Adam Cayton-Holland

Adam Cayton-Holland
Adam Cayton-Holland performing live
PseudonymACH
Birth nameAdam Lauren Cayton-Holland
Born (1980-06-02) June 2, 1980 (age 44)
Years active2007–present
GenresAlternative comedy
SpouseKatie Cayton-Holland
Children2
Websiteadamcaytonholland.com

Adam Cayton-Holland (born June 2, 1980) is an American stand-up comedian from Denver, Colorado best known for his work with the comedy trio The Grawlix and their sitcom television series Those Who Can't. Cayton-Holland is also a writer who has been published in numerous regional and national publications; his first book, Tragedy Plus Time: A Tragi-Comic Memoir, received the 2019 Colorado Book Award for Creative Non-Fiction. He is the founder and executive director of High Plains Comedy Festival. As a comic, he is a regular headliner at clubs and colleges throughout the United States and abroad.

Career

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Stand-up comedy

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Adam Cayton-Holland started in stand-up comedy by attending open mics at Denver dive bars in 2003. In 2006, Cayton-Holland competed against nearly 200 other aspiring comedians for Comedy Works' New Talent showcase, and won.[1]

Cayton-Holland was included in Esquires 25 Best New Stand-Up Comedians in 2012.[2] That same year he was invited to the prestigious New Faces competition at Montreal's Just for Laughs Comedy Festival, appeared on the Nerdist podcast, and had a cameo on the ABC show Happy Endings (TV series).[3] Along with his co-horts in The Grawlix, Cayton-Holland was named one of “10 Comics to Watch” by Variety magazine in 2015.[4]

After making his national television stand-up debut on Conan in 2013, he appeared on The Pete Holmes Show in February 2014.[5] He quickly followed that appearance with a repeat trip to South by Southwest where he was featured on the Comedy Bang! Bang! podcast[6] and competed on @midnight against Baron Vaughn and Rove McManus.[7] Cayton-Holland was invited back on @midnight for the September 17, 2014 episode when he competed against Beth Stelling and Nate Bargatze, winning the competition; and returned to the show again for the April 14, 2015 episode, facing Megan Neuringer and Kurt Braunohler.

The Grawlix

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The Grawlix is a comedy trio from Denver, Colorado that includes Cayton-Holland, Ben Roy, and Andrew Orvedahl. The trio produces a monthly show at The Bug Theater in Denver, featuring standup sets from each of the principals and a variety of national guest comedians. Past shows also included regular screenings of their self-entitled web series, which was produced and directed by The Nix brothers.

The trio emerged from "Los Comicos Super Hilariosos," a comedy show created by Cayton-Holland with fellow comedians Greg Baumhauer, Ben Roy, Jim Hickox, and Andrew Orvedahl. During its run, "Los Comicos" welcomed big-name comics like Arj Barker, Maria Bamford, Tig Notaro, and Moshe Kasher. That group eventually dissolved and reformed as The Grawlix in 2011.[8]

Those Who Can't

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In June 2012, The Grawlix teamed with The Nix Brothers to produce a television pilot called Those Who Can't, a sitcom about three inept Denver high school teachers, for Amazon Studios.[9] Amazon initially ordered six additional scripts, but eventually passed on the series. In December 2015, TruTV hired the trio to rewrite and re-film the pilot in December 2014. In February 2015, the network announced and order for 10 episodes of the series.[10] The show ultimately aired on TruTV for three seasons.[11]

The Grawlix Saves the World

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In January 2020, The Grawlix started a podcast, The Grawlix Saves the World. In the fortnightly podcast, the trio presents a series of challenges to one another, hoping to better the world around them by bettering themselves. The podcast is produced by Ron S. Doyle and is part of the Sklarbro Country imprint on the Starburns Audio Network.[12] As of December 2020, 24 episodes and a handful of bonus episodes have been released.[13]

Writer

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Before becoming a comedian, Cayton-Holland was a journalist, working at Denver's alt-weekly Westword from 2003 through 2008. During his time with the alt-weekly, Cayton-Holland was best known for his column "What's So Funny?" and his long-form feature writing.[14]

His writing has appeared in Spin, The Onion's A.V. Club.[15] In late 2013, Cayton-Holland had a piece called "Ghosts I've Known" published in The Atlantic. The essay addressed the painful topic of his younger sister's suicide.[16] Reviewer Michael Wear called it a "haunting," "beautiful," and "heartfelt" "love letter."[17]

Tragedy Plus Time: A Tragi-Comic Memoir

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Cayton-Holland's first book, Tragedy Plus Time: A Tragi-Comic Memoir, was published in August 2018 by Simon & Schuster. The book was a critical success and later was received the 2019 Colorado Book Award for Best Creative Non-Fiction.[18] Asked to describe the book in 50 words or less, Cayton-Holland said, "If you’re expecting a guide to navigating life after grief, this isn’t it. It’s an honest look at mental illness, depression, death and the beautiful relationships between families and siblings — one that lets you know that there is no guide to grief, and that it’s still O.K. to laugh."[19]

Other projects

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High Plains Comedy Festival

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In 2013, Cayton-Holland partnered with Denver producer Andy Juett to launch the High Plains Comedy Festival. In its inaugural year, the Festival ran three days in venues throughout Denver, and featured both local and national talent—including headliner Reggie Watts, Matt Braunger, and Kyle Kinane.[20] High Plains returned to Denver in 2014 with T.J. Miller, Kumail Nanjiani, and Pete Holmes headlining.

Happy Place

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In 2019, Cayton-Holland adapted his book Tragedy Plus Time into a one-man play called Happy Place. He workshopped Happy Place at Buntport Theater in Denver, the Dairy Arts Center in Boulder, and the Moxi Theater in Greeley, in preparation for its official debut at the Montreal Just For Laughs Festival in July 2019. In recognition of his work on the play, Cayton-Holland received the 2019 True West Award from the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.[21]

My Dining Room Table

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From 2013 to 2015, Cayton-Holland produced a biweekly podcast called My Dining Room Table.[22] The central concept of the podcast was Cayton-Holland's loyalty to and love of Denver and his home (hence, the majority of the recordings took place at his actual dining room table), and his subsequent decision to stay in the city rather than move to LA or New York. He interviewed local and national comics and musicians about a variety of topics, but often returned to the core ideas of "home" and "success" while promoting the burgeoning Denver cultural scene.[23]

Personal life

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Cayton-Holland grew up in the neighborhood of Park Hill, Denver. He attended East High School in Denver and Wesleyan University where he majored in film. Cayton-Holland lives with his wife and two sons in Denver, Colorado.[24]

His "twin obsessions" are birdwatching and the Colorado Rockies baseball team.[1] His father has held Rockies season tickets since the team was formed. Before the start of the 2014 season, Cayton-Holland campaigned to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at a Rockies' game. He created buzz on Twitter with the hashtag #ACHFirstPitch, and took the plea national when he talked about it on The Pete Holmes Show.[25] On April 7, 2014, Cayton-Holland got his wish when he threw out the first pitch at a Rockies vs. White Sox game at Coors Field.[26]

Discography

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Comedy specials

  • Dick Jokes for Artists (2008)
  • I Don't Know If I Happy (2013)
  • Backyards (2015)
  • Performs His Signature Bits (2018)
  • Semblance of Normalcy (2020)

Filmography

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Scripted

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Year Title Role Network Notes
2011 Happy Endings Customer ABC Episode: "Baby Steps"
2013 Those Who Can't Loren Payton Amazon Studios Also writer; short film
2013 Five Steps Officer Collins N/A Short film
2016 Deadbeat Gary Hulu Episode: "Bong Pong"
2016 Hidden America with Jonah Ray Eunick Seeso Episode: "Austin: End of the Road"
2016–19 Those Who Can't Loren Payton TruTV Main role; also creator, executive producer, writer

Stand up

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Year Title Network Notes
2008 Dick Jokes for Artists N/A Self-produced comedy special
2013 Conan TBS Episode: "The Day the Mime Stood Still "
2014 The Pete Holmes Show TBS Episode: "Paul Scheer: Interview #1 "
2014 Just for Laughs: All-Access CTV Episode: "Bobby Moynihan & Taran Killam"
2014 The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail Comedy Central 2 episodes
2016 Conan TBS Episode: "Bob Costas/Teresa Palmer/Adam Cayton-Holland"
2017 The Guest List Seeso Episode 2.1
2017 Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents Comedy Central Episode: "Solomon Georgio "
2018 The Late Late Show with James Corden CBS Episode 4.87
2020 The Standup Show with Jon Dore CTV Episode 1.4

Other credits

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Bibliography

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  • Tragedy Plus Time: A Tragi-Comic Memoir, New York: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster, 2009. ISBN 978150117016-4

References

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  1. ^ a b Wenzel, John (June 12, 2011). "Can comedian Adam Cayton-Holland take Denver-based routine national?". Reverb. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  2. ^ Raymond, Adam K. (February 2012). "The Best New Stand-Up Comedians". Esquire. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  3. ^ Warner and Peter McGraw, Joel (July 25, 2012). "Stand-Up Adam Cayton-Holland on Hitting the Comedy Jackpot". Wired. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  4. ^ Debruge, Peter (July 14, 2015). "10 Comics to Watch: The Grawlix Heads to TruTV". Variety. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  5. ^ Miller, Matt (February 19, 2014). "Denver's Adam Cayton-Holland to appear on TBS' "Pete Holmes Show"". Reverb. Archived from the original on May 14, 2014. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  6. ^ Kleinschmidt, Matt (March 11, 2014). "SXSW 2014: Comedy Bang! Bang! still just as absurd as you want it". The Laugh Button. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  7. ^ Simon, Perry Michael (May 1, 2014). "Last Night on @midnight: Adam Cayton-Holland, Baron Vaughn, Rove McManus". Nerdist.com. Archived from the original on May 5, 2014. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  8. ^ Wenzel, John (January 6, 2011). "Brains behind "Los Comicos" launch new comedy show at Avenue Theater". Reverb. Archived from the original on October 19, 2014. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  9. ^ Hesse, Josiah (February 20, 2013). "Even sobriety can't tame comedian Ben Roy's savage humor". Westword. Archived from the original on June 2, 2014. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
  10. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (December 5, 2014). "TruTV Orders 'Those Who Can't' As First Scripted Comedy Pilot". Deadline. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  11. ^ "About Adam". Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  12. ^ Graham, Byron (March 13, 2020). "Solve Existential Problems With The Grawlix Saves the World". Westword. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  13. ^ "The Grawlix Saves The World on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  14. ^ Roberts, Michael (January 6, 2009). "Some required reading by Adam Cayton-Holland". Westword. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  15. ^ News Desk, TV (January 29, 2013). "Adam Cayton-Holland to Make CONAN Debut Tonight". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  16. ^ Cayton-Holland, Adam (December 31, 2013). "Ghosts I've Known". The Atlantic. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  17. ^ Wear, Michael (January 5, 2014). "Michael's Favorite Reads of the Week: The Week of December 29". MichaelRWear.com. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  18. ^ "Colorado Book Awards". coloradohumanities.org. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  19. ^ Williams, John (August 26, 2018). "Grief and Laughter Mingle in 'Tragedy Plus Time'". nytimes.com. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  20. ^ Wenzel, John (August 23, 2013). "Why So Serious, Adam Cayton-Holland and Andy Juett?". Reverb. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  21. ^ Moore, John (November 27, 2019). "2019 True West Award: Adam Cayton-Holland - Denver Center for the Performing Arts". www.denvercenter.org/. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  22. ^ "My Dining Room Table with Adam Cayton-Holland on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. October 7, 2015. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  23. ^ Hesse, Josiah M. (March 18, 2013). "Comedian Adam Cayton-Holland debuts new podcast with Ben Roy interview". Westword. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  24. ^ "The 19th Sketch Fest: The San Francisco Comedy Festival". Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  25. ^ Hochman, Benjamin (March 9, 2014). "Give Cayton-Holland chance to throw out Rockies' first pitch". The Denver Post. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  26. ^ Bergstrom, Richard (April 18, 2014). "Interview – Adam Cayton-Holland's First Pitch". Rockies Zingers. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
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