Argus Hamilton | |
|---|---|
 Lord Argus Hamilton | |
| Born | Argus James Hamilton III1 Poteau, Oklahoma, United States |
| Comedy career | |
| Years active | 1980–present |
| Medium | Stand-up, television, writing |
| Genres | Character comedy, observational comedy, wit, satire, political satire, black comedy, sarcasm |
| Subjects | American culture, American English, everyday life, philosophy, human behavior, American politics, religion, psychology, pop culture, family |
| Website | http://www.argushamilton.com/argus.htm |
Argus Hamilton is an American stand-up comedian, writer, and host of The Comedy Store Tonight starring Argus Hamilton.234 Hamilton began his stand-up comedy career at The Comedy Store.5 His specialty was comments on the news of the day.6
Robin Williams called him "the Will Rogers of the Baby Boom".16
Biography
The son of Dr. Argus James Hamilton, whose Hamilton ancestors arrived in South Carolina after losing the English Civil Wars,7 Hamilton is the son, grandson, and great-grandson of Methodist ministers,16 He has called his father “a wonderful man, a terrible golfer and a spellbinding preacher” and quotes him as saying “The church has seen a lot of changes over the last four hundred years, and the Hamiltons have been against every one of them.”7 Hamilton studied at the University of Oklahoma8 and started his career as a stand-up comedian in 1976.6
In the summer of 1979, Hamilton was the first comedian to move into the iconic Cresthill house in Beverly Hills (the house where many comedians from the Comedy Store would crash), and lived there until 1982, when he went into rehab and Thomas F. Wilson took his room in Cresthill.8 During the 1980s, he struggled with addictions to drugs and alcohol.8
Hamilton has made a number of appearances on The Tonight Show910 (some 156 or 20 appearances8) and has written for television series such as The Richard Pryor Show and Laugh-In. Hamilton is also a syndicated comedy columnist.1112 He is the host of The Comedy Store Tonight starring Argus Hamilton, a talk show introducing young comics from the Comedy Store.
References
References
- "Humorist Argus Hamilton – Interviewed by Dr. Bob Blackburn". Rotary Club of Oklahoma City. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
- "Argus Hamilton". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - Zoglin, Richard (January 30, 2008). "Comedy at the Edge Excerpt". Time. Archived from the original on February 7, 2008.
- "Argus Hamilton". All American Speakers. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013.
- Feldman, Dana (November 19, 2012). "Boot camp for tickling funny bone". Chicago Tribune.
- Arnold, Thomas K. (March 21, 1987). "Comedian turns news to laughs". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
- Dr. Argus James Hamilton Jr.: A tribute, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, 2015, accessed May 7, 2026
- Peisner, David (October 21, 2015). "The Mostly True Adventures Of Standup Comedy's Legendary Frat House". BuzzFeed. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
- "Carson, even in retirement, casts long shadow". CNN. May 22, 2002.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - Arnold, Thomas K. (October 3, 1987). "Would-be Comics Try To Beat Down Door To Fame". Los Angeles Times.
- Hamilton, Argus. "The News in Zingers". Jewish World Review.
- "Comedian Hamilton Added To Daily Reporter Line Up". The Daily Reporter. Spencer, Iowa. July 29, 2003. p. 2.