Emo Philips

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Philip Soltanec (born February 7, 1956), better known by his stage name as Emo Philips, is a stand-up comedian from Downers Grove, Illinois.

His stand-up routine is characterized by his eccentric appearance, falsetto voice, and surreal humor.

The unusual medieval-style bob haircut he sports, the exaggerated swings of his voice between registers, and his tendency to contort his body into awkward poses during delivery give him a bizarre stage presence. Some of his jokes play on the idea that he is crazy; for example:

"Some mornings, it just doesn't pay to gnaw through those leather straps."
"When I was ten, my parents moved to Downers Grove, Illinois. When I was 12, I found them."
"You know, a lot of girls go out with me just to further their careers...damn anthropologists."
"I love going down to the schoolyard to watch all the little children jump up and down and scream...'cause they don't know I'm using blanks."
"At my lemonade stand I used to give the first glass away free and charge five dollars for the second. 'Cause it has the antidote."
"I ran three miles today... finally I said, 'lady, keep your purse.'"
"I was in a bar the other night, moving from stool to stool, trying to get lucky...but there wasn't any gum under any of them."
"There's nothing like that first pot of coffee, is there? I've tried other enemas..."
"My parents held a good-bye party for me. I got the postcard."
"Before I left for college, my dad said, 'you know, son, I'm going to miss you.' I said, 'I know; that's because I broke the sights off your shotgun.'"
"I was sent to the principal's office for copying...they heard my Minolta running. The principal said 'Emo, Emo, Emo.' I said 'I'm the one in the middle, you lousy drunk!' He said, "do you know I could have you expelled?' I said 'yes, but you'll have to eat me first.'"
"I woke up with a bloody nose this morning. I said, 'yeech, who threw that in there?'"
"My favourite thing about California is hearing the surfers crash against the rocks"
"I was boating with my sister and I said, 'Hey, do you want to go swimming?' and she said, 'No, I'm on my period, bla bla bla...'...She takes all the fun out of shark fishing"
"I'm not Catholic but I gave up picking my belly button for lint!"

Soltanec has also had acting roles on television shows such as Miami Vice and The Weird Al Show (on The Weird Al Show, he looked directly into the camera, waved and yelled, "Hi Mom!....I'm sorry. Your cameraman looked just like my mother.") He's also voice-acted for the animated series Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist; Home Movies; and [[Space Ghost: Coast to Coast]]. He has appeared in films, including UHF (1989) and Desperation Boulevard (1998), and was associate producer of the film Meet the Parents (2000). He also appeared briefly in the documentary, The Aristocrats (2005). He has also recently appeared on British television, appearing as a guest on the panel game 8 out of 10 cats.

Soltanec has recorded three comedy albums. He has recorded a few songs, including "Treat Her Like a Lady." His album E=mo² won the 1985 New Music Award for best comedy album. It was later re-released along with his Live at the Hasty Pudding Theatre album on a single CD.

On 8 August 1988, Soltanec married fellow surrealist comedienne Judy Tenuta. They subsequently divorced. Tenuta has expressed embarrassment over having been romantically linked to Soltanec [link]; Soltanec has either dodged the issue in interviews or attacked her rather viciously [link]. This denial has been frequent fodder for Howard Stern.^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]} Soltanec remarried in 2000.[link]

External links

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