Nashville-based comedian Dan Whitehurst will be a guest on the Bob and Tom Radio Show Tuesday morning, May 26th along with Pete Correalle and Bob Zany. This will be Dan’s first appearance on the program.
Whitehurst is a retired veteran member of the Armed Robbery unit with Nashville’s Metropolitan Police Department, where comedy became a tool to ease volatile situations as well as stress relief for co-workers and crime victims. Dan began hitting open mics in and around Nashville in the fall of 1998. Unsure how the police department would react, he did the prudent thing and didn’t tell them. By 1999, he had won the KDF Talent Search and the local news agencies began reporting on the detective with the unusual side job.
With the police departments blessings, Dan continued to juggle both jobs, traveling and performing on his days off. In February 2001, Dan competed in front of 750 people to win the title “World’s Funniest Cop” at the ASLET World Police Championships in Orlando, Florida. The competition was hosted by Jay Leno who said, “Anyone can write fart jokes, but you have some really smart material.”
As Dan continued to tour, he became known around the country as a funny cop, but it wasn’t all fun and games when he was on duty. In December of 2002, Dan was named the Metro Nashville Investigator of the year for his part in the investigation of a serial robber/rapist described by the Tennessean as “one of Nashville’s most brazen armed robbers.”
In May of 2005, Dan left the police department and began traveling as a full time comedian. Dan’s laid back style, intelligent, unique material and thick southern drawl had the same effect on audiences as it had on co-workers all those years.. and he began building a fan base everywhere he traveled.
These days when Dan has time off from the road, instead of chasing perps down lower Broadway he prefers to spend time chasing his dog around his beautiful cabin in the woods.. but sometimes he’ll drive in to town to stop in at Zanies or one of the Nashville open mic’s where he got his start.
Tune in to hear Dan Tuesday morning, May 26th on The Bob and Tom Radio Show! Visit bobandtom.com for affiliates, or listen live online at Q95.com.
If you’d like to see Dan perform live, he’ll be working this week at Zanies with Andy Dick, star of the stage and screen, and will be back at Zanies the following Wed/Thurs to open for Janet Williams and Lahna Turner.
See Dan’s new website, www.DanWhitehurst.net for his full touring schedule, blog and more.