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Sugar Sammy

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Sugar Sammy
Birth nameSamir Khullar
Born (1976-02-29) February 29, 1976 (age 49)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
MediumComedy, television
EducationMarianopolis College
McGill University
Years active1995-present
GenresObservational comedy, improvisational comedy
Subject(s)Society, politics, race, sex, pop culture
Websitewww.sugarsammy.com

Samir Khullar (born 29 February 1976), known professionally as Sugar Sammy, is a Canadian stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer from Montreal, Quebec. He performs in English, French, Punjabi, and Hindi.[1]

Khullar's comedy focuses on cultural, social, and political themes. With a career spanning over 25 years, he has performed in 31 countries, including Canada, the US, France, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and India.[2]

In 2018, Khullar joined the jury of Fremantle Media's on La France a un incroyable talent,[3] the French version of America's Got Talent.

Career

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Sugar Sammy's bilingual show You're Gonna Rire, along with its all-French counterpart En Francais SVP! sold approximately 372,000 tickets over 421 sold-out performances, making him the best-selling artist with a debut one-man show in Quebec's history.[4] During the 2016 edition of Just for Laughs Festival, Sammy performed the finale of You're Gonna Rire in front of a crowd of 115,000 people in Montreal.[5]

In 2019, Sammy was featured in both The New York Times and The Washington Post , and was profiled on CTV's national newsmagazine W5.[6] [7]

In 2022, Sammy announced his second bilingual show You're Gonna Rire 2, whichsold out its 2023 and 2024 dates in Quebec and continuing into 2025, selling over 150,000 tickets as of February 2025.[8]

Sugar Sammy was one of the first comedians to share his crowd work online, he started his YouTube channel in 2010, amassing a combined 200 million views across all social media platforms.[9]

International career

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Sugar Sammy has performed over 2200 shows in more than 32 countries as a stand-up comedian fluent in English,French,Punjabi and Hindi.[10]

He has toured in Canada, the United States, France, Belgium, Switzerland, England, Australia, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Thailand, the Philippines, China, India, Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Egypt, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Lebanon, Singapore, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Northern Ireland, Dubai, Haiti, New Zealand, and South Africa.[11]

One-man shows and other productions

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You're Gonna Rire and En Français SVP

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In 2011, Sugar Sammy debuted his bilingual show, You're Gonna Rire, which combined English and French comedy. The show gained significant attention in Quebec, sparking discussions in the media and drawing large audiences.[12]

In 2012,You're Gonna Rire was adapted into a fully French-language show entitled En Français S.V.P.! ('In French, If You Please!'), which along with the original, ranked as the 30th largest-grossing tour in North America by May 2013. By 2015, the shows had sold over 230,000 tickets, with over 100 sold-out shows performed at the Olympia theatre in Montreal alone.[13]

In May 2014, Billboard magazine named Sugar Sammy the top-selling Canadian tour of the 12 months ending April 12, 2014.[14] By the end of the year, he was the top-selling show on Admission.com's overall with over 300,000 tickets sold.[15]

On July 28, 2016, he concluded You're Gonna Rire with a record-breaking crowd of 115 000 people at the Place des Festivals in Montreal, a free outdoor gig that was part of the Just For Laughs Festival. Before the grand finale, Sugar Sammy had performed both shows 420 times, and sold 372,000 tickets.[16]

Sugar Sammy (France)

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Sugar Sammy developed and tested his show "Les préliminaires" at Le Point Virgule in Paris, from September 2016 through December 2016. Sugar Sammy then moved his tried-and-tested show to a larger venue in Paris, l'Européen, and performed his new French show, titled Sugar Sammy, four nights a week in 2017 from March 1 to April 29.[17]

Previously unknown in France, Sugar Sammy's show at l'Européen quickly became one of the top selling shows in Paris. The show received rave reviews from critics[18] and was performed over 134 times.[19]

Sugar Sammy was dubbed the "Best of 2017" by Paris Match magazine, who referred to his show as "grand art".[20] Thanks to the success of his first run, Sugar Sammy continued his residency at the Alhambra (Paris) Theatre until December 2018, as well as touring the rest of France, Belgium and Switzerland.

Reviews from French Media:

  • Quotidien: "Le new king of comedy."[21]
  • Télérama: "Virtuose de la punchline, du rythme et de l'impro."[22]
  • Paris Match: "Il est étonnant en scène, constamment en hors-piste, allant chercher les spectateurs sur les terrains les plus dangereux. Du grand art."[23]
  • GQ France: "Le plus drôle des Français est Québécois." ('The funniest Frenchman is a Quebecer.')[24]
  • C à vous: "Il a un sens de l'improvisation, c'est comme une conversation à 100 à l'heure avec le public."[25]
  • Konbini: "Il débarque sur scène avec une aisance et un franc-parler dévastateur."[26]

You're Gonna Rire 2

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You’re Gonna Rire 2 has completely sold out all its 2023 and 2024 dates in Quebec for a total of over 150,000 tickets sold to date. Consequently, new shows have been added in Quebec for 2025 in Montreal, Québec City and Gatineau.[27] With such unheralded success in Quebec, Sugar Sammy took You’re Gonna Rire 2 to francophone communities across Canada in Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Moncton and Toronto.[28]

Comedy Specials

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Down with the Brown

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Sammy’s first one-man show , Down with the Brown, presented in 2007, tackled themes of life in Quebec , sex and race from an Indo-Canadian perspective. The corresponding comedy album was released in January 2008 coinciding with a Canadian tour.[29]

Live in Concert

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Sammy’s multicultural tour in 2009 drew on themes from arranged marriages to modern relationships. He then released the DVD Sugar Sammy Live in Concert: Direct from Montreal, which was the number-one best-selling comedy DVD on Amazon.ca for five straight weeks.[30]

HBO Canada special

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Sammy's 72-minute HBO Canada special in 2009 became one of the network's hightest-rated specials, airing on Air Canada flights and topping Amazon Canada’s stand-up comedy DVD list.[31]

Ces gars-là TV series

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The scripted comedy TV show Ces gars-là co-written by Sugar Sammy and Simon-Olivier Fecteau , premiered on Quebec’s French V network in February 2014. The show explored the friendship between two buddies with contrasting backgrounds. The series extended into three seasons.[32]

Filmography

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Year Title[33] Type Role Notes
2001 Just for Laughs: Montreal Comedy Festival TV special Self
2005, 2009 Video on Trial TV series Self
2008 Just for Laughs TV series Self
2009 The Ha!ifax Comedy Fest TV series Self
2009 Good News Week TV series Self Australian TV show
2009 Cracker Night TV special Self Opening night gala showcase of the 2009 Sydney Comedy Festival
2009 Juste pour Rire TV series Self
2011 Secrets of Montréal: Cultural Gems TV special Self
2012 Just for Laughs: All-Access TV series Self
2012 En audition avec Simon TV series Sugar Sammy
2014 Les pêcheurs TV series Sugar Sammy
2014–2016 Ces gars-là TV series Sam
2014 Ces gars-là – Les coulisses TV mini series Self
2018– La France a un incroyable talent TV series Self – Jury

References

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  1. ^ MacPherson, Guy (January 3, 2008). "Slick, savvy stand-up Sugar Sammy takes on the world". Straight.com.
  2. ^ Bilefsky, Dan (August 11, 2018). "A Quebec Comedian Is Happy to Offend in Any Language". The New York Times.
  3. ^ "La France a un incroyable talent sur 6play : voir les épisodes en streaming". 6play (in French). Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  4. ^ "Article Title". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
  5. ^ "Article Title". QFQ. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
  6. ^ "Five Places to Visit in Montreal: Sugar Sammy's Guide". The New York Times. November 8, 2019. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
  7. ^ "Sugar Sammy's not-so-sweet comedy, honed in Quebec, heating up in France". CTV News. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
  8. ^ "Press Article". Sugar Sammy. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
  9. ^ "Press Article". Sugar Sammy (in French). Retrieved February 7, 2025.
  10. ^ "Sugar Sammy - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
  11. ^ "Press Article". Sugar Sammy (in French). Retrieved February 7, 2025.
  12. ^ "How sweet it is to be Sugar Sammy right now". Cult MTL. May 2023. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
  13. ^ "192 Magazine Winter 2016-17". Issuu. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
  14. ^ "Sugar Sammy Video Interview: Canada's Hot Comedian - Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  15. ^ "Billets d'art et théâtre, Broadway, des comédies musicales, des expositions et plus encore. Site officiel de Ticketmaster". Ticketmaster Canada.
  16. ^ "Sugar Sammy performs You're Gonna Rire for the last time in Montreal". montrealgazette.
  17. ^ ICI.Radio-Canada.ca, Zone Arts- (November 29, 2016). "Sugar Sammy prend du galon en France". Radio-Canada.ca.
  18. ^ "Sugar Sammy, comment la star de l'humour québécois a conquis la France". Télérama. April 13, 2017.
  19. ^ Vallet, Stéphanie (May 6, 2017). "Le tour du monde de Sugar Sammy". La Presse.
  20. ^ "En Vedette : les derniers potins et nouvelles des stars | Noovo Moi". www.noovomoi.ca.
  21. ^ ICI.Radio-Canada.ca, Zone Arts- (March 16, 2017). "Sugar Sammy, invité à la populaire émission de Yann Barthès en France". Radio-Canada.ca.
  22. ^ "Sugar Sammy - Coucou la France - Spectacles dans le Grand Paris". Télérama.fr.
  23. ^ Match, Paris (April 8, 2017). "Les impros délirantes de Sugar Sammy". parismatch.com.
  24. ^ "Le plus drôle des Français est québécois". Le Club GQ (in French). December 19, 2017. Archived from the original on August 11, 2018.
  25. ^ "Sugar Sammy, nouveau roi de l'impro - C à Vous - 01/11/2017". November 2017. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021 – via YouTube.
  26. ^ "10 spectacles pour rire, réfléchir et survivre au mois de décembre". Konbini - All Pop Everything : #1 Media Pop Culture chez les Jeunes. December 2017.
  27. ^ "Sugar Sammy's You're Gonna Rire 2: Latest Round of Shows Take Place". The Suburban. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
  28. ^ "'That's our job': Sugar Sammy on why comedians must cross the line". CBC Arts. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
  29. ^ "News Article". Sugar Sammy. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
  30. ^ "Sugar Sammy Live in Concert - Montreal". Amazon Canada. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
  31. ^ "Sugar Sammy". National Post. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
  32. ^ "Sugar Sammy: En français s.v.p.! (2014)". IMDb. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
  33. ^ Sugar Sammy at IMDb
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