include references to his weight and his use of Hawaiian shirts. He has been called a "comedy genius" by Hector Saldaña of the San Antonio Express-News.

Early life

Gabriel Iglesias was born Gabriel J. Iglecias in San Diego, California,[2] the youngest of six children to a single mother.[3] He is of Mexican heritage. His mother placed a letter "c" in his surname in retaliation for his father's absence during his birth, though he does not use this spelling in his everyday life, preferring to use the one with the "s".[2] He grew up in Riverside, Corona, Santa Ana, Baldwin Park, and Compton before settling in Section 8, low-income housing in Long Beach, where Iglesias spent most of his youth.[2][3]

Career

Before going into comedy, Iglesias worked for a cell phone company in Los Angeles. Although his family urged him to remain in that job for its financial security, he insisted on trying his hand at comedy. When maintaining both occupations proved too difficult to handle, he decided in 1997 to take the risk of doing comedy full-time, against the advice of his mother, who cautioned him against such a move. Iglesias nonetheless left the phone company, which eventually resulted in his being evicted from his home and losing his car. Despite this, he persisted with comedy.[3][4]

Iglesias often references his weight in his comedy, often saying, "Oh, I'm not fat, I'm fluffy", a term he says was popular among overweight people in the 1940s, which he decided to use in his act. He also references different "Levels of Fatness" in his act, having once described "Five Levels of Fatness", and eventually adding a sixth, called "Oh, Hell no!" in 2009.[4] He also employs voices, sound effects and storytelling in his act, and his other trademark signatures include his Hawaiian shirts and a "nice-guy veneer".[5]

In 2000, he appeared in season 6 of the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series All That, co-starring with Amanda Bynes and Nick Cannon.[4]

In 2007, Iglesias voiced an entire Mexican family in "Padre de Familia", a sixth season episode of the Fox TV animated comedy Family Guy. That same year, he began voicing a recurring set of identical twin characters on The Emperor's New School, a Disney animated series that he describes as his favorite voice work.[4]

Iglesias was a contestant on the fourth season of reality TV series Last Comic Standing in 2006, surviving elimination to become one of the final eight comics. He was disqualified at that point for having used a smuggled BlackBerry to communicate with family and friends, which violated the rules of the show.[4][6]

In November 2009, Comedy Central released the DVD of the show Gabriel Iglesias: I'm Not Fat... I'm Fluffy.[7]

In 2011, Comedy Central debuted Gabriel Iglesias Presents Stand Up Revolution, a standup showcase series which Iglesias produces and hosts. Hector Saldaña of the San Antonio Express-News praised Iglesias and the other comedian he assembled for the show, calling it "one of the all-time funniest comedy package tours" and Iglesias a "comedy genius".[5]

Iglesias has hosted/co-hosted six episodes of Equals Three, more than any other guest.

Iglesias made a guest appearance on the YouTube show Epic Meal Time in the April 3, 2012 episode "Fast Food Fluffy Cake". [3][8] Later that year he played a strip club DJ and drug dealer in the 2012 film Magic Mike.

Iglesias voiced Ned and Zed in the 2013 DisneyToon Studios film, Planes.[9] In 2014 he voiced characters in the animated films The Nut Job,[10][11] and El Americano: The Movie.[9]

Iglesias is currently featured in the new reality show "Fluffy Breaks Even" which is currently shown on Fuse TV.

Awards and honors

On February 10, 2012, Iglesias was presented with several awards by the city of El Paso, Texas, including the key to the city, a resolution from the El Paso County Commissioners, Congressional Recognition from Congressman Silvestre Reyes, and the Beacon of H.O.P.E Award from the nonprofit organization Operation H.O.P.E, during a luncheon fundraiser that raised an estimated $5,000.[12]

Personal life

Iglesias lives in Whittier, California.[13] In The Fluffy Movie, Iglesias describes how at his heaviest, which he states was 445 pounds (202 kilograms), he was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes, and with his blood sugar spiking to over 300 regularly, was given two years to live by the doctor. He said the shock of being told he had two years to live prompted him to reevaluate how he took care of himself, stating he wanted to be there and take care of his family. Iglesias described the struggle to incorporate a healthier lifestyle, and was told by a specialist that because of his heavy touring schedule, bariatric surgery would not be a viable option for him. Iglesias said that he began incorporating a weight-lifting regimen and DDP Yoga, and his friends on the road kept him honest by making him stick to a high-protein diet, which helped him shed over 100 pounds (45 kilograms).

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2002 Entre vivos y plebeyos Piarta Short film
2003 El Matador Gabe
2004 Days of Santiago Coquero
2006 The Surfer King Aokee
2012 Magic Mike Tobias
2013 Planes Ned
Zed		 Voice
2014 The Nut Job Jimmy[14] Voice
2014 A Haunted House 2 Miguel[15]
2014 The Fluffy Movie Himself[16] Stand-up comedy film
2014 The Book of Life Pepe Rodríguez Voice
2015 Magic Mike XXL Tobias
2016 Norm of the North Pablo and Stan Voice
2016 El Americano: The Movie García[17][18] Voice
2017 Blazing Samurai Chuck Voice
2017 The Nut Job 2 Jimmy Voice

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2000 All That Various Characters
2000 Premium Blend Performer Season 3, Episode 8
2002 My Wife and Kids Nabu Season 2, Episode 17
2003 Comedy Central Presents Himself Stand-up special
2006 Last Comic Standing Himself Contestant
2006–2008 The Emperor's New School Guaca
2007 Live at Gotham Himself Host
2007 Hot and Fluffy Himself Stand-up special
2007 Family Guy Mexican No. 5 Voice
Episode: "Padre de Familia"
2009 Just for Laughs Himself Performer
2009 I'm Not Fat... I'm Fluffy Himself Stand-up special
2011–2014 Gabriel Iglesias Presents Stand Up Revolution Himself Creator, writer, executive producer
2012 The High Fructose Adventures of Annoying Orange Chicken
Krazy Klaus
Mr. Cash and Smash
Mr. Juicy Fun		 Voice
2013 Aloha Fluffy: Parts 1 and 2 Himself Stand-up special
2014-2015 Cristela Alberto Recurring Role
2015 Fluffy Breaks Even Himself Reality series

Discography

References

  1. ↑ King, Scott ( October 6, 2011). "The Laughspin interview with Gabriel Iglesias". Laughspin.
  2. 1 2 3 "Bio". fluffyguy.com. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Gabriel Iglesias takes the stage at The Show for three days". Desert Entertainer.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Duck, Allison (July 23, 2009). "Gabriel Iglesias: fabulously fluffy". Las Vegas Weekly
  5. 1 2 Saldaña, Hector (February 3, 2012). "Review: ‘Gabriel Iglesias Presents Stand Up Revolution’". My San Antonio.
  6. ↑ "NBC's 'Last Comic Standing 4' eliminates three, reveals Top 5 finalists". Reality TV World. July 12, 2006. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
  7. ↑ Gabriel Iglesias: I'm Not Fat... I'm Fluffy. Amazon.com. accessed June 30, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Fast Food Fluffy Cake". Epic Meal Time. April 3, 2012.
  9. 1 2 Waits, Anne (11 December 2013). "Comedian Gabriel Iglesias ready to bring on the laughs". The Augusta Chronicle. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  10. ↑ Bickel, Britt (24 January 2014). "Gabriel Iglesias On His New Animated Movie 'The Nut Job'". Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  11. ↑ Rivera, Zayda (16 January 2014). "Gabriel Iglesias is a fluffy furry friend in 'The Nut Job'". Daily News. New York.
  12. ↑ Hinojosa, Alex (February 10, 2012). "Comedian Gabriel "Fluffy" Iglesias gets key to the city". El Paso Times.
  13. ↑ Gabriel Iglesias. Last Comic Standing. NBC. accessed October 7, 2011. Archived October 29, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  14. ↑ Deanne, Derrick (November 15, 2013). "Go Nuts for New 'Nut Job' Poster, Trailer Coming Monday". Movies.com.
  15. ↑ "Jaime Pressly, Two Others Enter Wayans' A Haunted House 2". ComingSoon.net. August 24, 2013.
  16. ↑ "Open Road Acquires Gabriel Iglesias Comedy Concert Pic". Deadline Hollywood. February 13, 2014.
  17. ↑ Hopewell, John (20 May 2014). "'El Americano 3D' Kicks Off Pre-Sales at Cannes (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety (magazine). Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  18. ↑ Amaya, Mayra (30 April 2014). "'El Americano': The Animated Film You Haven't Heard of… Yet". Rotoscopers. Retrieved 1 May 2014.

External links

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