Shreveport native Charlie Wilson jokes his way to host 'Laugh After Dark'

Charlie Wilson is a native to Shreveport who has struck gold in the comedy world with hosting season three of Amazon's hit show "Laugh After Dark".

Wilson grew up in Shreveport active in the theater community in his schools and Greenwood Acres Baptist church, knowing he wanted to be an actor in "some form". Moving to Dallas in his early twenties, Wilson was far from the comedy scene while selling cars for Volkswagen and doing small stage productions in his spare time.

After about six years in Dallas, Wilson bought a one-way ticket to New York to join his wife. While continuing to sell cars and obtaining his real estate license, Wilson decided to test out an open mic night at a poetry club in lower Manhattan; paying $5 for five minutes of stage time. Those five minutes changed his career for good.

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Soon, he began promoting himself on social media and began receiving opportunities to open for other comics in the area and hosting live music events. Wilson's big break came in the form of starring in the sketch "Street Talk" on the Wendy Williams Show.

This exposure gave him the opportunity to start producing his own comedy shows where he would book the comedians and DJs and set up the venues himself. The first show he produced happened to be in Shreveport.

"To come back home and have friends show support for what I was doing was dope and that gave me the confidence I needed to go try and do that same thing in New York."

Wilson did just that, and not only in New York but also in New Jersey and Dallas for several years before he and his wife made the move to L.A. They sold everything they owned and drove cross-country to California in their sedan. He went back to what he knew: selling cars to make a living while hustling on the side to continue his comedy career.

Four years later, Wilson finally received his first tv credit after auditioning for a new Amazon Prime show, "Laugh After Dark". Following his episode, Wilson continued to audition for commercials and produce comedy shows all while still selling cars.

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In 2019, the "Laugh After Dark" producers contacted him about hosting the third season and he happily accepted. They began the process of casting and preparing the set and Wilson would be receiving his first associate-producing credit. The show was set to air in the Spring of 2020.

The COVID pandemic forced them to do a full halt on the show and they attempted to wait it out until they realized the pandemic wouldn't be over anytime soon. To continue to put out content, they started a podcast called "Do Tell with Laugh After Dark" where comedians would come on and talk about all things in the industry and showcase their talents.

While L.A. was still in a firm lockdown, Las Vegas opened back up and Wilson booked a show in late June of 2020. After going to see a friends show at the Notoriety, he ended up on stage to give another five minute performance. His that impressed the owner of the venue, who offered him the opportunity of a lifetime: a Vegas residency.

Since then, Laugh After Dark has been entertaining audiences in Vegas every Saturday night and filmed the third season there which will be premiering this fall on Amazon Prime.

"Its been a crazy journey and I'm just humbled, excited, blessed and still embracing the process."

To check out more about Charlie Wilson, visit his website charliewilsontv.com and keep up with him on his Instagram.

You can catch up on the first two seasons of "Laugh After Dark" on Amazon Prime with a subscription. To watch the "Do Tell with Laugh After Dark" podcast, subscribe to the Laugh After Dark YouTube Channel.

Meredith G. White is the arts and culture reporter for the Shreveport Times. You can find her on Facebook as Meredith G. White, on Instagram and Twitter as @meredithgwhite, and email her at mgwhite@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Shreveport comedian to host award-winning comedy show available on Amazon