New York, U.S.A. – “The Comedy Awards” (#comedyawards) are back and better than, well, last year, when the second annual event airs on COMEDY CENTRAL on Sunday, May 6 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Some of the biggest names in comedy, including Chris Rock, Kristen Wiig, Ty Burrell,Tracy Morgan, Will Arnett, Hannibal Buress, Chevy Chase, Louis C.K., Tina Fey, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Annie Mumolo, Chris Parnell, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Adam Scott, and Jon Stewart joined the night’s big honorees Don Rickles and Robin Williams to honor and celebrate the world of comedy.

Highlights from the show include:

• Robert De Niro and Jon Stewart presenting Don Rickles with the “Johnny Carson Award for Comedic Excellence”
• Patton Oswalt presenting Robin Williams with the “Stand-Up Icon Award”
• Politically-themed fun as Tracy Morgan contemplates joining the Secret Service and Key & Peele bring out President Obama’s Anger Translator Luther
• Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo (literally) wrestling over their award for “Best Comedy Film”
• The night’s big winner Louis C.K. wondering if four awards is maybe a few too many
• Chris Rock riffing on whether or not the nominees are actually funny
• And much more…

Fans are encouraged to visit www.thecomedyawards.com to vote for their digital favorites in categories including Best Comedy App, Best Comedy Podcast, Best Remix, Mash-up or Supercut and  Funniest Person on Twitter.  Voting for these categories will be open through Sunday, May 6, when “The Comedy Awards” premieres on COMEDY CENTRAL

“The Comedy Awards” is led by its Board of Directors which include such luminaries as: Carol Burnett,James Burrows, Greg Cavic, Stephen Colbert, James Dixon, Budd Friedman, Jim Gosnell, Rick Greenstein, Brad Grey, Caroline Hirsch, Sharon Jackson, Blair Kohan, Martin Lesak, Steve Levine, Jamie Masada, Adam McKay, Jimmy Miller, Conan O’Brien, Peter Principato, Joan Rivers, Jay Roach, Chris Rock, Ray Romano, Rory Rosegarten, Michael Rotenberg, George Schlatter, Mitzi Shore, David Steinberg, Jon Stewart, Lily Tomlin, Sandy Wernick and Geof Wills.

The Board of Directors is responsible for the selection of the nominees.  The nominees are then sent out to over 1500 working members of the comedy community to determine the winners.

“The Comedy Awards” has once again joined forces with the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) to endow The American Comedy Fund.  Without a union or other protection, many comedians face unique challenges to succeed and survive.

The Fund provides much-needed financial assistance, health benefits and other resources for comedians across the country during times of need, crisis or transition.  The American Comedy Fund is administered by EIF in collaboration with the Motion Picture & Television Fund and The Actors Fund.

Don Mischer, Casey Patterson, EVP, Event Production, Viacom Entertainment Group and Charlie Haykelare the Executive Producers.  Juliane Hare is Producer.  Beth McCarthy Miller, the Peabody and DGA Award-winning and Emmy-nominated Director, directed “The Comedy Awards.”  “The American Comedy Awards” was created by George Schlatter.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.comedycentral.com

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New York, U.S.A. - Hannibal Buress returns to Comedy Central with his laid-back swagger and unexpected point of view in the world premiere of his original one-hour stand-up special, “Hannibal Buress: Animal Furnace,” debuting Sunday, May 20 2012.

In his first hour-long special, Chicago-bred, New York-based Buress brings his celebrated deadpan wit to life’s absurdities with stories of his three-cop jaywalking bust in Montreal, a bloodless airport shoot-out, and various late nights with questionable women.

In front of a live audience at the Gramercy Theatre in New York, Buress re-imagines hardcore rappers as real estate agents, skewers grown men who can’t hold their liquor, and, as an enterprising reporter actually wrote, performs “comedic jokes related to personal stories, current events, the streets, and even food.”

The “Hannibal Buress: Animal Furnace” extended and uncensored DVD, featuring 20 minutes of material not seen in the broadcast, will be released on May 22 by Comedy Central Home Entertainment. The bonus features include “A Week to Kill,” a behind-the-scenes documentary that takes a look at how Buress spent the week before the filming of the comedy special.

In June 2012, Buress will headline “Comedy Central Live Presents: Hannibal Buress,” a free live outdoor show also featuring comedians Kevin Barnett and Josh Rabinowitz. “Comedy Central Live Presents: Hannibal Buress” takes place rain or shine on Sunday, June 24, at 7:00 p.m. ET at Red Hook Park in Brooklyn, NY.

One of Variety’s “10 Comics to Watch” in 2010, Buress recently won the award for Best Club Comic at the 2012 “The Comedy Awards.” He has appeared on the “Late Show with David Letterman,” “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson,” and numerous other late night TV shows.

He also has made primetime appearances on “Louie” and “30 Rock,” and will appear on the upcoming Comedy Central series “Kroll Show” and “John Oliver’s New York Stand-Up Show,” as well as the Adult Swim series, “The Eric Andre Show.” Buress has previously worked on the writing staffs of “30 Rock” and “Saturday Night Live,” and released his debut album, “My Name is Hannibal,” in 2010 on Stand Up! Records.

“Hannibal Buress: Animal Furnace” is executive produced by Buress, John Irwin and Dave Becky, produced by Casey Spira, and directed by Michael Dimich. Anne Harris is the Executive in Charge of Production for Comedy Central.

Image Courtesy of   TheeErin

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