Reggie Watts
Reginald Lucien Frank Roger Watts (born March 23, 1972) is an American comedian, actor, beatboxer, and musician. His improvised musical sets are created using only his voice, a keyboard, and a looping machine. Watts refers to himself as a "disinformationist" who aims to disorient his audience in a comedic fashion. He was the regular house musician on the spoof IFC talk show Comedy Bang! Bang!. From 2015 to 2023, Watts led the house band for The Late Late Show with James Corden.[1]
Reggie Watts
Reginald Lucien Frank Roger Watts
March 23, 1972
Stuttgart, West Germany
Great Falls, Montana, U.S.
- Comedian
- actor
- beatboxer
- musician
- Vocals
- beatboxing
- keyboards
- loop machine
Early life[edit]
Reginald Lucien Frank Roger Watts was born in Stuttgart on March 23, 1972, the son of French mother Christiane and African American father Charles Alphonso Watts.[2][3][4] His father was a Master Sergeant in the Air Force, leading the family to live in Germany, France, Italy, and Spain before returning to the United States and settling in Great Falls, Montana, where Watts was raised; he graduated from Great Falls High School in 1990.[4] He began piano and violin lessons at the age of five,[5] with his love of music beginning as a young child when he saw Ray Charles play the piano on television.[6] He moved to Seattle at the age of 18 to study music, attending the Art Institute of Seattle before studying jazz at Cornish College of the Arts.[2]
Performance style[edit]
Watts utilizes improvisation in his solo shows,[25][26] which consist of him singing and rapping both with words and with sound poetry, accompanying himself by either beatboxing, performing vocal basslines into a loop machine, or simply by playing the keyboard. His act also showcases his trademark style of stand-up comedy, consisting of him rapidly alternating between topics of discussion in both rational and nonsensical manners, making random sounds and gibberish noises, and speaking in other accents and languages at unexpected times, all with the intent of playfully and comically disorienting his audiences.[27] He has a four-and-a-half octave vocal range.[28][29]
Awards and honors[edit]
Watts is the winner of the 2005 Malcolm Hardee "Oy Oy" Award, the 2006 Andy Kaufman Comedy Award, and the 2006 Seattle Mayor's Arts Award.[38] He was also awarded the 2008 MAP Fund and the 2009 Creative Capitol Grant for the performing arts, and won the 2009 ECNY Award for Best Musical Comedy Act.[7]
