Emo Philips (born Phil Soltanec, February 7, 1956 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American entertainer and comedian. Much of his standup comedy stems from the use of paraprosdokians and garden path sentences.
Aside from Philips' long career as a standup comic, he has been featured in acting roles on television series such as Miami Vice and The Weird Al Show. He was featured in a segment of Weird Al's movie, "UHF" as a rather clumsy school shop teacher. He has also recently appeared on British television, appearing as a guest on the panel game 8 Out of 10 Cats. He was also included in the top 50 of E4's 100 Greatest Comedians. He also appeared number 54 on channel 4's top 100 greatest standups.
Philips has several voiceover credits, including work on the animated series Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist; Home Movies; Space Ghost: Coast to Coast; and the voice of Dooper in the animated series Slacker Cats.
He has appeared in feature films, including UHF (1989), the original version of Meet the Parents (1992) and Desperation Boulevard (1998). He was also associate producer of the 1992 film, Meet the Parents.
Philips has recorded three comedy albums; His album E=mo² won the 1985 New Music Award for best comedy album. It was later re-released along with his Live at the Hasty Pudding Theatre album on a single CD. In 2005, a joke of his was voted funniest religious joke ever in an online poll. In 2006, he appeared at the Newbury Comedy Festival.
In 1988, Philips married comedian Judy Tenuta, another entertainer with an offbeat comic persona. The couple later divorced.
