Who We Are

Dan Rupple

Christian Comedy TV President

Producer-Writer Dan Rupple is a founding member of the pioneering Christian comedy team Isaac Air Freight, a former Supervising Producer at CBS Television (The Price Is Right, The Late Show with David Letterman), Honorary Chairman of the Christian Comedy Association, and an adjunct instructor at his alma mater Biola University. Currently he is CEO of Seriously Funny Entertainment and of the digital media content provider, Padded Room.

Dan Rupple has worked in the entertainment industry, in many different capacities for over 35 years. Beginning in nightclubs in the mid-seventies, Dan was the founding member of the pioneering Christian Comedy team Isaac Air Freight. Dan piloted Isaac Air Freight for over 15 years, producing 8 top-selling albums, numerous radio and TV programs, 2 popular script books and over 1200 concert appearances throughout the United States and Canada. Their popularity has spread worldwide, marked by a tremendous demand for Isaac Air Freight's material in England, Australia, New Zealand, Germany and South Africa.

After a 2 year stint as Producer and Co-host of a morning comedy talk radio program, Dan was offered the position of Production Supervisor at CBS Television in 1990. For the next 10 years Dan supervised numerous CBS productions such as: all west coast activity for The Late Show with David Letterman, The Grammy Awards, The 1996 Republican National Convention, The Prime Time Emmy Awards, The AT&T Pebble Beach Golf Tournament, and all episodes of The Price Is Right. In the fall of 1999, Dan resigned from CBS Television and assumed the responsibilities of Executive Pastor at his home church where he served for 3 years before returning once again to comedy entertainment on a full-time basis.

In 2002, Dan founded Seriously Funny, a Christian comedy entertainment company. Dan is also the honorary Chairman of the CCA - The Christian Comedy Association, a national association of 350+ Christians working in various fields of comedy. In addition to being a frequent national speaker and teacher of media, comedy and improvisation, Dan, has taught as an adjunct instructor in the Mass Communications department for the past 7 years at his alma mater, BIOLA University. Recently, with his son Nathan, Dan has formed Padded Room, a creative development media company that produces video for 3rd screen media.

Dan has been happily married to his wonderful wife Peggy for over twenty-eight years and they have three children: Nathan, along with his wife Danielle, Justin along with his wife Amy and Lauren. Beyond his love for media and comedy, for Dan, family is far and away his greatest challenge, responsibility and joy.

History of Christian Comedy

CHRISTIAN COMEDY IS EXPLODING!
Just thirty years ago, the church community as well as many in society at large, looked at Christian Comedy as nothing more than an oxymoron. Today, comedy from a Christian base is accepted, embraced and possibly becoming the most popular form of entertainment within the Christian community. Literally hundreds of comedy shows are presented weekly in churches throughout America, resulting in an amazing growth in the number as well as the quality of Christian comedy performers. A rising number of churches are also presenting their own comedy sketches on Sunday mornings, some larger churches even employing staff comedy writers! And now the popularity of comedy from a Christian perspective has spilled over into the secular arena. Nationally, comedy clubs have opened their doors to nights of Christian comedy, which have been greeted enthusiastically by their capacity crowds. This explosion has not gone unnoticed by the secular media. Recently Christian comedy has been the subject of interviews on CNN, FOX News, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, Christian Science Monitor and Radio America. We are also seeing the beginnings of a refreshing trend of Christians slowly dotting the staffs of network television's most successful sitcoms.

BUT WHERE DID IT ALL BEGIN?
Faith based humor has been with us from the beginning of creation. Back in the garden, Adam sorting through llamas and aardvarks in hopes of a potential mate, had to put a snicker on God's face. Soon after Adam delivered perhaps the first punchline to justify his disobedience when he told God, "It's this woman you gave me!" Years later, the prophet Elijah jeered and mocked the prophets of Baal by basically saying that their god was a "girlie man" who was probably on vacation. Jesus Himself used exaggeration and incongruity, two comedy staples, when He told of a man with a wooden plank in his eye who was attempting to remove a speck from another man's.

In modern times, religious humor has long been with us—be it a pastor who used a comical illustration, a youth group performing a comedy sketch at camp or a Christian humorist in the "good ole boy" ilk of Grady Nutt. But Christian Comedy as we know it today, presented in a contemporary style with social relevance, had its beginnings in the mid 1970's.

Christian Comedy has two primary pioneers: Mike Warnke, a humorist based in Nashville who mixed stand-up with Christian testimony and Isaac Air Freight, a sketch comedy team out of Los Angeles, shaped in the mold of the newly premiered Saturday Night Live...only from a Christian perspective. "People would ask me what is Christian Comedy?" says IAF founder Dan Rupple, "Is it making jokes about God? I'd reply that we're not laughing at God, but rather at the absurdity of mankind attempting to live a purposeful, meaningful life without a relationship with their Creator."

Throughout the 70's and 80's, Warnke and IAF's popularity increased nationally as they toured almost exclusively as the Christian communities main resource for humor. Beginning in the early 1990's a number of comedy club stand-ups with a strong Christian faith, began to fill the growing number of requests for church appearances. These talented performers brought a smart, professional sensibility to the craft of Christian comedy. Following their lead, we are now seeing an increasing group of polished comedic performers, who, having honed their craft before a faith filled audience, are now headliners in comedy clubs.

In response to this tremendous interest and growth, an informal retreat for Christian comedians was held in the summer of 2002 on comedian Chonda Pierce's farm just outside of Nashville Tennessee. It was decided to begin an association of Christian comedians—the Christian Comedy Association, and comedy pioneer Dan Rupple was elected president. The CCA's objective is to rally together as a network of Christian comedians for the purpose of encouraging one another in our faith, friendship and craft.

Recently, Christian Comedy is finding its place both on the big screens of film and DVD and the small screens of digital media. Direct to DVD projects like "Thou Shalt Laugh" and "The Apostles of Comedy" are featuring the best in Christian standups for the home viewing market.  Capitalizing on the explosion of internet television, such as YouTube, Christian comedy is beginning to make its way into the exciting world of digital media—championed in large part by Christian Comedy TV.

After 30 years of growing pains, comedy is happily here to stay in the program of the church, in the life of the Christian and in our mainstream culture.

Mission

Where Faith and Funny Collide.

Seriously Funny has been offering a glimpse of the Kingdom through comedy entertainment since 1978.

Seriously Funny is committed to championing the craft of Christian comedy to the Christian community throughout the world. It is our goal to be a portal for the Christian church to the people, projects and potential of uplifting, faith affirming, comedy entertainment.