Turn of a phrase: Dan Ahdoot, from Premium Blend to Montreal’s New Faces to The Jay Leno Show

Who says you cannot have a second chance to make a first impression? Dandruff shampoo manufacturers, that's who! OK. Now that I've gotten that intro out of the way, it's time to look at another comedian's opening line, and in this installment, we're turning to Dan Ahdoot.

Ahdoot (@standupdan on Twitter) was one of this year's "New Faces" at Montreal's Just For Laughs Festival, although the industry has kinda known about him for a while, right? He had gotten airtime on NBC's Last Comic Standing years back, did Comedy Central's Premium Blend in 2006, and served as Comedy Central's warm-up guy and backstage host for Live at Gotham the following year. Nevertheless, Ahdoot unofficially "wins" this year's contest to see which New Face from Montreal can make the biggest splash first, because Ahdoot performed Friday in NBC primetime on The Jay Leno Show. Congrats, Dan! Tell him what he's won…Roll the clip!

Solid! Now let's look back at his Premium Blend clip. Ahdoot opens with the same greeting to the audience, but to introduce a completely different joke. And when he mentions he is an Iranian Jew, again in the midpoint of the routine, it took a different turn. And that, my friends, is how you turn a phrase.

Sean L. McCarthy

Editor and publisher since 2007, when he was named New York's Funniest Reporter. Former newspaper reporter at the New York Daily News, Boston Herald and smaller dailies and community papers across America. Loves comedy so much he founded this site.

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