Carlos Oscar: Mr. Clean of Jokes

By Ruben Hernandez

Carlos Oscar is the kind of Latino comedian act that you can take your kids to go see – if he were performing before their bedtime.

Besides being known for his witty and energetic stage persona, he’s also known in the funny industry as one of the “cleanest” acts you’ll ever experience outside of a laundry.

“When people hear I’m clean, they may think, ‘How is he a comic?’ The reality is I am much more creative and funnier with material that I don’t fall back on with four-letter words or lewd innuendos to entertain an audience,” he says.

This Puerto Rican funnyman will bring his special brand of laughs to the stellar line-up of comedians coming to the Valley as part of the Latin Comedy Jam 2013 on March 30 at Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino. He’s also been on TV shows such as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Show with David Letterman, Comedy Central, and MTV.

For a brief video of comedian Carlos Oscar’s act in which he talks about teaching his daughters Spanish, and hazards of living in a house full of women, click on the link HERE. 

Bill Cosby, a family man type of comic himself, complimented Oscar with his comment: “…the only four-letter words you’re hear from Carlos are ‘wife,’ ‘kids,’ ‘debt,’ and ‘help!’ Carlos’ observations about his Latino family are so universal that you’ll consider yourself one of them. I know I do.”

Oscar was born in New York on the 4^th of July. He says, “What are the odds of a Puerto Rican guy being born in New York City – gotta be 2 to 1.”

Oscar says when he started doing stand-up he used risqué material. But when his daughters were born, “I didn’t want to work where my kids can never see what I do. Bottom line, I want everyone to enjoy the show. I want to make as many people laugh as possible,” he says.

He adds that everyday life and family are the focus on his jokes. He shares the humorous side of family, and his comedy has a way of crossing over to all cultures. His own family is a mix of Puerto Rican (him) and Mexican (his wife, daughters, and his mother in law). “On May 5 my mother in law is like, ‘Cinco de Mayo. Cinco de Mayo.” I tell her, ‘You grew up in Burbank, so chill.’”

This amazing comic also can walk on water – when he has a cruise ship under him, as he often does these days. He’s says he’s found another niche performing onboard cruise ships. Recently he was named “Entertainer of the Year” by Princess cruises. “And the cherry in the pie is that a Latino comic won it,” he says. “Cruise ships have diverse audiences from all over the world. You perform in a huge theater. As a comedian, you get sharper when you can make a lot of people like that laugh.”

One of his earliest and most influential role models as a youth was Freddie Prinze Sr., a Puerto Rican comic who was successful in the TV show, Chico and the Man. The young comic took his own life.

“Freddie has a background that was similar to mine. It’s so sad he died so young. He would have been a super duper success,” Oscar comments.

One of the dynamics that gratifies him most these days, Oscar adds, is the slow but steady rise of Latinos in show business. “I think there’s more opportunity for Latinos now in society,” he says. “That we will one day be the majority is this country is crazy and awesome to think of. I’m just happy that the entertainment field is breaking more ethnically than before. Latinos are influencing this country. And if we want to be part of it all, we have to take chances and risks.”