Belushi Out, Brady In
March 12, 2014
UT Tyler Office of Marketing and Communications
Belushi Out, Brady In: Whose Line Is It Anyway? Star to Perform at UT Tyler Cowan Center
March 12, 2014
Media Contact: Hannah Buchanan
Editor/Writer–Strategic Communications & Media Relations
Marketing and Communications
The University of Texas at Tyler
903.539.7196 (cell)
March 12, 2014
Media Contact: Beverley Golden
Director
Marketing and Communications
The University of Texas at Tyler
903.566.7303 or 903.330.0495 (cell)
Due to a movie role, Jim Belushi has canceled the Jim Belushi and the Chicago Board of Comedy performance. Improvisation comedian Wayne Brady has been added to the 2013-14 season at The University of Texas at Tyler R. Don Cowan Fine and Performing Arts Center, Susan Thomae-Morphew, Cowan Center executive director, announced.
“I am terribly disappointed to not come to The University of Texas at Tyler, a show that we have been looking forward to this past year,” Belushi said. “A glorious opportunity has presented itself in a wonderful movie script that shoots in Utah this April. It’s a great role, it’s a must-do, it’s an opportunity that if I don’t seize, I feel I will regret for the rest of my career.
“We want to be in Texas and we want to play in Texas. Texans have the best sense of humor and would love our spontaneous improvisational comedy show. I hope the disappointment isn’t too great for all the fans who love comedy and improvisation. I send along my deepest apologies and regrets, and I hope the opportunity for our circles to meet again will soon arise. Thank you for your understanding,” he added.
Brady will take the stage at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 2. Media sponsors are East Texas Radio Group, CBS 19 and Tyler Today.
Tickets for Brady go on sale Monday, March 17. Ticket prices are $62, $52, $47 and $37 and can be purchased at the UT Tyler Cowan Center box office by calling 903.566.7424 or online at www.cowancenter.org. Box office hours are 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
“While it’s unfortunate that we won’t have the pleasure of presenting Jim Belushi, these rare occurances do happen in this industry. The multi-talented and diverse entertainer Wayne Brady, is a wonderful way to wrap up the season with physical comedy enhanced by great music. We have been looking at bringing him for the last couple years and are delighted to make it happen even sooner,” said Thomae-Morphew.
For over a decade, Brady has been entertaining audiences with his acting, improv, singing and dancing on television, film and the stage. He began his career in Orlando, Fla., working for both the Disney World and Universal theme parks.
In 1998, his career took off with Whose Line Is It Anyway? for which he won a 2003 Emmy® Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety, Musical or Comedy Series. Brady went on to host his own syndicated talk/variety show, The Wayne Brady Show, for two years. He picked up two Emmys for Outstanding Talk Show Host, and the show also won an Emmy for Outstanding Talk Show. Brady also hosted Don’t Forget the Lyrics on Fox.
In 2006, he starred in the movie Crossover, and in 2007, he starred in the independent feature The List. Brady was also featured in Fox Searchlight’s Roll Bounce in2005. He provided his voice for the animated feature Foodfight! and most recently stared in Tommy Oliver’s film, 1982, which earned critical acclaim at the Toronto Film Festival. He has guest starred on TV shows including The Dave Chappelle Show, 30 Rock, How I Met Your Mother, Real Husbands of Hollywood and Everybody Hates Chris.
After conquering television and theatre, Brady took on the recording industry and earned a 2008 Grammy® nomination for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance for his single, “A Change is Gonna Come," off his debut musical album A Long Time Coming.
He made a big splash in Las Vegas in 2009 with his hit stage show “Makin’ It Up.” The show was met with critical acclaim and has been heralded as “pure genius,” “hysterically funny” and “amazing.” He has taken the show to venues across the country and overseas to South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and India and is currently on tour in the states.
Brady also released a children’s album entitled Radio Wayne with Disney Records in May 2011, which reached the number one position on iTunes and Amazon Kids’ charts. He is currently working on his third album with a release date set for summer 2014.
Brady can be seen weekdays on CBS as the host of the daytime classic Let’s Make A Deal, for which he’s been nominated three years in a row for a Daytime Emmy for Best Game Show Host. He was recently nominated for his sixth Daytime Emmy. He currently stars on fan favorite Whose Line Is It Anyway? on the CW and last October, reprised his role on CBS’s How I Met Your Mother. Brady is also the voice of Clover the rabbit on Disney Jr.s number one animated series, Sofia the First.
One of the 15 campuses of the UT System, UT Tyler features excellence in teaching, research, artistic performance and community service. More than 80 undergraduate and graduate degrees are available at UT Tyler, which has an enrollment of more than 7,500 high-ability students. UT Tyler offers courses at its campuses in Tyler, Longview and Palestine as well as a location in Houston.