"Funniest Comedian JIMMY O. YANG vs RICK OVERTON"

JIMMY O. YANG

Jimmy O. Yang (Chinese: 歐陽萬成; born June 11, 1987) is a Hong Kong-American actor, stand-up comedian, and writer best known for starring as Jian-Yan...

Jimmy O. Yang (Chinese: 歐陽萬成; born June 11, 1987) is a Hong Kong-American actor, stand-up comedian, and writer best known for starring as Jian-Yang in the HBO comedy series Silicon Valley. Yang was born Au-yeung Man-Sing in Hong Kong. His parents were both originally from Shanghai and later moved to Hong Kong. In 2000, when Yang was thirteen years old, his family immigrated to the United States and settled in Los Angeles, California. His aunt and grandmother were already living in the United States and his parents joined them primarily to allow Yang and his brother, Roy, access to better schools and education. When he arrived, he enrolled at John Burroughs Middle School for the eighth grade. He later attended Beverly Hills High School. Yang graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a degree in economics in 2009. The commencement speaker at his college graduation was his future Silicon Valley showrunner and fellow UCSD alumnus Mike Judge. Yang did his first stand-up set at 21 years old as "Lowball Jim" at the Ha Ha Comedy Club in North Hollywood, Los Angeles. After graduation, Yang interned at the financial consulting firm Smith Barney in Beverly Hills, California. But he found it unfulfilling and turned down their return offer. Instead, he returned to San Diego to finish his graduation requirements. He stayed in the city afterward, where he sold used cars, DJed at a strip club, and seated customers at a comedy club to support himself financially while doing stand-up sets for free at The Comedy Palace. There, he met his mentor, Sean Kelly, a stand-up comedian who ran the venue and later went on to create the reality show Storage Hunters. When he moved back to Los Angeles, he signed up for Central Casting, due to their low barrier of entry, and various casting websites. He was spurred to consider acting when a friend told him that there was money to be made in residual checks from commercials. In the interim, he did stand-up sets around Southern California and signed up for acting classes. Yang eventually found acting representation through Vesta Talent Agency.

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RICK OVERTON

Richard Overton (born August 10, 1954) is an American screenwriter, actor and comedian. His writing credits include Dennis Miller Live, and his acting...

Richard Overton (born August 10, 1954) is an American screenwriter, actor and comedian. His writing credits include Dennis Miller Live, and his acting credits include Willow and The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne. Overton was born in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, the son of Nancy Overton (née Swain), a singer, and Hall Overton, a teacher and music arranger. He grew up in Englewood, New Jersey, where he attended Dwight Morrow High School. Overton made his first onscreen appearance in the 1982 film Young Doctors in Love, followed by a small role in Airplane II: The Sequel later that year. In 1987, he wrote an episode of The New Adventures of Beans Baxter while also appearing in various films and television shows including Willow, Amazing Stories and Million Dollar Mystery. In 1992, he landed a role in the FOX Network sketch comedy show The Edge. The show ended in 1993. Later that year, Overton appeared in two episodes of Seinfeld and landed a small role in Mrs. Doubtfire. The following year, he won an Emmy for writing an episode of Dennis Miller Live. In 2005, Overton appeared on Alias and Joan Of Arcadia; in the latter he played God explaining to the title character the meaning of real wealth. He also portrayed both H.G. Wells and Orson Welles in a podcast episode of The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd that same year. In 2009, Overton appeared in the film A Fork in the Road alongside Jaime King. Overton appears in a General Electric commercial as the father who wants his son to have his grandfather's hammer.

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