Mario Barth

Mario Barth is one of Germany's favorite characters of standup comedy. Growing up as one of six children in his family's Berlin home, Barth discovered his power to talk and entertain. Perhaps because of this talent, his parents sent him off to a private Catholic school, where he studied theater. Completing his studies in 1995, Barth chose to focus on comedy. Through workshops he was able to meet and learn from greats such as Diether Cancer, Anka Zinc, and Thomas Hermanns, from whom he learned invaluable lessons of the trade. Honing his material through several short appearances at comedy clubs like Night Wash and the Quatsch Comedy Club, Barth developed his first stage program, Männer Sind Schweine, Frauen aber Auch (Men Are Pigs, But Women Are Too). He presented the show from 2003 through 2005, when a live CD and DVD of the show were released. The CD reached number three on German album charts, achieving platinum status for sales, an outrageous success for a live standup album. In October 2006, Barth released his second project, entitled Männer Sind Primitiv, Aber Glücklich (Men Are Primitive, But Happy) to similar success; it was named the year's "Best Live Comedy" recording. Following two successful releases, Barth created a series of shorts entitled Mario Sucht das Paradies (Mario in Search of Paradise), in which he plays a variety of characters including a firefighter from Dallas, a Top Gun-style fighter pilot, and a Texas cowboy, among others. In 2008 he earned a Guinness world record for "live comedy with the largest audience" by performing in front of 70,000 people at Berlin's Olympic Stadium. More successful live shows followed, with associated CD & DVD releases: Männer Sind Peinlich, Frauen Manchmal Auch (Men Are Embarrassing, Sometimes Women Are Too) in 2010, and Männer Sind Schuld, Sagen die Frauen (Men Are To Blame, Women Say) in 2012. ~ Evan C. Gutierrez, Rovi