Guests for the Week of February 16

Monday

Nicole Pence

Nicole Pence is an Emmy-nominated journalist living in Central Indiana.

Pence joined FOX59 in June 2014 to help launch a brand new newscast, “FOX59 NewsPoint at 11PM.”

The NATAS Lower Great Lakes chapter nominated Pence for an Emmy award for her work as a broadcast anchor in April of 2014.

Before coming to FOX59, Pence solo anchored Indianapolis’ number-one rated weekend morning program, Weekend Sunrise on WTHR. Pence helped to increase ratings nearly twenty percent year to year. Pence left WTHR in November of 2013.

Previously, Pence was nominated for a 2010 regional Emmy Award for her work at WLEX-TV in Lexington, Kentucky as the main morning co-anchor. Pence also received second-place honors as “Best News Anchor” in the 2011 Kentucky Associated Press Awards.

Prior to working at LEX-18, Pence reported for Indiana’s NewsCenter (NBC/ABC/CW) in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

A midwestern girl, Pence grew up in Columbus, Indiana. She graduated Cum Laude from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana with a double major in Communication Arts & Sciences and Spanish and a minor in Political Science. She also earned her Master’s of Public Affairs (MPA) from Indiana University-Purdue University at the School of Public and Environmental Affairs Indianapolis with high honors. Pence is married.

In her spare time, Pence loves to travel. She lived with a family in Segovia, Spain, studied cooking in Italy, climbed the Great Wall in Beijing, China, crawled through the Pyramids in Cairo, Egypt, and tangoed in Argentina!

Pence is involved with several Central Indiana organizations, including Make-A-Wish, Pacers Cares, and the DePauw University Alumni Association. Follow her on twitter.

Pat McAfee

Pat McAfee is Number 1 on the field as the punter for the Colts, and he is number one in the hearts of sports fans in Indianapolis. Well, at least he’s in the top 10. Drafted in 2009 out of West Virginia University, McAfee has not only been an important part of the Colts specials teams (and emergency QB if needed), he’s also become one of the faces of the franchise off the field. Follow Pat on twitter. Check out the Pat McAfee Foundation.

Matt Kirshen

London born Matt Kirshen’s precision wit has earned him an impressive reputation on the international comedy circuit. Most recently his appearances on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Paul Provenza’s Green Room, and as a finalist on NBC’s Last Comic Standing has earned him a whole new host of fans in the United States and a surprising number of other countries worldwide. 

He has also recorded a half-hour special for the World Stands Up, Comedy Central, and has acclaimed festival appearances at Montreal, Edinburgh, Kilkenny, Glastonbury, Reading, Leeds, Bermuda, and Amsterdam. 

His debut CD, “I Guess We’ll Never Know” was named in Punchline Magazine’s top 10 albums of 2009 and his hit appearance at the 2008 Just For Laughs festival in Montreal resulted in no fewer than 4 of his gags appearing in the Montreal Gazette’s round up of their best jokes of the fest. 

Matt has appeared in and written for numerous television shows in the UK, including a charity gala featuring Jimmy Fallon, which resulted in Jimmy himself requesting Matt to open for him in a college tour to promote his new Late Night hosting slot. 

His youthful looks disguise a veteran comic with almost a decade of experience, and a wealth of smart, funny and relatable material, making him a firm favorite with college audiences. While it’s his prime-time NBC appearances that most American comedy fans will recognize him from, they are often surprised at the breadth and scope of his material, described by one reviewer as “intelligent, but with the emphasis firmly on the funny.”  Visit his website here. Follow him on twitter here.

Tuesday

James Hinchcliffe

James Hinchcliffe is the “Mayor of Hinchtown,” which is his Internet city that welcomes everyone to visit.

Hinchcliffe, of Toronto, likes long walks on the beach, flannel shirts, maple syrup and dog sled racing. “I am also a competitive lumber jack in my spare time,” he jokes. As you can tell, Hinchcliffe has quite the personality.

He’s also an accomplished race car driver, having finished second in the 2010 Indy Lights championship. In 2011, he was the Sunoco Rookie of the Year in the Verizon IndyCar Series and broke through in the victory column in 2013 with three race wins with Andretti Autosport. He moved to Schmidt Peterson Motorsports for the 2015 season. Visit his website here. Follow his twitter here.

Samantha Bee

Samantha Bee was born and raised in Toronto, Canada and understands that, yes, it’s very clean there. Having no appreciable skill set or professional aspirations, she turned to acting and found it compatible with her lazy lifestyle. She began her career by doing numerous commercial campaigns, as well as participating in the all-female sketch troupe The Atomic Fireballs. A member of The Best F#@king News Team since 2003, Bee currently holds the title of Most Senior Correspondent, having systematically eliminated all those before her. In addition to her work on the show, Bee appears opposite her husband and fellow correspondent, Jason Jones, in the movie “Coopers’ Camera” (2010). She has also appeared in the film “Motherhood” (2009), plus the TV series “Bored to Death” and “Bob’s Burgers.” Bee is the recipient of the 2005 Canadian Comedy Award for “Pretty Funny Female,” but nobody ever thought to send her the statue. When Bee is not working she enjoys photographing her children in foolish outfits and correcting spelling errors on menus. Her “safe word” is “horseballs.”

Jason Jones

Currently a correspondent on the Daily Show, Jason Jones is also a very, very, very . . . very busy actor. His film work is extremely important to him, so he chooses to adopt only the finest roles. His gems include the taut, straight-to-video psychological thriller “After Alice” and the award-winning television masterpiece “Terminal Invasion,” in which aliens in human disguise commandeer a rural airport during a snowstorm. And who could forget the unforgettable 13 minutes of screen time Jason had in the SciFi Channel’s original film “Webs,” when his character (Junior) and a local team of wacky electricians, led by Sir Richard Greico, teleport to a parallel universe where human-looking alien spiders run amok? But beyond all the glitz and glamour of those prestigious projects, Jason is most proud of the trilogy of “based on a true story” films from which he has been cut: “America’s Prince: The JFK Jr. Story,” “All-American Girl: The Mary Kay Letourneau Story” and, most recently, the Meg Ryan box ofice bonanza “Against the Ropes: The Jackie Kallen Story,” in which he shared absolutely no screen time with Meg Ryan.

After film comes TV, and boy has Jason been around the block. He has appeared on lots of shows that feature prominent actors who have won lots of awards. He was featured on the soap opera where all the men still have moustaches and he was on that show where the queer folk had all the gay sex. Most recently, he hosted an extreme crafting game show on an upper digital-cable channel. 168, I think. Dunno, could be higher.

Originally from Canada, Jason has appeared in countless Canadian projects you’ve never heard of, and if he started to describe them, you’d immediately fall asleep. Suffice it to say, a few of them had to do with Mounties, Saskatchewan and the plight of the mid-18th-century East Coast miner.

Wednesday 

Dave Dugan

Dugans Aren’t Losers is the name of Dave Dugan’s latest comedy tour and  forthcoming CD, both peppered with Dave’s dry, laidback everyman style that has led to several national television appearances including The Arsenio Hall Show, HBO, COMEDY CENTRAL, FOX, A&E and VH-1.
Dugan’s unique humor and observations have also led to over 200 appearances on the nationally syndicated BOB AND TOM SHOW… (where his portrayal of the mean-spirited, politically incorrect, adult bully Bart McCallister has become a fan favorite.)

In addition to headlining at theaters and clubs around the country, Dave’s ability to adapt to each audience and customize content to best fit their industry has made him a highly sought after emcee and corporate comedian. An award-winning voice actor, you have likely heard Dave on national commercials such as Bacardi, Erie Insurance, Suzuki, Bass Pro, etc. In addition, he is heard weekly on FOX SPORTS ONE as a voice for NASCAR RACING promos and features. Follow Dave on facebook. Purchase his live comedy at his website.

Thursday

Bil Dwyer

Bil Dwyer began his stand-up comedy career in college at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Il., where he took third place in the “Catch A Rising Star” competition held at the University. Bil later quietly killed the first and second place winners. 

After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Radio-Television, Bil spent a jobless summer in Carbondale before heading to Los Angeles, CA where he held a variety of jobs, one of them being a tour guide at Universal Studios. Bil studied improvisation at the L.A. Connection where he quickly moved through the ranks before becoming bored. He then took a job at the world famous Improvisation as a host and doorman, where his spark for stand-up comedy was rekindled. The next few years were a blur, as he continued doing stand-up comedy while he also got married and fathered two children with the assistance of his wife, Sara. 

In 1993, Bil booked his first television appearance on MTV’s Comikaze. He later followed this up with bookings on Caroline’s Comedy Hour, Comedy on the Road, and An Evening at the Improv. While auditioning for Star Search (which he didn’t get), Bil was singled out by a casting director to read for a major motion picture. After a grueling series of auditions, he was cast as “Todderbert” in Ski School 2. Though the film and Bil’s performance garnered favorable reviews, he has yet to do another feature film but is now looking at scripts at real actor’s houses. 

Being a dedicated performer, Bil continues to ply his stand-up craft at such Southern California locations as the Improv, Laugh Factory, Luna Park, Largo and the HBO Workspace. 1996 was a busy year for Bil. He won the American Comedy Festival comedy competition in April, booked a national commercial for Boston Market in May (which is still running), and in June, he was scheduled to do Late Night with Conan O’Brien, but on the day of the show was bumped for John Davidson, who apparently is trying to become hip again.

Bil guest starred on HBO’s “Larry Sanders Show” and performed at the 1997 Montreal Just for Laughs Festival.

Mr. Dywer currently resides in Glendale, CA with his wife and two children and lives in a magic Tudor-style house where elves make him a new pair of shoes nightly. Follow him on Twitter.

Friday

Greg Morton

They call our special guest this evening, Mr. Standing O!  He’s known as the ultimate stand up act at clubs, colleges, and theatres across the U.S., Canada, Australia, and The United Kingdom.

He has shared the stage with comedy legends, Dave Chappelle, and Chris Rock!

Sinbad, Howie Mandel, The Muppets, Jimmy J. J. Walker, Bill Maher, and Brad Garrett from ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’.

He has opened for Celine Dione, Dionne Warwick, Harry Connick Jr. and Luther Vandross at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

He regularly headlines at Planet Hollywood, The MGM, and the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City and Las Vegas.

You may recognize  him from his numerous T.V. appearances.  Shows like Premium Blend on Comedy Central, Comics Unleashed and Comedy T.V. with Byron Allen.

He is a four time veteran of the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal and a Youtube sensation with over 4 million hits! Visit his website here. Follow him on Twitter.

Mike Baldwin

“Mike Baldwin simply went out night after night and delivered top notch comedy. His style is instantly likable, entirely personal and it highlights his attention to detail. His material is crisp and perfectly efficient and he supplements that material with subtle but perfect facial expressions and vocal inflections. His dominance in this competition is best expressed this way: He won three of the six nights of his preliminary week. He won five of the six nights of the Semi-Finals. He won four of the five nights of the Finals (and the one night that the judges didnt have him winning, the audience booed the decision and chanted his name.) And, despite his dominance, the other competitors this year couldn’t even be mad at him… not only because Mike is simply really nice but also because Mike is simply really funny.” 
-Peter Greyy, Seattle Comedy Competition Director of Talent​ ​

If you want to have a great time at a comedy show, be sure that Mike Baldwin is performing! He’s considered by many to be one of the smartest, funniest, and most likable comics working the road today. Mike has a clever writing style and a one-of-a-kind delivery that will have audiences rolling with laughter! 

After winning the Trial By Laughter in Indianapolis, becoming a finalist in the San Francisco Comedy Competition, being TWICE named Funniest Comic in Kansas City, winning the 2011 Seattle Comedy Competition, and having his debut album go all the way to #8 on the iTunes US comedy charts, Mike Baldwin has proven that he just might become the next big thing!