He is an extraordinary entertainer. A quadruple threat. A musical
savant.
SARGE is a film, television and stage entertainer who has performed
worldwide to adoring audiences. His sidesplitting comedy, natural
acting skills, touching vocals and stunning display of dexterity as a
pianist have wowed crowds for decades.
But SARGE's road to success has not been smoothly paved.
He was born in Miami Beach, Florida during the Civil Rights Movement to
a Jewish mother and black father, but given up for adoption soon after
birth. Fortunately, he was quickly adopted by a couple who then raised
him in Great Neck, Long Island. SARGE was brought up by his parents in
a middle to upper middle class environment, attending the best prep
schools in the region. All the while, he lived with some sense of
confusion because his adopted parents raised him in a Jewish household
without much exposure to his black heritage.
This led to some internal conflict as a child and young adult -
feelings he tried to numb with alcohol, drugs and gambling.
He spent part of his young adult life as a homeless man, severely
addicted to several vices, and copping drugs at his hangout under the
Manhattan Bridge in New York City. With a wealth of talent unrealized,
on December 26, 1990, he had an epiphany that would change his life
forever. As strange as it may sound, on that day he made a decision to
commit himself to sobriety - cold turkey - and never looked back.
SARGE has been clean and sober since then, and he has dedicated himself
to assisting others who are facing the same battle by serving as a
mentor for many who are in recovery.
SARGE is also a spokesman and strong supporter of the Sensory
Processing Disorder (SPD) Foundation. In dealing with his son's
developmental challenges, Sarge and his family were led to the STAR
Center in Denver, CO where it was determined that his son has moderate
level Sensory Processing Disorder. SARGE was so inspired by the work
done at the center, as well as The Sensory Processing Disorder
Foundation, that he wanted to help change the world for all of those
affected by the disorder. Knowing that there is a great need for
research funding and centers across the country, SARGE will be
performing at events to benefit the SPD Foundation.
His artistic talents surfaced on his 6th birthday after his parents
took him to see "The Sound of Music" on Broadway. When they returned
home from the show, and without any prompting, SARGE sat down at the
family piano and began to play songs from the show entirely "by ear".
He did this without ever having touched a piano before, and it was at
this point that his parents knew they had something special on their
hands. At the fresh age of seven, SARGE would entertain in between
hands of his grandpa Herman's card games by doing impressions and jokes
on cue. It was also at this time that his grandfather took him to shows
in the Catskill Mountains, which was the live entertainment capital of
New York State at the time.
One night while Don Rickles was killing the crowd, SARGE watched the
audience's reaction to the comedian's barbs and scathing monologue. At
that moment, he set his sights on becoming a professional comedian one
day. Ironically, today he is often compared to Rickles largely due to
his rapid fire, off the cuff style of hilarious observational comedy.
As has been proven hundreds of times, SARGE has the rare ability to
create an uproarious and moving 90-minute comedic performance on the
spot by just walking into a room.
SARGE graduated from the all-boys South Kent School in the spring of
1979 where he received an award for his musical talents while also
lettering in football. He then attended Boston University's School of
Public Communication where he graduated with a concentration in
Advertising and Mass Communication. After a short stint as a talent
representative, the stage was calling and SARGE enrolled at The Lee
Strasberg Theater Institute. From this point forward, he would no
longer represent talent - rather, he would "be" the talent. To make
ends meet, SARGE wrote, produced and performed for FOX's wildly
successful "Best Damn Sports Show Period", as a nationally syndicated
radio host for FOX Sports Radio, and worked extensively for ABC Wide
World of Sports and CBS Sports.
But sometimes when one is at a crossroads, there has to be an "all-in"
proposition. So when "The NFL Today" host Greg Gumbel encouraged him to
"be a comedian, you're too funny, too creative and too bright not to go
for a comedy career", SARGE moved to his best buddy's pull out sofa in
New York to embark on a career in stand-up comedy.
After playing clubs and colleges all over America for three years,
SARGE found himself opening for some of the biggest names in music -
Natalie Cole, Aretha Franklin, Paul Anka, The Beach Boys, The Four
Tops, Taylor Dayne, Donna Summer and Wayne Newton, just to name a few.
These high profile gigs enabled SARGE's act to evolve from a comedy
appearance to an entertainment performance because he learned to weave
his own musical talents into his shows.
SARGE has worked on some of the biggest stages in show business. From
the Big Screen with legends like Garry Marshall to Radio City Music
Hall to Major League Baseball's All-Star Game to entertaining our
nation's troops in Iraq, SARGE's ability to improvise and tailor his
show to specific audiences is uncanny.
He is one of the highest energy, multi-talented acts in show business
today. Not only a hysterical stand-up comedian, SARGE sings in his own
voice and in a dozen others including Harry Connick Jr., Sammy Davis
Jr., Lionel Richie and Stevie Wonder. Additionally, his dead on
impressions of Marv Albert, Mike Tyson, Kermit the Frog and Gilbert
Gottfried leave audiences howling and clamoring for more.
On a recent road trip, SARGE performed three different one-hour shows
for three nights in a row in front of the same audience at a corporate
conference. The crowd was amazed because his material was new for each
show.
Quadruple threats who don't dance are hard to find in show business
today. With his mix of comedy, singing and piano playing, SARGE is a
legitimate quadruple threat and a rare find.
