The Challenge Blog
LEARN ABOUT FORMER Challenges

2018 Chicago Challenge Winner – Rhonda Corey
Rhonda Corey from Rhode Island won the 2018 Chicago Clean Comedy Challenge in near Chicago, Illinois at the Comedy Shrine. It was a great competition and showcased talent from all over the country! But in the end, Rhonda prevailed. The 2018 Chicago Challenge was...

2018 Nashville Challenge Winner – Heywood Banks
HEYWOOD BANKS from Michigan wins the Clean Comedy Challenge Nashville 2018 at The Third Coast Comedy Club, Nashville, TN. Leslie Norris Townsend, producer/COMIC brought, The Clean Comedy Challenge in it's 9 year of challenging all Comics to work Funny and Clean to...

2010 – 2017 Past Challenge Winners
2017 Pasadena Clean Comedy Challenge Winner: Joe Dungan Shown here from left to right back row: Finalist Anji Stubbs, Bruce Smith of Omnipop, Finalist Katsy Chappell, Finalist Josh Novey. Front Row left to right: Celebrity Performer Erica Rhodes, and Winner Joe...

2014 Challenge Recap
The 2014 Clean Comedy Challenge winner was William Woody. For the first time in Challenge history one comic stood out as the front runner from start to finish. In years past the final outcome was always in question until the final sets were delivered. But this year,...

2013 Challenge Recap
A note from Joby Saad: Comedians from all over the U.S. traveled to Bryant Indiana. (Amish Country) to compete for the title of Clean Comedy Challenge Winner 2013. Bear Creek Farms, touting itself as a Country Resort hosted the event, which has been launched and...

2012 Challenge Recap
This year's Clean Comedy Challenge was the best yet! Leslie Norris Townsend keeps hitting a homerun. Improvements in the competition were obvious. Not only were the competitors the best ever, the venue and the format of the competition was improved.The competition...
LEARN ABOUT FORMER JUDGES

Rodney Norman
Rodney Norman will be judging The Clean Comedy Challenge 2023 in RI. If you have been on social media you have seen his face. His videos have garnered millions of views worldwide and his style (or lack thereof) is catching on. Honest and unassuming, his humor will...

Bob Nelson
Watching a Bob Nelson live performance is like watching several different types of top comedians all rolled up into one. Characters like the lovable nerd Eppy Epperman, punchy boxer Jiffy Jeff and chicken rancher Wilby Stuckinson are as funny and memorable as any you...

Sam Kwasman
Sam Kwasman was a judge for The Clean Comedy Challenge in 2022. Sam is a veteran actor/comedian. From a professional dancer in movies such as "Mame" with Lucille Ball and stage musicals like "Hello Dolly" with Martha Raye and the "Music Man" with Van Johnson, he...

Bob Fisher
Bob Fisher, owner of The Ice House Comedy Club, was a judge for The Clean Comedy Challenge in 2022. Bob took over The Ice House in 1978 and is now the oldest standup comedy club in the country. One of the first artist Bob booked to perform at The Ice House was Robin...

Gerry Bednob
Gerry Bednob was a judge for The Clean Comedy Challenge in 2022. Gerry has co-starred as "Bling Bling Shelton" in the VH1 comedy series Free Radio and recurred on shows such as Wilfred (TV series) and Playing House. He has appeared in films The 40-Year-Old...

Jimmy Brogan
Jim Brogan is the son of John and Anne Brogan. He was born in New England, but at the age of six moved to Chicago and then to Cleveland. In a short period, he saved enough money with a paper route and a pyramid scheme to pay for his parents to join him. Jim grew up...
Steve Mittleman
Steve's earned a rep as one of the best comedians around... He started touring in 1980 and has kept audiences laughing ever since. Comic Relief producer, Bob Zmuda: "One of the funniest I've worked with." Appearances on The Tonight Show with both Johnny Carson &...
Joel Madison
A Peabody award winner and a lifetime member of the WGA and Television Academy. Joel started out life as a stand-up comic. Having done the whole circuit of clubs and colleges in the eighties, Joel found as much fun writing jokes for others as performing them...