Chris Bliss

For writer, speaker, comedian, juggler, and Bill of Rights advocate Chris Bliss, life has been a study in contrasts. The youngest son of a Washington D.C. attorney, he majored in comparative literature at Northwestern University and the University of Oregon, where he was on the Dean's List before dropping out at the end of his junior year. The reason? He told his father it was "to become the world's most famous juggler". Ironically, Chris did become the world's most famous juggler.

With an improvisational style augmented by custom lighting effects and set to rock music, he accidentally created the perfect concert-opening act. After opening for Eric Clapton, and then going on to tour with rock supergroup Asia, he was asked in the spring of 1984 to be the exclusive opener for Michael Jackson's record-breaking Victory Tour.

Switching careers to return to his writing roots, Chris decided to pursue a career in comedy. In the process, Chris logged dozens of national television appearances, including the Tonight Show where Jay Leno hailed him as "one of the brightest comedians around". So it was even more ironic when juggling fame struck again in 2006, as his "Amazing Juggling Finale" video, a four-minute routine set to music from the Beatles' Abbey Road, suddenly caught fire on the internet. Downloaded more than 60,000,000 times, the performance's popularity helped usher in the age of viral video sites like YouTube, garnering Chris media attention from ABC, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, and FOX, along with feature articles by the AP, USA Today, and the Washington Post.

The timing couldn't have been better, as it brought attention to the launch of Chris's newest venture: MyBillofRights.org, the Bill of Rights Monument Project, dedicated to rebuilding America's sense of common ground through the placement of displays honoring the Bill of Rights across the USA. The Texas project is moving full speed ahead, with the recent approval to release designs and begin fundraising for a $4.1 million national destination Bill of Rights Plaza in front of the Texas Supreme Court, adjacent to one of the nation's most historic State Capitols.

The result is that Chris is now doing a whole new level of juggling, striking the balance between a wealth of career and non-profit opportunities. These include being invited to speak at an international conference on positive change featuring Sir Bob Geldof, and to perform with the late Paul Newman at his flagship "Hole In The Wall Gang" camp; plus a blossoming speaking career on "the commitment to excellence", as well as Chris's exceptional debut on The Late Show with David Letterman.

Other career highlights include the release of his comedy CD, "My Act With Your Eyes Closed", which received airplay on hundreds of radio stations, and his recently released concert dvd "Chris Bliss Live . . . For Now." His first one-man show, an autobiographical monologue play titled "Walking On The Moon", debuted in late 1999, and has since been produced in both Minneapolis and Los Angeles.

Smart, insightful humour, capped off with a world-class variety finale that your audience won't soon forget – Chris Bliss is one of the world's most outstanding performers.

• 3. Moderator/Facilitator

  Intelligence. Preparation. Personality. These skills, along with his comprehensive knowledge of the structure and objectives of corporate events, make Chris Bliss a dynamic choice to moderate and facilitate your company's next conference. As the voice of your meeting, Chris's ability to deliver focused and disciplined messaging in a memorable way makes him an effective host for all your critical assemblages.
  
  Whether facilitating the flow of executive presentations, moderating panel discussions, or ensuring that your meeting's goals and takeaways are creatively reinforced throughout, Chris brings his years of public communications experience to bear in working with your advance team to cover all the essential details. Add to that the ability to think on his feet and adapt on the fly, plus his ace-in-the-hole finale that can be strategically placed wherever you need one last exclamation point. When you put it all together, Chris Bliss is a compelling alternative to staid and standard meeting facilitation.

• 2. Two of The Best

  Energizing your attendees is the key to a successful meeting. Chris's refreshingly intelligent and original comedy, followed by his "amazing juggling finale", is guaranteed to bring the house down and send your attendees out buzzing and engaged.

• 1. Commitment To Excellence

  Telling the story of his successful but questionable quest to become the world's most famous juggler ("a claim to fame as unimpressive as it is difficult to refute") Chris uses his incredible finale to demonstrate the power that mastering the basics has when combined with each individual's passion for excellence. Depending on your conference schedule, this program can be augmented with interactive juggling classes for attendees either before or after the presentation.

• Proving smart comedy transcends politics and narrowmindedness.

  L.A. Times

• One of the best...worth a special trip.

  Las Vegas Review-Journal

• A master of high-IQ stand-up with a razor-sharp edge.

  Montreal Gazette

• If you're looking to laugh, you can't do much better than Chris Bliss.

  Washington Post

• Edgy, hard-hitting, very often laugh-out-loud funny.

  City Pages – Minneapolis

• Intelligent and scathingly funny. He captured us all.

  Orange County Register

• One word – WOW!! Our membership consists of 100 chief decision makers spanning 33 industries. It was a huge risk requesting a comedian to add political material. The way you incorporated local and state politics and current affairs seamlessly into your performance made your show even funnier and so unique – the members loved it. I highly recommend you, without any reservation.

  Broward Workshop

• I just wanted to say Thanks Again for the great job you did last Friday night! Everyone was still talking about you the rest of the weekend. One attendee said he was at a different investment firm's conference a few weeks ago and they had Jay Leno as their entertainer. He said you blew him off the stage with your comedy and closing act on Friday.

  Ameritas Investment Corp.

• Chris brought the house down. His uniquely intelligent and topical comedy was made all the more engaging and funny because of the work he did to prepare specifically for our audience. Chris attended the general sessions and was able to incorporate comical observations common to everyone in the room. I really appreciate Chris’s talent and professionalism. Most of all, I love looking around the room as the audience is giving him a standing ovation. Without reservation, I heartily recommend Chris Bliss.

  Davidson Companies

• I strongly recommend Chris Bliss to any company looking for a creative communicator to help them shape key events and deliver key takeaways in a memorable and impactful way. His commitment to becoming part of the team from start to finish, along with his unique performance background and skills, were critical in ensuring an entertaining and effective presentation that got the message across.

  Noble Resources

• I want to thank Chris Bliss for the outstanding contribution he made to Noble Group’s annual Global Think Tank in Dubai. He is one of the best speakers we have contracted, because what he does comes from the heart as well as the head, and is absolutely tailored to the needs of the group. He was passionate about the project from the outset, brought to the table relevant and very creative ideas, researched the client, and was interested and interesting. He was an absolute pleasure to work with. I highly recommend Chris Bliss.

  DDK Communications

• Chris was awesome. He came to our meeting, picked up stuff our producers were presenting to their peers, and worked it into his show. It was hilarious and the crowd loved it. The juggling at the end absolutely blew everyone away and ended a great show on a fantastic high and buzz. A highly memorable note and with a large exclamation mark!

  Protective Life Insurance Company

• Thank you so much for such an outstanding performance! Your presentation was crisp and fresh, and your talent as a juggler had everyone mesmerized. Again, thank you for an outstanding close to our event!

  Material Handling Industry of America