Celebrity comedian ANT was born in Boston,
Massachusetts, USA. He is an actor, comedian , host, producer and
writer. In July 1993, he legally changed his name to ANT from Anthony
Steven Kalloniatis. The correct orthography is ANT, spelled in all
caps.
Born to Greek immigrant parents (Lee and Maria - whom he talks about
frequently in his stand-up routines), Ant was raised strict Greek
Orthodox. As he entered adulthood he ventured away from strict
Orthodoxy and studied many other religions including Taoism, Hinduism
and even Scientology. ANT believes that he is just a spiritual being
looking for answers.
ANT attended Londonderry High School and the University of New
Hampshire where he was affectionately known as "what's your name
again?" Inebriated at a bar one night, he got up on stage at a local
talent contest and performed a crude stand-up routine for the first
time. He lost. But a seed was planted and he knew comedy was his
calling. College didn't seem to suit his growing fascination with
stand-up comedy, and in 1986 he dropped out of college after only
attending a single semester.
In 1993 he moved to Los Angeles and began performing comedy full time.
It didn't take long for the networks to take notice of him and in 1994,
starred in the Fox Television pilot, "Howe High." From there he went on
to a co-starring role as Barry Wallenstein on the WB series, "Unhappily
Ever After," (Created by Ron Leavitt of Married with Children).
Throughout his career, ANT has appeared on many series and specials
including the remake of To Tell The Truth where he replaced Paula
Poundstone as a regular celebrity panelist. Other shows include;
Tosh.0, America's Next Top Model, The Insider, Kathy Griffin: My life
on the D list, The Jamie Foxx Show, For your love, Son of a beach, Gene
Simmons: Family Jewels, Sweet Valley High, Queer as Folk, Weekends at
the DL, Nightstand, The Dennis Miller Show, But Can They Sing, Steve
Harvey's Big Time, The Tyra Banks show, Comics Unleashed and many
others.
His big opportunity came with NBC's Last Comic Standing. A weekly
reality show featuring stand-up comedians competing to be crowned the
funniest comic in America. Over 10,000 comedians tried out. ANT
advanced all the way to the semi-finals in Las Vegas but did not make
it into the house. The second season, he made it into the house and was
6th runner up out of hundreds of thousands of comedians. Then NBC
ordered a third season of LCS, and the format was changed slightly.
Season one would do battle against season two in LCS: The Battle of the
Best. With ANT's hilarious help season (2) easily bested season one and
went on to win every head to head challenge and ultimately the
competition.
He used that forward momentum parlaying it into a hosting job on the
VH1 series, Celebrity Fit Club. He has been the host of the hit series
for 6 of its 7 unprecedented seasons (no other VH1 series has gone on
to 7 seasons). That year he also released his hit live performance DVD
entitled, "ANT: America's Ready".
In 1997, ANT moved out of his comfort zone, becoming a celebrity
participant on the VH1 series, CelebraCadabra (magic with the stars).
There he revealed a deep rooted fear of clowns. He was eliminated 2nd
when dressed as a grocery store candy aisle; he was mauled by a
rambunctious group of 2nd graders all vying for something sweet. After
his departure from the series, the ratings tumbled and VH1 brought ANT
back in subsequent episodes to appease angry fans.
Over his career, ANT has appeared on numerous occasions on the Tonight
Show with Jay Leno (9 times), The Howard Stern Radio show, and garnered
his own series on MTV Network's Logo Channel which bears his name: The
U.S of ANT.
In features, he can be seen in Twin Falls, Idaho, I am Comic, Circuit,
Angels Baby!, Another Gay Movie, National Lampoon's Totally Baked, The
Underground Comedy Movie (with Michael Clarke Duncan), and Sister Mary.
He has 3 siblings, Andrea, Althea and Frank. In January of 2007 he
signed on to be a Spokesman for the diet company Nutrisystem after
losing 43 pounds on their program. ANT is developing several projects
for television and he continues to tour with his stand-up comedy around
the country. His blog, "The ANT colony" attracts millions of visitors
each year and has enlightened millions more with it's unique mixture of
spirituality and humor.
