D.J. Demers
D.J. Demers | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Spouse | Majalyn Demers (m. December 22, 2018) |
| Children | 2 |
| Comedy career | |
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Medium | |
| Website | djdemers |
D.J. Demers (born 1986) is a Canadian-born stand-up comedian, widely known for appearances on Season 11 of America's Got Talent, numerous late night talk shows, his online stand-up streaming specials, as well as on his 2023-2024 television series One More Time on CBC.[3]
Background
[edit]Born to Don and Joy Demers[1] of Kitchener, Ontario,[3][4] D.J. was diagnosed with hearing loss at age four;[5] without hearing aids, he was considered deaf.[5] Growing up, his parents and older sister helped him with the challenges he faced, including having spare hearing aids on hand.[2] The hearing aids weren't waterproof and would stop functioning if he sweated too much, on the playground or during sports.[2] In his youth, Demers played ice hockey extensively.
As a teenager, Demers' mother encouraged him to take a part time job in a used sporting equipment store — to become more comfortable speaking with people.[6] He later graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University with a degree in Business[2][1] and later worked in marketing at a Waterloo, Ontario tech company.[7]
In 2009, Demers applied for and was selected by Richard Branson in a contest for an internship with Virgin Mobile.[7] Each self-submitted homemade entry would outline ways young people could stay afloat in the economic downturn. Suggesting ditching a mobile phone for two tin cans connected by string, Demers' video was Branson's favorite entry.[7]
In approximately 2011, Demers moved to Toronto to further his stand-up career,[1] subsequently moving to Los Angeles. Demers is married, with two children.[5]
Career
[edit]Demers began performing comedy in his second year of university, making his first comedy club appearance at Yuk Yuk's.[3] He won the 2013 Toronto Comedy Brawl and the Homegrown Comics Competition at the Just for Laughs Festival in 2014, and starred in a 13-segment television series, The D.J. Demers Show for AMI-tv. He won a Canadian Comedy Award for Best Breakout Artist in 2015.[8]
He appeared on America's Got Talent in 2016,[8] advancing to the Judge Cuts round but not making it to the live shows.[9] In 2017 he appeared on Conan,[10] and undertook a comedy tour of university and college campuses across the United States sponsored by hearing aid manufacturer Phonak.[9] He has also appeared on episodes of the CBC Radio comedy series The Debaters.[11]
He received a Juno Award nomination for Comedy Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2018, for his comedy album Indistinct Chatter.[12]
In 2019 his stand-up comedy special Interpreted was streamed as a Crave original,[13] and he headlined Comedy for a Cause, a stand-up show in Montreal that consisted entirely of comedians with physical disabilities.[14] His second comedy album Uninterpreted, a selection of segments from the Crave special, was also released the same year.
In June 2023, CBC Television greenlit One More Time, a comedy series starring Demers as the manager of a used sporting goods store.[15] The series premiered on CBC in January 2024,[16] After the show,which the Toronto Star called "a love letter to mid-size Canadian cities,"[6] was cancelled after its inaugural season, full episodes remained available on Youtube.[17]
In 2024 and 2025 he hosted two All Access Comedy specials for the Halifax Comedy Festival and AMI-TV.[18]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 "Standup Style, Kitchener Comedian Makes His Mark on 'America's Got Talent'". Waterloo Record. June 9, 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 Jeff Hicks (November 19, 2014). "'Its All Good' with D.J. Demers". Waterloo Region Record.
- 1 2 3 "Kitchener-born comedian D.J. Demers needs your votes to become top comic". Kitchener Post, August 10, 2017.
- ↑ Cowper, Janna (2022-05-02). "Talking with Deaf comedian D.J. Demers on World Laughter Day". Hearing Like Me. Retrieved 2022-10-12.
- 1 2 3 Elizabeth Blair (November 26, 2024). "Comic D.J. Demers jokes a lot about hearing loss — but won't be 'the hearing aid guy'". NPR.
- 1 2 Debra Yeo (January 6, 2024). "Turning a High-School Job into a Truly Canadian Sit Com". The Toronto Star.
- 1 2 3 "Laurier Grad Lands Worlds Second Best Job -- Virgin Intern". Waterloo Region Record. June 12, 2009.
- 1 2 "Kitchener comedian makes his mark on ‘America's Got Talent’". Waterloo Region Record, June 8, 2016.
- 1 2 "D.J. Demers kicks off comedy tour at WSU". The Daily Evergreen, October 3, 2017.
- ↑ "D.J. Demers Performs Stand Up on Conan". The Interrobang, July 14, 2017.
- ↑ "Eavesdropping is harmless fun". The Debaters, May 20, 2017.
- ↑ "Arcade Fire and Daniel Caesar lead 2018 Juno Award nominations". CBC Music, February 6, 2018.
- ↑ Ernie Tripper, "Who is On Late Night Tonight in Comedy: Week of November 11, 2019". The Interrobang, November 11, 2019.
- ↑ "Montreal's first fully accessible stand-up comedy show takes the stage". CBC News Montreal, May 28, 2019.
- ↑ Greg David, "CBC unveils 2023-24 programming slate featuring over 40 original series from Canadian storytellers". TV, eh?, June 1, 2023.
- ↑ Debra Yeo, "How hard-of-hearing comedian D.J. Demers turned his high school job into a Canadian sitcom". Toronto Star, January 6, 2024.
- ↑ Alex Nino Gheciu, "Allan Hawco, Snotty Nose Rez Kids among familiar names behind upcoming CBC lineup". Canadian Press, May 24, 2024.
- ↑ "Pluto TV marks one-year anniversary in Canada". Broadcast Dialogue, December 14, 2023.
External links
[edit]| Authority control databases: Artists |
|---|
- Canadian stand-up comedians
- Comedians from Ontario
- Male actors from Kitchener, Ontario
- Living people
- Canadian deaf actors
- 21st-century Canadian comedians
- America's Got Talent contestants
- Canadian male comedians
- Canadian Comedy Award winners
- 1986 births
- 21st-century Canadian male actors
- Canadian male television actors
- Male deaf actors