John Kawie

Twelve years ago John Kawie turned his back on 17 years in the aerospace industry, sold his company and moved to New York City to pursue his dream of doing stand-up. He then worked in concert with some pretty respectable names - like Dennis Miller and Howie Mandel.

Being the only Arab-American comic, at the time, he brought a unique perspective to the Middle East specifically, and to the world in general. John co-produced a multicultural stand-up show called “Those People” which was featured in Alan King’s 1995 Toyota Comedy Festival in New York City.

As a writer and performer he was a regular on “The David Brenner Radio Show” and a contributor to Bill Maher’s monologue on Comedy Central’s award winning show “Politically Incorrect”. He also wrote for Dennis Miller’s show on HBO. And became a substitute host for Dick Cavett on his radio talk show. Stand-up was just the tip of the iceberg. Wanting to explore acting, John began getting spots for TV commercials.

John experienced a life altering stroke at the age of 47. While undergoing therapy he was a consultant with Robert DeNiro for his character in the Joel Shumacher film “Flawless”. Being a proponent of turning lemons into lemonade he focused his energy into writing his solo show, “BRAIN FREEZE”. It’s his journey through the stroke and it’s aftermath. “BRAIN FREEZE” has been performed Off Broadway and at hospitals throughout the country.

“BRAIN FREEZE” won Best Solo Show in the 2003 International Fringe Festival in New York City (FringeNYC 2003). John is currently developing the stage performance into “BRAIN FREEZE” the book. He is also working with Lumina Films on the creation of a documentary based on the show.