Jim Norton

Paid Regular Class of 2024

Jim Norton grew up in suburban New Jersey. Norton claims to have known he wanted to be a comic since he was 12, when he idolized Richard Pryor.

His mother was a librarian and his father a postal worker for the military. Norton describes his childhood as relatively positive, but eventually low self-esteem led him to begin drinking alcohol to excess at an early age.

At age 18, Jim Norton attempted suicide by slitting his wrist. He describes the attempt as more attention-getting than serious. Subsequently, he went to rehab for alcohol abuse. He completed the program and has maintained his sobriety until today.

After rehab, Norton completed his GED as he had missed his high school graduation. While living with his parents, he got a job in a warehouse working a forklift.

In 1989, Norton started to pursue stand-up comedy, attending an open mics. His first was at central Jersey's Varsity Pub, which would become a frequent haunt. Norton was afraid of performing and would often wish that shows would be cancelled so he wouldn't have to go on stage.

Jim Florentine, another comic of the "cringe" school, got Norton his first paying gig as a stand-up. The comics became fast friends and later, roommates. Occasionally they collaborate today, recently for the web portal Super Deluxe with the series "Good Side Of Bad News."

While performing in Los Angeles, Norton met Andrew Dice Clay. Clay took a shine to the younger Norton and ask him to fill in when Clay's opening act dropped out at the last minute. Norton began to tour with Clay regularly.

A trait of Norton's comedy is an unflinching honesty about his sexual behavior. Norton admits to having sex with escorts frequently - occasionally even suggesting that he's paid girls to use him as a toilet. Norton currently is in a relationship and has said he does not frequent prostitutes any more.

Jim Norton was a frequent guest on Tough Crowd, a late night roundtable show with Colin Qunn as host and moderator. Norton was well suited the format, where comics such as Patrice O'Neal and Nick Di Paolo would crack on each other as they discussed the issues of the day.

During the second season of the NBC reality show Last Comic Standing, Jim Norton reached the semi-finals. He ultimately had to drop out of the contest due to a prior commitment to MTV.

Jim Norton is a fixture on the Opie and Anthony Show, often appearing on the show three or four times a week when he's not on the road performing stand-up comedy. Norton credits a good deal of his success to the radio hosts and has pointed them out in the crowd during both of his HBO specials. In 2006, he helped coordinate the "Opie and Anthony's Traveling Virus Comedy Tour" bringing together comics such as Bill Burr, Rich Vos and Bob Saget. Norton headlined several of the dates.

In 2007, Norton published his first book entitled "Happy Endings: The Tales of a Meaty-Breasted Zilch." The book rose to #4 of the New York Times Non-Fiction Bestseller List, above former Vice President Al Gore's book, much to Jim Norton's amusement. The foreword was written by fellow comic Colin Quinn.

Later that year, Norton created his first one-hour special for HBO entitled "Monster Rain." The title for the special comes from a game he would play as a pre-pubescent boy with his friend where they would yell "Monster Rain" and then hide under a porch and trade blowjobs with each other. He taped the special at The Lincoln Theatre in Washington, DC.

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