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Go Fact Yourself LIVE with Billy Gardell and Gina Yashere

Saturday, December 2, 2023 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
  • The Crawford, 474 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena
$0-$15
A promotional graphic with faint circles and a line pattern on a black background with circle icons that show a question mark, a brain icon, a microphone, and a lightbulb. The overlaying text reads, "Go Fact Yourself LIVE with special guests Ann-Margret and Antonio Villaraigosas". In 4 circles are headshots of each of the two hosts, J. Keith Straaten a white male and Helen Hong a medium skin tone female, and the two guests, Ann-Margret a white female and Antonio Villaraigosa, a dark skinned male.
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LAist Design
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Go Fact Yourself
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Go Fact Yourself – “the podcast where we quiz the smartest celebrities we know, and find out why they love what they love” – is back at The Crawford! The show will be recorded as a podcast, but you'll be able to see and hear it weeks before the rest of the world.

Hosts J. Keith van Straaten (he/him) and Helen Hong (she/her) will welcome Billy Gardell (he/him) and Gina Yashere (she/her), plus super-secret experts to try to stump them in their self-proclaimed areas of expertise.

Register for free for general admission or reserve a guaranteed seat for $15.

ABOUT BILLY GARDELL
Billy Gardell currently stars in the CBS series Bob Hearts Abishola, from award-winning creator, executive producer and writer Chuck Lorre. Prior to BHA, Billy Gardell starred in the CBS hit television series, Mike & Molly as Officer Mike Biggs from 2010-2016. Mike & Molly continues to air in syndication to this day. In addition, he starred as Col. Tom Parker in the CMT series, Sun Records and has had a recurring role on another CBS hit series, Young Sheldon.

In 2016 he received a daytime Emmy nomination as best gameshow host for Monopoly Millionaires Club. Before Mike & Molly, Gardell co-starred in the critically acclaimed television series Lucky. His other television credits include Yes Dear and Judging Amy, on the Network, My Name is Earl, The Practice, Monk and Gary the Rat. His comedy specials, Billy Gardell: Halftime, premiered on Comedy Central and Billy Gardell Presents Road Dogs premiered on Showtime.

A native of Pittsburgh who currently lives in Los Angeles, Gardell loves Steeler football, stand-up comedy and his wife Patty, and son Will.


ABOUT GINA YASHERE
Gina was born & raised in London UK, of Nigerian parents, and previously worked as an elevator engineer for Otis. Gina has been a stand up and TV star in the UK for numerous years now, with appearances on iconic TV shows such as Live At The Apollo & Mock The Week, as well as creating & performing the hugely popular comedic characters, Tanya & Mrs. Omokerede on The Lenny Henry Show. She broke onto the American comedy scene with her appearances on Last Comic Standing (NBC), where she made it to the final 10, and then never went home!

Gina self produced 3 separate 1 hour Stand Up Specials, Skinny B*tch, Laughing To America, & Ticking Boxes, two of which are currently streaming on Netflix. Gina currently resides in Los Angeles where she is producing, writing and acting on the new sitcom Bob hearts Abishola, which she co-created with Chuck Lorre, and is currently airing on CBS.


ABOUT J. KEITH VAN STRAATEN
J. Keith van Straaten is a content producer/writer for TV game shows, including The Hustler, Master Minds, Funny You Should Ask and In the USA Today, and wrote trivia questions for Bally Sports. He was also a longtime senior writer on NPR’s Ask Me Another.

Previously, he wrote many of the games on GSN’s Chain Reaction and the iPhone trivia app Arena. He created and hosted the live matchmaking show The Fix-Up Show, as well as hosting What’s My Line? – Live On Stage and Comedy Central’s Beat The Geeks.

J. Keith has appeared on Best Week Ever, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Beverly Hills, 90210, and a deleted scene in Gilmore Girls.

As a journalist, J. Keith has written about COVID and comedy for the Los Angeles Times, points and miles for ThePointsGuy.com, and theatre for tdf Stages magazine.

J. Keith has two cats and is an avid Angels fan.


ABOUT HELEN HONG
Helen Hong is a fan favorite on NPR’s Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, and is also known for her scene-stealing roles on Silicon Valley, Never Have I Ever, and The Unicorn. She brings awareness to Asian-American issues with her family’s YouTube channel Old Korean Dad Stories, and hosts the trivia podcast Go Fact Yourself.

Helen was featured in the Coen Brothers’ film Inside Llewyn Davis, and is a recurring character in two series, The Thundermans on Nickelodeon and Blunt Talk on Starz. Helen has also guest starred on Jane the Virgin, Parks and Recreation, Pretty Little Liars, and Splitting Up Together.

Helen’s sharp wit on current events have been featured on CNN, PBS, The Young Turks and The Stephanie Miller Show. A proud feminist and political progressive, her opinion videos on NowThis have surpassed 7.1 million views.

Helen has performed for the troops in the Middle East and for international audiences in Asia, Europe and Latin America.

She always wants to pet your dog and have a bite of your donut. DO NOT LET HER HAVE THE WHOLE DONUT.


ACCOMMODATIONS
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