Best of the Store XL - Harland Williams, Esther Povitsky, Frankie Quinones, Ian Edwards +more!

Comedian and actor Harland Williams is known the world over for his hilarious movie roles and outlandish stand-up and sketch comedy routines.nnWilliams was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to Lorraine Mary (O’Donnell), a social worker, and John Reesor Williams, a lawyer who served in the Ontario legislature. Williams has starred in numerous unforgettable roles such as the pee-drinking cop in “Dumb and Dumber”, the loveable horse-killing stoner, Kenny in “Half Baked”, the hitchhiking serial killer in “There’s Something About Mary”, the silent motorcycle stud Slater, in “Superstar”, the goof-ball astronaut Fred Z. Randall in “Rocketman,” the whale-calling Sonar in “Down Periscope”, and Robert/Roberta in the world of “Sorority Boys.”nnWilliams is also seen regularly on “Late Night with David Letterman,” “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” and “Late Night with Conan O’Brian.” He has done solo stand-up comedy specials for HBO, Comedy Central, CTV, and CBC. In addition to his on-screen roles, Williams has provided voices for several animated productions including “Robots” and is also an accomplished author and illustrator of his own series of children’s books involving a little brontosaurus named Lickety Split.

Esther Lauren Povitsky, also known as Little Esther, is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer living in Los Angeles, California. She is the co-creator and star of the comedy series Alone Together. Povitsky moved to Los Angeles to pursue stand-up comedy and acting full-time after attending the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She studied comedy at iO Chicago, The Second City, and The Groundlings. She frequently performs stand-up comedy at venues throughout Los Angeles, California, including The Comedy Store, The Ice House, and The Improv. She plays Maya on the critically acclaimed series Crazy Ex Girlfriend. Other recent television appearances include Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Love, and Parks and Recreation. Povitsky also survived several rounds of 2015's Last Comic Standing (season 9), drawing praise from judge Roseanne Barr in particular. Povitsky was the first female guest to appear on The Joe Rogan Experience, after which she began podcasting with DEATHSQUAD regularly. She hosted Little Esther's Piecast and co-hosts Brode & Esther with fellow comedian Brody Stevens as well as Weird Adults with Little Esther and Glowing Up with Esther and Caroline. She often appears as a guest on the network's Ice House Chronicles. In 2012, Povitsky turned down an offer from MTV to do a reality show based on her life as a comedian because she felt the series would be too invasive. In 2015, Povitsky wrote, starred in, and self-produced the short film Alone Together. The short was later adapted into a pilot for Freeform, produced by The Lonely Island. In December 2016, the pilot was picked up to series. In October, 2017, Freeform renewed the series for a second season ahead of its January 2018 debut.

Ian Edwards was born in England and raised in Jamaica. His family moved to NY when he was 17. The United States is a great place to live, but not when you have a third world accent and are friendless. While he was literally slanging ber King in East Meadow, Long Island, he turned to see his co-workers laughing. Another employee Greg Ellis had them on the floor in stitches. Everyone loved Greg, because he was funny, and when you worked with him, he made an 8-hour shift fly by. That's when it hit Ian. He needed to tap into his funny side. In England and Jamaica he was a funny kid, but somehow heʼd forgotten that part of him. From then on he became the second funniest person at Burger King. He even made the prince, Greg laugh. One day a customer whose order heʼd taken at the drive thru, told him he was funny, and should try stand up. He was 21, and needed to do something with his life. Ian went down to Governors Comedy Club and bombed his ass off. He put on a clinic of, what not to do. Only one joke worked, because he managed to say it right. So Ian figured, once he controlled his nerves, he'd be all right.nnSince then, Ian has obtained some of the most prestigious credits such as SNL (writer), MTVʼs hit show Punkʼd (regular cast member) and HBOʼs Def Comedy Jam (performer). Most recently, Ian was a writer on Foxʼs In The Flow (sketch comedy show Executive Produced by Jamie Foxx) and wrote on the 2011 BET Awards. He also performed on both Conan and Lopez Tonight in 2011, and is slated to appear as a performer on Comedy Centralʼs Russell Simmons Presents the Ruckus in 2012.

Rick Ingraham, originally from Kansas, has been a stand-up comedian and actor for over 20 years. Onstage, he specializes in crowd work and insult comedy. nnHe can be seen performing several nights a week at the Comedy Store and other Hollywood clubs and also co-hosts the Comedy Store podcast. Early in his career, Rick toured with Pauly Shore and Andrew Dice Clay. nnRick is also a commercial actor and has appeared in many national campaigns.

Meet the funniest topical comedian in America, the man Robin Williams once called “the Will Rogers of the Baby Boom.” Argus Hamilton’s daily column of jokes on the news, now carried in over 100 newspapers across the United States, is also read and heard by millions on the Internet and on radio stations across the country. Argus James Hamilton III is the son, grandson and great-grandson of Methodist ministers in the South. A proud graduate of the University of Oklahoma and now based in Los Angeles, Argus brings an unusual perspective to the news from Washington and around the country. “I’m an English Monarchist and a Southern secessionist,” Argus says. “Let’s see Rush Limbaugh get to the right of that.” Argus performs at corporate, political and charity events around the country. He is regularly quoted by daily newspapers including The San Francisco Chronicle and the Los Angeles Times, by weekly business papers including the Orange County Business Journal, by Time magazine and by radio personalities including Paul Harvey. Argus was honored by Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry as the official comedian of the Oklahoma Centennial and appeared with the governor in the 2007 Tournament of Roses Parade.