What happens when you mix an actor, stand-up comedy great and hip-hop icon with a who’s who of celebrity guests?
You get Top Billin’ With Bill Bellamy, the new weekly podcast coming to you live and direct from the Walk Of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard. Whether you know Bill from any of his stand-up shows, “How to Be a Player,” MTV Beach House or on Instagram cracking jokes and sharing tales from his storied career, you know Bill is the embodiment of culture and entertainment.
So join Bill each week as he and your favorite musicians, actors, athletes and of course, comedians give you a candid view into Hollywood, current events, and the wide world of entertainment, past and present…with a funny twist! Come see who’s next on the bill and don’t miss a show! Top Billin’ is a Breakbeat Media production set in Hollywood, CA.
In a click-bait driven world people need real talent, honesty, & intelligence to cut through all the chaos.
This week, Bill is joined by the one and only Gary Owen, and this episode is pure comedy gold! Gary’s comedic genius is on full display, and they discuss his come-up in San Diego to BET and beyond. Nothing is off the table, from comedy, family, and all the wild stuff in between.
For many years, Bellamy was a staple on MTV, a VJ and the host of several MTV programs including MTV Jamz and MTV Beach House. He went on to star in a number of movies, including Fled, Love Jones, The Brothers, How to Be a Player, Getting Played and Any Given Sunday. He also appeared on two episodes of the TV show Kenan and Kel. Additionally, he voiced Skeeter on the Nickelodeon television show Cousin Skeeter.
In 2002, Bellamy had a co-starring role in the Fox Network television show Fastlane alongside Peter Facinelli and Tiffani Thiessen. He also appeared frequently as a “roundtable” guest on the late-night E! talk show Chelsea Lately. Bellamy hosted seasons 5 and 6 of NBC’s Last Comic Standing reality show (2007 and 2008). In 2014, he had a recurring role as Councilman Powell on the TV Land original series Hot in Cleveland. He voiced Marcus Hill, a playable character in the 2005 updated version of the NARC video game.
Bellamy hosts Bill Bellamy’s Who’s Got Jokes? on TV One. The show is in its fourth season; he is an executive producer for it. In 2020, he starred in the Netflix miniseries Self Made.
This Week’s Special Guest:
Gary Owen: Gary Owen has been entertaining American audiences for more than a decade with his side-splitting comedy. Having performed to sold-out audiences in all the major comedy clubs and theatres across the country, Owen is one of America’s most beloved comedians and was proclaimed by Ebony magazine as Black America’s “Favorite White Comedian.”
Audiences can now see Owen in his fourth Showtime comedy special, “GARY OWEN: DOINWHATIDO” which premiered on Saturday, September 7th. This is the follow-up to his three previous Showtime specials titled “I Got My Associates,” which came out in Fall 2018, and “I Agree with Myself” and “True Story,” both of which aired on Showtime in 2015.
Owen has had massive success as a comic actor on the big screen. Up next, he will appear in Universal 1440 Entertainment’s SUDDEN DEATH. In 2016, he starred opposite Mike Epps and Mike Tyson in the comedy MEET THE BLACKS and in 2014, he starred in the Universal comedy RIDE ALONG with Ice Cube and Kevin Hart.
He is also one of the stars of the popular Screen Gems’ franchise THINK LIKE A MAN (2012), having appeared in the first installment and its successful follow up THINK LIKE A MAN TOO (2014). In additional to their commercial successes, both opening #1 at the box office, the films were warmly received by critics and fans alike. Other film credits include LITTLE MAN (2016) opposite The Wayans Brothers and DADDY DAY CARE (2003) opposite Eddie Murphy. He is also widely known for his stealing role as “Bearcat” in the MGM film COLLEGE (2008).
In 2016, Owen starred in the BET docuseries “The Gary Owen Show,” which chronicled his dynamic and interracial family life with his wife and children in small-town Ohio. The series marked the first time a Caucasian actor had starred in his own series on the network.
On the small screen, Owen co-hosted TruTV’s sketch series “Upload with Shaquille O’Neal” (2013). After meeting Tyler Perry on The Tom Joyner Morning Show, Owen was cast as the recurring role of Zach the barber in the 5th season of the TBS comedy series “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne.”
In 2014, he served as the host of the hugely popular comedy special “Shaquille O’Neal Presents: All Star Comedy Jam – Live from Orlando”. Other standout comedy performances include “Mike Epps Presents: Live from Club Nokia” as well as “Breakin’ out the Park” and “Urban Legend,” the latter two which he also produced. He also starred in “Martin Lawrence Presents: 1st Amendment,” which aired on Starz in 2005.
In addition to his breadth of comedic work in films, television, and standup, Owen works closely with the nonprofit Facing Addiction, an organization dedicated to finding solutions to the addiction crisis in America. Having lost his own brother to heroin addiction, Owen regularly speaks and performs to raise awareness and support for the organization’s mission.
Owen grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio and has always had a passion for comedy. He enrolled in the US navy following high school, where he was chosen for the prestigious Presidential Honor Guard. After leaving his ceremonial position, Owen became a military police officer at the Naval Installations on Coronado Island in San Diego. During this time, he returned to his true calling: standup comedy. After only a year of doing stand-up, he was named “Funniest Serviceman in America.” Two appearances on the multicultural comedy showcase, “BET’s ComicView,” won him his own one-hour “grandstand” show. At the end of the season he was selected from the year’s four “grandstanders” to be the host.
Checkout more episodes of Top Billin’ w/ Bill Bellamy featuring Guy Torrey, Desi Banks, Aries Spears, Lil Rel Howery, and more HERE
