RICK ASHTON BIO

 

IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, MY VENTRILOQUIST ACT SLAYED FELLOW STUDENTS. I WENT ON TO BE ELECTED VICE-PRESIDENT OF MY NINTH GRADE CLASS.
COINCIDENCE?
-I DON’T THINK SO.

AFTER REALIZING THAT VENTRILOQUISTS SELDOM GOT LAID- I DITCHED THE DUMMY, BOUGHT SOME DRUMS AND JOINED A ROCK BAND. CRASHING AT MY BASSPLAYER’S DORM @ COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN-COLUMBUS, THE WORLD OF GRAPHICS OPENED UP, AS WELL AS THE WORLD OF STD’S -THEN ON TO KENT STATE TO STUDY MUSIC, THEATER, AND WRITING.

MOVING TO LOS ANGELES, I HUNG-OUT IN COMEDY CLUBS, AND BEGAN FORMING A STAND-UP ACT. IT WAS IN LA THAT I MET TWO PRO PHOTOGRAPHERS: STANOJE PANTOVIC (NEWSWEEK), AND SUZI ZSIGMOND (DAUGHTER OF OSCAR DP VILMOS ZSIGMOND), MY INTERNSHIP SCORED MY FIRST PUBLISHED SHOT WITH HARCOURT BRACE. SINCE THEN MY IMAGES HAVE APPEARED ON MOVIE POSTERS, IN MAGAZINES, AND ON WEBSITES AND OTHER CORPORATE STUFF.
AFTER A SERIES OF CLASSES AT THE ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS AND SCIENCES ON CINEMATOGRAPHY, THE CAMCORDER JOINED MY 35MM.

MOVING TO ALBUQUERQUE, NM TO EXPERIENCE THE ENCHANTMENT, I STARTED HOSTING THE AFTERNOON-DRIVE TALK RADIO SHOW, WHICH AIRED FOR ALMOST TWO YEARS.
FINALLY, STEPPING ON STAGE FOR THE FIRST TIME AS A STAND-UP COMIC, I FOUND A NICHE. A FEW MONTHS LATER I WON A REGIONAL COMEDY CHANNEL COMPETITION, HIT THE ROAD, AND SNAGGED SOME TV SPOTS.
AFTER A FEW YEARS OF WORKING ALL SIXTY-EIGHT STATES, SLEEPING IN HOTELS (SOMETIMES ALONE) AND EATING TAKE-OUT FOOD, “ASHTON” LANDED A MORNING RADIO GIG IN ALBUQUERQUE. THE FOLLOWING YEAR, I STEPPED UP TO A TOP TWENTY-FIVE MARKET-DENVER/BOULDER AT KBCO, WHERE KERRY AND ASHTON-THE BCO MORNING SHOW WON BEST DJ-1997.

RECENTLY, I WROTE "WHININGS OF A MALCONTENT", A PLAY BASED ON THE STAND-UP ACT. WHININGS WAS PERFORMED BY STUDENTS AT UNIVERSITY OF DENVER TO SELL OUT CROWDS. IT WAS TO OPEN AUGUST 6, 2004, IN SACREMENTO, CA. THE THEATRE OWNER BACKED-OUT DURING PRODUCTION, FEARING THAT HIS RIGHT-WING AUDIENCES WOULD WALK-OUT “FOR FEAR OF ACCEPTING THE TRUTH”.

NATIONAL COMEDY SPOTS INCLUDE: THE COMEDY CHANNEL’S STAND-UP, STAND-UP, A&E'S COMEDY ON THE ROAD, COMEDY CENTRAL AND HBO DOWNTOWN PRODUCTIONS’ SHORT ATTENTION SPAN THEATRE, AND DICK CLARK’S PUTTIN’ ON THE HITS
BESIDES THE RICK ASHTON SHOW, OTHER RADIO APPEARANCES INCLUDE: THE BARRY FARBER SHOW IN NEW YORK, THE DANNY BONADUCE SHOW IN CHICAGO, AND WAY TOO MANY EARLY MORNING LOCAL TV AND RADIO PROGRAMS.

A READING OF “WHININGS OF A MALCONTENT” WAS RECENTLY HOSTED BY:
SHAKESPEARE & CO-PARIS,
37 RUE DE LA BUCHERIE, PARIS, 75005,
ON EASTER MONDAY-28 MARCH 2005, AT 8PM.