Dan Willis (comedian)

}} Dan Willis (born 11 March 1973) is an English stand-up comedian born in York, North Yorkshire and was raised in Newcastle Upon Tyne.

Career
Willis (real name Daniel Hull) began performing comedy at the age of 28. He was a pupil at St Katherines First School, Gosforth Central Middle School and Gosforth High School in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England. Willis subsequently studied Information Technology and American History at Liverpool Institute, now known as Liverpool Hope University.

After a successful career as a computer programmer, working for companies such as Unisys, Coutts & Co, Natwest, Eagle Star Insurance, and Cooperative Bank. Willis won the Time Out Magazine Edinburgh comedy competition, winning a place as a Perrier Comedy Judge at the 2001 Edinburgh Festival.

In November that year, Willis took to the stage for the first time at "The Bunch of Grapes Pub", Bristol. Taking the surname “Willis” from the Character of the same name in sitcom Different Strokes.

In 2002 Willis made his first Edinburgh festival appearance as part of the "Amused Moose Hot Starlets", along with comedians Greg Davies, Nina Conti, Rhod Gilbert and Patrick Monahan and at the Melbourne Comedy Festival in 2004.

In subsequent festivals Willis performed self-written comedy solo shows on subject matters close to his heart and specialities. Radiohead (feel good music), “Ferris Buellers Way of…” (the philosophy of 80’s cult classic Ferris Buellers Day Off), “Control Alt Delete”(the funny side of computers), “A Stage-A Mic-Some Jokes” (Stand Up Comedy), “Michael Jackson- Worlds Greatest Entertainer” (A tribute to pop star Michael Jackson), Inspired (Life improvement) and “A Comedians life” (the life of a stand-up comedian).

To date, Willis has performed his shows at over 40 international festivals around the world, including Edinburgh Fringe, Adelaide Fringe Festival, Melbourne Comedy Festival, Leicester Comedy Festival, Newcastle Comedy Festival and New Zealand International Comedy Festival.

In 2012 Willis became the first comedian to perform a full working week of comedy at the 2012 Edinburgh Fringe, performing six 1 hour shows every day of the festival without repeating a joke. By the end of the month Willis had performed 128 hours of comedy to over 7000 people.

Willis co-founded the Grinning Idiot Comedy Club in Newcastle Upon Tyne, but in 2011 he met Australian comedienne Erin Melville, they are now engaged. Now based in Melbourne, Australia, Willis performs at all major comedy clubs and festivals. He is also the resident MC at the Best of British touring comedy show (now in its 6th year in Australia).